Whether fans were looking forward to Captain Marvel because of the Skrulls, because of young Nick Fury or because of Brie Larson jetting around in the trailers like some kind of supersonic astroid with a Roman helmet on, it's hard to deny that Marvel’s first female-led superhero film has become one of the most-hyped movies of the year.

Although every Marvel movie reveals a little something more about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel has been particularly hyped due to the timing of its release. Hitting theatres less than two months before the release date of Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel is the last Marvel movie we’ll get before the final Avengers film. This means that the events of Captain Marvel will be highly relevant to Avengers: Endgame, and whatever the film reveals about the MCU will probably play a central role in the plot of Marvel’s epic finale of Phase Three.

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 How Nick Fury Lost His Eye

Captain Marvel Nick Fury and Goose

Most fans automatically assumed Nick Fury lost his left eye in the most epic way imaginable. It’s Samuel L. Jackson, for Pete’s sake! If they’d told us his eye was destroyed while he was single-handedly taking down a Cold War spy ring, most of us would have believed them. Heck, even if they’d said a band of Kree warriors had descended upon Earth and stolen his eye as a keepsake because even aliens from the other side of the galaxy have a healthy respect for how awesome Nick Fury is, we probably would have gone along with it.

But Captain Marvel finally revealed why Nick Fury has to wear an eyepatch and it’s nothing like the epic scenarios we all imagined. Rather, Fury lost the functioning of his eye because of a scratch from a cute little cat named Goose. In fairness, that cat is actually a Flerken (or, in other words, an epic alien that spews tentacles and houses a freaking pocket dimension in its insides). But still. 

 Why Nick Fury Named Them The Avengers

Captain Marvel Nick Fury Avengers Initiative SR

Believe it or not, Nick Fury once thought “The Protectors” would be a good name for the team of heroes he intended to assemble as Earth’s defense force. Luckily, while he was brainstorming names back in the ‘90s, a picture of Carol Danvers just happened to be sitting next to him, and when he noticed her callsign used to be “Avenger,” he decided to change the title of his proposal from the Protectors Initiative to the Avengers Initiative. So, if it weren’t for Carol, we’d all be eagerly awaiting Protectors: Endgame right now (it just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?). 

 Ronan's Backstory Before Guardians

Ronan With His Cosmic-Rod - Guardians Of The Galaxy

In Guardians of the Galaxy, we meet Ronan the Accuser, a rogue member of the Kree race who is intent upon the destruction of Xandar. Luckily, the Guardians of the Galaxy manage to take Ronan down with a well-timed dance-off before he can accomplish his goal of mass genocide. But it turns out that before he became a psychopathic murderer with a vendetta against Xandar, he was… well, a psychopathic murderer with a vendetta against Xandar who was employed by the Kree military. In Captain Marvel, we see him dropping bombs on Earth and facing off with Captain Marvel in space under the direction of the Kree commander Yon-Rogg. However, once he witnesses Carol Danvers rocketing around and destroying his fleet like an epic one-woman space armada, he realizes he’s a tad outgunned and leaves Earth with his remaining ships. 

The Tesseract Was Kept By The Kree

Captain Marvel Tesseract

The Tesseract is basically a main character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point. It has appeared in more Marvel movies than Captain America, and in the nine films it’s featured in, we’ve learned its history is as tumultuous as any of our heroes. Created as a housing vessel for the Space Stone, the Tesseract has been used by everyone from Nazis to Asgardians in its past for both good and evil, and Captain Marvel reveals that the Kree are on that list as well.

While trying to create an energy-core, the Kree scientist Mar-Vell experimented with the Tesseract and housed it on a spaceship above Earth. Eventually, at the end of Captain Marvel, the Tesseract is returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. in a special containment vessel (AKA, Goose the cat, who later spits it up on Nick Fury’s desk like a hairball). 

Nick Fury Created Avengers Because Of Captain Marvel

Nick Fury and Captain Marvel

When an entire armada of aliens shows up on your doorstep and the only reason they don’t manage to annihilate your world is an epic one-woman space armada who will be on the other side of the universe in a few days, you know it’s time to consider beefing up your planet’s defenses.

After Nick Fury witnesses the firepower of the Kree, he begins a proposal for the Avengers Initiative - an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people - and we all know the story from there. 

 Nick Fury Could Have Called Captain Marvel Any Time

If you had a hero this powerful on speed dial in your back pocket, you’d probably give her a shout if an army of Chitauri aliens showed up on your planet’s doorstep threatening world domination. Or, if giant space-worms invading the Earth didn’t feel like it quite warranted emergency measures (after all, they had a Hulk), one would imagine a sentient robot trying to wipe out human civilization might finally convince you to drop her a line.

But in every instance of crisis in the Marvel films, Nick Fury never reached out to Captain Marvel - only when half the universe’s population was turning into dust bunnies did he finally call her.

Captain Marvel Will Return In Endgame

Captain Marvel Avengers Endgame Tony Stark

We knew that Captain Marvel was going to be involved in the events of Avengers: Endgame somehow, but until that end-credits scene that showed her meeting the Avengers on Earth, we didn’t know where she would make her entrance. Given that, at the end of Captain Marvel, she was taking off to some distant end of the universe, it was entirely feasible that she’d run into Tony Stark drifting around in space before she came back to Earth (can NASA just rescue him already?). But now we know that she’ll enter the scene on Earth meeting with some very depressed Avengers in answer to Fury’s plea for help.

Captain Marvel Is The Strongest Avenger

Captain Marvel Avengers Age of Ultron

Long before Captain Marvel hit theatres, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed that Carol Danvers would be the strongest Avenger to join the MCU as of yet. And in case anyone was questioning Feige’s word, that final scene in which Danvers jets around in space and smokes Ronan like a Christmas ham should have cleared up any doubts. Thor and the Hulk may be powerful, but if they went into the ring with Carol Danvers, they’d get, as the Hulk loves to put it, smashed.

NEXT: 10 Biggest Captain Marvel Movie Spoilers