Return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in The Marvels. It's the latest chapter in Phase Five of the MCU and it reunites us with Brie Larson's Captain Marvel who is now firmly secured as an Avenger. 

This time, Captain Marvel faces a fresh challenge when a new villain causes her powers to intermingle with that of two other individuals. Who are they and what is the wider story?

Scroll down to find out more.

 

Captain Marvel

Played by Brie Larson

Avenger Captain Marvel began life as human Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. Integrated into Kree society as a fierce warrior, Captain Marvel crash-landed onto Earth in the 1990s and started to summon memories of her previous existence.

With the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (more on whom below), Captain Marvel realised that she had been playing for the wrong side and that her supposed enemies, the shape-shifting Skrulls, were anything but. She eventually reconciled her Kree nature with her human origins, in the process reconnecting with old Air Force friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch).

Captain Marvel has since turned up intermittently in the MCU, most notably during the final scenes of Avengers: Endgame when she assisted in the defeat of Thanos (Josh Brolin). At the outset of The Marvels, she's been out in space for a very long time but is confronted with the villainous Kree warrior Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) who is out to seek justice for her people.

Dar-Benn wields a magical bracelet similar to that possessed by Ms. Marvel (see below). The bracelet causes Captain Marvel, upon using her powers, to body-swap with both Ms. Marvel and Maria's now-grown-up daughter Monica (see below).

The ultimate Avengers loner must learn to work as a team in order to negotiate these vacillating powers and bring the vengeful Dar-Benn to her knees.

Returning actor Brie Larson says of the character: "The way I was able to tap into it and understand it is the concept that Carol kind of became a workaholic, and she lost touch with her heart and with family and friends. That's certainly something I can relate to."

 

Monica Rambeau

Played by Teyonah Parris

Monica was last seen in the Captain Marvel movie, played as a youngster by Akira and Azari Akbar. The younger iteration of the character idolised Captain Marvel and helped her choose her signature costume.

In between the events of Captain Marvel and The Marvels, Monica grew up and became imbued with energy-manipulating powers in the Marvel series WandaVision. The Marvels continues this story arc, re-introducing Monica as a fully-fledged astronaut who is working with Nick Fury and the S.A.B.E.R. organisation. 

It's Monica who identifies the powers of Dar-Benn's bracelet and who encourages the three women to work together for the greater good. In The Marvels, the character is portrayed by If Beale Street Could Talk actor Teyonah Parris.

Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel

Played by Iman Vellani

Introduced in the Marvel series Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American teenager who is gifted with some extraordinary superpowers. In the series, aspiring comic book artist Kamala had long idolised the Avengers but it wasn't until she was gifted a mysterious family heirloom, a magical bracelet, that her ability to harness cosmic energy emerged and she was able to realise her true potential.

The series finale of Ms. Marvel revealed Kamala to be a mutant and we now pick up with her journey in The Marvels. It marks Kamala's big-screen debut and she finds herself swapping bodies with Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau.

"I'm a big nerd from New York City," says director Nia DaCosta, "and here was this hero who was a big nerd from Jersey City, writing fan fiction the way I used to when I was that age. It was really fun to feel close to that character in that really specific way, in a way you don't often feel when it's Iron Man or Thor.

"That was so exciting to me, knowing that I could be a part of bringing this character who I've loved for a decade to the big screen."

Nick Fury

Played by Samuel L. Jackson

MCU figurehead and one-time S.H.I.E.L.D. chief Nick Fury has been through a lot in his big and small-screen adventures. In Captain Marvel, the younger Fury, who then worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., paired with the title character and realised that inspiration and heroism can come from anywhere, even beyond our own galaxy.

The two characters then became firm allies and later in the MCU's chronological timeline, Fury specifically called on Captain Marvel to help in the battle against Thanos. Since then, we've had the Fury-centric Secret Invasion show and In an interview with Empire, actor Samuel L. Jackson all but confirmed that The Marvels and Secret Invasion are connected.

It seems that Secret Invasion comes first and The Marvels follows on after it, although this is yet to be officially confirmed.

Prince Yan

Played by Park Seo-joon

In Marvel Comics, Prince Yan of Aladna’s first and so far only appearance happened in 2014’s Captain Marvel (Vol.8) issue #9. He represents alien royalty and in his world, everyone has to rhyme when they speak.

In fact, in the comics, Captain Marvel won the right to marry Prince Yan although she didn't follow through with it. Will this history be imported into the events of The Marvels?

In The Marvels, Prince Yan is played by South Korean actor Park Seo-joon who is perhaps best known to Western audiences for his appearance in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning Parasite.

Goose the cat

Played by Nemo and Tango

In Captain Marvel, the adorable moggie Goose was actually revealed to be a terrifying alien 'flerkin' in disguise. It was Goose who scratched out Nick Fury's eye and compelled him to wear an eyepatch.

Evidently, Captain Marvel wasn't too rattled by this. At the beginning of the trailer for The Marvels, we see that Goose is still her companion. And later in the trailer, we see that he gets stuck into the action in the fight with Dar-Benn.

 

Go higher, further and faster this November. Click the link below to book your tickets for The Marvels. It opens on November 10th.

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