On November 10, 2023, comic book fans around the world will be treated to the next chapter in the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe with the release of the highly anticipated The Marvels. Directed by Nia DaCosta, the movie will see Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan team up to take on a powerful and extremely dangerous adversary, a fight that could have long-lasting impact on the MCU.
As part of our partnership with AMC Theatres, where you can now purchase tickets to The Marvels, we’ve gone back and revisited movies like Captain Marvel, as well as shows like WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, to provide a breakdown of the heroes’ powers and how they became so strong, fast and awesome in the first place. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s get started…
Carol Danvers Has Superhuman Strength And Speed, As Well As Energy Manipulation
Carol Danvers, who has been portrayed by Brie Larson since the character’s arrival in Captain Marvel, could be considered the strongest hero in the whole MCU thanks to her superhuman strength and speed, but those powers are just a portion of her skillset. In addition to being the fastest and strongest Avenger, Captain Marvel can manipulate energy around her, whether it be to shoot holes through Thanos’ army’s ships in the Avengers: Endgame final battle or protect herself while rescuing her fellow heroes stranded in deep space in the 2019 crossover film’s opening moments.
Pretty much, bad guys beware whenever Carol Danvers shows up for a fight, as she doesn’t hold back in her powerful attacks and her “cool as a cucumber” demeanor. She took on Thanos in a one-on-one fight, and the Mad Titan only lasted as long as he did because of the Infinity Gauntlet. He straight-up head-butted her and Carol didn’t even flinch.
Captain Marvel Obtained Her Powers After Coming In Contact With The Tesseract
Before becoming a superhero, Carol Danvers was an incredibly talented pilot of the United States Air Force, one who was presumed to have died in a test flight back in 1989 (six years before the main portion of Captain Marvel). However, Danvers didn’t die during the incident, but instead absorbed the power of Dr. Wendy Lawson’s (Annette Bening) engine that was destroyed before it could fall into the hands of the Kree.
All of the energy from the engine, which was powered by the Tesseract (the Space Stone), was absorbed by Danvers at that moment, giving her the unprecedented power seen in the final act of the movie. Though she gained the power of flight, superspeed, and unmatched strength, Carol lost all of her memories after being taken in by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), the Kree leader of Starforce, who implemented a chip that prevented her from reaching her full potential. With that restraint removed near the end of Captain Marvel, her powers were near-limitless. And though the chip was removed, Carol still has Kree blood running through her body, which extends her lifespan, slows down her aging, and further boosts her physical attributes.
Monica Rambeau Can Transform Herself Into Any Form Of Electromagnetic Energy
Not to be outdone, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) has an assortment of abilities of her own that make her quite an ally to have on your side. As an adult, the daughter of Carol Danvers’ best friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), gained all kinds of powers that, on paper, make her one of the strongest heroes in the MCU.
Monica has superhuman reflexes that make her a speedy and capable combatant, but that’s just a small part of her list of skills. She also has multiple energy-based powers that give her the ability to transform herself into cosmic rays, X-rays, and gamma energy, as well allowing her to absorb sources of energy that would be too much for your everyday human. On top of that, Rambeau is a highly skilled hand-to-hand fighter, a skilled marksman and a detective up there with the best of the best in the comic world.
Monica Rambeau Got Her Powers From Wanda's Magic
Though Monica Rambeau held it down with her hand-to-hand combat skills, stellar marksmanship, and investigative mind before becoming a superhero, she wasn’t able to manipulate energy until after she entered Wanda Maximoff’s hex during the first season of WandaVision.
In case you forgot, Monica passed through the dome surrounding Westview a total of three times before Wanda’s hex finally ended, and each time her DNA was rewritten by the cosmic energy that was originally drawn from the Mind Stone. After crossing through the barrier multiple times, Monica could do things that were beyond her imagination just days and hours earlier.
Kamala Khan Can Use Cosmic Energy To Create 'Hard Light'
The youngest of the trio at the center of The Marvels, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a.k.a., Ms. Marvel, has some of the most impressive of the bunch, though they do differ slightly from the comic book version of the character. The MCU’s Ms. Marvel can perform all kinds of manipulations involving various forms of energy, a skill that comes in handy on more than one occasion.
Whether she’s turning energy into purple constructs as stepping stones or other objects to help in a fight or flight situation, using “hard light” to add more power to her punches and kicks, or increasing the size of a single body part or the whole thing, the teenage hero can do just about anything she sets her mind to, with the proper training, of course.
Kamala Khan Draws Her Powers From A Mysterious Bracelet… And Her Genes
Early on in her Disney+ original series, Kamala Khan comes in possession of a mysterious bangle that belonged to her grandmother, a bracelet that at first appeared to give the Pakistani-American teenager her marvelous powers. However, in the tail end of the show's first season, it is revealed that Kamala is actually a mutant, the first in the entire MCU. This revelation not only changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it also deeply impacted the young heroine and the way she looks at the world.
The bangle and Kamala’s mutant genes were the combination needed to unlock her impressive superhuman abilities. And based on what has been teased with The Marvels, we haven’t seen anything yet.
Though we didn’t go into every minute detail when it comes to the powers and backstories of Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan, this will hopefully be enough to help you prepare for the upcoming sequel to Captain Marvel. If you are interested in checking out The Marvels, you can go ahead and purchase your tickets at AMC Theatres.
