Captain Marvel's Other Costumed Identities

Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel is set to hit theaters this week, the final Marvel Cinematic Universe film before Avengers: Endgame closes out the studio's Phase Three in April. Fans are excited to see Marvel's first female-led film, resulting for many in a feeling akin to when Wonder Woman finally hit the big screen, or when Black Panther arrived last summer.

But while Wonder Woman has been a mainstay of DC's comics for the better part of a century, Carol Danvers has only been Captain Marvel for a comparatively short time. The character first appeared in 1968's Marvel Super-Heroes #13, but she didn't suit up as Captain Marvel until 2012. Danvers, like many comic book superheroes, has worn a number of costumes over the years under the guise of different heroic personas before she accepted her role as Captain Marvel. So while the MCU version will arrive fully formed and ready for battle, we're taking a look at the various costumed identities the comic book version went through before becoming one of Marvel's premiere heroes.

MAJOR DANVERS

Carol would probably say that the most important uniform she ever wore was that of major for the United States Air Force, the result of a long career with the military where she began as a pilot. Carol quickly rose to Air Force Intelligence, where she would first encounter characters like Ben Grimm, Logan and Nick Fury before their superheroic days,. She would later join NASA as Head of Security, where she met Dr. Walter Lawson, the disguised Kree Captain Mar-Vell.

MS. MARVEL

When Carol was caught in an explosion of a machine called the Psyche-Magnitron, her hybrid Kree genes were activated and she gained similar powers to Mar-Vell. Initially, her transformation was caused by a split personality, separating Carol Danvers from the Kree warrior Ms. Marvel. Danvers would black out whenever Ms. Marvel would take control, leaving her unaware of her superhero alter ego. Eventually, her fractured mind was repaired and she moved forward, fully aware of her superheroic career.

ROGUE

As Ms. Marvel rose in stature, she became a member of the Avengers, where she would eventually encounter the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and their new member, Rogue. The then-villain permanently absorbed Danvers powers and memories, putting Carol in a coma in the process. Following this traumatic event, Rogue would reform and join the X-Men. She eventually found herself at war with Carol's personality, now locked inside Rogue's mind. Carol's personality would later be split from Rogue and destroyed, though she retained Carol's powers along with her own mutant abilities.

BINARY

After Carol awoke and began to recover from her ordeal at the hands of Rogue, she spent time with the X-Men, seeking help from Professor Xavier in regaining her memories. This resulted in her joining the X-Men on a mission to space, where she was experimented on by the alien race known as the Brood. She soon discovered she was able to tap into the energies of a cosmic white hole and became the incredibly powerful cosmic being known as Binary. Carol decided to stay in space as a member of the Starjammers, at home in the stars.

NEXT PAGE: Before Captain Marvel: Warbird, Symbiote Ms. Marvel... and Black Widow

WARBIRD

Unfortunately, Binary would lose her abilities saving Earth's sun and was forced to return to her home planet. She still retained her Kree-enhanced abilities, but could no longer tap into the cosmic energies of Binary, which caused a number of problems for Carol. However, she still decided to rejoin the Avengers, now going by the name of Warbird and secretly operating at a lower power level. She initially returned to her Ms. Marvel costume, but soon adopted a tactical uniform that reflected her military service.

GOLDEN AGE BLACK WIDOW

During a time-crossed adventure that placed Ms. Marvel and the Avengers in WWII alongside that era's Invaders, Carol took on an unexpected identity. Due to their presence in the past potentially destabilizing reality, and the fact that the Red Skull couldn't be alerted to any future knowledge while wielding a Cosmic Cube, the Avengers disguised themselves as WWII-era heroes that wouldn't alert mess up the timeline. Ms. Marvel adopted the costumed identity of the Golden Age Black Widow, an antihero who served Satan by killing bad guys and offering up their souls.

SYMBIOTE MS. MARVEL

During a period of time known as the "Dark Reign," which saw the Avengers operating as outlaws on the run from Norman Osborn and his officially sanctioned Dark Avengers, Carol started to get close with teammate Peter Parker/Spider-Man, as both characters had their identities usurped by Norman's team of villains. During the Dark Avengers attack on Asgard, Ms. Marvel ripped current host Mac Gargan out of the Venom symbiote, which soon took control of her body until Spidey was able to overcharge the symbiote and free Ms. Marvel.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

It was actually in the pages of Avenging Spider-Man #9 where Carol Danvers first debuted her new look and title of Captain Marvel, which she adopted following a pep talk from Captain America. The role of Captain Marvel, while seemingly a lesser rank than her USAF designation, was taken in honor of the fallen Mar-Vell. Carol finally found her place among the elite of the superhuman community as she took commanding roles on the Avengers and the Ultimates, while also serving as commander of the Alpha Flight Space Program, a role she still currently holds.

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jude Law as the commander of Starforce, Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser, Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer, Gemma Chan as Minn-Erva, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau, Algenis Perez Soto as Att-Lass, McKenna Grace as a young Carol Danvers and Annette Bening as the Supreme Intelligence. The film arrives in theaters March 8.