Marvel and Disney will introduce Captain Marvel to the world in 2019 with the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Over her tenure in Marvel Comics, Carol Danvers has had a very interesting history: her father was a U.S. Navy officer and her mother was a Kree champion; she joined the Air Force at the age of 18 before moving onto NASA where she befriended Mar-Vell, the first Captain Marvel; and she was then involved in an accident that gave her superhuman powers, where she took on the name Ms. Marvel.
As Ms. Marvel, she became a superhero and joined the Avengers. Things went bad for her when a battle with Rogue caused her to lose her powers, but then, she regained them and took her place as a hero again, eventually changing her name to Captain Marvel and becoming one of the strongest heroes in the Marvel Universe. Since that time, Captain Marvel has been involved in some of the biggest storylines in the comics and was actually one of the two headliners in the Civil War II storyline against Iron Man. With the MCU planning a huge role for Captain Marvel in its future, fans can finally start to get to know this hero a little bit better. So, without further ado, here is a look at 12 Heroes Captain Marvel Is Close To (And Eight She Can’t Stand).
MAR-VELL: CLOSE TO
Carol Danvers first appeared as a supporting character in the pages of Captain Marvel, a hero who was a friend and ally. Mar-Vell was a Kree warrior sent to Earth as a spy gathering Intel for the Kree who eventually became a hero on Earth and one of its protectors. However, it was his battles with Yon-Rogg that put Carol in danger, which led to the event where she gained her powers.
While he was ultimately responsible for her losing her job at NASA, the two kept a close friendship and she took on the name Ms. Marvel as an honor to him. A few years after Mar-Vell passed away, Carol decided to take his name as her own, honoring the greatest Kree warrior of them all.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CLOSE TO
Interestingly, it was Captain America who convinced Carol to change her name from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel. This came in the pages of her 2012 solo title by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy. In the first issue, Carol unmasked herself to reveal to the world that she was Ms. Marvel and helped Captain America in a fight against Absorbing Man.
It was after this fight that Steve Rogers and Carol Danvers had a talk at Avengers Tower, where Steve said that Mar-Vell was Captain Marvel’s real name and Captain Marvel is just a mantle and a legacy that she should be proud to take up. That friendship and respect made it really hard when she had to stand up to Captain America during Secret Empire, and why she was relieved when she learned it wasn’t really him.
ROGUE: CAN’T STAND
If there is one superhero in Marvel Comics that Captain Marvel has every reason to hate, it’s Rogue of the X-Men. Before Rogue became a hero, she was a villain working with her adoptive mother Mystique and Destiny. She ended up going to battle with Ms. Marvel and did the unthinkable.
Rogue’s powers are to touch someone skin-to-skin and absorb their powers and memories. However, she took a little too much from Carol Danvers and stripped her of almost all her powers. Rogue also took most of her memories and ended up regretting everything she did, turning good and going to the X-Men for help. That never cured the wounds, though, as Rogue remained one of the most disliked enemies of Captain Marvel.
WAR MACHINE: CLOSE TO
In 2014, a new Captain Marvel series launched, this one by Kelly Sue DeConnick and David López. New adventures were about to start for Carol Danvers, but before anything happened, the new series revealed that she was now in a romantic relationship with another superhero: Jim Rhodes, also known as War Machine.
This increased all the tension when Civil War II began as Captain Marvel was at odds with a number of superheroes, including Iron Man, who was leading the opposition as she arrested people who had not committed any crimes yet. In the setup to the war, her actions in a preemptive attack on Thanos resulted in War Machine losing his life and She-Hulk ending up in a coma.
MS. MARVEL: CLOSE TO
After Carol Danvers took on the name Captain Marvel in honor of her fallen comrade, another girl took on her old moniker of Ms. Marvel. This version of Ms. Marvel is nothing like the original as Kamala Khan is a teenager who loved superheroes (an ultimate fangirl). She accidentally underwent Terrigenesis and came out of the cocoon in her favorite hero’s costume.
She also had the power to change her body into any shape and took on the name Ms. Marvel. In Ms. Marvel Vol. 3 #17, Kamala was feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders during the Incursion when Captain Marvel showed up to help give her a pep talk and some good advice, as well as her blessing.
IRON MAN: CAN’T STAND
Captain Marvel and Iron Man used to be close. They were members of The Avengers and he was there many times to help Carol when she was coming into her own as a superhero. The two fought together more times than anyone can count and they were able to save each other (and the world) many times over. However, Civil War II changed all that.
