With Captain Marvel taking place chronologically before several of the staple Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, there were more than a few callbacks to events that — technically — happened later.
Though as an audience we weren’t aware of the significant impact that Carol Danvers — and her superhero counterpart, Captain Marvel — had on the wider Marvel universe prior to her solo outing, we now know that she influenced several defining moments of the franchise we’ve come to know and love.
We’ve watched — and rewatched — Captain Marvel to glean as many references to the “future” entries into the MCU as possible, so we can truly appreciate how Marvel have made Carol an inextricable and important piece of the movies, whether she was physically present or not.
So, without further ado, here are five Marvel Cinematic Universe callbacks in Captain Marvel.
Project Pegasus
Project Pegasus was a significant part of Captain Marvel and set into motion the events that led to Carol gaining her Kree powers, by way of the Tesseract, though we were introduced to the concept long before the character first graced our screens.
In The Avengers, Project Pegasus was the name of the S.H.I.E.L.D. operation that Loki infiltrated in order to steal the Tesseract. As we now know, Project Pegasus was revived after the Tesseract entered S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, but was originally a joint project between the United States Airforce and NASA, with Wendy Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell, heading it up.
The Avengers
How different would the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been had Nick Fury forged ahead with his original name for the Avengers initiative? Well, without the influence of Carol Danvers, the initiative would have instead been called the “Protectors.”
Fury was inspired to alter the name after seeing a photograph of Carol with her bird, the call sign “Avenger” emblazoned on the side. The Avengers is definitely the more catchy of the two names, and considering the events of Infinity War, the more appropriate.
Universal Translators
Perhaps one of the most nit-picked aspects of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies is the fact that all of the characters easily and effortlessly understand each other. Well, Captain Marvel cleared up the reason why that might be the case, especially when in comes to the cosmic side of the Marvel universe: Universal translators.
When Carol attempts to communicate with the security guard stationed outside of Blockbuster video, his initial lack of response causes her to believe her universal translator is not functioning, confirming that not everyone in the universe conveniently speaks English.
Ronan the Accuser
While he did not play a significant part in Captain Marvel, Guardians villain Ronan made a brief return in Carol’s solo outing, giving a little more backstory to the character — and clearing up the meaning of his “Accuser” title.
The Accusers, of which Ronan is head of in Captain Marvel, are a group of Kree soldiers who use their warships to bomb planets and wipe out their enemies — specifically the Skrulls. Ronan’s future actions, as he seeks vengeance against the people of Xandar, has its foundations laid here, giving greater context to his role in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 1.
Fury’s Eye
The story of how Fury lost his eye has been a central mystery of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his introduction, with several characters even speculating in-universe as to how it came about. In fact, in Winter Solider Fury even said to Captain America, “The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.”
Captain Marvel finally revealed the truth, when a Flerken in disguise, Goose, swiped at Fury’s face, causing him to lose his sight out of that one eye. No one could have ever predicted that his trust had been placed in an adorable, but deadly, ginger cat.
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