Why did Captain Marvel punch Grandma?
Tuesday morning the internet was abuzz, #CaptainMarvel ,
#CarolDanvers, #BrieLarson, and #MarvelStudios were all trending as the long
awaited trailer finally dropped.
Since Avengers 3, the world has had a big question on their
mind. Who is Captain Marvel?
It’s a fair question too as her (and sometimes his) name has
belonged to a multitude of characters. But for this article we’re just going to
focus on the MCU version. The post credit scene at the end of Avengers 3 had
Nick Fury sending out a distress call.
The response: a gold Hala Star outlined in red and blue.
Captain Marvel.
Now that the trailer has dropped, the world has been given a
new big question.
Why is Captain Marvel punching Grandma?
Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel
Typical first trailers in the MCU offer the most action
packed or dramatic scenes in the upcoming movie. This trailer however felt as
if it were explaining the character. Which makes perfect sense as the character
of Captain Marvel is such an unknown to people. Smart move on Marvel Studios,
if you ask me.
So how did they do it?
We open with Captain Marvel falling through the sky toward a
Blockbuster video. Right off the bat you know three things.
1. She’s
already got her powers. Obvious by the Kree uniform she is wearing. (Carol
Danvers is or was human until she was infused with DNA changing energy that
gave her powers. After that she served with Kree warriors in StarForce.)
2. This
is not a typical origin story. Since they are showing her in both the Kree and
Captain Marvel costumes during this movie it cannot be an origin story. There
wouldn’t be enough time to tell it and cover all her time spent in the Kree
special ops unit as well as becoming what we know as Captain Marvel. So we have
to assume it is going to show some of this in flashback rather than start from
the ground up.
3. This
movie is set in the 90’s because when was the last time you were in a
Blockbuster video Store?
While this isn’t going to be an origin story, Carol Danvers
does drop a clue that she has “memory gaps” which emphasizes the point of this
not being told in chronological order but does tell us that we will be shown
the important parts of how she became Captain Marvel.
This is important for us to know because, as I said earlier,
many people are wondering who this character is. She’s not as well-known as
Iron Man or Captain America, and her comic book history has a lot of variations
to wade through. Not to mention, another character getting a movie in the DC universe,
Shazam, also holds the title Marvel. The Kree responsible for Carol getting her
powers also went by Mar-Vel. And, yet another character we will hopefully meet
in this movie, Monica Rambeau has also held the title in the comics (though
she’s better known as Photon). Try googling Captain Marvel sometime, but you
had better plan for an all-nighter because there is a lot of information to
wade through.
But we’re getting off track. Back to the trailer.
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) begins a voice over talking
about war, soldiers, aliens, and the like as we see Carol Danvers looking very
confused with the world she’s landed in. It is here we get our first look at a
young (de-aged) Nick Fury. He admits he was about ready to give up until her
appearance renewed his interest (in S.H.I.E.L.D. we assume).
We also get the admission from Danvers, that she is having
memory gaps, and her history is complicated. Visually this is explained by
quick transitions between her time as an Airforce pilot as well as her time on
the Kree world, working with StarForce.
Samuel L Jackson comes back to voice “We have no idea what threats
are out there.” Just as they quickly flash between Fury watching an alien
autopsy while holding an ice pack over his (possibly missing eye) and Skrull
warriors emerging from the water. This visual clue for the viewer sets up the
“enemy.” Then amongst the quick visual flashes, we see the seemingly sweet old
lady that Danvers punches.
I found it odd that they flashed those sequences so quickly
as they are of extreme importance. You miss the first and the second doesn’t
make sense. If you only saw Carol punching the lady, you’d assume she was a
villain.
I’m sure Marvel had their reasons for such quick cuts. And I
have no doubt that “Why did Captain Marvel punch an old lady,” was topping the
search engine requests shortly after it was broadcast. But really, if Marvel
studios was doing what I assumed they were doing with this trailer– helping
people understand who Captain Marvel is – they would have spent just a teensy
bit more time showing us that the Skrull are shape shifters. That sweet looking
old grandma was anything but. Sadly, those who do not know might have been put
off by it.
Not everyone is going to spend hours researching a new unknown
hero without good reason and painting her as a granny puncher might have been
something for trailer #2. Just my two cents.
Back to the breakdown.
The quick cuts did not end with the granny punch. Following Danver’s
wicked right cross, Samuel L. Jackson (Fury) talks about needing her help. There
is a smooth transition between the words Her and A Hero that are well timed
with Fury’s words about needing a warrior. This further solidifies the position
Danvers is in during the movie. She’s got potential but has not reached it yet,
despite her powers. (Classic, Hero’s Journey)
They continue to flash eye candy like Ronan the Accuser (you
might remember him from Guardians of the Galaxy), Agent Coulson (Who doesn’t
love him?), and an explosion enveloping Danvers in blue light (There’s your
origin story flashback).
All of this culminates in Danvers saying “I’m not what you
think I am.” While they quick cut to various shots of her character standing up
to fight.
Very typical of the Hero’s Journey arc: refusing the call to
action, but ultimately doing it for the greater good.
Based on the information gleaned from the two-minute trailer,
and knowing that after Avengers 3, she is the last call Nick Fury makes, we
know she will fight. She will win. And that sets her up to be the Super Hero
who can help them defeat Thanos in Avengers 4.
So, to summarize.
The movie drops March 2019.
This is only the first trailer – Character arc heavy. Watch
for future trailers to learn more.
The trailer sets us up with three major plots: Time in StarForce,
Kree-Skrull war (Secret Invasion), and Taking the mantle Captain Marvel.
This is a further MCU defining story. Not only are you going
to see how Captain Marvel is set up to be the helper of the Avengers in their 4th
movie, but you’re going to learn more about characters you’ve already met :
Nick Fury, Agent Phil Coulson, Ronan the Accuser.
Easter Eggs:
Blockbuster Video
Nick Fury’s pager.
Nick Fury’s eye
injury.
Maria Rambeau.
(Mother of Monica Rambeau aka Photon)
Ronan the Accuser.
(GOTG)
Korath the Pursuer.
(GOTG)
Kree Starforce
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Project
P.E.G.A.S.U.S. (Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States) S.H.I.E.L.D.
joint taskforce scientific base. – This
is the base they blew up in Avengers 1.