In Civil War II, an Inhuman developed the power to see events that would happen in the future. Captain Marvel decided to take him at his word for it and set out on missions that cost War Machine his life, put She-Hulk in a coma, and convinced Hawkeye to eliminate Bruce Banner. It was too far for Iron Man and the two started a huge battle between heroes that ended when Carol also put Tony Stark into a coma.
STORM: CLOSE TO
Captain Marvel became close friends with the X-Men and while not a team member, she worked with them as an ally. This all started after Rogue stole all her powers and memories and left her defeated. Professor X helped her regain most of her memories and she had new allies in her life at a time when she needed them the most.
It was a love-hate relationship as she was there to fight them later when trying to stop the Phoenix Force and again when the Avengers and X-Men battled. However, she always remained close with Storm. During Civil War II, Storm was on Carol’s side against Iron Man, even when her ex-husband, the Black Panther, walked away knowing what they were doing was wrong.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: CLOSE TO
If there is one thing that has always bothered Captain Marvel, it is continuous brain damage. Even the current Captain Marvel movie shows that she has amnesia, something that happened to her more than once in the comic books. Other than when Rogue stole her powers, Captain Marvel also experienced head trauma in a battle with Yon-Rogg years later, while saving Earth from the Kree villain.
After this event happened, Captain Marvel took off into space to try to rediscover herself. It was at this time that she met up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and joined up with them. This started in the Kelly Sue DeConnick and David López run in 2014 and was a huge part of her ongoing solo title.
BLACK PANTHER: CAN’T STAND
The relationship between Captain Marvel and Black Panther was one of convenience. In the Civil War II storyline, he was on her side during parts of the battle, as was his ex-wife Storm. However, much to Carol’s dismay, he left their side and said that he was not willing to help them anymore because he felt they were in the wrong when Carol tried to arrest Miles Morales for something he hadn’t done, yet.
Captain Marvel made a comment to Storm, saying that she couldn’t believe that she ever married a guy like that, making her feelings about T’Challa known. However, Black Panther showed his true power when he stood up to Carol and informed her that an attack on him was a declaration of war on Wakanda, proving that he feared nothing.
ALPHA FLIGHT: CLOSE TO
Alpha Flight came a long way over their tenure as a super-powered team. Originally, they were Canada’s version of The Avengers, working for the government to deal with threats to their home country. Then, they lost funding and became a regular team of heroes and then drifted along, splitting up and reforming when needed.
However, a huge change came when they took the role of Earth’s protectors in space with the Alpha Flight Space Program. Hydra had taken over the United States and Alpha Flight was there to protect Earth from the threats from beyond, including the imminent Chitauri invasion. Captain Marvel was their leader with familiar faces like Sasquatch, Puck, and Guardian along for the fight.
WOLVERINE: CLOSE TO
Early in her career, Carol Danvers worked for the Air Force Special Operations and intelligence unit. While involved in this organization, she got a chance to work on various missions with everyone from Nick Fury to Logan. These were missions before Logan was called Wolverine and before Carol gained the powers of Captain Marvel.
Their relationship remained strong years later when both were members of The Avengers, as well as when Captain Marvel was an associate of the X-Men. In WolverineVol. 2 #133, Logan and Carol were playing pool as he was there to talk to her after The Avengers removed her from their ranks, a true friend that she knew would listen and never judge her.
MYSTIQUE: CAN’T STAND
If Captain Marvel can’t stand Rogue for what she did to her (taking all her powers and memories and leaving her close to finished), imagine how she has to feel about Mystique. Remember, Mystique was the woman who raised Rogue and sent her out on a path of wickedness in the name of mutants everywhere. If not for Mystique shaping Rogue into her image, the defeat at the hands of Rogue never would have happened.
Of course, there was a lot more to it than just that one moment. Captain Marvel was an associate of the X-Men, which made her an immediate enemy of Mystique. Later, Carol worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., and when Mystique infiltrated that organization, it made her public enemy number one. There is no love lost between Captain Marvel and the shape-shifting Mystique.
JESSICA JONES: CLOSE TO
In the Netflix Marvel series Jessica Jones, they gave Jessica a best friend in Patsy Walker, who in Marvel Comics became Hellcat. However, there were some who wondered if it would have been better to pair her with Carol Danvers, the woman who was one of the closest friends that Jessica had in the pages of the comics.
As a matter of fact, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg said that Carol Danvers was supposed to be a major character on Jessica Jones when it was going to be on ABC, but when the Captain Marvel movie was greenlit, they wrote Carol out of the story. In the comics, when Killgrave was manipulating Jessica Jones into committing crimes, it was Captain Marvel that was there to save her.
