With great power comes great responsibility, and the titular lead of the upcoming Captain Marvel is about as powerful as MCU superheroes get. On the responsibility front, however, Carol Danvers could maybe use a little more work, unless you think that the height of nobility is punching sweet old ladies in the face.
To be fair, if there’s anyone who would have good reason for assaulting the elderly, it’s Carol, who’s known to be wrapped up in a conflict against the Skrulls – shape-shifting beings who are capable of taking the most innocent and human of forms. This deceptive ability has already prompted many a fan theory about who in the Marvel universe could actually be one of these green-skinned creatures in disguise. But if you’re unaware of Captain Marvel’s history with this invasive race, then the moment in the new trailer where she socks a woman right in the mug probably came as quite a shock.
Sure enough, Twitter was flooded with reactions from users who were stunned by this seemingly thuggish display from Brie Larson’s character, with people reacting as follows:
Carol Danvers doesn't care who you are, she will punch you right in the face! #CaptainMarvel pic.twitter.com/zNPy6NtWaq
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) September 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/sleepyskunk/status/1042041151912411136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042041151912411136&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2018%2F09%2F18%2Fcaptan-marvel-fans-react-to-carol-punching-an-old-lady%2F
YEAH CAPTAIN MARVEL
PUNCH THAT OLD LADY
PUNCH HER GOOD— Ryan George (@theryangeorge) September 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/ComicBooksTalk/status/1042040008385994760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042040008385994760&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2018%2F09%2F18%2Fcaptan-marvel-fans-react-to-carol-punching-an-old-lady%2F
Hello my CV is now just this #CaptainMarvel gif pic.twitter.com/rQJxZdtf7y
— TechnicallyRon (On all the platforms) (@TechnicallyRon) September 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/tnstarkss/status/1042036333957459969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042036333957459969&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2018%2F09%2F18%2Fcaptan-marvel-fans-react-to-carol-punching-an-old-lady%2F
Old ladies have had a free ride for long enough, especially old ladies w/ glasses. #CaptainMarvel pic.twitter.com/e2kW9uaJqH
— rico. (@whoisrico) September 18, 2018
At the same time, there were still quite a few fans who caught on quick about the true nature of this incident:
https://twitter.com/hellocookie/status/1042036072417566720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042036072417566720&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2018%2F09%2F18%2Fcaptan-marvel-fans-react-to-carol-punching-an-old-lady%2F
While it seems likely that the old woman is not how she appears, there’s certainly potential for some cruel comedy in next year’s release as Carol tries to determine the real humans from the fakes, perhaps making the occasional, very painful error in her judgement. Still, she’ll probably be saving some of her hardest wallops for Ben Mendelsohn’s character, who may work as Nick Fury’s boss in S.H.I.E.L.D., but is actually the villainous Skrull leader Talos in disguise.
Here’s hoping Carol doesn’t doesn’t get too paranoid in her hunt for the enemy when Captain Marvel comes out on March 8th, 2019.