The most powerful hero we’ve yet seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to land on Earth when Captain Marvel opens March 8, starring Brie Larson. And as significant as her arrival is — both to the events within the MCU and as the studio’s first film launched by a female headliner – the universe is vast, and populated by a lot of other characters.
While we’re excited for Carol Danvers’ adventure to take flight, this is the MCU, so it’s fun to speculate about what Avengers she may encounter – and how old they may be since the film is set in 1995. We know Nick Fury and Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be in the action, but who else may play a role, or make a cameo? There is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding the plot of the movie, so this is all pure conjecture.
Steve Rogers/Captain America
This is a long shot to begin with, but hey, let’s get wildly speculative. What if we see the meeting of captains? It is reasonable to expect that Captain Marvel will connect directly to Avengers: Endgame in some way. Fury paged her at the end of Infinity War, and it would appear she is on her way to stop Thanos (and she is one of the few who can do so). And it is not entirely unreasonable to have a major Avenger appear in a stinger scene at the end of the new movie, set in modern day. Steve Rogers is a natural fit for this. It is going to be epic to witness the introduction between leaders — and hearing him address her as “Captain.” But it might be so epic that Marvel won’t want to give it to us just yet.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Before Clint Barton was handpicked by Fury for the Avengers Initiative, he was an operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. But not much is known about his origins before then. However, he would likely be in his early to mid-twenties during the events of Captain Marvel, and if he was an agent in training, he might be around a lower-level bureaucrat like Fury in 1995. But he probably wouldn’t have earned his codename just yet.
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
Bucky may be on ice during Captain Marvel, but he is certainly out there, and under the control of HYDRA. After all, it was in 1991 he was dispatched to kill Tony Stark’s parents. So, if the Winter Soldier emerges, he won’t be a friend to Carol.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
Speaking of Tony, the young genius (around 25 years old) will have been an orphan for close to four years when the events of this movie unfold. He will no doubt already be adding to his father’s fortune with new technological achievements. And Tony will already be on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar because of Howard Stark’s work with them. Maybe Carol, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot before she leaves Earth, and joins the Kree Starforce, was testing Stark tech on Earth. One could even imagine the cocky Stark trying to flirt with her. It is unlikely Fury had met the future Iron Man in 1995 (Tony doesn’t seem to know him in the 2008 movie), but then again, would Tony even register someone as seemingly unimportant as Fury was back then?
James Rhodes/War Machine
Brie Larson was 26 when cast as Carol, so assuming she shares the same age with her character, she would be a contemporary of another Air Force pilot: James “Rhodey” Rhodes. Before he became a Lieutenant Colonel, longtime friend to Tony Stark, or War Machine, Rhodey would have been around Carol’s age and building a career in the USAF. While we don’t know how long she has been away from Earth, perhaps she showed a Rhodey a few flight moves before she left. (Sam Wilson is another Air Force pilot within the MCU, but I think this Falcon would have been too young to fly in 1995.)
Bruce Banner
Where was Tony’s future Science Bro back in 1995? He is another genius who would already be hard at work in his mid-twenties and might be operating on a government project that could put him in the path of Carol, or Fury. But the Hulk would not have even been born yet!
Doctor Strange
The Master of the Mystic Arts and keeper of the Eye of Agamotto (aka the Time Stone) is powerful enough to encounter Carol on another plane, or in another time. Remember Strange viewed 14,000,605 potential futures in Avengers: Infinity War to see how Thanos might be defeated, so he has certainly witnessed the arrival of Captain Marvel. Perhaps he also allowed himself a peek at her past to understand this new champion?
Thor
The ongoing galactic war between the Kree and Skrulls is not going to escape the attention of Asgard. Additionally, Asgardians aren’t fond of the battle-prone Kree and have interfered in their matters before. Lady Sif was even sent to apprehend one in the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode “Who You Really Are.” It is not a stretch to for Thor (rocking long hair, and still arrogant) and Loki (before he became bad, and then became kind of good) crossing paths with Carol, or the Kree, in the past. Depending on how that interaction might go, Thor could be familiar with Captain Marvel in Avengers: Endgame – and may or may not trust this new hero in 2017 (when the upcoming sequel is set). By the way, Valkyrie has been bouncing around the universe for a long time, so maybe Carol will run into the warrior at some alien bar.
The Guardians of the Galaxy
OK, so the Guardians weren’t a team in the galactic equivalent of 1995, but they were all out there in the stars, and none of them could be considered heroes. Peter Quill was abducted by Yondu in 1988, so that would make him a teenage Ravager during Captain Marvel. Who knows what mischief he could be into that might put him opposite Carol. Yondu was a Kree battle slave for 20 years, and Quill’s daddy surely told the boy ugly stories about the race.
In the first Guardians, Quill did battle with Kree Ronan the Accuser and Korath the Pursuer, both of whom also appear in Captain Marvel. Ronan was behind the murder of Drax’s family (on the orders of Thanos), so it is possible that could connect in the new film.
Speaking of Thanos, Nebula and Gamora were probably already being raised by the Titan in Captain Marvel’s timeline, so they would know of the Starforce. It is not absurd to imagine Kree and Danvers butting heads with Thanos, and perhaps even encountering the young girls.
As far as the impact this may have, Gamora died in Infinity War, but it could lay the groundwork for an awkward meet-up between Carol and Nebula (who is with Tony on the stranded ship). And in the comics, Mantis is a human connected to the Cotati race – intelligent plants who shared a planet with the Kree and likewise interacted with the Skrulls. If the onscreen version of Mantis is confirmed to be Cotati (and appears, either in flashbacks or is resurrected in Endgame) she may not care for the Kree. Actually, there’s plenty of Marvel Comics characters who have a legit beef with the militaristic Kree.
