WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Captain Marvel, in theaters now.

Captain Marvel arrived in theaters last Friday to an unrealistic set of expectations. The movie had to introduce a new character, Carol Danvers, and establish her as a superhero. It had to stoke anticipation for the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. It had to set up the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next phase. On top of all that, it’s the first MCU movie to feature a solo female superhero, a fact that has generated a great deal of debate and publicity.

After star Brie Larson made comments about making the movie’s press rooms more inclusive, the backlash against the movie by a small but loud minority was swift and histrionic. This demonstrated the additional minefields Captain Marvel must navigate as the first solo female-led MCU movie.

However, outside of a couple nods to sexism and one music cue, Captain Marvel is far less interested in Carol Danvers’ status as a woman than it is with her status as a human being. This is a point emphasized from the very start of the film.

When the movie begins, Carol, who’s going by the name Vers, believes she’s Kree. While Vers has absolutely no idea she’s human, the audience does. So when her mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), tells her she needs to control her emotions to be a good warrior, the audience knows that part of the reason Vers is having trouble doing things the Kree way is because of her latent humanity.

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Later, the Supreme Intelligence is more blunt. It points out that Vers’ struggle with her emotions comes from her past. Of course, in that past, Vers was human. So once again, her supposed weaknesses are tied to her humanity, even if Vers herself doesn’t realize it.

Captain Marvel Starforce header

Then there’s the climactic scene in which Vers is sent to commune with the Supreme Intelligence again after she sides with the Skrulls over the Kree and is captured. The Supreme Intelligence is trying to set her straight, to make her recommit to the Kree and their war against the Skrulls. It tells Vers that before the Kree found her, she was nothing. The Kree made her strong. Without them, she wouldn’t have any power at all. Without the Kree, Vers is “only human.”

Then Vers sees memories of the many times she was knocked down, starting from when she was a little girl. Evidence that the human Carol was weak and helpless.

After spending six years being gaslighted about who she is and what she’s capable of, though, Vers isn’t buying it anymore. Now, she can remember that each time she got knocked down, she got up again and kept going. So, instead of falling for the Supreme Intelligence’s manipulations, she reclaims her humanity.

She tells the Supreme Intelligence that her name is Carol, and fights against it, breaking out of the restraints the Kree have placed her in since they took her from Earth.

It’s only at this point that Carol is able to embrace and use her powers to their full extent. And it’s not something that happens after she becomes empowered as a female, it’s something that happens after she becomes empowered as a human being.

NEXT PAGE: Captain Marvel is Ultimately a Story About Rediscovering One's Humanity

Captain Marvel

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This is followed by the requisite set of third act fight scenes that happen in all superhero films. And, yes, the soundtrack for the first one is No Doubt’s “I'm Just a Girl.” It’s a counterpoint to the scene that emphasizes Carol’s gender over her status as a human who happens to be female.

Of course, Captain Marvel isn’t oblivious to the fact that Carol is a woman. There’s a scene where a man tells her to smile -- a small act of sexism that (speaking from experience) happens so regularly it’s tiresome. Also, there’s an aside that explains that the reason Carol ended up in the plane crash that resulted in her kidnapping by the Kree was because, at the time, women weren’t allowed to fly in combat.

As a result, flying the mission she took on was one of the only ways for Carol to do something she felt mattered. This is just a nod to history that's in keeping with the film’s timeline, as it wasn’t until 1991 that the ban on women in the military flying in combat was lifted in the United States.

However, with all the aliens in Captain Marvel, Carol’s status as a human is ultimately more important than her status as a woman. This is emphasized when the Kree scan Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and determine he’s a human male -- threat level: Little to none.

What the aliens don’t recognize about humans, but Captain Marvel does, is that we’re resilient, we’re passionate and we’re compassionate, qualities that give us strength.

While many might interpret Carol Danvers through the lens of her gender, Captain Marvel is ultimately the story of an individual rediscovering her humanity.

Captain Marvel is a groundbreaking entry in the MCU because of its focus on a female superhero, but what’s more groundbreaking is the idea that Carol is only human -- and that’s enough.

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Movie studios have historically been reluctant to release films featuring female leads because the common wisdom is that men won’t watch those movies. Studies have shown that, while women are capable of identifying with characters of both genders, men are more likely to identify with male characters. Yet, a lot of this is a product of circumstance. If the coolest character in a movie is male, people of both genders are likely to identify with him. If male lead characters are the status quo, men never learn to identify with female characters.

When it comes to superhero movies, female heroes are still very much the exception. However, by normalizing female superheroes, and by emphasizing their humanity over their gender, the movies could usher in a new era where superheroes are only human, and they’re all capable of being strong.

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.