Debuting in 1968’s Marvel Super-Heroes #13, Carol Danvers -- more commonly known as Captain Marvel -- has since become one of Marvel’s most prominent characters, winning over the hearts of many readers with her determined attitude and impressive set of superpowers. Standing for strength, empowerment and good old-fashioned heroism, Carol Danvers is often considered a bright presence in the Marvel Universe, able to take on pretty much anything that’s thrown at her. With that said, given Carol’s extensive, 50-year history in comic books, the character has also had more than her fair share of dark moments.
During her time as both Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel though, Carol Danvers has managed to consistently overcome the unrelenting darkness in her life, working through her problems with sheer determination and self-belief. Still, despite Captain Marvel’s ability to move past her darkest moments, they’re still very much a part of her -- and with the character on the verge of becoming a household name worldwide with the release of the Captain Marvel movie, we thought it’d be interesting to take a look back at 15 of the character’s darkest secrets.
15 SHE’S PART KREE
Although she may appear very much human, those unfamiliar with Carol Danvers may be surprised to learn that she’s actually part Kree -- but not in the way you might think. Born human, Carol’s adventures with Mar-Vell -- the original Captain Marvel -- eventually resulted in her DNA merging with his after the pair were caught in the explosion of a “Psyche-Magnetron” device.
Genetically speaking, this makes Carol both human and Kree, giving the future Captain Marvel her initial set of superpowers. In fact, the character’s genetic ties to the Kree likely have something to do with the return of both Ronan the Accuser and Phil Coulson -- the latter of whom has recently been tied up with a Kree-centric time travel adventure over on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie.
14 SHE WAS ON THE “WRONG” SIDE OF BOTH CIVIL WARS
The main problem with both of Marvel’s big “Civil War” storylines is that despite their intention of creating an interesting, divisive battle of ethics, the so-called “bad guys” of each conflict are always blatantly clear from the outset. Unfortunately, Carol Danvers fell into this category during both the first and second Civil Wars.
Fighting by Tony Stark’s side in the first war, Carol’s intention to reduce the collateral damage caused by superhumans -- even through the authoritarian Superhuman Registration Act -- was somewhat understandable. The second Civil War however, made Carol look much, much worse. Hoping to enforce a Minority Report-style system that allowed potential criminals to be dealt with before they even commit a crime, Captain Marvel didn’t come out of the story looking too good despite her best intentions, with many blaming her for the deaths of several key characters throughout the conflict.
13 THE CHARACTER WAS CUT FROM JESSICA JONES
As well as having a cameo cut from Avengers: Age of Ultron at the eleventh hour, Captain Marvel was also cut from a much larger role in Netflix’s acclaimed Jessica Jones series. Initially intended to appear opposite Jessica as her superpowered best friend and confidante, the character was ultimately removed from the project in favor of Rachael Taylor’s Trish Walker.
Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg later revealed that the possibility of Carol Danvers being promoted to the big screen may have had something to do with her removal from the show, but also suggested that the team felt Trish would make a much better mirror for Jessica due to her status as a non-powered character.
12 SHE ONCE HAD A SPLIT PERSONALITY
Following the Psyche-Magnetron explosion that gave Carol Danvers her superpowers, the character was left pretty severely brain damaged for quite some time. Suffering from frequent blackouts, Carol’s identity was fractured, with Carol Danvers and Ms. Marvel becoming two distinct entities, wreaking havoc on both her civilian and superhero life.
Transforming into her super-powered alter-ego whenever her seventh sense felt impending danger, it took a while for Carol to even realise she was Ms. Marvel, with Carol retaining no memory of her career as Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel blissfully unaware of her human life as Carol Danvers. After learning of her secret life as a superheroine however, the two personalities would eventually merge together, giving Carol Danvers full agency over both aspects of her life.
11 HER POWERS WERE STOLEN
Following an intense confrontation between Ms. Marvel and Rogue on the Golden Gate Bridge, Rogue used her mutant ability to absorb the powers of her adversary -- only to realize she may have gone too far. Absorbing too much of Carol’s power, Rogue permanently gained some of Ms. Marvel’s abilities, as well as her memories and personality, which took a large toll on Rogue’s mental health.
