After 20 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the long-awaited arrival of Marvel’s biggest female hero is finally here. Captain Marvel is the latest addition to the MCU. It is also the most welcome one if you’ve seen Avengers: Infinity War.
The film stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Ben Mendelsohn, and Jude Law. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the film follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most formidable heroes: Captain Marvel.
Set in the 1990s, Carol Danvers finds herself in the midst of a galactic war between two alien races. As she struggles to find her true self, she seeks to protect the Earth and serve for the greater good.
In the beginning, we are introduced to Hala, the center of the Kree empire. There we find Danvers, who is then known as Vers, struggling with nightmares of her unknown past. All that remains of her memories are waking up and being trained as a Kree, an alien warrior race.
The film delves a lot on embracing your identity through the lens of Carol Danvers. Throughout the film, we see her struggle between her past and present self and how that dictates her future as a soldier and hero.
However, the quest to finding yourself isn’t always pretty. It is when we seek to know ourselves that we find things we wish we didn’t. But Captain Marvel taught us that you have to embrace your full identity, the good and the bad, in order to know your purpose.
From the start, Danvers’ femininity has been tagged as a hindrance. Too emotional. Too frail. She was told to strip herself of those things in order to be the best version of herself.
But Captain Marvel showed that it is exactly the things that people pointed out as weak that made her so strong.
Because she keeps falling down, she has learned how to get up. Because she keeps being silenced, she knows how to speak for herself. Because she keeps being pushed over, she learned how to push back.
Captain Marvel wasn’t just a celebration of the resilience of women, but a celebration of humanity. It is those messy human emotions that make us the best version of ourselves.
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Finally, if there’s anything the Marvel Cinematic Universe anchors on, it is their concept of heroism. It has been said in many ways. The most famous being: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Carol Danvers has perfectly embodied what it means to serve the people before yourself. Captain Marvel is Captain Marvel not because of her powers, but because she has learned to work for the greater good above all else.
Captain Marvel is the 21st installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After 11 years, we should be used to the formula by now. Still, Marvel has a charm where even if you’ve seen the same story played a million ways, you’d keep coming back for more. It never felt boring because it felt like coming home.
Captain Marvel was the perfect way to welcome a new hero in the wide expanse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She may be new, but it felt like she has always belonged.
Whether you’ve been following the MCU since 2008 or just catching wind of it now, Captain Marvel is sure to pull you in for one hell of a ride. Catch Captain Marvel in theatres now!
Words by Angel Merced
