Phase 4 Secretly Fixes A Major Captain Marvel Problem

With the introduction of new characters like Ms. Marvel in Phase 4, the MCU may have fixed its problem with finding reasons for Captain Marvel to come to Earth. During Phase 3, Captain Marvel established Carol Danvers as one of the most powerful superheroes in the MCU. Due to her great power though, most threats on Earth were too small to warrant her attention, resulting in her remaining in outer space or on other planets from 1995 until the end of Avengers: Infinity War in 2018. Even then, she only returned because Nick Fury paged her just before he was dusted by Thanos’ snap.

However, Captain Marvel has since begun interacting with other heroes in the MCU. In Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel met the Avengers on Earth and traveled with them to Thanos’ Garden. In the following years, she attended holographic meetings with the Avengers as the universe struggled to adjust to missing half its population. With the Avengers tending to Earth though, Captain Marvel remained in space for the majority of Endgame, only returning for the final battle against Thanos’ army. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings continued this trend by including Captain Marvel in its mid-credits scene. Along with Bruce Banner and Wong, Captain Marvel met with Shang-Chi and Katy (via holograms) to discuss the beacon issuing from the ten rings, indicating that Carol was still working with the Avengers.

While these appearances set up Captain Marvel visiting Earth more often, she still lacks a specific reason to do so. With Nick Fury as her only point of contact for several decades, Captain Marvel did not develop connections with other heroes. This created the issue of Carol being a somewhat isolated character in the MCU. Rather than contributing to other figures’ story arcs, Captain Marvel’s powers encouraged her to focus on her own adventures in space. However, new characters in Phase 4 of the MCU, such as Ms. Marvel and adult Monica Rambeau, may finally provide Captain Marvel with the motivation to spend more time on Earth. These growing relationships could potentially resolve a major issue with her character in the MCU.

With the first episode set to release on June 8, 2022, the upcoming Disney+ series Ms. Marvel will center on Kamala Khan, a new teenage superhero. Ms. Marvel’s first trailer made it clear that Kamala has a favorite superhero: Captain Marvel. Due to this, when Kamala receives superpowers from a pair of mysterious bracelets, she fashions her hero persona after Captain Marvel. Wearing a costume jacket and helmet, Kamala becomes Ms. Marvel. Although Kamala may be on her own throughout the majority of the show, Captain Marvel could arrive near the end, attracted by a young hero copying her name and style. In addition, Carol could be interested in Kamala’s bracelets, which seem to bear a Kree symbol. If Captain Marvel takes on Ms. Marvel as her protégé, as she has in Marvel comics, this would make Carol an important part of a relationship and Kamala’s story, giving her a reason to return to Earth more frequently.

In addition, Captain Marvel could spend more time on Earth due to Monica Rambeau’s new superpowers. Introduced in Captain Marvel, Monica was the young daughter of Maria Rambeau, Carol’s best friend, and viewed Carol as an aunt. As an adult, Monica appeared in WandaVision, returning from the Snap and accidentally gaining powers from exposure to Wanda’s magic. With her new abilities, Monica may finally be able to join Captain Marvel on missions like she wanted to as a child. However, she could be friends with Carol now, working together and comforting each other over their mutual loss of Maria to cancer. Given Monica’s strong ties to Earth though, she would probably want to spend more time on her home planet, potentially bringing Captain Marvel with her. In this way, Phase 4 of the MCU has introduced two new characters, Ms. Marvel and Monica, who could provide new relationships for Captain Marvel and reasons to be on Earth.