Ever since the MCU’s announcement of Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel’s arrival, we’ve been priming ourselves, binging on the source material, and learning more about her character so as to not go in unprepared. And that fleeting glance of her insignia in the Infinity War post-credits scene has got us all pumped about her epic appearance in 2019.
And then, they went and dropped the trailer on us. So while there’s a lot to analyse in that, based on several storylines and character arcs in the comics, here are a few interesting facts you must know about the literal force to reckon with, Captain Marvel.
1. Carol Danvers started out in the comics as a United States Air Force fighter pilot. She later became NASA’s security chief.
2. After the accident that led to her receiving her powers, Carol became a NASA whistleblower. She wrote a scathing expose´ that cost her her job.
3. She briefly worked with The Daily Bugle as the editor of their women’s subsidiary, Woman Magazine.
4. In the first version of her origin story, Carol Danvers took up the moniker of ‘Ms. Marvel’. It was derived from ‘Mar-Vell’, the superhero from whom she got her powers.
5. The first edition of her costume was immediately met with backlash as the oddly placed cut-out was considered highly impractical by readers and designers alike.
The costume was then modified into one which covered her belly and eventually into her classic black semi-leotard.
6. After officially taking up the mantle of Captain Marvel, she donned her elite blue and red outfit.
This change was made so that she looks more like a battle-ready core team member of the Avengers.
7. While she didn’t make an appearance in the film, she was an integral part of Marvel’s Civil War. She was initially pro-registration and on team Iron Man.
8. However, in Civil War II, she leads her own faction fighting an ideological battle opposite Iron Man.
9. Captain Marvel will be the first female superhero in the MCU to get a solo film. She’ll be played by Oscar-winner, Brie Larson.
10. Brie Larson has been undergoing flight training at the Nellis Airforce Base to get familiar with the fighter-jet cockpit and aeroplane controls.
11. Carol Danvers has been a part of several superhero teams such as The X-Men, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, S.H.I.E.L.D., New Avengers, Defenders and the Starjammers.
12. In one storyline she loses all her powers when she gets touched by the mutant superhero Rogue.
Rogue absorbs her powers and memories and even permanently retains some of Captain Marvel’s abilities after ‘Danvers’ powers have been restored.
13. She was once romantically involved with fellow Air Force officer, James Rhodes aka War Machine.
Yeah him, you remember him.
14. She attained her powers after absorbing the genetic template of Kree superhero, Mar-Vell. This made her a perfect Kree-human hybrid.
15. She was created as a feminist icon, being a symbol of the ambitious career-driven and powerful woman.
Even her erstwhile monicker, Ms. Marvel has a deeper significance. At the time when her character came into being, several women were opting for the more ambiguous salutation of ‘Ms.’ (rather than the more suggestive ‘Mrs.’ or ‘Miss’) making it a subtle yet bold statement in itself.
16. There have been other versions and monickers to her character.
For instance, when she was linked to the X-Men team she was known as ‘Binary’. She also took on the name ‘Warbird’ in later comics.
17. Her nearly endless list of superpowers includes super strength, energy absorption, energy projection, the ability to fly, psychic powers and durability.
18. According to the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, she will be the most powerful superhero in the MCU.
19. DC also had a character called Captain Marvel.
While there are several Marvel characters who’ve donned the name, even the DC hero Shazam was initially known as Captain Marvel. However, a legal dispute between the companies made DC alter his title.
20. The mantle of Ms. Marvel has been successfully passed down.
The moniker is now held by Pakistani-origin superhero Kamala Khan, who is deeply inspired by Danvers. She is the first Muslim character to have her own Marvel comic book title.
21. In one controversial storyline, Carol was shown to have an alcohol problem following the death of her boyfriend and loss of powers.
22. After the accident that led to her powers, Danvers suffered from brain damage which gave her a dual personality.
Ms. Marvel was originally her alter-ego who would appear only when Carol suffered from blackouts.
23. She was supposed to make an appearance on Netflix’s Jessica Jones but her role was cut and eventually replaced by the character of Trish Walker.
24. In the film’s initially released photos, Brie Larson’s costume is a green combat suit. This is speculated to be a nod to her Kree counterpart, Mar-Vell’s original costume.
Bonus: Captain Marvel, the film’s release date in India is March 8, 2019, which happens to be International Women’s Day. Coincidence? We think not.