Captain Marvel: As Carol Danvers gets a well-deserved share of the spotlight, here's a lowdown on her history

Editor’s note: The characters — and story-lines — that inhabit popular comic books can be expansive, multidimensional, and often, just plain bewildering.  Firstpost's #HeroesAndVillains  is a one-stop definitive guide to understanding (and keeping track of) comic book characters. From the iconic to the little-known, the old and the new, superheroes and their villainous nemeses — this is the deep dive you need, and deserve. *** Ace pilot, spy, warrior and… magazine editor? Carol Danvers has had a long and storied career both in and out of spandex. For a comic book character, the career-oriented, ladder climbing Danvers is something of a novelty. After all, Clark Kent is technically still a lowly reporter at a failing newspaper where he’s worked for the last…80 years!?

“Preeeetty sure nothing bad can happen when I’m wearing my lucky hat.” – Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel

Created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan, Carol Danvers first appeared in 1968 as a US Air Force pilot and colleague to a disguised Kree infiltrator-turned-hero, Captain Mar-Vell. But it would be almost a decade until she debuted as the superhero Ms Marvel in 1977. Over the years, the character would undergo several overhauls without significant success until 2012 when she would finally take up the mantle of her now-deceased ally and mentor, becoming the newest Captain Marvel. [caption id=“attachment_6192381” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Will it be confusing to write about a comic book character whose last name is the same as the publisher? Let’s find out! | Marvel Comics[/caption] The fact that Carol’s career is so integral to her character is no accident. Introduced at a time when a rapidly growing percentage of women were seeking higher education and entering the workforce full-time, Danvers, a veteran combat pilot and senior NASA administrator-turned-superhero embodied everything that Marvel hoped would attract more young female readers to their properties. It didn’t exactly work because despite having significant powers, Ms Marvel tended to let the men handle things and just followed their lead, relegating her to a supporting role in most storylines. Thankfully, with the most recent reboot of the character, Danvers finally has a chance to compete in the big leagues, even if some fear that her new-found confidence has over-corrected into arrogance and authoritarianism (but we’ll get into that later). Origins and Background After an exemplary career, first as a combat pilot (going by the callsign Cheeseburger) and then working with the Air Force Special Operations and Intelligence unit, she would eventually opt for early retirement at the rank of Colonel in order to take on the role of NASA security chief, becoming the youngest person to ever hold the role. It is in this capacity that she first came into contact with the Kree officer Mar-Vell disguised as Dr Walter Lawson. Unfortunately, this is where things started going rapidly downhill. With the warring Kree and Skrull empires vying for control of Earth which happened to occupy a strategically important position, both sides started to step up their infiltration and invasion plans. Naturally, some of these plans targeted NASA compounds and Carol’s security division was soon under a great deal of pressure to effectively protect their facilities During a Kree attack, an explosion threw Danvers into a damaged Kree device called a ‘Psyche-Magnitron’. The device is essentially a wish-fulfillment machine with the power to turn thoughts into reality. If that sounds like an impossibly powerful bit of tech, then you’re right. It’s hard to imagine how the Skrulls or anyone else can fight against a race with the power to make their wishes reality but that’s not important right now, I guess. [caption id=“attachment_6192391” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Wonder what happens if you wish for unlimited wishes | Marvel Comics[/caption] Anyway, now in contact with the machine, Carol wishes that she was able to help Mar-Vell before losing consciousness. Taking its cue from her desires, the ‘Psyche-Magnitron’ powers up and re-builds her on a cellular level turning her into a Human-Kree hybrid super soldier, although it would be some time before she becomes aware of and subsequently masters her abilities. But while this event turned her into a superhero, professionally it was the beginning of the end for Carol. With the number of alien incursions increasing and Carol’s very public failure to stop or even impede them, she was quietly reassigned from Cape Canaveral to a smaller facility. Still unaware of her powers and with no halt in the alien attacks, she was soon demoted further to a regular security guard. She resigned from that position before she was forced to endure any further humiliation. Now a civilian and furious about her treatment at NASA, particularly since her replacement/s had not fared much better than her, she turned this chip on her shoulder into a tell-all book. Turns out she’s a reasonably good writer and pretty soon she landed a job as the editor of Woman magazine, which was owned by the Daily Bugle. This is not an important detail, but it does give me a flimsy excuse to include this clip of J Jonah Jameson laughing.

