From her first appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 in March 1968, Carol Danvers has been a progressive feminist character. An officer in the United States Air Force and a Security Chief of a restricted military base, she was introduced as a non-traditional woman.
Nine years after her first appearance, Carol Danvers becomes Ms. Marvel. In 2019, the use of the word Ms. is a divisive topic, but in 1977, the word was incredibly progressive, especially given the patriarchal nature of the comic world. With this promotion and the gaining of her powers, Carol became “Marvel’s biggest female hero” and “quite possibly Marvel’s mightiest Avenger.”
With these accolades, one must wonder why the Marvel Cinematic Universe waited for more than ten years to produce a film centered around possibly it’s mightiest Avenger. This paper will cover the history of Carol Danvers with specific attention paid to the influence of Second-Wave Feminism on the creation of this character. It will also continue to study this character as seen in the 2019 film, as played by Brie Larson.
Finally, this paper will examine the female relationships that are shown in the film. Carol and her best friend, Maria, show a truly supportive female friendship that includes almost co-parenting of Maria’s daughter, Monica. More than just a supportive female friendship, it is an interracial friendship. The film has multiple women of color with a wonderful diversity in the cast.
By examining Carol Danvers on her journey from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel; from the page to the screen, this paper will continue the crucial conversation of female and women of color representation in superhero movies.
About the presenterJen Erdman
Historical fangirl