Favorite Characters: Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel (Captain Marvel)

Ah, Carol.  There are so many great elements in Captain Marvel, but I love Carol most of all.  Seeing the film, I was quickly enamored with her and left the theater admittedly starry-eyed over the newest addition to the MCU echelon of heroes.  I still think there’s no reason Marvel had to wait 11 years and 21 movies to do a female-led solo movie, but I have zero complaints about the heroine we finally got (premise spoilers.)

As I said in my review, one of the first things you notice about Carol is how much she loves her powers.  She doesn’t let her guard down when she’s in a life-or-death setting, but she clearly gets so much genuine pleasure from kicking baddie ass and showing off what she can do.  She exudes confidence, the air of a woman who knows without a doubt that she’s got this:  she’s literally glowing with power, and she’s prepared to strut.  Even though the Kree regulate and control the levels of her abilities, she’s still an amazing force to be reckoned with – seeing her finally flex her muscles to their full extent is just immensely satisfying.

Going along with that self-assurance and joy is her humor.  I adore Carol’s wisecracks, which pepper the film but never really feel like quips for quips’ sake.  There’s a sly, playful air about her, whether she’s arguing that Yon-Rogg can’t take credit for knocking her down while they spar (“I was already tripping when you just happened to punch me in the face,”) or bemusedly watching Fury McGyver their way out of a locked room when she knows she can just take out the door with a photon blast.  I love that, even though she has no memories of her past and is constantly being told by Kree culture to keep her emotions even, her light, snarky personality still shines through.

Taking a different note now, because she’s not just sunshiny all the time.  Carol likes to enjoy herself while she’s working, no doubt, but she also knows how to get down to business.  As she searches for the Skrulls on Earth and later investigates Project Pegasus, there’s such an intensity to her focus.  It’s likely influenced by her Kree training, since it feels at least mildly alien, but it’s really cool to see her flip that switch into “shit’s about to get real” mode.  She’s so sharp and searching in these moments, eyes completely on the prize, not to be deterred for anything.

Side note:  I like how she lands on Earth – as far as she knows, a completely alien environment for her – and she just immediately gets on with it.  She makes no bones about approaching people, she calmly rigs up a ‘90s Earth payphone to make contact with her Starforce spaceship, and just generally walks about like she owns the place.  Way more effective than Thor marching into a pet store demanding a horse, I’m just saying!

Lastly, everyone of course saw that falling-and-getting-back-up montage from the trailers, and it’s even cooler in the movie itself.  I love that, the idea that she’s a hero because she’s too stubborn to give up, even when she maybe should.  Her snatches of flashbacks aren’t always about showing up the guys who tell her she can’t do it – more so, they’re about her trying, reaching too far, failing, and pulling herself up to try again.  In context, that scene is just breathtaking, up there with some of my favorite “heroines recognizing their power” moments.