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Who is the Villain in The Marvels? Zawe Ashton's Character Explained


Who is the Villain in The Marvels? Zawe Ashton's Character Explained
Credit: Marvel Studios

A new arrival in the MCU is the real-life fiancée of Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, who will be playing the villain in The Marvels, Dar-Benn, and her character has a lot of mystery. Who is she and what are her comic book origins?

Who is the Villain in The Marvels?

Who is the Villain in The Marvels? Zawe Ashton's Character Explained
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Credit: Marvel Studios
Who is the Villain in The Marvels? Zawe Ashton's Character Explained

Zawe Ashton will be making her full MCU debut in The Marvels where she would be playing the villain of the sequel. She will be suiting up as a gender-bent character from the comics, Dar-Benn, who is a pivotal character to the Kree lore.

The teaser of The Marvels may not have indicated her role but the official photos of the sequel, as shared by Motion Picture Association, confirmed that Zawe Ashton will, indeed, play the role of Dar-Benn which was gender-swapped for the movie.

Zawe Ashton is currently engaged with another Marvel actor, Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki, and the couple welcomed their first child in 2022. With both of them now under the same franchise, it is exciting to see whether their characters would meet at some point.

READ MORE: The Marvels Unveils First Official Poster With The New Release Date

Who is Dar-Benn? Zawe Ashton's Character in The Marvels Explained

Who is Dar-Benn? Zawe Ashton's Character in The Marvels Explained
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Credit: Marvel Comics
Who is Dar-Benn? Zawe Ashton's Character in The Marvels Explained

Dar-Benn is actually a guy from the comics who ousted after a Skrull, Clumsy Foulup, took over the empire of the Kree. He ruled alongside Ael-Dan as co-emperor, and Deathbird murdered them both, before their minds were taken into the Supreme Intelligence.

The teaser of The Marvels reveal that Dar-Benn wields two familiar weapons -- the Kree Cosmi-Rod which was also used by Ronan the Accuser as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and it seemingly hints that it is Dar-Benn who replaced Ronan after his defeat.

Dar-Benn also possesses the second bangle, the other half of Kamala's, and being Kree, it makes it possible that the bangles could be Nega-Bands, ancient relics from the Kree empire that whosoever wears it gains powers like energy manipulation and super strength.

How Dar-Benn got ahold of the second bangle remains a question but it is theorized that since it is a Kree relic, she is using it as her weapon aside from the Kree Cosmi-Rod.

See Zawe Ashton's Dar-Benn in The Marvels in theaters on November 10, 2023.

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