By Alex Welch
Hey Schmoeville!
When it comes to Comic Books, there are so many characters. There are of course the tent-poles like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, The Hulk, etc. But there’s also a lot of smaller heroes that aren’t as well known that most people (who aren’t die hard comic book fans), don’t know that much about. However, as Guardians of the Galaxy proved this summer, just because characters may not be well-known doesn’t mean you can’t fall in love with them just as easily as you could for one of the tent-poles.
One character in the Marvel universe who has been getting a lot of talk of getting her own standalone film as of late, along with a lot of rumors of having a cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron, is none other than Carol Danvers herself, Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel. Now for awhile, she was known as Ms. Marvel, but I’m going to go ahead and refer to her as Captain Marvel since she eventually earned that title and it’s how most people probably know her as.
So I thought I would go ahead and give all of you out there who may want to know more about the character, a little background and rundown on who the character is, what her powers are, and some of her history in comics, much like what I did with Black Adam a few weeks ago.
So without further ado, let’s get into it!
BACKGROUND
Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by Gene Colan, Carol Danvers first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 in 1968 as a normal human being with no powers, who was a Major in the United States Military Air Force as a Security Chief on a restricted military base. While she was there, she met Dr. Walter Lawson aka Captain Mar-vell, a White Kree alien hero. Danvers became increasingly interested in the Kree race and during her interactions with Mar-Vell, she was often abducted or injured by his enemies who used her as a hostage several times. It was during one of these instances that Danvers was pushed into a damaged Kree “Psyche-Magnitron“. When she came into contact with the device, Danvers’ genetic structure was changed forever giving her the genetic structure of a Half-Kree, although she was unaware of the changes for several months after the accident.
It was in the coming months that Carol would experience blackouts that would instantly turn her into a Kree warrior, with the Psyche-Magnitron creating a special suit for her to ease the changes (the machine’s original purpose was to turn imagination into reality). Carol eventually took on the name Ms. Marvel for her Kree side in honor of Captain Mar-Vell. This caused her to have multiple personalities, with Carol not knowing that she was Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel not knowing she was Carol.
Eventually, her mind was fully healed and she became aware of her superhero side, deciding to be a protector of mankind. She quickly began to work with The Avengers, The Defenders, and various other groups and heroes in the Marvel Universe. At one point, she was asked to join on as a member of The Avengers.
Now… here’s where things get a little bit creepy. During her first run as a member of the team, a man named Marcus takes control of Carol’s mind and convinces her that she is in love with him and takes her back to his home in a dimension called Limbo. While, there he gets her pregnant, but luckily Carol finds a way to use his time-travel device to get back to her time. When she gets back she is enraged at her fellow teammates for not being able to save her and see through Marcus’ tricks (I’d be pretty pissed too).
After this, Carol leaves the Avengers and moves to San Francisco where she loses her powers in a battle with Rogue after the mutant absorbs them all, also taking Carol’s memories as well. Rogue tries to kill her, but fails and Carol’s memories are returned to her by Professor X, although he is unable to return the emotions of her past back to her as well. After this, Carol is kidnapped by an alien named Brood who experiments on her, triggering new powers in her leading her to becoming Binary. She leaves Earth with her new cosmic abilities and joins the cosmic team of adventurers called the Starjammers.Which let’s face it, sounds like a pretty awesome team to join.
However, while Carol is in Space as Binary, the emotions linked to her memories begin to exert their force on Rogue from within, driving the mutant crazy. Eventually, Carol’s powers are returned to her and she returns to Earth, exerting all of her cosmic abilities to save the Earth from the Sun. This led to months of recuperating and healing for Carol at Avengers Mansion, where she overcame alcoholism with the help of Tony Stark, a formal court marshall hearing where she had to prove herself as a worthy member of the team, among many other tough obstacles. She remained with the team until they disbanded, where she became a member of the New Avengers.
