Ok, let’s talk about that scene.
Like the inevitability of something exploding in Avengers: Infinity War, here’s our spoiler alert warning. Again, spoiler alert warning. Ok, consider this to be your third spoiler alert warning.
A fourth spoiler alert, really? Ok.
“You think you’re the only superhero in the world?”
In 2008, as Nick Fury introduced himself to Tony Stark at the very end of Iron Man, it’s clear that Samuel J. Jackson’s character has met superheroes before and as Infinity War ended, we finally know who Fury encountered before the Avengers were even assembled, Captain Marvel.
Of course, any self-respecting comic book fan knew that’s who Fury was frantically paging (yes, that old school technology was used) as Thanos – quite literally – turned half the world to ash and dust, but with such a plethora of information to decipher from the 160 mins of Infinity War, one question remained unasked by most film fans.
If Nick Fury knew about Captain Marvel all along, why was she not helping the Avengers during the Battle of New York, the crisis in Sokovia, the events of Civil War, or in any of the standalone films?
Where was Carol Danvers?
To unravel things, let’s look at what’s to come.
It’s clear that Captain Marvel is going to be a big deal in the MCU and she’s going to have a lot to do with how the remaining Avengers defeat Thanos. Come on, like Marvel is going to throw away a billion-dollar franchise like Black Panther?
We already know that the Brie Larson-led Captain Marvel movie is set in the ‘90s and that it’s going to feature Nick Fury and Ronan the Accuser (the baddie from Guardians of the Galaxy that Star-Lord defeated in a dance-off).
We also know that Ronan was an ally of Thanos before he betrayed the demigod and used the power stone to conquer Xandar for himself. FYI, during Infinity War, we’re told that Thanos invaded Xandar and took the stone for himself.
On that note, it’s fair to assume that Thanos probably has something to do with the events in Captain Marvel.
We also know that at one point in his past Thanos nearly turned away from his destiny. In the post credit scene, Fury hears something like the energy levels in Wakanda are 10 times higher than what happened during the Battle of New York. Rather than call any of the Avengers, he tries to contact Captain Marvel instead. Why? Perhaps because he knows she has come up against Thanos before.
In that sense, given the fact that she – hypothetically – has information that can be used against Thanos, it makes sense for Fury to keep her out of harm’s way. Perhaps Captain Marvel was the person that previously prevented Thanos from achieving his destiny – he mentioned that line to Gamora in Infinity War.
In terms of Captain Marvel’s powers, she’s got super strength, flight, energy manipulation, and more. Marvel’s President Kevin Feige said “she will be by far the most powerful character we’ve ever introduced [into the MCU],” in a 2016 interview, so she’s a really big deal.
Regarding Fury, it’s also telling that outside of the WWII era of Captain America fighting Red Skull, the earliest heroes that he could’ve come into contact with would be Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, the original Ant-Man and Wasp. What’s the next standalone Marvel film to be released? Ant-Man and The Wasp and we’re supremely confident that this film will delve into the Quantum Realm – after all, that’s where Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) wife, Janet, was lost to in 1987.
Could this also be where half the of the ‘dead’ cast of Avengers: Infinity War are also? After all, the synopsis for the film reads: “Ant-Man joins forces with the Wasp on an urgent new mission to uncover secrets from the past.”
Also, since the Time Stone is now in Thanos’ possession, the living Avengers will have to find another way to bend reality and turn back time if they’re hoping to bring everyone back in one piece.
What’s also intriguing is the fact that leaked images from the set of Avengers 4 have also hinted at time travel.
FYI, note that Captain America’s costume is the one that he used prior to The Winter Soldier.
https://twitter.com/AlfredMurphy5/status/951242477067014145
And here is where things get really interesting because it appears that one character is destined to be introduced, Adam Warlock.
In the comics, Warlock enlisted the aid of the Avengers, Captain Marvel, and Moondragon to stop Thanos. With this in mind, we’re willing to bet good money that Carol Danvers will meet Adam Warlock in the Captain Marvel film.
Hell, Warlock was even mentioned in the post-credit sequence for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.
Clip via – JoBlo Superheroes
In fact, the writers of Infinity War, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, even said that they had to cut Warlock out of the script for Infinity War.
“We didn’t introduce Adam Warlock, because it’s a massive backbend and you practically have to make an Adam Warlock movie to introduce him. He just can’t walk onscreen. So, there was a brief moment where we were like, Ehhh…, and then we were like- (He points to the movie’s poster). We have that many characters already! And then there were others we couldn’t use. Like, Silver Surfer would have been useful, but we can’t touch him. Currently.”
Currently.
As my colleague Rory Cashin outlined here, there are three possible directions that the Infinity War saga can go in, but we’re certain that the concepts of time travel and the Quantum Realm are going to be very prominent.
We’ll know a bit more when Ant-Man and the Wasp is released on Friday 6 July.
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