Though New Asgard was not once mentioned in “Secret Invasion,” the implication here is that the little tourist town is now an enemy of the United States. But wait, you might say, isn’t New Asgard technically an enclave within Norway? Why, yes, so in the “Secret Invasion” finale the U.S. technically declares war on not just part of Norway — making things rather messy for NATO — but also declares the Nordic people’s literal gods to be “enemy combatants.” Sure, mock the tiny nation of Norway and its tiny population of 5 million people, but they won’t be happy to see the military propaganda the U.S. will put out about the Valkyries or Odinson.
Does this mean Thor will be considered an enemy sympathizer when he returns to Earth (as he’s done plenty of times before)? What happened to that “mutually beneficial partnership” Ritson himself signed with New Asgard during the events of “Wakanda Forever” (via Reddit)? Unfortunately, this seems destined to become yet another world-changing event that will go completely ignored by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or at most will get mentioned in passing like so many other world-changing events. Remember the Sokovia Accords? Remember the massive alien kaiju coming out of the ocean? Apparently the MCU doesn’t, and that is a big problem.
When “Iron Man” first came out and the post-credits scene promised an interconnected universe leading up to “The Avengers,” audiences were promised a franchise where the individual movies impacted one another, where the plot mattered to the overall MCU. It is becoming increasingly clear that the goal of Marvel projects is to give the illusion of consequence, the cinematic equivalent of “Mass Effect 3” and its three-colored ending. If nothing really matters, then why should people keep watching? Well, turns out they aren’t.
