In this series…
- Captain Marvel’s powers explained, for those who need a little refresher.
- Our Captain Marvel review, from chief critic Rob Hunter.
- A shot-by-shot breakdown of the Captain Marvel trailer, courtesy of the One Perfect Shot team.
- Read the story of Captain Marvel and The Avengers through the years.
- An explanation of everything you need to know about Captain Marvel’s cat.
- Meet the Skrulls, a race of characters Marvel nerds have been waiting to see on-screen.
- The Captain Marvel ending and post-credits scene explained — spoiler warning, obviously.
- What Captain America means for Avengers: Endgame — aka, look out Thanos.
- A list of movies to watch if you enjoyed Captain Marvel.
With the release of every MCU movie, there must come immediate speculation for the inevitable sequel. Captain Marvel is a significant addition to the Avengers lineup, but as eager as we are to see her interact with Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, we’re even more excited to witness her reunion with the family we just met in her solo outing. Similar to the emotional wallop that occurred between Captain America: The First Avenger to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) will find herself reeling from the time lost exploring the far reaches of the galaxy, and her Earthly return will be quite the shock to the system. Let’s talk a little bit about what might happen in Captain Marvel 2…
↓ CAPTAIN MARVEL SPOILERS BELOW ↓
Who knows how or even if Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) solidifies after the great dusting of Avengers: Infinity War. I imagine that he will be fine and that we’ll see him in a Captain Marvel sequel but as fun and significant as their buddy cop dynamic was to The Avengers Initiative, their relationship is not the core that grounds Danvers to Planet C-53/Earth. First and foremost on my mind is Monica Rambeau (Akira Akbar).
The daughter of Carol’s test-pilot partner Maria (Lashana Lynch), Monica was 11 years old in 1995 when the first film took place. Twenty four years have passed making the child Carol once knew a 35-year-old adult and hopefully an ass-kicking pilot/adventurer in her own right. I adored our last moment with Monica in Captain Marvel, watching her stare skyward, a look of pure awe on her face as Carol propelled herself like a cosmic bullet towards Ronan the Accuser’s orbiting warships.
Monica will take that memory with her as she grows through the drudgery of the public school system. Imagine what the knowledge of the Kree and the Skrulls does to a young mind. Not only that, imagine how the close proximity of unstoppable women like Maria, Carol, and Mar-Vell (Annette Bening) could shape a person. Monica has already experienced the wildest possibilities that the universe has to offer, and the woman she becomes will not just floor Carol Danvers, but inspire her.
In the comic books, Monica Rambeau took on the mantle of Captain Marvel after Mar-Vell died and she absorbed a wave of extra-dimensional energy while attempting to disarm a mad scientist’s weapon. Her abilities differed slightly from that of the Kree hero (i.e., she could transform her body into pure energy), but she eventually proved herself to be a heavy hitter on The Avengers. In connecting Monica as a niece-like figure to Carol Danvers in the film, Marvel Studios has already altered her origins drastically. This new familial connection carries tremendous psychological weight, bonding their namesakes in ways that their comic book counterparts never were.
I do not know how Monica will gain her abilities in the MCU, but I deeply believe this needs to happen. Think of the relationship that Rhodey has with Tony in the Iron Man films. Now, consider the parental connection Carol has to Monica on a battlefield. There is a potential tag team partnership here that could have an audience cheering on its feet. Cast the older Monica well, and we’ve got a powerful couple to replace the void when Stark or Rogers exit during Avengers: Endgame.
A Captain Marvel sequel should address The Skrulls problem as well. While Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and his goons ultimately turned out not to be the violent threat we feared from the trailers, I don’t believe their significance to the grand design of the MCU has fully revealed itself yet. Looking once again to the comics, Talos is considered an outcast from the rest of Skrull society. His refusal to commit ritual suicide to honor his people doomed him to a life of scorn and mockery. He and his family are on their own. That tracks with what we saw in the film.
The Kree-Skrull War is not ending anytime soon. In Guardians of the Galaxy, we experienced the lengths in which Kree madmen like Ronan will go to salvage their glory. Mar-Vell disclosed that not all Kree are created equal and as such not every Skrull is created equal either. The Skrulls are backed into a corner. They need to commit a last-ditch effort to restore their place in the galaxy. I still firmly believe that Captain Marvel is the first step to the next great Marvel Cinematic Universe war. The “Secret Invasion” is coming.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, and published in December of 2008, “Secret Invasion” was one of Marvel Comics’ major crossover events. We’ve seen several other of these events adapted into Avengers sagas like Age of Ultron, Civil War, and Infinity War. So, yeah, Avengers: Secret Invasion has a nice ring to it, right? Yes, there are so many great, far-reaching stories for the MCU to choose from, but now that the Skrulls are in play, the dramatic shock of an Avengers stinger revealing Hawkeye as Skrull or Steve Rogers as Skrull or whoever is too electric to pass up. I’m willing this plot into existence, folks. It’s on my vision board.
Talos will probably not orchestrate an event such as this, but a Captain Marvel 2 could introduce a real Skrull piece of trash like K’lrt the Super-Skrull, a warrior emperor who’s been known to mimic the powers of the Fantastic Four. At the very least, we need to see the various shades of Skull green. A sequel offers an opportunity to explore this new species and opens up a universe of narrative possibilities. Including, but not limited to, “Secret Invasion.”
Finally, my only real demand for Captain Marvel 2 is MORE FLERKEN! Goose the Cat is a breakout star from the film, and hopefully, her species has more than nine lives to keep her spry for the sequel. What has she been up to in the last 35 years? What other secrets does she contain in the pocket dimension within her mouth? We need to see a Goose the Cat side adventure, where she’s swallowing bad guys and saving the day while Nick Fury is enjoying a coffee break.
Related Topics: Ben Mendelsohn, Brie Larson, Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios
