Warning: SPOILERS for Captain Marvel

The Avengers universe has added Captain Marvel to its ranks, and with her, opened up a whole new door into the cosmic races, conflicts, and superpowers of the Skrull, Kree, and more. But how faithful does the movie keep to the comics?

By now even optimistic or forgiving comic enthusiasts know that after Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel isn’t sticking to the comics anymore than they feel necessary. But origin stories for lesser known superheroes have been wise to stick to the source material in the past. So how does Captain Marvel compare to the original comic versions of Carol Danvers, her pet cat Goose, and the alien empires of the Kree and Skrulls? We’re here to help answer those questions, but be warned: Captain Marvel changes more of her origin story and cast than MCU fans are actually used to.

Carol Danvers A.K.A. ‘Vers’

Unlike Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, or the other Marvel heroes she’ll join in Avengers: Endgame, asking ‘who is Captain Marvel?’ is a more complicated question than most audiences will realize. For starters, Carol Danvers is just one of the people who has claimed the title in Marvel’s Comic universe–and she wasn’t even the first. But the simple answer to start is that Carol, a gutsy test pilot and the potential to become a superhero, is largely faithful to her modern comic incarnation. But the more unique aspects of her origin story are calling on more than just Carol’s.

Memory loss and manipulation, deceit and betrayal, and presumed alien ancestry define Captain Marvel’s movie origin, but aren’t found in Carol’s comic book history. These elements actually blur the line between Carol’ story and the original Mar-Vell, a Kree warrior, and Khn’nr, a Skrull sleeper agent implanted with the identity and memories of Mar-Vell who made that lie a reality when it was exposed. The one thing they all have in common? When the truth comes out, they all choose to become a better hero.

The Original Mar-Vell

No character has been changed more for their movie appearance than Mar-Vell, the Kree operative who indirectly causes Carol to be infused with cosmic energy and superhuman abilities. In the comics, Mar-Vell was the original Captain Marvel, deciding to make Earth his home and acting as a costumed superhero. When a battle with his nemesis Yon-Rogg led to the detonation of a Kree Psyche-Magnitron, Mar-Vell’s own genetic code was imprinted onto Carol Danvers, also caught in the blast. In the movie, things go… differently.

For starters, Mar-Vell is now a Kree woman, not a man (played by Annette Bening). Instead of acting as a superhero, Mar-Vell is now a Kree scientist in search of an end to the great Kree-Skrull War that doesn’t mean the extinction of one or the other. Instead of a Psyche-Magnitron blasting Mar-Vell’s Kree powers onto a human, it’s Mar-Vell’s work that does the enhancing–while making Carol the indirect cause of her powers, and not a bystander.

Yon-Rogg

Most viewers of Captain Marvel won’t know that Yon-Rogg is actually the villain of the movie, and not Carol’s trusted mentor and commander, as he seems at first. And even if his final scenes in the movie make him out to be the butt of a joke, it’s hard to call him outright ’evil’ due to his actions in the film–certainly not as pure, or senselessly evil as the worst villains in the MCU. In truth, most of his villainous actions can be chalked up to him serving his Empire faithfully, even if their motives or means are deemed cruel by human standards. Yon-Rogg’s showdown with Mar-Vell also seems like a military matter, and not a personal one.

That’s a far cry from the comic book version, in which Yon-Rogg was deeply envious of Mar-Vell for capturing a Kree woman’s affection. Jealousy and competition drove Yon-Rogg to sabotage, and eventually try to get Mar-Vell killed. Once Carol was created in Mar-Vell’s image, Yon-Rogg extended his cruel, hateful, and more comic-book-villainy to her as well. The movie restrains itself for most of the runtime, making it a smart change.

Talos, Skrull Leader

Captain Marvel viewers may assume that General Talos is an accurate example of his race and people, famed as shapeshifting spies throughout comic history. But the similarities may not go much deeper than a name. In the comics, “Talos the Untamed” was a famous cyborg warrior among the Skrulls, all the more admirable since a birth defect actually prevented him from shapeshifting at all. His reputation took a beating when he was captured by the Kree and refused to commit suicide, as was the Skrull way (preferring instead to be killed in glorious combat).

The disgraced “Talos the Tamed” would only win back some of his street cred when he battled Hulk on Earth, beating him to the point of begging for his life (a seriously uncommon event for the Hulk). Unfortunately, Talos of the MCU seems to only possess the same higher-than-human strength as the rest of the Skrulls. Other than that, his story is changed as a result of the larger changes made to the entire Skrull race.

Page 2 of 2: The Cat, Skrulls, Kree Leadership & More

Goose The Cat

There was a time when Carol Danvers enjoyed the company of her pet cat Chewie, named for the famed co-pilot of Han Solo in the Star Wars movie trilogy. But that time has passed, thanks to Captain Marvel’s crossover with Rocket Raccoon in her 2014 series relaunch. Upon taking one look at Chewie, Rocket flew into a panic determined to murder the stowaway Flerken before it could unleash its horrors upon Carol and himself (mostly himself). And in the next few issues, the feline Flerken did exactly that.

If you have seen the movie, you know exactly what horrors Rocket was referring to, visible when it’s gigantic storm of tentacles erupts from inside of its mouth to slaughter all hostiles in the immediate area. The Captain Marvel movie changes the cats name to Goose, but other than that, kept the most modern version of the cosmic threat completely intact.

The MCU’s Skrulls

Perhaps the biggest change to the cosmic powers of the Marvel Universe, the Skrulls seem to be the same as their comic book counterparts at first. Famous for their role in the galaxy-spanning war with the Kree Empire, the shapeshifting aliens are best known as the insidious threat they’re described as to Carol in the film. And to be fair, neither side of the Kree-Skrull War comes off as particularly “good” in the comics. But the movie makes a change to the Skrulls that many Marvel fans will be shocked to witness… even if it isn’t as ‘untrue’ to the comics as some will claim.

Thanks to stories like Marvel’s Secret Invasion event, the average fan knows that Skrulls are evil… and will be surprised when the Captain Marvel movie paints them as victims, refugees, and completely misunderstood, well-meaning aliens. But that does actually fit with their earliest origin story, in which the Kree forced the Skrulls to abandon peace for warfare. So the MCU’s Skrulls may not be what fans expect - but that doesn’t mean the studio strayed from the comics.

The Supreme Intelligence

As satisfying as it is to see the mystery surrounding Annette Bening’s role in the movie solved, her performance as the Kree Supreme Intelligence will be a disappoint to many. Not through any fault of her own, it’s just that those who know the Supreme Intelligence of the comics will expect something a bit more… grotesque. In both film and comics, though, the Supreme Intelligence appears the same: a collection or combination of the intelligences once held by the greatest minds in Kree history. Together, they are the ‘Supreme Intelligence,’ a collective consciousness guiding the Kree.

The big difference is that in the movie version, the Supreme Intelligence interfaces with Kree on a psychic level. And as a result, can take the physical (mental) form of the most trusted and admired person of the brain with which it is interfacing. That’s new for the movie, but the comic version makes the reasoning clear. There, the Kree Supreme Intelligence is a massive, congealed, suspended, multi-eyed head that looks more at home in a sideshow than a superhero movie universe.

Starforce

The early trailers for Captain Marvel confirmed that she would be introduced as a member of Yon-Rogg’s Starforce, a squad of Kree operatives tasked with special missions and covert fighting. That raised some red flags immediately, since the Starforce serving Yon-Rogg were originally Kree supervillains, including Ronan (villain of the Guardians of the Galaxy) and Korath (Ronan’s top lieutenant). By the end of the movie that squad has lived up to their comic reputation, willing to kill humans and Skrulls no matter how innocent to do their commanders’ bidding.

Sadly, their organization into a military unit for the movie means their more colorful comic threads have been jettisoned, and replaced with matching Kree uniforms.However, losing the costume and having a name change isn’t as bad for every member of Starforce, The Earthly-named Atlas becomes Att-Lass, villainous Doctor Minerva becomes Minn-Erva, and the stranger weapons and sciences of their characters wiped clean, in place of military skills.

Maria & Monica Rambeau

There was some early confusion in the plot details surrounding Captain Marvel when it came to her closest friend and fellow test pilot, considering that’s a character most comic fans would know as Monica Rambeau. But thanks to the time jump backwards, it seems Marvel Studios is hedging their bets. In the movie version, it’s Maria Rambeau who is the colleague and peer of Carol Danvers prior to her Kree transformation. Her daughter Monica is still years away from becoming her own form of superhero. Her own version of Captain Marvel, as a matter of fact.

Whether or not future MCU movies (Endgame, perhaps?) deliver on the passage of time and have Carol meet the now-adult Monica, comic fans know her original fate. Monica Rambeau became Captain Marvel herself, before taking the identity of ‘Photon’ among others. That name is also included in the MCU canon as the official callsign used by her mother, Maria.

MORE: Captain Marvel’s Ending Scenes Explained

  • captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26