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word of advice : Spoilers forAnt - Man and the Wasp .
Just where hasCaptain Marvelbeen all these years ? Next twelvemonth will introduce watcher to Brie Larson ’s Carol Danvers , well known as Captain Marvel . Marvel ’s Kevin Feigehas account Carol as " by far the strongest theatrical role we ’ve ever had . " Incredibly , Larson herself has made a throwaway comment that " she can move planets ! " It ’s dependable that Larson may have been exaggerating in the heat of the moment , but the cleared implication is that Captain Marvel is an absolute power station .
That makes the whodunit of Captain Marvel ’s absence seizure in the MCU up till now all the more intriguing . Captain Marvelis specify in the ' 90 , mean this powerful sub has existed in the MCU for literally decades . So why has n’t she been mentioned before ? Given the sheer act of topnotch - soldier project we ’ve witness in the MCU , some sort of address would have been expect . And why didn’tNick Fury call Captain Marvelin when the Chitauri invaded , or when Ultron threatened to render the human subspecies extinct ?
Related:1990s Movies That Captain Marvel Must Reference
Avengers : Infinity Warended with Nick Fury send out a sort of " cosmic S.O.S. , " using an alien - looking pager . It was an comical touch , a blend of alien technology and ' 90s science . But it suggested that Fury has always had the ability to call Carol Danvers for aid , and yet never chose to use it . He did n’t even summon Carol Danvers when he was being hunted down by Hydra , and had no melodic theme who to commit . So where has Captain Marvel been all these years ?
The Most Popular Theory: Captain Marvel has Been in Space
The most plebeian theory is that Captain Marvel will head into distance at the end of her solo film , and that Fury ’s pager send a summons to her : occur back home , we need you . On the face of it , that ’s a sensible account . In one of hisfirst statement aboutCaptain Marvel , Feige confirmed that " much of the movie takes berth in outer blank , as you might think a Captain Marvel picture would . " Thus , the literary argument goes thatCaptain Marvelwill see the hero bequeath Earth for decades , perhaps fighting to get an end to the Kree ’s many warfare . It ’s even potential we ’ve already seen grounds of Carol ’s comportment , and that she instigated the truce between the Kree and the Xandarians inGuardians of the Galaxy .
Read More : Captain Marvel : The Kree - Skrull War Explained
By this argument , the reason Fury never used the pager before is that he believed it would take Captain Marvel a while to get back to Earth . ByAvengers : Infinity War , though , he ’s lost all his other option ; the Avengers are disband , Iron Man is missing , and now he ’s crumbling to rubble . He sends out that mayday as a last , desperate Hail Mary . This also fit with one unsung breath from Kevin Feige . need where Captain Marvel has been , he give a typically cryptic response . “The key is … ‘out there , ' " Feige respond , and most have assumed he was reference outer space .
At the same time , though , this would be a major change in humanness ’s role in the cosmic side of the MCU . Back in 2014 , James Gunn explain why he did n’t want to introduce the eccentric ofNova into the MCUat that stage . " I do n’t want Nova right now , " he observed , " because I think Quill being the only earthling is important . That serves the entire film - going consultation and not just the handful of Nova sports fan . " He was correct , and the same compass point extend to Captain Marvel . In theGuardians of the Galaxyfilms , it ’s important that humans are initially treated with despite , a backwater race whose sole cosmic representative is a down - on - his - fortune sneak stealer who shocks the galaxy when he wields an Infinity Stone . Captain Marvel ’s bearing in space , allow alone on the front lines of intergalactic warfare and negotiating truce between alien empires , really does deepen that .
Page 2 of 2:Where We Think Captain Marvel Is
Another Possibility: Captain Marvel Is In The Quantum Realm
Another hypothesis , though , is that Captain Marvel has actually been in the Quantum Realm all this sentence . The Quantum Realm was introduced in 2015’sAnt - Manas " a reality where all concepts of time and blank space become irrelevant . " It ’s now been explored in contingent byAnt - Man & the Wasp , although the pseudo - scientific discipline behind the Quantum Realm is still a piddling mirky . As Kevin Feige aim out , negotiation inAnt - Man & the Waspestablishes thatthere are different " levels " to this airplane of existence ; Janet ask to be rescued from " the Wastelands beyond the Void . " Presumably , it works like a sort of serial of concentric lap : the deep you get into the Quantum Realm , the more the laws of reality - laws like fourth dimension and soberness - cease to practice . grant toAnt - Man & the Wasp ’s mid - credits scene , the Quantum Realm contains inscrutable phenomena make out as " time vortexes . " It seems probable these can be used to travel in clock time .
Crucially , we already cognise that the Quantum Realm will form some sort of narrative throughline fromAnt - Man & the WasptoCaptain Marvel . Back in 2017 , Dr. Spiros Michalakis - a quantum physicist who playact as a adviser for Marvel - excuse why he felt the Quantum Realm was an interesting conception . " This is exciting for the future , " he observe . " There are unlike ways that some of these idea appear on - screen in a few years . Not just for Ant - Man , but also for Captain Marvel and all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe . " So it seems theQuantum Realm will crop up inCaptain Marvel , and most theories have it being the method forAvengers 4 ’s sentence travelling .
link : There ’s No Way Avengers 4 ’s Time Travel Will Make Sense
If Captain Marvel is indeed strongly connected to the Quantum Realm , is it possible that ’s where she ’s been all these years ? This would explain why Brie Larson is unlikely to age between her solo film andAvengers 4for certain . Feige suggested Janet Van Dyne only get on because she did n’t go into the centre of the Quantum Realm , where all the laws of reality break down . But if Captain Marvel had gone deeper than that , she ’d age at a dense rate - and , perhaps , not even age at all . Meanwhile , it ’s worth noting thatAnt - Man & the Waspproved signals could be beam into the Quantum Realm . Thus Nick Fury ’s Mayday summons would still reach her .
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Right now , the evidence is inconclusive . Not only willCaptain Marvelexplore the depths of distance , the film is also state to return to the Quantum Realm . The musical theme of Carol really being inside the Quantum Realm does make sense , though , as it imply Peter Quill was still the only human being out in space at the sentence ofGuardians of the Galaxy . It also fits with the fact that the Quantum Realm seems to be service as connective tissue between the next few Marvel movies .