With Larson’s next MCU appearance imminent in Captain Marvel 2 — officially titled The Marvels (2023) — it may seem odd to learn that Marvel has officially confirmed plans to kill the character.
In the Marvel Comics world, popular Marvel characters find themselves dealing with all manner of storylines that never make it into Kevin Feige’s MCU. Such is the case with the original male Captain Marvel — Mar-Vell’s — upcoming death.
If there’s one hero who can’t catch a break in Marvel Comics, it’s Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel. Few superheroes actually remain dead, but partly because his original passing was so iconic, Mar-Vell is stuck in a process of brief returns followed by repeated dirt naps, with the latest taking place in Silver Surfer Rebirth #2, from Ron Marz, Ron Lim, Don Ho, Israel Silva, and Joe Sabino.
Mar-Vell originally died in Jim Starlin’s iconic graphic novel, “The Death of Captain Marvel,” and was, oddly enough for a super hero, left deceased for about 26 years until “Secret Invasion” (2008). As the aforementioned article notes:
It was soon revealed, however, that it was a Skrull brainwashed to believe he was the real Mar-Vell, and the impostor soon died as well. The taboo was broken, however, and the real Mar-Vell was resurrected two times, once for the 2010 Chaos War event, and once during Avengers Vs. X-Men in 2012.
Now, however, Mar-Vell is about to die again, at the hands of Thanos, no less. In the preview for “Silver Surfer Rebirth #2,” Thanos stands next to the Fantastic Four antagonist on a seemingly barren planet, near Mar-Vell’s dead body.
At one point in the panels, the Mad Titan denies murdering Mar-Vell, telling the Silver Surfer, “Believe me, he was dead already.”
For now, fans will simply have to wait to read the issue to find out exactly what transpires. But, one thing is certain, Captain Marvel will die in the very near future.
As for Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel’s next appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an official description of The Marvels has not been released. We do know, however, that it will heavily feature a grown-up version of young Monica Rambeau, who appeared in Larson’s first solo film.
Teyonah Parris was introduced as adult Monica in Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision on Disney+ in early 2021.
The Marvels is an upcoming American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau.
The Nia DiCosta film is due to hit theaters on February 17, 2023.
What do you think about Captain Marvel dying at the hands of Thanos?
You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the five series in Marvel’s Phase Four so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Marvel’s What If…?, and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye— on Disney+ anytime.
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Credit: Marvel Studios