SABRETOOTH: CAN’T STAND
Sabretooth has been a superhero and a supervillain and it really just depends on which way the wind is blowing at the time. Before she was ever Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers teamed up with people like Logan and Nick Fury as part of the Air Force Special Operations and they set out to stop some organizations and villains like Sabretooth and the Black Widow.
When she became Captain Marvel, she joined forces with the X-Men after losing her powers to Rogue and even when her powers returned, she was an ally to the mutant team. That meant that she had a chance to fight Sabretooth once again. She was even there to help Logan battle him in Sabretooth’s own title in 1995.
SPIDER-WOMAN: CLOSE TO
Maybe it is women named Jessica, but Carol Danvers’ two best friends in Marvel Comics are Jessica Jones and Jessica Drew. Of course, Jessica Drew is Spider-Woman, and both she and Carol have been involved in many covert ops groups over the years. But, even more, Jessica is a friend who was there when all the chips were down.
After Secret Empire, while Captain Marvel was in space defending the Earth from a Chitauri invasion, Captain America was leading a hostile takeover for Hydra. Carol lost her space station and returned to Earth to help beat Cap, but that left her as a defender of space with no station and no funding. Luckily, she had a friend in Jessica Drew and stayed at her place, sleeping in her baby room until she could get back on her feet.
VENOM: CAN’T STAND
One of Captain Marvel’s duties is to protect Earth from danger coming from outer space. Years before she took on that role, a very dangerous alien arrived on Earth following the original Secret Wars and implanted itself in Spider-Man. Soon, Venom moved on to Eddie Brock and then hopped around from person to person, never as happy as it was in Brock.
When Norman Osborn became a national hero and started his own Dark Avengers group, he replaced some major heroes. He brought in Moonstone to be Ms. Marvel and gave the Venom symbiote to the Scorpion. In Siege, Captain Marvel developed an intense dislike for the symbiote after she ripped Mac Gargan out of it and it decided to take over her for a little while.
HAWKEYE: CLOSE TO
Captain Marvel has had a long and interesting relationship with Hawkeye. The two have been partners in The Avengers more than once and have worked together at S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. If anything, the two trust each other a great deal. This was even more evident when Hawkeye joined sides with Captain Marvel against Iron Man during Civil War II.
He trusted her instincts and when she believed there was danger around the corner, he stood by her. It was such a strong bond of trust that when she learned that Hulk might end the lives of many people while on a rampage, Hawkeye went out and took the life of Bruce Banner to prevent this from happening. When Civil War II ended and Carol was questioning her actions, Hawkeye was there to lend an ear.
MAGNETO: CAN’T STAND
As a friend and member of the X-Men, the one villain that remained dangerous above all others was Magneto. That made Captain Marvel and Magneto natural enemies and she knew that he was not someone who could be completely trusted, even when he was playing on the side of the heroes. It also doesn’t help that when Shadow King took control of Carol and sent her after Rogue in Uncanny X-Men #269, Magneto helped Rogue and Carol lost her life.
They have met more times as well, though. In Avengers vs X-Men, she was on the side of The Avengers and Magneto took on part of the Phoenix Force. While leading Alpha Flight, she made a move on Magneto when he was in his own space station. These two have a very shaky relationship that always seems close to exploding.
MARIA HILL: CLOSE TO
While Maria Hill was in S.H.I.E.L.D., she knew there were few people that she could trust and one of those people was Captain Marvel. Hill proved this during the Secret Empire storyline: Hydra Supreme took over Captain America and Maria Hill, a strong hero in her own right, was dismissed as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
After this, Hill knew that she needed someone trustworthy to help and she went to Captain Marvel for a plan to protect Earth from outer space threats. This was the only reason why Carol was there to save the Earth from an attack by the Chitauri. With S.H.I.E.L.D. taken out of the fight, it was this friendship and trust that helped save the Earth.
NICK FURY: CAN’T STAND
When talking about the relationship between Nick Fury and Captain Marvel, it has to be referred to as “it’s complicated.” However, as the Captain Marvel trailers show, these two are teaming up in the upcoming movie. At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Nick Fury knows that Carol could help save the Earth from Thanos, but where has she been and why has he not called her before this?
Interestingly, when looking at the Carol Danvers from the Marvel Ultimate Comics world (the basis for much of the MCU) Carol and Nick Fury were never really on the same page. As a matter of fact, the two led their own teams against each other in the Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates storyline, one that saw Nick Fury win and force Carol’s resignation from service.
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Who are some other Captain Marvel friends and foes? Let us know in the comments below!