During the House of M run in the comics, where Earth merged in a way with the House of M, Carol became the most popular superhero on Earth. This led to the return of Captain Mar-Vell, who as he lay dying named Carol as Captain Marvel. (See where this is going?) However, Carol was eventually awoken from the alternate reality and helped the others fight to get the actual reality back.
At one point, Carol was given leadership over the Mighty Avengers and continued to work with the other heroes in the Marvel Universe in their many obstacles over the time. At one point though, Captain Mar-Vell does actually return during the War with the X-Men and just like in House of M, Carol was named Captain Marvel when he died… again (Characters die a lot in comic books don’t they?).
With the new name of Captain Marvel and her powers restored, Carol continued to fight aliens and all kinds of villains and antagonists in the Marvel Universe, until at one point, her brain was fractured leading her to losing her memories…. again. This led to Captain Marvel leaving Earth, once again.
“Have you ever seen a little girl run so fast she falls down? There’s an instant, a fraction of a second before the world catches hold of her again… A moment when she’s outrun every doubt and fear she’s ever had about herself and she flies. In that one moment, every little girl flies. I need to find that again. Like taking a car out into the desert to see how fast it can go, I need to find the edge of me… And maybe, if I fly far enough, I’ll be able to turn around and look at the world… And see where I belong.”
- Carol Danvers
Don’t blame her either, she seems to always have a rough go of it every time she’s here doesn’t she?
POWERS
Captain Marvel has got some pretty awesome powers Schmoeville. Her powers include Flight which allows her to fly at high speeds, Super Strength that gives her strength above that of a normal human, Super Speed which allows her to travel at speeds that no normal human ever could, Superhuman Durability meaning her body is more durable and strong that a human’s, Superhuman Stamina which allows her to fight and perform strenuous physical activities for long hours of time without becoming tired or fatigued, Superhuman Agility which gives her the agility and coordination better than a normal human’s, Superhuman Reflexes giving her reflexes better than any human, Seventh Sense which is kind’ve like Spidey Sense and gives her the ability to predict her opponent’s moves before they happen although it is very random, Immunity meaning she isn’t susceptible to any toxins or poisons, Photonic Blasts meaning that Carol has the ability to project and fire powerful amounts of photo and light energy from her hands/fingertips, and Energy Absorption which means that Carol can absorb various types of energy that allows her to temporarily boost the strength of her powers.
Told you she’s got some pretty cool powers didn’t I? I wasn’t messing around, Captain Marvel is a serious bad ass.
WHO COULD PLAY HER?
Now, when it comes to movies/the silver screen, Captain Marvel has yet to make an appearance. However, like I said, there’s a lot of talk that we’ll be getting one soon enough. So one of the biggest questions is, who could play? Now, I think we all know who the biggest fan favorite is. It’s the Queen of Schmoeville herself, Katee Sackhoff! I mean, she’s perfect for the character, we all know that. Some other fan favorites are Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck, Katheryn Winnick (Vikings), Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Margot Robbie, Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Brit Marling (I, Origins), and more. All of which I would be more than happy with for the character, but let’s face it, Sackhoff would be the best. Not that I wouldn’t want any of the others for the role, but Katee is easily the best for the role. Just saying.
So that about does it for this showcase! I have a feeling that a lot more people will know who Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers is in the coming years, but for those of you who wanted to know a little bit more about her character without having to go and buy all of the issues she’s ever appeared in, this is for you! Marvel better hurry up and get this movie out there, not just because it’s time for them to produce a female-led standalone, but also because I really want to see this character onscreen after learning more about her. Something tells me you do too….
“Well… First there was nothing, then there was everything… Then the good Lord saw fit to bring me into the world to kick the asses of those who need it most. So get ready ’cause this day or the next, it’s coming.”
- Carol Danvers
So what do YOU think Schmoeville? Are you a fan of the character? Would you want to see a movie for the character? Or not? If so, who would you most want to play Carol Danvers in a film? I look forward to hearing your answers! Drop some comments down below, share with your friends, and let’s talk CAPTAIN MARVEL!
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