Over time Danvers developed better control of her abilities and began working as a crime fighter operating primarily out of New York and taking the name Ms Marvel. Starting out as ‘street level’ crime fighter similar to Dare Devil or Power Man, most of Ms Marvel’s early enemies were just thugs and mobsters. A character like Ms Marvel would have been hilariously overpowered against such opposition and apparently, her writers agreed since she soon began working with the Avengers. It was at this time that the character took centre stage in one of the most bizarre storylines ever printed. I won’t cover it here since Marvel has apparently erased these events from current canon but you can read about it here. [caption id=“attachment_6192431” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Right you are Captain | Marvel Comics[/caption] Suffice it say that it does involve what would today almost certainly be considered sexual violence — and that’s not even the worst or strangest part. While mature themes are not a problem in my opinion and it is perhaps misleading to judge the past by the standards of the present, this storyline was poorly conceived to start with and the years have not been kind. Since her first stint with the Avengers, she’s grown more powerful and taken on a much bigger role in events, particularly during the X-men war where she finally took the moniker of Captain Marvel for herself when she returned to Earth. Currently, she serves as leader of the Alpha Flight Space Program, a global space defence service which has replaced the now-defunct S.W.O.R.D. following events that saw the Marvel Multiverse being destroyed and reborn (Thankfully, comic book multi-verses, much like the characters that inhabit them, rarely stay dead). Recently, Marvel (the company — not Danvers) decided to make a change to Carol’s origin story by having her be the daughter of a human male and an elite Kree warrior hero named Mari-Ell. Also, Carol’s name is actually Car-Ell which apparently means ‘Champion’ in the Kree language but really just sounds like she’s one of Superman’s extended family. [caption id=“attachment_6192461” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Hmm…a child of two worlds…blue and red outfit…flies in space…red boots…occasionally fascistic…GASP | Marvel Comics[/caption] In this new continuity, the Kree device she was exposed to didn’t change her biology, it just activated latent genetic potential. And in a final twist her distant, negligent father got an upgrade into a full-on abusive spouse and parent. An odd choice when his wife, being a Kree super soldier, could turn him inside out with ease (and he knew it) but he somehow faced no consequences for his actions. Why would they make such a strange last-minute change like this? I don’t know, but I suspect it may be an effort to align the comic books with Danvers’ debut in the MCU which will apparently be revamping her origins yet again. Powers and Abilities Carol Danvers’ power levels and abilities have varied wildly over her run time, reaching its zenith during a short time she spent in space as a cosmically powered entity named Binary that drew her power from White-holes. Since then her power levels are now said to be less than what she had as Binary, but saying that someone is “less powerful than a (hypothetical) celestial body that can bend time and space” is a little non-specific. [caption id=“attachment_6192371” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Never really understood why she was called Binary. If you happen to know, do tell. | Marvel Comics[/caption] While she’s no longer on par with other cosmic entities, Danvers is no slouch when it comes to amazing superhuman abilities. First up, is all the enhanced speed, strength, reflexes, stamina and durability that you would expect from a superhero — nothing unusual there. She is also capable of supersonic flight both in-atmosphere and deep space and most comics have shown her operating in space unassisted for extended periods of time. This has led some to speculate that she is capable of living off pure energy with no need for food, sleep, heat or air while operating in space. Now coming to what she brings to a fight. Captain Marvel’s primary powers include her ability to absorb and project energy. Energy projection usually takes the form of either concussive blasts of energy that she fires from her hands or energy constructs similar to one of DC’s Green Lanterns. Although on a much more basic and modest scale, usually limited to shield-like barriers and bladed weapons constructed from pure energy. Energy absorption allows Danvers to charge up her own powers and make her attacks more powerful. If she absorbs enough energy, she can regain her Binary form for short periods of time, giving her energy projection powers a huge boost. Even if Carol goes down in a fight, her accelerated healing factor which supposedly “puts Wolverine to shame” makes sure she won’t stay down for long. And with advanced cellular regeneration comes a host of other fun abilities such as toxin and disease resistance, not to mention clinical immortality. Carol can also use energy manipulation to further accelerate her already impressive healing rate. That’s quite a lot of abilities, and if you think they come without a cost, then I’m flattered that you’re reading this article after just finding out what a comic book is for the first time. No there’s always a price. Carol’s major weakness is her memory. It’s very unclear as to how it got there, but deep within Carol’s brain is a Kree ‘structure’ that activates each time she uses any of her powers. The Flash: Why DC Comics' speedy superhero is also one of its extended universe's most well liked Whether it’s due to her exposure to the ‘Psyche-Magnitron’ or a biological anomaly resulting from her inter-species heritage is not clear. What is clear is that the more she uses her powers, the more likely it is to cause severe brain damage. While the damage is rapidly healed due to her abilities, lost memories are another issue entirely, and Carol has lost many years of her past life on several occasions when she has needed to push her powers to the limit during critical fights or cataclysms. If that doesn’t sound like much of a weakness, consider the potential for any shrewd villains who could ‘turn’ such a powerful hero by re-educating her with their version of events. Allies and Adversaries Unlike many other heroes, Danvers has never really developed a specific rogues gallery of notable villains. No evil twins, no dark reflection and no power-hungry long-lost half-brother. The approach is both unusual and also suits Danvers’ character perfectly since as a soldier she tends to treat her ‘hero’ work as an extension of her military career, fighting ‘the