Captain Marvel holds a strange place in the MCU. It was the last film to debut before Avengers: Endgame and Carol Danvers was the last character to make it to the show. Due to the powerful nature of the character, some fans rejected the character. These fans were largely the kind of fans I would rather not be associated with, as they are largely cavemen types who do not enjoy the prospect of a powerful woman. These are the same types of assholes who tried to sink The Last of Us Part II and continue to vilify The Last Jedi.
This was my third time watching Captain Marvel and the most that I have enjoyed it. The film does suffer from some flatness and not having much in the way of character traits for Carol Danvers besides strength and grittiness. This strength is a defining characteristic for Danvers, and it’s a tremendous message for a female hero. The sequence in which they show Danvers picking herself up throughout her life every time she has been knocked down is particularly inspiring. I would still like to see a little more rounding out of the character, ultimately.
A lot of these issues can also be placed on the character’s memory loss. Carol Danvers is figuring out who she is throughout the film, and as a result the film has a little trouble finding an identity. Danvers discovering her friendship with Maria Rambeau and picking up a mission in helping the seemingly misunderstood Skrulls really sets everything on track. I love Carol’s relationship with Maria and Monica Rambeau. It literally humanizes her, showing who she was before she became the Kree warrior, Vers. I’m excited to see what Captain Marvel 2 brings now that we have more of an idea of the direction in which Carol Danvers is headed.
Notes
- Samuel L. Jackson, in particular, is having the time of his life. He’s grinning for half the movie, between petting Goose and getting to know Vers. The smile is infectious. Ben Mendelsohn is having a great time as the Skrull, Talos. This actually all bodes incredibly well for the upcoming Secret Invasion Disney Plus series with Jackson and Mendelsohn.
- 90s references are still a little heavy handed. We get it! And folks, I LOVE the 90s.
- The sequel will likely dive into a lot of this, but I think that this franchise could really use a supplemental Disney+ series to dive into some of the intricacies of the Kree and Skrull cultures. The Kree in particular need this, they’ve been featured in two movies (Guardians of the Galaxy and this one) and a movie-going audience really would not know much about them.
- I think it would be interesting to introduce the X-Men, or at least the Brotherhood of Mutants, in a Captain Marvel sequel. Rogue famously siphons off Carol Danvers’ powers in the comics. This would help to establish a different, more comic familiar version of Rogue in the MCU and power down Captain Marvel a little. That’s not to say that I agree with the angry internet trolls that whine about Captain Marvel being overpowered. Those guys suck and I don’t want to have anything to do with them. But, we have seen just how strong Captain Marvel is when she single handedly took down a ship and whooped Thanos’ ass in Endgame. It feels like strength is Carol Danvers’ defining characteristic in the MCU. Let’s let Brie Larson show off her chops in the sequel by having the character struggle with the loss of that great power.
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