The long-awaited first trailer for the upcoming Captain Marvel has proven an instant success, garnering over 30 million views and counting in these last three days alone. And while you may like to think that all these fans are looking to Carol Danvers as a beacon of hope in these chaotic times, the likelihood is that a good proportion of viewers are mainly there to check out the part where Brie Larson’s character punches an old lady in the face.
In all fairness, the old lady may not be an old lady at all, but a villainous member of the shape-shifting Skrulls, an alien race capable of taking the form of any human being. For those unaware of this deceptive species and Captain Marvel’s history with them, their first reaction to seeing Carol assaulting the elderly was shock and confusion, but it wasn’t long before the memes followed.
Twitter users have been quick to offer their own humorous takes on this striking moment, so much so that we’re already seeing versions of the meme that comment on the popularity of the meme:
This #CaptainMarvel meme has low key taken over the interwebs. You knew we had to get in on it right! 😂 pic.twitter.com/OJmtmUPN8k
— Blerds United (@BlerdsUnited) September 20, 2018
Elsewhere, the clip has been used to take some fresh shots against DC, including one reference to how the star of next year’s Shazam! has previously worked under the same superhero name as Carol:
https://twitter.com/Kuro8712/status/1042364837123239936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"Martha Kent?"
"Yes?"
[FALCON PUNCH]#CaptainMarvel pic.twitter.com/hH57gvzTfm— Jacopo della Quercia (@Jacopo_della_Q) September 18, 2018
Indeed, the meme has very much taken on a life of its own, with Twitter users continuing to find new things for Captain Marvel to symbolically punch:
The #CaptainMarvel trailer has given me the gift to meme my own self-deprecation. pic.twitter.com/pMlgBNjdXY
— Shelby Shinkle (@Ms_Shinkle) September 18, 2018
— BB-66 – Since 2015 (@bb_sixtysix) September 19, 2018
I can see why Captain Marvel /Carol Danvers (@brielarson ) decided to punch the old lady on the bus in the new @captainmarvel trailer…#CaptainMarvel #BrieLarson #Marvel pic.twitter.com/BZdmbqS9qN
— BRENDAN CLEMENT (@BRENTHETIMELORD) September 20, 2018
I just saw the #CaptainMarvel trailer and I'm PRETTY sure I have a new go-to meme format. pic.twitter.com/ydc7nbdAgg
— David Somervilleâ„¢ (@DavidSmrvl) September 18, 2018
But as popular as clip has become, one user has also pointed out that Carol isn’t the first superhero to wallop a foe disguised as an old woman:
I just want to say, Hellboy was the superhero punching old lady disguised creatures before Captain Marvel did it pic.twitter.com/Iru1Q9cYSV
— Nick (@NicholasJLevi) September 18, 2018
After just one trailer, the Captain Marvel movie is already working its way into the pop culture landscape, but we’ll see if the film itself can make an impact when it hits theaters on March 8th, 2019.
