I describe the reason why I enjoy comics so much is because comics are just like tv. They are episodic, run in arcs and seasons, and leave you with cliffhangers you know they may or may not (looking at you, Lost) wrap up in the next season.
Avengers: Infinity War is the ultimate season finale to a show that has been running for 10 years. Since I think we are entering a new era of franchise films, an era where creators don’t care about catering to fan service, how are we to predict what could possibly happen next? Filmed concurrently with Avengers 4–which we won’t know the title until July, and for good reason–this two part “episode” is the darkest that the MCU has ventured. This ending is bleak. Impossible to come back from.
Nick Fury has a save, though. A fail-safe for a “code red” event.
What justifies a code red? Apparently, a metaphysical event he can’t immediately write off as “aliens.”
In the post-credits scene, as we watch Nick Fury disintegrate, we watch him use a piece of outdated tech with a Marvel upgrade. A beeper with an assortment of lights and a color screen. He sends a distress signal, and the confirmation screen? A Hala star, quickly decorated with red and blue.
Captain Marvel is our savior for a code red. But that leaves us with more questions than answers:
Who is she?
Where is she?
Why did he?
How will she?
Let’s load up our question gun and go huntin’ for some answers!
Who is she?
Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, has gone through several iterations in the comics. Starting as Ms. Marvel, evolving into Binary and Warbird, and finally settling into the role of Captain Marvel. For the MCU, we will not need to worry about any of her previous aliases.
An Air Force pilot, Danvers falls in association with Walter Lawson. Lawson is a Kree spy sent to Earth, who’s real name is Mar-Vell (he also goes by Captain Marvel, we’ll get to it in a minute). After she is kidnapped by Mar-Vell’s enemy Yon-Rogg, she and Mar-Vell are caught in an explosion of the Psyche-Magnetron. This explosion melds her DNA with Mar-Vell’s Kree DNA and gives her powers as well as all of Mar-Vell’s Kree knowledge and training.
She goes on to spend time on Earth with the Avengers and other groups as Ms. Marvel, but in recent iterations, she reluctantly takes the mantle from her former partner, Captain Marvel.
Where is she?
In the MCU, she is likely on the Kree planet Hala.
When set photos surfaced of Brie Larson in the Captain Marvel suit, fans were surprised to see the suit wasn’t red, blue, and gold. Her suit was…green. The solution that seemed to satisfy most people was this was just a placeholder, and the traditional colors would be added by CGI in post-production.
But if she has been holed up on Hala, the green suit makes sense. Kree military uniforms are green, and it’s possible she is involved with the Kree military as her film synopsis alludes to Earth being caught in the middle of the Kree-Skrull war.
Why did he?
Captain Marvel’s movie is set to take place in the 90’s. The last time Nick Fury probably saw her was in the 90’s, which would explain the pager device he uses to call her. But why is this pager saved until just now, and not used in other cataclysmic events like the attack in the first Avengers movie?
Because he knows how powerful she is. He knew the original Avengers team could handle a situation like the attack on New York.
Kevin Feige has said in interviews that Captain Marvel will be the most powerful hero we’ve encountered, so it is possible Fury was holding this card close to his chest in case of absolute necessity.
How will she?
This is the big question surrounding the plot of Avengers 4. My theory is since the gauntlet did its job (handle the power of all six Infinity Stones) and is now unusable, Earth needs something or rather someone to be able to hold all six. Enter Captain Marvel.
What better character to be able to use all six stones at once? She will be the MCU’s most powerful character, it is likely she will be the key to either freeing everyone from Soulworld or reversing the damage done by Thanos. This also allows for the opportunity to explore what happens when Captain Marvel goes Binary and turns her powers up to 11.
From here, I’ve heard theories aplenty about how she makes it to Earth to help undo the damage: Dr. Strange portals her through or Ant-Man and the Wasp utilize the quantum realm to reach her. Either way, I am looking forward to Avengers 4: Danvers To The Rescue coming out May 2019.
Looking to get a head start on Captain Marvel’s backstory? I, an obsessive, will tell you to start here. But, if you’re looking for something that will tie in more closely with her MCU space journey, I recommend checking out her story from here.