‘Secret Invasion’: How Did Fury Manage to Disguise Himself? Widow’s Veil Explained

We’ve seen a lot of different gadgets in the world of the MCU, as we know that Nick Fury and the other people working for him are spies that need to keep themselves hidden from their enemies. In that regard, Fury broke out a cool gadget during the events of episode 5 of ‘Secret Invasion’ when he used a device that allowed him to take on the appearance of another person, similar to what the Skrulls do. So, how did Nick Fury disguise himself?

Nick Fury used a gadget called the Widow’s Veil, which is often called the Photostatic Veil. This is a programmable mesh with nano-sized holographic cells capable of using light to mimic a person’s appearance. It also includes a voice modifier that could complete a person’s disguise.

We’ve seen the Widow’s Veil in action quite a few times during the events of the MCU, as Natasha Romanoff used it in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ It was also used during the events of ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ by Sharon Carter. In that regard, it has been around for a while. Now, let’s learn more about Widow’s Veil and how it works.

The Widow’s Veil explained

Episode 5 of ‘Secret Invasion’ showed Gravik becoming increasingly desperate. We know he failed to kill President Ritson, whose death would have sped up a possible war between the US and Russia.

In that regard, his failure to kill Ritson forced his hand to a more extreme measure. And this measure, he thought, would allow him to hit two birds with one stone because he also needed the Harvest from Nick Fury because it contained the DNA of the Avengers.

Gravik decided to make Ritson believe through Raava, the fake Rhodey, that the Russians and the Skrulls have been working with one another and that they should now bomb the Skrull compound in Russia. Of course, Gravik also used this to his advantage against Nick Fury because he understood that Fury wouldn’t want a war between the US and Russia to break out.

That was when Gravik told him that he should bring the Harvest to him or else he would make the US bomb the Skrull compound and cause the entire world to enter World War III.

To that end, Fury needed to go to Finland. But he was already a wanted man because fake Rhodey had released a video of Gravik (disguised as Fury) killing Agent Maria Hill. As such, Nick Fury couldn’t travel around the world without alerting the authorities. And that was why he had to disguise himself as a Finnish man named Johannes Kerhonen.

Of course, Fury was able to disguise himself without the use of any rubber or plastic masks. Instead, he used the Widow’s Veil device, which isn’t entirely new to the MCU because we’ve seen it in the past.

Formally called the Photostatic Veil, the Widow’s Veil is a thin layer of mesh that is programmable and has tiny holographic cells that can produce a holographic image of a person’s face through the use of light.

In other words, this thin layer of mesh can make a person look like any other person using light without altering the original appearance of the person wearing it. We could even say that this is similar to how the chameleon changes its colors but differently because it uses nanotechnology.

The Widow’s Veil also includes a voice modulator allowing anyone to assume the voice of the person they are mimicking. In that regard, Fury and his agents could mimic a fraction of the powers of the Skrulls as they could also disguise themselves as another person.

But the important part here is that the person’s DNA and voice sample must be secured so that the Widow’s Veil would work, as the device has to scan the DNA and voice sample to calibrate the mask according to the person’s image and voice.

Unlike conventional masks, the Widow’s Veil is worn tightly over the person’s face and is so thin that no one would ever know it’s on the person’s face. It is even so accurate that it can project the structural aspects of a person’s face without altering the face of the person wearing it. However, it works best whenever the person wearing it has the same gender as the person they are trying to imitate. 

Of course, this device still has limitations because the original one could only change the person’s face. Meanwhile, a person familiar with the one being imitated can tell the difference, especially if the person wearing the Widow’s Veil doesn’t know the imitated person’s background and mannerisms.

As mentioned, the Widow’s Veil isn’t novel because we’ve seen it quite a few times in the past. Natasha Romanoff used it in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ when she imitated a member of the World Security Council to infiltrate the SHIELD headquarters. Then, in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ we saw Sharon Carter using it.

Basically, the Widow’s Veil is a device that is best worn by spies that are experts in infiltration, as they also have to make sure that they are not acting suspiciously. And as mentioned, they need to know the mannerisms and habits of the person they are imitating to make sure that they don’t get caught.

There’s a newer version

Of course, in ‘Secret Invasion,’ Fury had to imitate a Finnish man when he wore the Widow’s Veil to keep himself away from the peering eyes of the Finnish authorities. And he went inside Sonya Falsworth’s car because they were now working together in the matter involving the Skrulls.

Falsworth commented how the US government spent a billion dollars to develop the Widow’s Veil, but it could only imitate the person’s face instead of changing the entire person’s body. That was when Nick Fury said the one he was using was the old model.

That means the newer model is so sophisticated that it can also change a person’s appearance. Of course, there’s a good chance that the new version of the Widow’s Veil has to cover the person’s body for it to work. And the fact that Fury mentioned the new model means there’s a good chance that we will see the new Widow’s Veil in the future.

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