SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Captain Marvel, in theaters now.
After much anticipation, Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero solo film, Captain Marvel, has finally arrived.
Of course, fans already expected this latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to expand upon the franchise’s now-21-chapter mythology in a big way. Surprisingly enough, though, Captain Marvel managed to open up the doors of the MCU in ways few could have ever thought possible.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, do that first, and then follow along with us as we break down five things Captain Marvel reveals about the MCU:
The Truth About the Skrulls
In the lead up to Captain Marvel, it was believed that the primary antagonists of the film would be the shape-shifting Skrulls, led by Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos. And for good reason, too; after all, the Skrulls are largely depicted as a villainous alien race in the comic book source material.
As it turns out, though, the Skrulls in the MCU differ immensely from their comic-book-counterparts. As opposed to terrorists, the Skrulls are revealed to be refugees in search of a new home following the hostility of the Kree Empire.
The Kree, of course, have a spotted history in the MCU, so the discovery that they’re the real bad guys isn’t necessarily a huge shocker. However, it does help establish why Ronan the Accuser snapped so easily in Guardians of the Galaxy (coupled with the fact that he was so easily bested by Carol).
The Origin of the Avengers Initiative
We all remember that incredible post-credits scene in 2008’s Iron Man. “I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative,” Nick Fury said to Tony Stark, and the rest was history. In Captain Marvel, however, we learn Fury’s plan to gather gifted individuals to defend the world from global threats originally had a different name: The Protectors Initiative.
As the film comes to a close, Fury is seen writing up a draft for his “Protectors Initiative” before pausing to look at a photo of Carol from her U.S. Air Force days. He then notices the call sign emblazoned on the side of her jet that reads “Avenger,” at which point he erases the word “Protectors” from his draft and replaces it with… well, you know.
Fury & SHIELD Obtaining the Tesseract
Of the six Infinity Stones in the MCU, the one we’ve seen the most of is the Tesseract, which has appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War. Now, we can add Captain Marvel to that list, as well as cross off a mystery that’s been plaguing MCU fans since 2012: How did the Tesseract end up in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s possession in The Avengers?
If you’ll recall, the Tesseract ended up falling into the Arctic Ocean in The First Avenger and was eventually discovered by Howard Stark. It was believed that he then simply relinquished it to S.H.I.E.L.D., but there’s far more to it than that. In actuality, it was used by Dr. Wendy Lawson (aka Mar-Vell) to create a Light Speed Engine that would help end the Kree-Skrull War by allowing the Skrulls to find refuge. This plan was known as Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., a joint effort between NASA and the USAF.
Unfortunately, Mar-Vell was killed by Yon-Rogg before she could complete her work, but the Tesseract remained onboard her orbiting laboratory, where it was eventually discovered by Carol. From there, it was swallowed by Goose, who later vomited it up onto the desk of none other than Nick Fury.
Talk about a wild ride.
Fury’s Missing Eye
In Captain America: Winter Soldier, Nick Fury said, “The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” However, that’s pretty much where the mystery surrounding the S.H.I.E.L.D. director’s missing eye started and ended. Well, until now.
In Captain Marvel, Fury takes a liking to Carol’s cat Goose, who’s actually an alien known as a Flerken. Unfortunately, it turns out Goose was the “someone” Fury was referring to in Winter Soldier because while he’s cuddling up with the feline/alien, it takes a nasty swipe at him, leaving several scratch marks across his eye. Then, just a few scenes later, Coulson presents Fury with a selection of prosthetic eyeballs to choose from, as it turns out the scratch wasn’t as minor as the latter had previously believed.
Captain Marvel’s Whereabouts
If a being as powerful as Captain Marvel has existed in the MCU for over two decades, why is it she never intervened in any of the cataclysmic events we’ve seen over the course of the past 20 films? Well, as it turns out, she was on a goodwill mission.
At the end of the movie, Carol sets off to help the Skrulls find a new homeworld where they can be free of persecution by the Kree Empire. Before she leaves, though, she returns Fury’s pager to him, but with an upgrade that allows him to contact her across several galaxies. She then tells him to only use it in case of absolute necessity, which he ultimately does in Infinity War just moments before he’s dusted.
Apparently, the pager works just fine, though, because, in the mid-credits scene, Carol arrives on Earth and comes face-to-face with the Avengers, who now have the device in their possession.