SPOILER WARNING! The following article contains major spoilers for The Marvels. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!
Captain Marvel was a massive hit, so it was little surprise when a sequel was confirmed. However, what was originally called a sequel to Captain Marvel is far more than that. The Marvels effectively functions as a sequel to three different MCU stories, Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel, as The Marvels cast brings together Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan for a team-up of impressive proportions.
All three characters are in very different places when The Marvels begins, as only one of them is even on planet Earth as the story starts. But that’s nothing compared to where they are when it’s all said and done.
The finale of The Marvels sees the trio do battle with the antagonist Dar-Benn, who has obtained Kamala Khan's bangle as well as its mate – which we learn are capable of incredible power, including the creation of wormholes in space. Here’s a rundown of where each of the main characters finds themselves at the end of The Marvels.
Where The Marvels Leaves Monica Rambeau
The end of The Marvels sees a major hole blasted in space-time after the movie's big bad, Dar-Benn, uses the Quantum Gauntlets to try and open another wormhole (but she is unable to control their power). Dar-Benn appears to completely obliterate herself, but she also tears a hole into another reality. Monica, thinking quickly, suggests that if Kamala, using the Gauntlets, and Captain Marvel provide her with a power boost, she can fly out and use the combined energy of the three women to seal the hole.
Monica gets the energy from them and flies out to seal the rift. The major catch, however, is that she has to do it from the opposite side from where the tear was created, meaning she has to enter the alternate reality. What Monica knows but intentionally doesn’t make clear to her teammates is that she’ll need to remain on the other side in order to finish the job.
Carol tries to warn her friend that the rift is closing, and when she realizes Monica has no intention of coming back through the hole, she flies out to try and save her. She’s unable to get there in time, as the rift seals just as Captain Marvel arrives, and Monica has been left behind. This is the last we see of her in the main film, but her fate is revealed in The Marvels' mid-credits scene.
Where The Marvels Leaves Carol Danvers
Following the loss of Monica, Captain Marvel goes off to keep a promise. During the battle with Dar-Benn, Monica suggest that Carol might have the power to restart the sun on Hala, the Kree homeworld. Captain Marvel agrees to do this in hopes it will end the fight. It does not, but perhaps as a way to remember her now-lost friend, Carol Danvers flies off the Kree world and is able to reignite the dying star – giving light and warmth back to the Kree.
From there, however, Carol Danvers comes home. We cut to a familiar location to those who saw Captain Marvel. She sets up a new home in Louisiana, having apparently decided to move into Maria Rambeau’s old house. With Maria having passed away and Monica now in another universe, it seems Carol Danvers has decided to hold down the fort while she awaits Monica’s return. If that day ever comes.
Kamala Khan and her family are assisting with the move-in. Considering that Carol and Monica had previously clashed over Captain Marvel’s decision to not come back to earth and see her, it’s a major step. It seems Captain Marvel will be putting down roots on her home planet for the first time since she gained her powers. But what that means for Carol Danvers' or Captain Marvel's future is far less clear.
Where The Marvels Leaves Kamala Khan
By the end of The Marvels, Kamala Khan has become the best friend of Captain Marvel that she always dreamed of being. She helps her new bestie move into her home and even sits in the cockpit of a plane with her, as a young Monica once did. Carol insists she’s just watching over things until Monica gets back. But Kamala Khan isn’t looking toward her past; she already has eyes on the future. She has an idea that she wants to run past her new friend.
We never hear what Kamala and Carol talk about, but the next scene clues us into the subject matter. We see Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, who we last saw in the Hawkeye Disney+ series, coming back to a dark apartment after what appears to be her nightly patrol, as she has all her hero gear on her. She throws a slice of pizza to her dog before realizing she is not alone.
In a sequence that is clearly meant to be a slightly sillier version of the original Iron Man post-credits scene, Kamala Khan is sitting in the dark, trying and adorably failing to be as cool as Nick Fury. She tells Kate that she wants to put a team together, and she wants her on it. She's carrying the S.A.B.E.R. pad we saw earlier which we know has "intel" on Kamala and any other heroes that the organization felt it needed to keep tabs on. It seems Kamala wants to put together a complete team of young heroes.
Kamala mentions that Ant-Man has a daughter, implying we could see Cassie Lang joining this group as well, and previous MCU films and series have established a number of other young heroes who could likely become part of a new team of Young Avengers.
Each member of The Marvels changes a great deal from the beginning of the film. Monica Rambeau isn’t even in the same universe she was in when it all started, but she sacrificed herself for the greater good; Carol Danvers has come home again, and she’s embracing relationships with others; and Ms. Marvel may have spent the movie mostly playing the plucky sidekick, but she ends the story ready to take charge of her own destiny.
