Marvel Comics has owned the trademark on the name, "Captain Marvel", since the 60's. It is for this reason that DC was left with no choice but to label their revival of Fawcett's orignal version as Shazam!, which is also the name of DC's next film, opening next month.
However, Marvel's handling of their Captain has been just as complicated. About a half dozen characters have used the name at Marvel over the years, including the current one, and this movie is her story.
Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) was introduced in the comics more than 50 years ago as a military investigator looking into the questionable activities of a rogue scientist, Walter Lawson. Kree soldier Mar-Vell lands on earth, and assumes the recently deceased Lawson's identity, along with the attendant investigation.
Fifty-plus years and several retcons later, Danvers has assumed the identity of Captain Marvel, having long since gained, lost, and regained powers of her own. She originally used the code name, Ms. Marvel, and was given her own series in 1976. Ms. Marvel #1, recently reprinted as part of Marvel's True Believers line, told the story of how Danvers suffered blackouts, a la the Incredible Hulk's earliest adventures, when she changed identities due to some form of amnesia.
"Captain Marvel", the movie, is based in large part on writer Kelly Sue DeConnick's revamp of Danvers in 2012. There is a homage to the original, in the form of Danvers' former mentor, Wendy Lawson, the alter-ego of the gender-flipped Mar-Vell (Annette Bening). Amnesiac Carol has been fed false memories by her Kree mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), becoming a Kree soldier herself. A torn ID tag results in her being rechristened "Vers" (pronounced "Veers"). As comics students know, Yon-Rogg is no angel, despite the fact that the Kree are locked into an eternal war with the shape-changing Skrulls.
Carol returns to earth, and, because this movie is set in 1995, meets SHIELD agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, of course) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), but in the first instance, Coulson isn't himself, having been replaced by a Skrull. The fact that the movie makes use of defunct brands such as Radio Shack and Blockbuster Video is a sort-of gag all by itself.
In effect, "Captain Marvel" is a prequel to everything we've seen over the last 11 years. and, at the same time, provides a bridge to next month's "Avengers: Endgame".
Here's the trailer:
The late Stan Lee, Carol's creator, makes an obligatory cameo, which, given the setting, has him rehearsing his lines for the movie, "Mallrats".
Other trailers, in addition to "Endgame", include:
"The Lion King" (Summer): Just because Disney's live-action remake of "The Jungle Book" made a bunch of money, the studio decides to duplicate the trick with three more ("Dumbo" & "Aladdin" are the others). James Earl Jones is the only one returning from the 1994 original, now joined by the likes of Seth Rogen.
"Amazing Grace" (April): A 1972 Aretha Franklin documentary finally sees the light of day.
"Late Night": Mindy Kaling wrote & stars in this comedy-drama about a late night host struggling with the fact that it's time for her to retire. With Emma Thompson, George Clooney and John Lithgow.
Rating: A.
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