“Captain Marvel” and The History of Women in Comics

Up until recently, women in comic books and their movie adaptations have been oversexualized and made in a way the benefits the straight male audience rather than serving as role models for the young women watching. After “Wonder Woman” came out in 2017, it changed the way movie makers and audiences alike see women in superhero movies. Movie makers saw that they could make superhero movies with a female lead and have that film be successful. Now, a new big superhero movie has come out with a female lead, “Captain Marvel”, which was released on March 8, and features Brie Larson playing the main hero.

Before the modern technology that allows us to watch movies and read online, there were story books. Often times old folklore and fairytales are seen as the original superhero stories, but the first comic superheroes appeared in the early 1900s. The first female superhero to appear in a comic didn’t happen until February 1940, and was named Fantomah, “Mystery Woman of the Jungle”. Before this, women had roles in comic books that were secondary, either characters where their career was their entire personality (Nellie the Nurse), or love interests to the main superhero. The first widely recognized female superhero is Detective Comics’ Wonder Woman, debuting in 1941. Wonder Woman became an American cultural icon, and she is constantly referenced in other media like TV and books. While Captain Marvel’s influence doesn’t spread as widely as Wonder Woman’s, the film is changing that by being Marvel’s first female hero to get a solo film.

Marvel introduced us to a new alien planet and species in their film “Captain Marvel”. An amnesiac named Vers, played by Brie Larson, is training on the planet Hala to join “Noble warrior heroes”, the Kree. If you’re a casual Marvel fan or someone who only watches the movies, the plot might be a little difficult to pick up on. You need to figure out two alien races pretty quickly, as the film doesn’t give an in-depth explanation for the Kree and the Skrulls. The Kree are led by an artificial intelligence called the Supreme Intelligence. Vers is mentored by a Kree named Yon-Rogg, played by Jude Law, who is preparing her to fight against the shapeshifting race of Skrulls. The Skrulls have the ability to look like anyone, which creates a wave of uncertainty as you watch the film. Vers and her adversaries end up on Earth in 1995, which is when the story really begins. Vers starts to regain past memories of being a test pilot named Carol Danvers.

There’s a lot going on in this movie, from backstory flashbacks, to emphasis on Carol’s toughness. At times, the film seemed like it was trying so hard to show how strong she is that her backstory got pushed to the side a little. While her backstory is there, it feels like a lot may have been cut out of it. But, there are some great moments between Carol and Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson’s character, that add some humor to what would otherwise be a more serious film. Their banter and Carol’s interactions with her best friend, Maria Rambeau (played by Lashana Lynch), make some of the best moments in the film as they give the audience a glance at her humanity and shows that there is more to her than the warrior originally presented to us.

Carol Danvers’ final battle gives a lasting and powerful message about what could happen if we stop believing the people who tell us we’re too emotional or too weak. Captain Marvel says that, when we stop looking for approval, we can become stronger than ever. This is not another girl-power cliché; it shows that a woman can be intelligent, charismatic, strong, and so much more. Women can be sensitive and powerful superheroes, and Captain Marvel is a strong hero without needing a love interest to boost her story.