One thing has been made clear with the trailers and promotional spots ofThe Marvels: there are many elements that need to be refreshed before seeing the film. Firstly,The Marvelsis a sequel toBrie Larson’sCaptain Marvel, a film that was released four years ago. Secondly, the movie will be Marvel Studios’ ultimate test of its new formula – meshing the films with the Disney+ TV shows. Sure, everything within the MCU is connected and all the streaming service’s series include characters that have jumped to and from the movies. However,The Marvels,in particular,is the first one to fully rely on the audience having watchedMs. Marvelto get to knowIman Vellani’s Kamala Khan,Secret Invasionto know what Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the Skrulls have been up to, andWandaVisionto get reintroduced to an older Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and her newly-acquired superpowers. With an already palpablesuperhero film fatigue,The Marvelsistrying to be sold as a fresh experiencethat will also give enough information on its newcomers to those who didn’t watch the shows. But, will it work?
Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.
What Is ‘The Marvels’ About?
So, many things lead up toThe Marvels, but what exactly is its premise? WhereasCaptain Marvelintroduced Larson’s Carol Danvers, the sequel now sets her up to involuntarily join forces with Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau.Forming an unofficial superheroine team, Danvers, Khan, and Rambeau have to figure out why they exchange places every time they use their powers.This was teased in the finale ofMs. Marvel, when a post-credits scene shows Kamala’s bangle start to glow, with her inadvertently switching places with none other than her hero, Captain Marvel herself.
From what we’ve seen inthe trailer forThe Marvels, Monica is working alongside Nick Fury in the S.A.B.E.R. space station, where she comes in touch with a rare energy field that entangles her in the place-switching dynamic. She will also be embracing her super-powered self byusing the name Photon as her superhero alias. Besides having to find a remedy to this weird phenomenon, the trio will also have to face a new enemy:Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Bennis seeking revenge against Carol for reasons to be revealed. Korean actorPark Seo-joonis also set to staras Prince Yan, an ally of Carol from the planet Aladna.
‘Captain Marvel’ Introduced Brie Larson As Carol Danvers
Back in 2019, Carol Danvers had her live-action debut inher own feature film,Captain Marvel. It’s been a while and the 90s flashback adventure only explores the origins of the cosmic heroine. Originally thinking she was part of the Kree alien race, Carol’s memories slowly start to unravel, revealing that she’s a human who gained cosmic powers thanks to the Tesseract. An encounter withthe Skrulls–the shapeshifting alien race and rivals of the Kree– brings her back to Earth. There, she learns that the Skrulls are not the enemy but rather the Kree, with whom she serves as a member of the Starforce. This leads her to rebel against her leader Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) and forces her to destroy part of the Kree army led by Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace), that’s been trailing the Skrulls.
Carol’s brief team-up with Nick Fury inCaptain Marvelinspires him to start developing the Avengers Initiative. Even though she motivates the creation of Earth’s most powerful defenders, nothing is known about her between 1995 and her return in 2018 after Thanos’s (Josh Brolin) snap. Further appearances of the character are short and don’t give much information on her solo adventures, such as when she arrives at the end of the Battle of Earth inAvengers: Endgameto help turn the tide of the war. Later, she appears briefly in the post-credits scene ofShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, forming part of some sort of committee along with Wong (Benedict Wong) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) that helps keep track of anomalies that could threaten Earth’s safety again.The Marvelsis hoping that this is enough to keep us on the Carol bandwagon.
The MCU’s ‘Ms. Marvel’ Leads Directly to ‘The Marvels’
Explaining who Vellani’s Kamala Khan is might be complicated for audiences who haven’t watchedMs. Marvel. The short six-episode season is easily bingeable, but thatdidn’t motivate audiences to watch it upon its release. Marvel knows this, and the studio is trying to amp up the hype byadding the show to broadcast network programmingthrough ABC. The basics for understanding Kamala Khan are briefly teased in the currently airing promo spots forThe Marvels:She’s Captain Marvel’s #1 fan, her light-based powers tie her to the team (as well as the whole place-switching dilemma), she’s a willing fighter, and she’s the member of the group that appeals the most to a Gen Z audience.
The MCU’s version of Kamala is very faithful to her essence but, as with any adaptation, some creative liberties are taken to make it their own. Her comic book powers allow her to stretch and make parts of her body bigger, with her characteristic giant fist taking center stage.Kamala’s powers are reinterpreted in the MCUas being light-based, with her being able to create her giant fist (and other tools) by the solidifying of light. Kamala’s origins as an inhuman are completely ignored while incorporating the recent retcon from the comics indicates her powers come from a mutation instead. This makes her the first major mutant in the MCU.Ms. Marvelleads directly toThe Marvels, so it’s up to directorNia DaCostato make this workfor those who didn’t watch the show.
Nick Fury From ‘Secret Invasion’ and Monica Rambeau From ‘WandaVision’ Are Key Players in ‘The Marvels’
In an interesting twist,Captain Marvelshows the Skrulls as being the good guys. It redeems them in the eyes of Marvel fans who have always read them as antagonists, and it’s a smart commentary on a very current political context –they’re just people in search of a place to call home. The film’s ending sees Carol taking off with them in an effort to find them a planet to live on. Something goes very wrong along the way, as the plotline is revisited in this 2023’sSecret Invasionwithnot-so-stellar results. Led byKingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik, a Skrull rebel faction tries to conquer Earth, turning the alien race into villains without much depth. Nick Fury comes out of his sabbatical to face this threat and, with the help ofsome very powerful friends, is able tocome out victorious in the end. This shake-up makes Fury realize the world needs him to stay safe, andhe ends up returning to the S.A.B.E.R. space station, where his team of good Skrulls awaits.
A young Monica Rambeau (played byAkira AkbarandAzari Akbar) is introduced inCaptain Marvel, as the daughter of Carol’s friend, Maria (Lashana Lynch). Years later we see her again inWandaVision, mourning her mother who died of cancer during the Blip, and now working for S.W.O.R.D. to investigate the mysterious hex caused by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Monica’s bravery and kindness make her determined to solve the Westview mystery and help Wanda. Thiscrossing to and from the hex imbues Monica with superhuman powers, which arelightly explored in the seriesand now make her a main player ofThe Marvels.WandaVision’s finale’s mid-credits scene shows Monica being summoned by an agent who reveals herself as a Skrull, saying she’s been summoned by a friend of her mother’s, which we’re 99% sure refers to Fury.
‘The Marvels’ Asks a Lot of Its Audience, Requiring Extensive Knowledge of Many MCU Projects
The Marvels’ties to multiple franchises make it a challenge for Marvel Studios and audiencesalike.Captain Marvelwas a commercial and critical success, plus it didn’t require the audience to know too much about its central characters. The sequel is now relying not only on the audience being familiar with the first film, but also with two whole TV shows, plus post-credits scenes that add to the lore. Marvel’s impressive interconnectivity, this time around, has the potential to harm the movie’s performance. Nevertheless,The Marvelsfeatures three wildly different and wholly compelling protagonists, so we can’t say the film doesn’t have potential. We’re just days away from knowing whether or notThe Marvelswill engage audiences, so time will tell if the charm of its leads is enough to help the movie succeed, and will surely give an indication of what the future holds for Marvel Studios and The Multiverse Saga.
