Captain Marvel Trailer Hides MCU Origin In Plain Sight

Captain Marvel's origin is in the trailer for her MCU movie - you just have to look for it in the right place. An air force pilot, Carol Danvers was transformed into a half-human, half-Kree when her and Mar-Vell - the original Captain Marvel in the comics - are caught in an explosion from some Kree tech known as the Psyche-Magnetron.

Convoluted by years of name changes, it's still an important part of her character. This made it rather surprising, then, when it was reported that the Captain Marvel movie wasn't actually an origin story for Brie Larson's take on Carol Danvers, with her entering the story already souped up (and fighting aliens). Something felt off, especially as Jude Law is set to play one of the two characters whose battle led to the Psyche-Magnetron's activation: Mar-Vell, who he was initially reported as playing, and villain Yon-Rogg, evidence of which has been mounting.

Now the trailer for Captain Marvel is here, we know that the origin will indeed play a key role in the film. And, while Marvel may not be describing it as an origin story, there's every indication that the movie's plot will be all about Carol's emergent and growing powers. Here's how it breaks down.

The Explosion

First, we get the explosion that engulfs Carol and rewrites her DNA at 1:37 in the Captain Marvel trailer. While this is presumably the Psyche-Magnetron, from the colors on display in the trailer, it's been speculated the explosion may actually be linked to the Quantum Realm.

Carol's DNA Is Changed

That shot is followed directly by another showing Carol's hand become ensnared by blue energy tendrils and her skin flares orange. This is likely how the film will represent the rewriting of her DNA to become half-Kree, acting as a foreshadow of her eventual full powers.

Carol Is Thrown Back

Earlier in the trailer, at 1:12, is what comes next in the sequence: Carol is thrown backwards. In the background, you can see the evidence of crash wreckage, while the ground is full of impact holes, again suggesting a Kree spaceship.

Carol's Powers Form

Straight after is a shot of Carol's hand as she lies on the ground, that pulsating blue and orange still swirling around it. This time, though, the power looks to be coming from her: we're seeing her become the source of this immense energy.

Carol Rises Once More

One of the most striking moments of the Captain Marvel trailer is three ages of Carol Danvers getting back up from a knock, and the last of these, at 1:42, looks to be her recovering from the explosion. The location is clearly the same, and it would follow the others perfectly. Of course, aside from a slight nosebleed, she's completely unhurt.

While it comes from three separate parts of the trailer, this would definitely look to be Captain Marvel's comic-accurate origin, likely told as part of a memory-flashback in the film. However, that's not the end of her journey.

Is Carol Danvers Being Made More Powerful?

While that's the classic origin, it's not the end to Captain Marvel's growth. At 1:17 in the trailer, we see her chained up and being subjected to some form of space experiment. While the placement in the trailer has led some to suggest she's getting her memories wiped by the Kree, that may not be the case. Indeed, the colors involved - blue energy becoming orange when coming into contact with Carol - is very reminiscent of the explosion. In the comics, the Brood used a similar machine to try and induce Captain Marvel's Binary form, and that may just work...

Captain Marvel's Binary Form

Carol may get her powers on Earth from a Kree device, but she won't truly become the most powerful character in the MCU straight away. At the very end of the trailer, we see her surrounded by orange energy and her eyes flaring. This is her Binary form, a next-level twist on Captain Marvel's powerset. It's hard to make out the location behind all that glow, but the architecture is similar to the previously discussed experiment location.

Evidently, Carol Danvers' origin will be a key part of Captain Marvel - why else would it be quite so prominent in the first teaser trailer? The distinction is that, rather than starting with our hero in their everyday life, she's already superpowered, with the big mystery being what actually happened. That's something Marvel's keeping close to their chest but, if you ask us, we'd keep an eye on Jude Law.