bad guys’ without any real sense of personal enmity towards the opposition (with a few rare exceptions). As an immensely powerful hero with an affinity for space and a working knowledge of several alien races, Captain Marvel serves as a capable leader of Alpha Flight and has distinguished herself during recent alien incursions and even all-out invasions of Earth space by hostile races such as the Chitauri. But apocalyptic threats from space don’t show up every day, even in the Marvel universe. As a result, the vast majority of her work as a hero involves leading Alpha Flight or working with either the Avengers and other government mandated heroes to counter threats from more mundane threats such as terrorists and criminal organisations like the Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) and its giant-headed lab-experiment turned cyborg leader, M.O.D.O.K. (an acronym that isn’t really worth explaining) who is about as close to an arch-villain as Carol has on Earth. [caption id=“attachment_6192551” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sigh…Okay, if you must know, it stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing | Marvel Comics[/caption] While her powers do make her the proverbial one-(wo)man army, as Alpha Flight leader and a former Avenger, Carol has a large number of powerful allies that she can rely on for support in the face of major threats. Although there are some heroes who are still quite wary of Carol for her role in the second Civil War, few doubt her strength, resolve and ability to lead. But while she has many comrades in arms, Carol has few close friends. Partly because she’s a rather guarded and private person who isn’t always the easiest to get along with and partly because constant memory loss makes it difficult to form meaningful and long-lasting bonds with others. As a less of a downer, she does have an adorable cat named Chewie (since Danvers is a major Star Wars fan). On a related note, Chewie is actually a ‘Flerken’ a nightmarish creature which mostly resides in a pocket dimension to hide all the extra tentacles and teeth until they’re needed. Surprise, even her cat is a downer. [caption id=“attachment_6192581” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Well, @#$%!!! | Marvel Comics[/caption] Despite learning the truth about her cat, and the fact that it tried to eat Rocket Racoon, Danvers still is apparently fond enough of Chewie to keep him (her? It?) around proving that love is blind…and deaf…and can’t smell. Hmmm, where have we seen Danvers with a ginger cat recently? Oh no! Character and Philosophy As a character, Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel is a rationalist and a patriot with a ‘lawful good’ alignment. She can however also be stubborn, authoritarian and brash. While Danvers is a formidable warrior, she isn’t always the best choice as a diplomat as she can be a bit of a hot-head. Danvers’ character has undergone quite a few reworks over the years and honestly, she is sometimes quite hard to read. During the Civil War II storyline, her approach appears to be entirely utilitarian. This is apparent through her attempts to use the powers of precognitive mutant, Ulysses Cain, to form a _Minority Report-_esque task force that would prevent attacks, crimes or disasters before they happen. She is unwilling to compromise on this approach even when provided with evidence of its ineffectiveness and subsequently triggering a costly schism in the superhero community following the “deaths” of several prominent heroes including Hulk, She-Hulk and even love-interest James Rhodes’ War Machine (They had all come back to life in less than a year, although I’m not sure if Rhodes and Carol started dating again after he was ‘resurrected’). [caption id=“attachment_6192611” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  That’s a hell of a power couple | Marvel Comics[/caption] It can be argued that perhaps even with errors in judgement and division in the ranks, Carol still believes that her approach provides the maximum good to the maximum number of people. And while that may be true, she certainly wasn’t always like this. In previous storylines, Danvers’ Marvel has usually espoused a belief that the ends don’t justify the means and has on several occasions fought for what she believed was morally right and refused to carry out orders what she felt were unethical. It’s hard to imagine that the same character would plough on with a strict ‘you’re with us or against us’ policy regardless of the human cost, the questionable ethics of her actions, and the damage she was doing by turning the superhero community against itself. Carol’s apparent split-personality can easily be explained by the fact that the character has been handled by several writers over the years with their own interpretation of the character. However, these changes could just as easily be explained by her encounter with the ‘Psyche-Magnitron’. Aquaman is king of the oceans, member of the Justice League. So why is Atlantis’ finest son still treated as a bit of a joke? Not only is it certainly possible that such an experience could leave one in a compromised mental state, but prior to her re-boot, Danvers, in addition to multiple instances of memory loss and even brain damage is known to have developed a split-personality on at least two occasions (that I’m aware of at least). One of which was directly linked to her exposure to the Kree device. But post-reboot, even if we ignore the possibility of a lingering split personality entirely, there is still the constant memory loss itself. Given how essential our memories and experiences are to the formation of our personalities, values and sense of self, it’s easy to see why Danvers, who essentially loses a little piece of herself every time she goes to work, could experience significant changes to her personality. Without the benefit of hindsight or the opportunity to learn from past mistakes, it’s really no wonder that she sometimes struggles to make consistent, well-informed decisions despite the best of intentions. After a few re-imaginings and several decades in relative obscurity, Marvel is trying to push Danvers into the spotlight. But while a lot of good choices have been made, even now, Carol is still a little under-developed. Now it’s up to the writers to deliver memorable storylines, explore the character to help us empathise with her and introduce unique villains worthy of a hero as powerful Danvers to let her definitively prove to the fans why she belongs up in the major leagues of Marvel’s superhero line up. Good Hunting, Cheeseburger. [caption id=“attachment_6192621” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  “I’m sorry…sorry I’m a badass.”—Captain Marvel Vol 7 #16 | Marvel Comics[/caption]