Secret Invasion Finale Strongly Hints at for How Long Rhodey Has Been a Skrull

The following contains spoilers from the Secret Invasion finale.

“Colonel Rhodes…? How long have you been here?”

The answer, as revealed in the Secret Invasion finale, is “a long time.”

But more specifically, it was suggested that Colonel Rhodes was swapped out with a shapeshifting Skrull soon after he was gravely injured during the epic airport battle scene in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.

During that Avengers vs. Avengers skirmish, Rhodes as War Machine was accidentally hit by Vision, whose blast incapacitated his supersuit, causing him to fall. When neither Tony Stark/IronMan nor Sam Wilson/Falcon were able to catch him, Rhodes crashed into the ground hard, fracturing his spinal column and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Though Rhodes lost the use of his legs, Stark would outfit his friend with with next-gen braces to help him learn to walk again. (Read our full recap.)

But somewhere between the events of those two paragraphs you just read, Rhodey became a Skrull, as strongly hinted in the Secret Invasion finale now streaming on Disney+.

Midway through the Secret Invasion finale, G’iah and Gravik, both freshly imbued with Super Skrull powers, slugged it out. After G’iah emerged victorious by felling Gravik, she dashed into the New Skrullos facility to free the people who had been strapped into fracking pods for the purpose of being “duplicated” by rebel Skrulls.

That is where Everett Ross (whose Skrull imposter was revealed in the series premiere), once “awakened,” turned to Rhodey on his right and asked, “Colonel Rhodes…? How long have you been here?”

Rhodey — still wearing the hospital gown from, presumably, when he sustained his Civil War injury — tried to step out of his pod but teetered.

“Whoa! Colonel Rhodes, I’ve got you,” said G’iah, rushing to catch him. “You’ve been held hostage, for a long time.”

As in, for at least, what, seven years and a Blip…?

Meaning, in both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame? Rhodey a Skrull!

When Tony died? Rhodey a Skrull!

Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Rhodey a Skrull for those Emmy-nominated 95 seconds!

Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige had hinted that Secret Invasion viewers would eventually “understand exactly how long [Rhodey has] been a Skrull,” adding: “We like the idea of fans going back and watching some of the other appearances of Rhodey and realizing that that wasn’t him.”