At San Diego Comic Con, it was announced that Captain Marvel will be set in the 1990’s. In this piece, I’d like to explore the possibilities (and personal wish list) of who is in the film and what exactly our mighty Captain is up to! As well as explore the setting of the film.
Who would I like to see in the film aside for Carol Danvers and Nick Fury?
- Peggy Carter- Director of SHIELD
- Abigail Brand- Director of SWORD
- Monica Rambeau/Spectrum
- Doctor Walter Lawrence/Mar-Vell
Setting:
Though principal photography is in California, I don’t think the story of the film will be primarily set in California if MCU is following canon. Carol is originally from Boston, MA until she joins the Air Force. Given who Carol’s villains are in this film, I’d assume space will play a very large role in the setting as well.
Space, SHIELD Headquarters/base, SWORD base, Air Force bases, and the city that they decided Carol resides in, which could likely be New York, will round out the setting for this film.
What is Carol Doing in the ’90s?
Carol is a working woman! She has had a wide variety of careers throughout her life in Marvel comics history. However, her most notable careers are working for NASA, and of course her military career that lead to her ranking as a colonel in the Air Force. Which I believe are the career paths that will be the focus of her character in first film.
Carol is the best in her class at the Air Force and moves up through the ranks fairly quick. Assuming the writers have gone in this direction for the film, I could see Carol’s impressive military skills at a young age catching the eye of government agencies- especially SHIELD and NASA. Carol could be hired by NASA and not aware that SHIELD is teaming with NASA after some disturbing reports regarding space.
SHIELD’S Role in the Film and Why Would Peggy Recruit Carol?
With the announcement that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) will be in Captain Marvel, it’s definitely safe to say that SHIELD will have some sort of presence in this film. However, I’d like to believe that another familiar face from the MCU will be the Director of SHIELD in this film and that’s Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
Peggy Carter and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) are the founders of SHIELD. It’s canon in the MCU that Nick Fury knew Howard Stark. Peggy does eventually retire as we all know, but this film could be her last hurrah, showing her as the Director of SHIELD. I’d like to see Peggy not only recruit Carol as a SHIELD Agent, but also pass the torch of SHIELD Director down to Nick Fury.
Carol is pretty awesome and shares a lot in common with Peggy Carter. Both are young women who are damn good at what they do, they are willing to follow their dreams despite what men think (even family), and they both have strength and courage. Though their time working together would be short, Peggy would want to help push Carol to her fullest potential. And Peggy would make a great mentor.
What is SWORD?
SWORD stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department. They are a subdivision of SHIELD and only deals with protecting earth from threats from outer space. In the comics, Abigail Brand is the director of SWORD. With the threat of the Skrulls trying to come to Earth, Carol would be the one to help Abigail and the rest of the SWORD Team.
Monica Rambeau/Spectrum would also be working for SWORD. Monica has cosmic powers. Personally, I’d prefer if both Monica and Carol get recruited to help SWORD at the same time. The two would become friends and great working partners kicking Skrull butt.
How does Carol get her powers in this film?
Screenwriter Nicole Perlman has stated she was reworking Captain Marvel’s origin story to avoid any similarities to Green Lantern. I think Carol should get her powers in an explosion that kills Doctor Walter Lawson (the original Captain Marvel from the comics) while she is working at NASA. His Kree blood/DNA would somehow fuse with her blood/DNA in the explosion would give her powers.
It would be interesting if she had to deal with the PTSD after the explosion, as well as learning how to use and control her powers, while also having to save the Earth from an invasion of the Skrulls.
There is one question though that seems to be on many people’s mind though which is:
Where has Carol been since the 90s?
If Carol has been around since the 1990’s where has she been in the other MCU films? Maybe she’s been busy working with Abigail Brand and the rest of the SWORD to keep the Skrulls away from Earth. Maybe she played a part in the Skrull vs Kree war. That to me is the most obvious option. Also, Carol’s powers do slow down her aging process which would explain why she hasn’t aged or hasn’t changed much since the 1990s.
Another possibility is that with the eye of Agamotto Doctor Strange is able to use a time stone to find Carol and recruit to help in the fight against Thanos. She could also possibly be in some sort of cryogenic sleep. And the last possibility that is maybe she’s been in a time lock that keeps her trapped in the same moment. It’s a comic book movie- anything can happen.
Honorable Mentions:
What else could help Captain Marvel capture the spirit of the 90’s? The soundtrack being filled with awesome 90’s rock, pop, and R&B songs. It would also be fun to see Carol’s fashion sense being somewhere between Clueless and grunge. Plus, we have to throw in some Star Wars t-shirts right? Carol does after all name her cat Chewie. It would also be fun to see Carol’s best friend, Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman make an appearance the film as well.
In Conclusion:
There are so many possibilities with how Carol can get her powers and how she will be brought into the final fight against Thanos. The timeline of her story is going to be an interesting shake up of the Marvel Universe.
What are your hopes for the Captain Marvel film? Are you digging the idea of the movie being set in the 1990’s? Let us know in the comments below!
Captain Marvel will be released on March 8th, 2019.