Here's why Captain Marvel may not have been around to help the Avengers before Avengers: Endgame. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a rich continuity, and Marvel Studios just recently went back to 1995 to tell the origin story of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in Captain Marvel. This placement in the timeline allowed the movie and its lead character to exist without much restraint from the larger canon, but it also immediately made many wonder where she's been in the decades since.

Captain Marvel provides a possible answer to this, as she left Earth to go help the Skrulls - who turned out to be the good guys - find a new home planet. She upgraded Nick Fury's pager before doing so, telling him that he can contact her in emergencies only. It wasn't until the Decimation that Fury did so, which would mean that neither Loki's invasion of Earth or Ultron's possible destruction of it were important enough. Or were they? Marvel Studios' president previously teased that Fury may have sent out a call before, but we've never seen it.

Related: Avengers Theory: The Skrulls Have An Important Role To Play In Endgame

These explanations for Captain Marvel's absence from the larger MCU do make some sense, but there's more options out there. Screen Rant's newest MCU video takes a look at three different possible reasons why Carol never helped the Avengers before Endgame. Check out the full breakdown of them in the video featured at the top of this post.

Since Captain Marvel ended with Carol and the Skrulls going off to search the galaxy, one of the most likely reasons why she hasn't been around is that she never actually received any of Fury's previous pages. The movie includes a quick explanation that even with the upgraded tech, the pager may only still work if Carol is just a galaxy or two away from Earth. But, she could even be beyond a geographical reach. Part of Kelly Sue DeConnick's run on Captain Marvel in the comics - which greatly influenced the solo film - took Carol back in time. This could've tied in nicely to the idea of Captain Marvel gaining the ability to travel through time, but Samuel L. Jackson says he made that all up.

If neither of these two explanations or her being stuck in the Quantum Realm are used in future MCU films, then fans will be keeping close attention to what the in-world explanation is for her not being seen since. Footage descriptions from Avengers: Endgame teased that her galactic activities will be used to explain where she's been. Of course, if Captain Marvel 2 is another MCU prequel film, it could establish that Fury has tried to call her in the past or even that she's visited Earth since 1995, but she was too late to help out.

MORE: Every Avengers: Endgame Theory Compilation