If you haven’t seen Avengers Infinity War - warning - this whole video is one massive
spoiler.
During the post credit scene of Avengers Infinity War, Nick Fury sends out a distress call to
a highly anticipated character - Captain Marvel, who will be played by Brie Larson in the hero’s
upcoming solo feature, along with making an appearance in the upcoming untitled Avengers
4 film.
Considering the bleak ending the film left us with, there’s a lot of hope being invested
in Captain Marvel’s debut - Thanos snapping his fingers and wiping out half of the universe’s
living beings, along with many of our favourite heroes, means that only a portion of the forces
who faced off against him in Infinity War are still left un-dusted to try to form some
sort of rebellion against him.
But, according to the filmmakers, Captain Marvel will be the strongest superhero to
debut in the MCU yet, potentially giving our heroes some sort of advantage - or at least
much needed aid - in the upcoming film.
But how exactly will Captain Marvel fit into the Infinity War story line?
And what if Captain Marvel isn’t the saving grace we’re all hoping she will be?
Let’s take a look at that post credit scene.
Upon realizing what’s happening, Nick Fury and Maria Hill get out of their car, and Fury
reaches into the backseat for an item in a bag - something that looks a whole hell of
a lot like a space beeper.
He presses a button, and he’s dusted, leaving the beeper on the ground.
The scene ends as the Captain Marvel symbol makes its way onto the beeper’s screen.
This raises a few questions.
Keeping in mind that Captain Marvel’s solo film will be set in the 90’s, and will feature
Nick Fury, between 20 to 25 years have gone by since the two have met.
Why is Nick Fury only now calling her for assistance in the past 10?
Why not summon her during the battle of New York?
Even though he and Hill were aware that something was seriously up during their car ride prior
to being dusted, how would Fury be aware of the scale of what had just happened?
He knows people are being dusted, but what makes him assume that this is dire enough
of a situation to call upon Carol Danvers?
And, perhaps the most important question - WHY would he NOT have ben inclined to call her
before now?
Needless to say, there’s a whole lot we don’t know about how Captain Marvel’s
origin will play out.
The film’s screenwriters have stated that it’ll be a bit of a different take on the
character, but based on the facts we already know, Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel,
will exist -played by Jude Law - and Carol’s history of working on a military base will
also stay intact.
There’s questions whether or not the Skull/Kree war will come into play, with Mar-Vell being
a Kree, and Danvers being half Are and half Human.
In the comics, Danvers origin story goes like this.
When the character first popped up in the 60’s, she was a supporting character who
was a part of the US Air Force and was the security chief of a restricted military base.
Here she meets Mar-Vell, or rather, his human alias, Dr Walter Lawson.
A Kree device explodes, Carol gets too close to Mar-Vell when this happens, and, in the
70s, we find out that her proximity to him caused their DNA to meld, making her half
Kree, half Human.
This is when she took up the Ms Marvel mantle.
It wasn’t until 2012 after a string of commercially unsuccessful Captain Marvels that Carol would
pick up the mantle, with the first Mar-Vell dying from cancer in the 1980s.
Overall, Carol Danvers’ history has been nothing but a heroic one - logically speaking,
the only threat she may pose to Earth - and the reason why Fury perhaps has kept her at
a distance - is that the character - is that someone of her abilities was too dangerous
to have on the planet.
Or perhaps the implications of her existence - considering Mar-Vell was a branded as a
traitor by the Kree Empire - could put Earth in danger just by her being there.
Otherwise, she’s not really a baddie.
So how could she possibly be a villain?
Indirectly.
There’s a theory floating around about Thanos’ ‘hero’s journey’.
Numerous times, the screenwriters behind Infinity War, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely,
have stated that the film is a hero’s journey for Thanos.
“By the end of the hero’s journey, our main character, our protagonist - at least,
in this case - gets what he wants.”
Running with this, the theory suggests that Thanos’ act of balancing out the universe
- something that, based off his conversation with Gamora in the film, he genuinely believes
is the right thing to do.
In the comics, specifically the 1991 Infinity Gauntlet miniseries that the film is based
off, Thanos is motivated by the entity Death, whom he is in love with, to prove himself
worthy by fulfilling her wish of wiping out half of life in order to balance the universe.
That motivation doesn’t exist in the films - Death isn’t present at all.
So one can assume that Thanos is either in on some sort of knowledge that the rest of
us don’t know.
Either that or he’s a total psychopath, which is also likely, but for the sake of
this video, let’s explore that first option.
So, Thanos is pulling the ‘villain with a point’ trope - wiping out half the universe
in order to create balance is for ‘the greater good’.
Meaning Carol, and the Guardians and the Avengers and the Wakandans, are all fighting on the
wrong side, simply because they don’t have the context as to why it’s the wrong thing
to do.
Except Doctor Strange, who gave up the Time Gem in order to keep Tony Stark alive.
Aside from Marvel just straight up basterdizing Carol’s character - which we’re 99.9%
certain they won’t - this seems like the only way that Captain Marvel would be considered
to be ‘a villain’ - it’s not in the character’s nature, at least in the comics,
to do anything nefarious or sinister directly.
She’s had to make many a difficult choice before in the past, especially during Civil
War 2, but to intentionally and unjustly cause pain to others isn’t something that’s
in her reel house.
Although the possibility that she poses a threat to Earth - not out of choice - is an
interesting one.
Another is that Carol, having been out there somewhere in the galaxy for at least the last
ten years, is already aware of Thanos’ plan, and that is something that needs to be done.
Which would give greater context to the characters inevitable encounter in Avengers 4 - scenes
between Josh Brolin’s Thanos and Brie Larson’s Danvers have already been filmed.
But, that seems pretty unlikely, considering it also strongly goes against Carol’s character.
Lastly, another theory pertaining to Captain Marvel potentially filling in more villainous
shoes in the film ties in with Adam Warlock’s character in 1991 Infinity Gauntlet comic,
and the mini series after it.
After Warlock manages to secure the Infinity Gauntlet away from Nebula - who takes it from
Thanos in the series - and is then ordered by the living tribunal that the gems need
to be dispersed since he - and no one - should be allowed to use the gems in unison.
Warlock is deemed too unstable to retain that power.
There have been a lot of theories kicking around that Captain Marvel will be subbing
in for Adam Warlock in the Infinity War story - Warlock, while due to show up in the MCU,
potentially being introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3, the character has a pretty
massive role in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, and many think Captain Marvel will be the
one filling in those blanks, and may end up with the gauntlet, which, ultimately corrupts
her, making her unstable to wield it, just like Adam was considered to be.
So hero at the start, villain at the end.
Oh, the theories!
While we still think it’s pretty unlikely that Captain Marvel will turn out to be a
big bad, who knows how things will pan out in the MCU, with Marvel promising that there
are massive changes on the horizon.
What do you guys think?
Do you think Captain Marvel will be this all encompassing saviour that the MCU needs right
now?
Do you think she’ll have a Watchmen moment with Thanos at the end of Avengers 4?
Or do you think she’ll get her hands on the gauntlet and turn out to be even worse
than he is?
Let us know all of your thoughts and theories in those comments below!
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