An argument for a Captain
Marvel movie
Iron Man, Captain America, Thor,
and Hulk. They (despite of Hulk lacking
a thriving franchise right now) are the implicit “Big 4” of the Marvel
Cinematic Universe. And they are all
males. Now, there is nothing wrong with
that. But it emits some feeling of insufficiency
and imbalance. Therefore, addressing the
gender inequality by including a female presence among that pantheon is very
much welcome.
After Ant-Man, Marvel should prioritize making a movie headlined by a
superheroine.
The MCU now has Scar-Jo’s awesome
Black Widow. I love the
super-spy Black Widow. But, in my opinion, despite of the
character’s successful, kickass live-action depiction, she doesn’t quite make
the cut for a solo movie. Black Widow,
awesome she may be, is a character that doesn’t really have the qualities to
establish herself in the same page as the MCU’s Big 4. A “Black Widow” movie might turn out to be
cool, but it won’t measure up with the Captain America, Iron Man, or Thor
movies; we need a superheroine movie that would measure up with those
successful superhero franchises.
So we need a female character
that can be as big as the Big 4. Someone
that can make it a “Big 5.” She not only
need to be as smart and skilled as Black Widow – again, those qualities are
unfortunately not enough – but she need to be in the same power level with the
Hulk and Thor, must have the leadership potency of Captain America, and is as
savvy and competent as Iron Man. In
short, she should be a clear equal to these Big 4.
And there is only one obvious,
logical choice: Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel.
She is a phenomenal
character. She is super-strong and
super-durable that she will have no trouble fighting against or fighting with
the Hulk (in fact, in a recent Avengers issue, she even threw Hulk from space
to serve as a powerful projectile). She can
fly in super-fast speeds and even in outer space, so Iron Man has nothing on
her in terms of aerial combat and mobility.
She can project photonic blasts
and absorb energy to augment her own power; so if Thor hit her with lightning,
she can just absorb it, and return the force back at him as a blast of light
energy. And like Captain America, she
also has military background; and due to this, she is also a proficient pilot
(something she is very proud of), a well-trained combatant, and a competent strategist. She’s a perfect equal to the Big 4. She is truly deserving of headlining a
movie.
Moreover, she can be the “bridge”
between the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, considering that
she just recently joined the GotG’s present line-up (along with Venom), making her a
member of both teams. Bringing Captain
Marvel to the MCU now makes more sense.
She can be part of the eventual expansion of the GotG roster in the
Guardians of the Galaxy sequel and then be
in the line-up of
Avengers 3 – that
would be awesome.
At the present, Marvel is way
ahead of DC in the movie-making battle.
But if Marvel still manage to make a Captain Marvel movie before DC can
make a Wonder Woman movie, then that would not only be another big victory for
Marvel, but that would also seem like a massive slap to the face of DC for it
would demonstrate again how they still can’t properly bring their act together. That would be really funny. Even if the sole reason for making a Captain
Marvel movie is this fine chance to mess up with DC further, then that should
be worth it already.
Mar-vell should be in the movie, but he should NOT be the first
“Captain Marvel”
In the comics, the original
“Captain Marvel” superhero was a Kree alien warrior named Mar-vell. Carol Danvers became acquainted with him. One day, she was abducted by Yon-Rogg, an
alien enemy of Mar-vell. Mar-vell went
to the rescue, but during that clash, Yon-Rogg’s “psyche-magnetron” device got
damaged and exploded. Mar-vell and Carol
was caught in the blast, and the particle bombardment from the explosion
altered Carol’s genetic structure: Mar-vell’s Kree DNA got embedded onto Carol. As a result, Carol gained Kree powers and she
adopted the superhero name, “Ms. Marvel.”
That can basically serve as the
framework of the movie’s own origin sequence.
But there should be two major differences. First, Mar-vell should have his Kree warrior
background intact, but he should not be a superhero going along with a
superhero name of “Captain Marvel.”
Second, Mar-vell should die due to that blast that gave Carol her
powers.
For the sake of this movie, the
“Captain Marvel” superhero name should be taken by Carol Danvers immediately,
unlike in the comics where she went with “Ms. Marvel” for a time before
choosing to adopt the “Captain Marvel” mantel to honor the name’s original
bearer. Sure, the movie’s narrative can
point out that the origin of the “Captain Marvel” name is attributed to a pun
of “Mar-vell” (in fact, it is a good approach to do so), but Carol should be
set up as the first Captain
Marvel. That would be to the advantage
of everything in this movie, for it would establish Carol Danvers as the one
and only “Captain Marvel” and not just a successor.
In the comics, Mar-vell would
eventually end up dead anyway (that’s why Carol got the chance to get the
“Captain Marvel’ name for herself).
Therefore, keeping Mar-vell around in the movie’s story beyond the
sequence wherein Carol gained her powers would serve no purpose at all. So it’s better to kill him off after using
him as the plot device that would give Carol her powers. Moreover, his death could also serve as
Carol’s “Uncle Ben” moment, i.e. the catalyst that would compel her to become a
superhero.
The iconic Ms. Marvel costume should make a brief, early
appearance. But Carol should NOT initially go with a “Ms. Marvel” superhero name.
Again, it is imperative and
useful to the narrative for Carol Danvers to immediately go into the “Captain
Marvel” name. Therefore, there is no
need for her to debut as “Ms. Marvel” first.
Maybe the “Ms. Marvel” name can be given a fleeting mention during the
part wherein she and/or the people around her are contemplating what superhero
name she can go with. But she shouldn’t
be a “Ms. Marvel” first and then go with “Captain Marvel” later on; Carol
Danvers should be “Captain Marvel” right from the start of her superhero
career.
Nonetheless, Carol Danver’s “Ms.
Marvel” career has been pretty popular with fans. Thus, it would be much appreciated if a good
reference to it is made. The best way is
for Carol to be given the opportunity to wear the Ms. Marvel attire in the
early part of the movie wherein her Captain Marvel appearance is not yet made
definite. Fans would go crazy.
(Also, the Ms. Marvel costume was
hot. And seeing this in live-action
depiction would be a delight.)
The actress for the role
I prefer a young, capable, and charming actress – someone in her 20’s – to play the part. We would need an actress that would remain appealing in a span of around
ten years of movies – something like three Captain
Marvel movies, two Guardians of the Galaxy movies,
and two Avengers movies. I don’t have someone specific in mind at the
moment though.
Seriously, would love to see something like this in live-action: