Hero Profile: Captain Marvel

I was having lunch with my big sister the other day and asked her if there was a specific character she was interested in that I should cover for her. She didn’t give me a specific character, but suggested that I do a few more of the ladies. To which I said, “I’d love to Amy, but my issue is that comic books and superheroes are a lot like the US Congress, there are few women, a few different colored people, but the vast majority are white dudes.” But, she’s right. I’ve written eighty or so posts, and of the fifty odd profiles I’ve done, I can count the number of in-depth hero/villain profile where the focus is a woman on one hand. And I’m against that. Superheroing (is that a verb? Whatever, a conversation for another time) knows no gender, and I would like my nieces to have gals with superpowers to look up to. This is what gave me the idea for my next two theme weeks. The end of December/beginning of January theme week will be the women of Marvel, and the end of January/beginning of February theme week will be the women of DC. Fourteen of the best and brightest of the arguably inaccurately named fairer sex. That’ll get things closer to even. There is still a glass ceiling, but I’m going to do my best to crack it. So, without further ado, Carol Danvers.

She will not hesitate to pop you
in the mouth.

US Air Force/NASA officer Carol Danvers was given the position of Security Chief of a restricted military base. There she met Dr. Walter Lawson and the two hit it off. Little did Danvers know that Lawson was really Captain Mar-Vell, an alien spy sent from the Kree Empire. His job was to study the human space program and determine how dangerous we could be to a Kree invasion. Lawson had grown to like the human race, and was doing his best to convince his people to not attack us. His Colonel Yon-Rogg, a jealous son of bitch, decided to take matters into his own hands. Yon-Rogg set up a Kree super-bomb and set it off. Danvers was nearly caught in the explosion, but was saved by Mar-Vell at the last second. The energy from the explosion caused Danvers DNA to mix with Mar-Vell’s, turning her into a Kree-Human hybrid.

After spending a few years recovering from the injuries she sustained, she resurfaced as Ms. Marvel. She spent the next several decades popping up, in her own short lived series, with the Avengers and other Marvel teams, and alongside her counterpart Captain Mar-Vell. She disappeared for about a year in another dimension before resurfacing in New York. Rather than getting a heroes welcome from her Avenger’s teammates, she is instead attacked by the mutant Rogue. During their fight, Rogue grabs Danvers. You probably know what happens next. Rogue absorbs Danvers’ powers, but she doesn’t let go. She hold on for so long that she permanently absorbs Danvers’ powers and memories. Charles Xavier later helps restore Danvers’ mind, and later develops new powers. She’s went by Binary for a time, and later Warbird before returning to being Ms. Marvel.

Do you think she feels hot or cold?

During the Civil War storyline of 2006-07 she sided with the government and become the second biggest advocate for the Superhuman Registration Act, just barely under spokesperson Tony Stark. She spent most of that time leading a cover strike team called Operation: Lightning Storm. The teams primary goal was to stop superhuman threats before they became world problems. After the Civil War ended, battling a Skrull posing as the deceased Captain Mar-Vell and then Mystique and a clone of Captain Mar-Vell, Danvers finally takes up the mantle of Captain Marvel. After nearly fifty years of being the powerful but underrated Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers finally takes up the title that I would say she earned back in the 80s. She’s recently joined the Guardians of the Galaxy along with Agent Venom. Should be fun, right?

While her various power sources have changed over the years, her powers have remained more or less the same for the course of her career. The Kree DNA in her gives Danvers immense strength, stamina and endurance. She can also fly at roughly six times the speed of sound, and absorb crazy amounts of energy. She can discharge energy from her hands, power enough to punch holes in steel. Apparently she can withstand about 92 tons of pressure, hit with about that much force, and according to super scientist Hank Pym, that’s not even her limit. She also is highly resistant to drugs and poisons. She is also a trained hand-to-hand combatant, marksman, and an exceptional covert operative. That makes two, we just need one more super deadly woman to make “You fight like a girl,” a compliment.

Is this a superhero costume or
a exotic dancer's get-up?

This might seem a little sexist, but let’s talk about her costume for a second. I know, I haven’t done this with any of the male character, but Danvers’ costume has gone through so many odd design choices that I just need to call attention to it. Her first costume was essentially a one-piece swimsuit with gloves, boots, and a scarf around her hip. Her next costume was a full top with a scarf, but bikini bottoms… Why, people? Just why? Guys, I get it. I’m a dude too, and I know that we like to ogle women. Be they real, or fictional, there’s usually at least a small group of men with their eyes glued to their…personal bits. But could we a little less obvious about it? Though, it might be these early costumes that help me really appreciate her Captain Marvel costume. It’s essentially a color swapped version of Mar-Vell’s costume, with a scarf around the hip to add a bit of flair. It’s a great homage to the original Captain, and yet still a costume that is uniquely Carol Danvers’.

Despite being a Marvel character since the 1960s, Carol Danvers has made very few appearances. I blame the idiots that think dudes can relate to female characters, and think only guys watch superhero related material.

As a matter of fact, the first time Carol Danvers made any appearance in a Marvel series was in the 90s X-men: the Animated Series. And she’s only a guest star. And she’s the villain for most of the episode. I’m shaking my head. The episode in question is “A Rogue’s Tale,” in it, we see a bit of Rogue’s past. This includes her time with the Brotherhood, her training with her adoptive mother Mystique, and her encounter with Ms. Marvel. Under Mystique’s encouragement, Rogue held on long enough to take Ms. Marvel’s powers permanently. Understandably, the bit of Danvers’ mind that got sucked in as well was pissed. She spent the time attacking Rogue in her dreams. Rogue eventually pacifies Danvers’ angry wraith, and closes the episode by visiting the comatose Ms. Marvel. She also tells the hospital staff her name.

New look is the best look.

She appeared in one episode of the first season of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The episode “459” retells the story of how Carol gains her powers. The episode ends with Danvers floating three feet off her hospital bed in an aura of energy. She returns for the second season and becomes the second woman recruited for the Avengers. She almost single handedly takes on a Skrull team posing as the Avengers. She gets a little backup from Black Panther and his army. She is awesome.

The Captain Marvel version of Carol Danvers will appear in a movie of the same name in July 2018. Now listen, Marvel ad people, all you need to do is show Carol Danvers blasting a Kree warship out of the sky, and I guarantee you a sold out show. Nothing is really known about this movie just yet, but I hope it’s good. I’ll let you know in about…three years. Damn.

Carol Danvers is an interesting character. She’s cool, disciplined, and yet not above blasting something when her emotions run high. She’s a patriot that is willing to fight her friends and allies for causes she believes in, as shown during the Civil War story. She’s fluctuated between being a feminist icon and the polar opposite of a feminist icon. While in the 70s she was the first female characters to demand equal pay for women in her civilian identity, the first part of the 80s had her… no other word for it, raped, and had her passively follow her rapist into another dimension. This storyline was eventually written out of continuity but it was a thing. She was a character that spent most of her time on the sidelines, but in the last few years has really stepped up as a character. She can go toe to toe with the biggest foes in Marvel, and I’d like to think she’ll grow in popularity over the next few years, particularly after her movie comes out. Here’s a salute to Carol Danvers, the blonde, blasting, bruiser Captain Marvel. Next time, the weather witch of the X-men, Storm.

 http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131212210646/marveldatabase/images/2/29/Captain_Marvel_Vol_8_1_Textless.jpg

 http://comiccrossroads.wikia.com/wiki/Carol_Danvers_%28Earth-101012%29

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Carol_Danvers_%28Earth-616%29

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Danvers#Film