Four Ways 'Captain Marvel' Could Seriously Impact the MCU

The first theory doesn’t have roots in the Captain Marvel first-look photos at all. It comes from an Easter Egg in Avengers: Infinity War. When the film hit digital retailers, fans pored over each frame, looking for new information. One of them comes early on in the film when Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian (two of Thanos’ goons) confront Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, and Wong. If you zoom in on Cull Obsidian’s belt, you can see a cloth hanging from his waist. Said cloth is very similar to the outfit that Captain Marvel wears (which was teased at the end of Infinity War, when Nick Fury pulled out that pager).

The easy (and wrong) thought is that “oh, Captain Marvel takes place in the ‘90s; this must mean Cull Obsidian must have murdered her and we won’t even see her in the modern Marvel films.” What’s more likely is that a previous Captain Marvel did battle with Cull Obsidian, lost, and Cull took a piece of their outfit as a souvenir. Could that battle be something we see in Captain Marvel? It’s possible; this film will not only show us a young Nick Fury, but Ronan (who was the main villain in Guardians of the Galaxy) will also play a part in Captain Marvel. It’s something to stick a pin in, at least.

From June of 2008 to January of 2009, the Marvel Comics universe was fighting a major war against the Skrulls, an alien race who possess the power of shapeshifting, effectively allowing them to become anyone. These sleeper agents infiltrated the Earth, with some key Marvel figures actually being revealed to be Skrulls. Seeds for the “Secret Invasion” storyline were laid in Marvel books almost a year prior to the crossover event, and the mere sight of the Skrulls in Captain Marvel has fans wondering if the Secret Invasion, like Marvel’s “Civil War” and “Infinity War” comic book events, will be the next crossover to hit the silver screen.

Some fans have gone further, even speculating that we could be getting the Secret Invasion as quickly as Avengers 4, although that feels like a lot of story that’d need to be provided in Captain Marvel as well as time spent un-disappearing MCU heroes in Avengers 4. That said, this could be a longer play, similar to how the Infinity Stones were laced through the first 10 years of MCU films. We already know that Talos (who is played by Ben Mendelsohn) is a leader of a Skrull team, and that we’ll see that the Skrulls have infiltrated SHIELD. Maybe we’ve already seen a Skrull in the MCU and just didn’t realize it yet.

This is one of the bigger mysteries going into Captain Marvel. As of right now, Marvel is not revealing much in the way of who Law’s character is. Speculation has been that Law was portraying Mar-Vell, the Kree who (in the comics) is the one who’s DNA accidentally fused with Carol Danvers, granting her the abilities that turn her into Captain Marvel. Even the Captain Marvel Wikipedia page (we know, we know) has Law listed as playing Captain Mar-Vell / Walter Lawson. Danvers and Mar-Vell are both members of the Kree military team Starforce, so we can imagine he’s Carol’s mentor. New details on his character reveal that their relationship might not be as cut-and-dry as you’d think.

“There’s a lot and back and forth that comes with the two of them, which kind of creates a little bit of tension with the rest of Starforce,” Larson told Entertainment Weekly. “Like, ‘Why do they have a special relationship, and why isn’t it me?’”

How will this all flesh out? Option A finds Law playing Mar-Vell, who guides Carol into utilizing her powers. Option B? He bites it early, which would be a major motivator for Carol to figure out what her place in this universe is. Option C has him actually being the real Big Bad of the film. Maybe as a Skrull sleeper agent. Maybe just envious of how powerful Carol might become. There’s a reason Marvel is being so guarded with who Law is playing.

One of the softer reveals was a photo featuring Maria “Photon” Rambeau, a pilot who was a close friend of Carol’s. It’s hard to tell how deep we’ll get to know Maria, but comic fans got excited to see the name Rambeau, as Maria has a daughter, Monica. In the comics, Monica has not only held the powers of Mar-Vell herself (we told you that a lot of people were once Captain Marvel), but she’s even been a part of the Avengers. She’s also used the name “Photon,” although lately she’s been known as Spectrum, utilizing her powers to turn herself into any form of energy.

That’s not to say that Monica Rambeau will play a huge part in Captain Marvel; that’s a LOT of story to put together. That said, this could be the first seed planted in the MCU to bring such a mega power to the forefront; the fact that she’s African American is also pretty dope for a film series that is so white and male.