At the same time, Carol is saved by Spider-Woman, with the attack leaving Carol a blank slate -- both her powers and memories completely wiped. Thankfully, Professor X manages to restore Carol’s mind, although her emotional connection to the past is all but severed in the process. In addition to this, Carol’s powers remain absent for quite some time following the incident, marking a large turning point in the character’s history.
10 SHE HAD A “THING” WITH RHODEY
Having been romantically connected to several Marvel characters over the years including Wonder Man and even Spider-Man (briefly), Carol Danvers’ most recent -- and perhaps most fitting -- relationship came in the form of War Machine himself, James Rhodes. On paper, the two were a perfect match. Both high-ranking military officials who understood the responsibility of being a superhero, their relationship was tragically cut short in the pages of Civil War II.
After using Ulysses’ precognitive abilities to ambush a rapidly approaching Thanos, Captain Marvel and War Machine joined the Ultimates in the ensuing fight. During the skirmish, not only is She-Hulk rendered comatose, but Rhodey is beaten to death by Thanos, traumatizing both Carol and Tony Stark -- further driving a philosophical wedge between the two.
9 A BROOD EXPERIMENT DOUBLED HER POWER
Following the permanent absorption of her powers by the mutant Rogue, Carol spent some time with the X-Men, assisting them on a variety of missions in a supporting capacity. During this time, Carol and the X-Men came into contact with the Brood -- a brutal race of parasitic alien beings. Capturing Carol, the Brood were fascinated by the Kree-human hybrid’s unique genetic makeup, performing several torturous experiments on her.
This unlocked the true potential in Ms. Marvel’s genes and after being connected to a cosmic phenomenon known as a white hole, granted her near-godlike powers -- dwarfing those of the original Ms. Marvel. With these powers, Carol went by the name of Binary, and although her newfound powers would eventually die down, she also retained some of her cosmic powers permanently -- making Ms. Marvel even more powerful than she already was.
8 SHE WAS FIRED FROM THE DAILY BUGLE
Following Carol’s unfortunate departure from her career at NASA, the high-flying hero soon landed herself a new gig working alongside J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. Serving as the editor of Woman Magazine -- a subsidiary the Daily Bugle created to salvage the paper’s dwindling numbers -- it didn’t take long for Danvers and Jameson to butt heads.
While Jameson was insistent on filling the magazine with diet tips, recipes and other shallow puff pieces, Carol refused to facilitate Jameson’s vision, instead choosing to explore more pressing women’s issues. Despite Jameson’s reputation for firing Peter Parker, but not really firing Peter Parker, it seems he was serious about letting Carol go, replacing her with a new editor thanks to their differing visions for the magazine.
7 “HOUSE OF M” ALMOST BROKE HER
It’s no secret that Carol Danvers has had a tough ride over the course of her superhero career, but the fact that she always comes back out on top despite the obstacles thrown her way says an awful lot about her character. Determined to guard the public whatever the cost, Carol also has an extremely strong desire to be loved and respected by the civilians she protects.
This is exactly what she gets during the “House of M” story, in which Scarlet Witch drastically alters reality itself, creating a world where many of Earth’s heroes are living their own personal dreams. Among these heroes is Captain Marvel, who’s become the most widely recognized and beloved hero on the planet. When reality is eventually restored however, Carol is heartbroken by the setback, but ultimately uses the experience to transform herself into the best version of herself she can be.
6 SHE WROTE A BITTER EXPOSÉ ON NASA
Following her formative years as a member of the US Air Force, the next step in Carol Danvers’ career was a huge step up, even by her standards. Becoming the security director for NASA, Danvers was tasked with tracking the movements of the Kree empire, as well as finding out more about Kree warrior and eventual friend of Carol, Mar-Vell.
After befriending Mar-Vell during their adventures together, Carol eventually came across the exploding Psyche-Magnetron device that granted the fledgling hero her powers, the side effects of which included persistent blackouts. Of course, this – combined her failure to return Mar-Vell to NASA -- took its toll on her role as security director, and Carol was forced to resign. Following this, Carol penned a revealing tell-all on NASA that received considerable attention, leading to her next role at the Daily Bugle.
