One of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on her way to the big
screen.
If you're unfamiliar with the latest MCU headliner — Carol "Captain Marvel" Danvers — here
are a few basic facts you're going to want to keep in mind as you settle in with your
popcorn.
Captain Marvel tells the story of Carol Danvers, played by Oscar-winner Brie Larson.
Unlike most MCU flicks, the movie isn't set in the present day, but instead takes place
in the '90s.
This gives Marvel plenty of time to show Danvers becoming Captain Marvel and explain why she
was nowhere to be found as the events of 2008's Iron Man ushered in the MCU superhero age,
and why she wasn't even referenced until the post-credits scene in 2018's Infinity War.
Danvers was first introduced as a character in 1968's Marvel Super-Heroes #13.
She was a retired Air Force pilot serving a supporting role for the character Mar-Vell,
who had been created a year earlier and was then occupying the role of Captain Marvel.
Cutting out decades of complicated comic book backstory, the MCU seems to have decided to
streamline Danvers' origins — as they've done more than once for the screen versions
of their classic characters in the past.
One of the central forces in Captain Marvel is a group that entered the Marvel Comics
Universe way back in 1967 in Fantastic Four No. 65.
We're talking about the Kree, a technologically advanced race of aliens that generally take
the form of blue-skinned and purple-eyed beings with otherwise human features.
They aren't necessarily bad guys, but they tend to have a bit of a mixed reputation,
as they can be militaristic and are infamous for their constant squabbles around the galaxy.
Danvers herself became a human/Kree hybrid due to an accident that altered her DNA.
"And you're a Kree?
A race of noble warriors?"
"Heroes.
Noble warrior heroes."
But the movie actually won't be the Kree's first foray into the MCU.
The Ravager Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, revealed that he was sold to
the Kree in his youth.
Ronan the Accuser was also a rogue Kree general that ignored the treaty between his people
and Nova Corps and attacked Xandar with the help of Thanos.
The blue-skinned aliens have also made a number of appearances on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While the Kree have a bit of a mixed history, their longtime enemies, the extraterrestrial
race known as the Skrulls, are far less complicated, at least as far as humans are concerned.
Their appearances in the comics usually correlate with Earth invasions or their more distant
— and ancient — quarrels with the Kree.
The Skrulls first appeared in the comics in Fantastic Four #2 in 1962, making them slightly
more well-established than Danvers or the Kree.
The most important thing you're going to want to remember about the Skrulls is that they're
shapeshifters, able to take on whatever appearance they need to in order to infiltrate and destroy
empires, organizations, and even herds of superheroes, causing distress and distrust
from the inside out.
This, of course, means they could already be involved in more than one MCU movie, infiltrating
high positions and simply biding their time for the perfect moment to strike.
And you thought Hydra was sneaky!
"Hail Hydra."
Another element of Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel comic book history is her ability to
take on her so-called Binary form, which first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #164.
Danvers' ability to transform into the super-powered Binary emerged when yet another evil alien
race, known as the Brood, abducted and experimented on her, further augmenting her already significantly
altered DNA.
As Binary, Danvers could transform into an energy-manipulating state that allowed her
to lift more than 100 tons and fly at nearly the speed of light — and these skills seem
to be in evidence in the trailers.
In the third Captain Marvel trailer, we get a quick glimpse of Carol suited up and leading
a group of aliens, all dressed in the same uniform, walking in slow-mo through an other-worldly
setting.
It doesn't last long, but the view is most likely our first look at Starforce, a team
of warriors that fight for the Kree.
The group was introduced in the comics in Avengers #346 in 1992.
In the MCU, we've already met one Starforce member — Korath, who appeared as one of
Ronan the Accuser's lackeys in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Spoiler alert!
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Samuel L. Jackson, who will be reprising his
role as Nick Fury in Captain Marvel, was asked if he thought Danvers was worthy of being
the first female MCU character to get her own movie.
His response was, in essence, a breakdown of all of her incredible powers, including
this little tidbit:
"[Captain Marvel is] one of the few people in the Marvel universe that can time travel."
Hold the phone.
She can what?
Time travel has been heavily rumored as one of the main ways that the events of Infinity
War could be undone, but the context has usually suggested that Ant-Man would somehow be using
the Quantum Realm or Doctor Strange would be using the Time Stone.
Needless to say, the quote caused an immediate ripple effect of rumors and theories.
The question that remains is how, exactly, Danvers' mysterious time-traveling abilities
will be depicted in the film.
Speaking of Nick Fury, the ex-director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is clearly going to play an important
role in Carol Danvers' evolution into Captain Marvel.
It's likely that the movie will double not only as an origin story for Carol Danvers
but, in a secondary capacity, one for Nick Fury as well.
From showing his rise through the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. to revealing why on Earth his
gut instinct after the finger snap would be to page Captain Marvel, there are a lot of
Fury-based questions that could find their answers in this one.
Oh, and he's also shown in the trailer with two healthy eyes, so there's a good chance
we'll also see something regarding the origin of that eyepatch.
Finally, there's Goose.
The fuzzy little guy isn't just tossed into a scene for a bit of comic relief between
the future head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a random feline.
It also happens to be Carol Danvers' pet… and it's an alien.
Goose is a Flerken, an alien species that typically resembles terrestrial cats, with
a couple of noticeable exceptions.
For example, they have a huge array of tentacles that come out of their mouths, and they lay
eggs at a furious rate.
They also possess human-level intellect as well as "pocket realities" of space and time
within their bodies — so yeah, not your typical house cat.
In the comics, Danvers' pet was named Chewie, but the name has apparently been changed from
one famous movie wingman to another for the MCU, adding yet another nod to some hardcore
nostalgia in the process.
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