As a young girl, growing up as a comic book movie fan was always tough. While my father is the one who introduced me to the fantastic universes of DC and Marvel, my passion for superheroes came completely from within myself. My older sisters and I watched X-Men (2000), Fantastic Four (2005), and Spider-Man 2 (2004) practically on repeat, and my bedroom was filled with superhero-themed toys and merchandise. Spider-Man was as much of an inspiration to me as Barbie and Polly Pocket were, yet from around the third grade onward, my love for these stories was frequently questioned by my male peers.
Bringing up the fact that I was a fan of comics was often, and sometimes still is, followed by an interrogation by these male peers to see just how much I actually know about my favorite characters. Women’s place in the comic book community is endlessly challenged by gate-keeping sexists, and for years, a large part of that was due to how rarely female characters are included as a part of the narrative.
It may be true that writers like Charles Marston and Stan Lee have been including female heroes in their comics since as early as the 1940s, but it wasn’t until two years ago with DC Comic’s Wonder Woman (2017) that we finally got to see a female superhero grace the silver screen as the leading hero. Before then, our only inspiration came from supporting characters who, while very powerful, were never celebrated in the same way as their male counterparts.
That is why I, like many other women, was struck with a wave of tears while watching Wonder Woman. In fact, Brie Larson, the star of Captain Marvel (2019), even recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that seeing women represented on screen had the exact same effect.
“As a kid, I wanted to be an adventurer,” Larson said. “I wanted to be a smart-ass. I wanted to get my hands dirty. But it wasn’t until being in the theater seeing ‘Wonder Woman’ … I was like, ‘Why is this making me cry so much?’ I realized ’cause I hadn’t had that, and there was a kid in me that was like, ‘Oh, my God. I can do that?’”
For that same reason Captain Marvel, which is Marvel’s very first female-led film, has left a lasting impression on the millions of fans who have seen it in theaters. Representation matters and can directly change the lives of those who otherwise feel invisible. Stores are now filled with Captain Marvel merchandise and little girls are finally able to feel like they too have the ability to save the world, in a way that I was never able to as a child.
Captain Marvel had the studio’s second largest worldwide opening weekend in history, with its $456 million debut beat only by Avengers: Infinity War (2018). With a whopping $153 million domestic debut as well, it is clear that audiences have fallen in love with the newest addition to the Avengers. Not only that, but it proves, just as Black Panther (2018) has after its immense success, that the public craves diverse stories from Marvel.
Even beyond the matter of female representation, Captain Marvel stands out as an incredible contribution to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story follows Carol Danvers, or “Vers” as she is known by her fellow Kree warriors, as she uncovers a massive conspiracy involving her own identity and the war her “home planet” is fighting against a race capable of shape-shifting, known as Skrulls. The plot is jam-packed with political commentary and masterfully intertwines other previous Marvel films into the narrative by including an important connection to the infinity stones. The film also includes several familiar characters like Ronan the Destroyer, played by Lee Pace, and Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson.
However, the script of the film does not shy away from its message of diversity and female empowerment. It is rich with feminist ideology and even directly explores a common and harmful trope that women face within society. In just the first ten minutes of the film, the audience watches as Captain Marvel’s superiors criticize her for being “too emotional”. It is later shown through a series of flashbacks that she has been told this all her life, even when her anger and sadness was completely justified.
The plot clearly centers around her journey of self-actualization as she slowly realizes her powers are strongest when she embraces those feelings and acts on her own instincts – which is a lesson that so many women desperately need to hear. Women are often times written off as hot-headed, PMS-ing, dramatic, and endless amount of other terms by those who wish to silence us. Yet Captain Marvel is teaching its audience that those people are wrong, and women should never be afraid to make their voices heard.
This was a very deliberate choice, as director Anna Boden discussed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Boden, like many women, felt connected with the message the film conveys.
“That’s something that was really meaningful for me,” said Boden. “Because when you’re doing something that you really care about and you put all you have into it, you experience a lot of emotions: self-doubt, fear, all of these things. It was so lovely to be making a movie about a character who learns to embrace all that.”
Carol is a quick-witted, charming, and deeply devoted soldier who is extremely hard not to fall in love with. As the film progresses, her character only becomes even more complex and loveable, making it easy for audiences to readily welcome her into the MCU.
Full of 90’s nostalgia and an awesome soundtrack, not to mention the adorable (and highly dangerous) tabby cat named Goose, Captain Marvel is a must-see for comic-book fans everywhere. Not only will this movie forever change the Marvel canon, but it has touched the hearts of so many women, and is sure to inspire an entirely new generation of female fans.