5 SHE’S HAD SOMETHING OF AN IDENTITY CRISIS
Although many superheroes take on several different mantles over the course of their respective histories, more often than not they have one iconic identity that becomes synonymous with the character. Carol Danvers is something of an exception to this rule though.
At first famous for her civilian identity, Carol Danvers, in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes, Carol soon went on to become Ms. Marvel for several decades -- which remains one of the character’s most widely recognized titles. In recent years however, Carol has taken on the role of Captain Marvel -- in homage to her former mentor -- which is likely become the moniker most closely tied to the character thanks to the MCU’s upcoming Captain Marvel movie. In addition to this, Carol has also been Binary -- the cosmically-powered version of herself -- as well as Warbird in one of the character’s darkest periods.
4 SHE’S BEEN STOPPED MULTIPLE TIMES
It’s become something of a rite of passage for superheroes to be killed off and brought back to life in increasingly convoluted fashion, and Carol Danvers is certainly no different in this regard. Getting banished to Limbo in the wake of the controversial Avengers #200, it takes some time for Carol to return.
Soon after, Rogue permanently absorbs the powers and personality of Ms. Marvel. During Rogue’s subsequent struggle with controlling Carol’s presence in her mind and body, a physical version of Ms. Marvel is expelled from her physical form -- although the skirmish between Rogue and Carol is quickly interrupted when Magneto murders this version of Carol. Most notably however, Ms. Marvel is assassinated in the “Dark Reign” storyline, after Norman Osborn recruits Ghazi Rashid to kill her – the resulting fight ending in Ms. Marvel overloading before exploding into a fiery display of energy.
3 SHE GETS AROUND (TEAMS, THAT IS)
Easily one of the busiest characters in Marvel, it seems Carol Danvers is forever spinning an insane number of plates at any given time. As a civilian, Carol always seems to have one incredibly important job or another, whether that’s working for the Air Force, NASA, the CIA or S.H.I.E.L.D.
As a superhero though, Carol is even busier, serving as a prominent member of the Avengers and its various spin-off teams including the New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers and A-Force. She also serves as a founding member of the Ultimates, while acting as the leader of the Alpha Flight Space Program. Despite not being a mutant, Carol even earned a temporary spot on the X-Men, assisting the team during her recovery. To top it all off, Carol has been associated with the Starjammers, the Defenders, Excalibur and even joined the Guardians of the Galaxy for a short stint.
2 SHE STRUGGLES WITH ADDICTION
During perhaps the darkest period of Ms. Marvel’s history, the character was subjected a series of tragedies in rapid succession -- which included the brutal death of her boyfriend at the hands of Mystique, her kidnapping and subsequent brainwashing, torture, getting depowered by Rogue and losing the powers she gained as Binary.
Following all of this, Carol re-joined the Avengers as Warbird, during which time she developed an unfortunate -- albeit understandable -- dependence on alcohol. With her decision not to vocalize her suffering weighing heavily on her, her alcoholism negatively impacted her work as a superhero, and Carol was eventually forced to step down from the Avengers. Not easily broken however, some help from fellow alcoholic Tony Stark set her back on the right path, and Carol soon returned stronger than ever.
1 THE INFAMOUS AVENGERS #200
Standing as one of the more controversial Avengers stories ever told, the infamous Avengers #200 began with Ms. Marvel realizing that she was suddenly and unexpectedly pregnant. As it turned out, Ms. Marvel had been kidnapped by an extra-dimensional being named Marcus, who then trapped her in Limbo. Brainwashed and forced to fall in love with Marcus, Carol was impregnated with his own essence against her will, and was then sent back to Earth to give birth to her abuser.
The story drew considerable criticism and outrage upon its release thanks to the comic’s overly dark themes, as well as the nonchalance with which the traumatizing events of the story were addressed. Amongst the story’s many detractors was none other than famed writer Chris Claremont, who soon attempted to undo the story in Avengers Annual #10 -- although it seems the damage was already done.