Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel Universe. If you don’t know much about her, it’s time to study up. The MCU will soon be introducing Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson), starting with her own standalone film dropping into theaters in 2019. It’s also a forgone conclusion that she’ll be showing up in the untitled Avengers 4 (keep reading for more deets) to help in the fight against Thanos.
Here are a few things to know about Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, before her solo film hits the big screen.
The origin of Captain Marvel
Straight from the source, marvel.com: “After an alien device mutated her DNA, Danvers transformed from a merely brilliant pilot into one of the most powerful Super Heroes in the universe. Now soaring among the stars, Carol Danvers is known as Captain Marvel.”
In the comics, Carol was an Air Force officer and CIA agent who went on to work for NASA. She developed a relationship with a Kree soldier named Mar-Vell which inevitably led her into a dangerous situation with his enemy. After being captured, her DNA was altered thanks to a powerful, damaged Kree device that had the ability to turn thoughts into reality. Her genetic makeup with mixed with Mar-Vell’s when he tried to shield her, thus a Kree-human hybrid was created.
She was booted from NASA after everything went down, and it took her months to understand and recognize her new powers. Carol became a writer and even dual-personalty Kree warrior before joining up with some of our favorite superhero teams (basically all of them).
Carol started out calling herself Ms. Marvel. When Mar-Vell died, she took on the name Captain Marvel officially.
This video by Screen Rant gives a great breakdown of the history of Captain Marvel.
What are Captain Marvel’s powers?
Once Carol became a superhero, she gained an impressive number of powers, making her one of the most important characters in the Marvel Universe.
- Super strength
- Project photon blasts
- Durability
- Flight
- Teleportation (even through space)
- Energy absorption and manipulation
- Control of heat and gravity
- Immune to poisons and disease
- Healing abilities
- Incredible speed
- Ability to alter reality
So… basically everything.
Captain Marvel and Avengers 4
SPOILERS BELOW
Avengers: Infinity War gave us a little easter egg indicating that Captain Marvel would certainly be entering the mix. The post-credit scene of Maria Hill and Fury (watch it here) showed them reaching out for help on a pager before fading away. The symbol we see on it is Captain Marvel’s.
How could Captain Marvel fit into Avengers 4? First of all, keep in mind that her solo film takes place in the ’90s and comes out two months before Avengers 4. As Nerdist points out, “that explains Fury’s janky old beeper at the end of Infinity War.”
Captain Marvel is a huge threat to Thanos. Obviously, Doctor Strange saw one outcome in which he could be defeated. Could Captain Marvel be the key? Let’s keep in mind that she has pretty much ALL the powers, including the ability to absorb energy. It’s also important to note that Mar-Vell and Thanos had some history in the comics, most notably a fight over the Cosmic Cube.
Another fun theory is one IGN threw out about Captain Marvel wearing the Infinity Gauntlet to beat Thanos, replacing Adam Warlock’s role in the comics.
11 more characters Avengers: Infinity War opened the door for
The Captain Marvel movie hits theaters on Mar 8, 2019.
