Forget Captain Marvel, Brie Larson reveals her own superhero origin story

Captain Marvel may have an awesome origin story, but it turns out the actress behind the character, Brie Larson, also has a brilliant story of how she was inspired by comics as a kid.

In the second episode of MPower, the Disney Plus series that gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the women of Marvel, we get a closer look at the history of Captain Marvel and delve into what makes the character tick, both on screen and in the comics. Larson talks a bit about her, as well as what inspired her about the hero. She also delves into her own history with comic books and all things nerdy.

“Growing up, I was a fan of comic books. As a kid, my family would play this game called Quarters, a card game. You get a couple of quarters to start. It’s like how you bet. It was a brilliant game for me because I think when I was buying comics, it was maybe 75 cents or $1.50. And so, if I won a game of Quarters, I could go buy a comic, or a couple if I was buying older comics.”

Wow. Comics for 75 cents — if only that were still the case. Larson goes on to talk about the positive inspiration characters like Captain Marvel had on her as a young girl and the impact such characters could have on others growing up.

“I was hugely inspired by the women that I saw in comics, that they were battling creatures and then also personal problems at the same time. Getting exposed to that at a young age is monumental.”

Larson’s own origin story has some parallels with Carol Danvers as she also comes from humble beginnings. “I was an introvert with asthma, and that was really antithetical to who I thought Carol Danvers was.” However, just like her character, Larson was able to overcome and work her way up through a mostly male-dominated environment. 

The episode gives us insight from some of the writers behind the hero, both on the page and on the silver screen as they describe Carol Danvers’ tenacity and compare her to Larson. She’s the perfect fit for the role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel as her passion for the comic book medium alongside her feminist values come through in the character on screen.