She tumbles inexplicably down from the sky in a blaze of fire and debris, crash landing through the roof of a Blockbuster Video store. Her auburn locks remain unscathed despite the tumultuous plunge, as she brushes off her suit and scans her unfamiliar surroundings.
Who is this enigmatic force of nature? Why, it’s Captain Marvel.
It’s kind of unbelievable that it is 2018 and Marvel is just now in the process of releasing a full-feature film centered around a female lead. Regardless, it is finally in the works, and I hope it will be a win for superheroes and women all around.
“Captain Marvel,” set to release in 2019, dropped its first official trailer yesterday. As expected, the Marvel Cinematic Universe fanbase went bonkers, and the video has already garnered nearly 21 million views, allowing it to snag the title of No. 1 trending video on YouTube.
Let’s break it down.
Brie Larson plays the role of Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel. She was reimagined by comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, who published “Captain Marvel #1” back in 2012. This female superhero’s tale was extremely well received by the public and eagerly devoured by Marvel executives, who sprinted straight to the drawing board, emerging with a movie script in hand.
Her tale begins in the United States Air Force, where she rose to high-ranking positions. On the side, she would engage in escapades with alien warrior Mar-Vell, also known then as Captain Marvel. She built up her superpowers during these exploits, and all of her experience prepared her to take over as the new Captain Marvel after the original passed away. What do her abilities include? Aside from super strength, a level of physical invincibility and flight, she can absorb massive amounts of energy in her hands and use the pent up fuel to release dangerously powerful blasts at her enemies. Yeah, she’s pretty sick.
Captain Marvel dealt with her own share of misogyny, even stemming from her own home. Her father refused to pay for her college education because he felt that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning and bearing children. So, Captain Marvel joined the armed forces to disprove his sexist mindset. She can do anything a man can do. And she can do it better.
So, our feisty hero has fallen to the Earth, landing in an obsolete video rental store, Blockbuster. There’s our setting clue — this movie is going to take place most likely in the 1990s, when Blockbuster was still your go-to Friday-night-in movie rental option.
The voiceover begins. It’s Nick Fury, leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Samuel L. Jackson.
“Truth be told, I was ready to hang it up. Till I met you today,” he says to Captain Marvel, strongly hinting at a Captain Marvel collaboration with S.H.I.E.L.D. Little does he know she could be the most powerful asset yet.
Next, the trailer jumps into Captain Marvel digging at her past, as she struggles to place fogged memories of her life on Earth. Will she rediscover her past?
Now, she is strutting confidently into a unearthly abode of gold, surrounded by what look like alien warrior companions. Where is she? I’m interested in seeing what the movie will reveal about the place she came from.
For just a second, we catch a glimpse of the potential enemy: the Skrulls. A species of shape-shifting aliens, they are prepared to wreak havoc on other planets.
Then we get to probably the most bizarre part of the trailer. Captain Marvel’s fist slams into the face of a sweet old lady riding the bus. It is implied that that is likely the face of a not-so-innocent shape-shifting Skrull, which would justify the action, but it is a shocking clip to watch regardless. How did she know it was a Skrull? Perhaps we can add “ability to see through shape-shifting deceits” to her list of powers.
And the trailer closes, complete with badass images of Captain Marvel in her blazing metallic suit, harnessing and controlling huge amounts of flickering, deadly energy. She looks so powerful that even the Avengers would take a step back. Captain Marvel did not come here to play.
So, plot-wise, we know that Captain Marvel will be involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. somehow, and an intergalactic alien battle may occur as she searches for hints of her past life. The plot line we gather from the trailer may be rather broad, but we know for certain that she is an empowered, feminist superhuman force, ready to destroy the evil that plagues the world.
Another notable observation regarding the trailer: There did not seem to be any obvious love interests wound into the story. Not that there is anything wrong with love, but it is refreshing to see a female superhero with a narrative that is seemingly more focused on self-discovery and empowerment rather than the pursuit of love. The lack of romance in the trailer seems to make it clear that, if love is involved, it will be a secondary storyline rather than a plot-driving occurrence.
Catch me in theaters in 2019. I have high hopes for this new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
