"I have nothing to prove to you."
Going through an MCU rewatch, just watched *Captain Marvel* again for, I think this is the 5th time?
Anyway, *Captain Marvel* is one of my favorite MCU movies, and this line is one of my (many) favorites of the MCU too.
The first time I saw it, I had been watching the entire movie expecting Carol to "finally" win a fight against Yon-Rogg the way he wanted her to, because that's the whole point, right? Carol is strong enough all on her own. She doesn't need her memories, she doesn't need her emotions, she doesn't need her powers...
Which was basically Yon-Rogg telling her she doesn't need to be *herself.* She's strong enough all on her own - as long as "her own" is what Yon-Rogg and the Kree want her to be.
But I didn't realize all that when I was first watching the movie. So there I was, expecting Carol to throw a non-powered punch and take out her opponent the way he had always demanded - and, quite frankly, the way most narratives demand.
And then the story turned that entire expectation on its head. And Carol dropped that line. And I *still* get chills every time I watch that scene.
Because not only did Carol finally remember who she was, she *embraced* who she was - including the abilities her powers gave her to see her priorities and goals through to the end.
She is strong enough all on her own - as *herself,* powers and all.
And she knows it. So there's nothing she needs to prove to anyone else. Especially not those who had been manipulating her and holding her back.
And seeing that development play out is just one of the reasons why I love this movie!
Anyway, *Captain Marvel* is one of my favorite MCU movies, and this line is one of my (many) favorites of the MCU too.
The first time I saw it, I had been watching the entire movie expecting Carol to "finally" win a fight against Yon-Rogg the way he wanted her to, because that's the whole point, right? Carol is strong enough all on her own. She doesn't need her memories, she doesn't need her emotions, she doesn't need her powers...
Which was basically Yon-Rogg telling her she doesn't need to be *herself.* She's strong enough all on her own - as long as "her own" is what Yon-Rogg and the Kree want her to be.
But I didn't realize all that when I was first watching the movie. So there I was, expecting Carol to throw a non-powered punch and take out her opponent the way he had always demanded - and, quite frankly, the way most narratives demand.
And then the story turned that entire expectation on its head. And Carol dropped that line. And I *still* get chills every time I watch that scene.
Because not only did Carol finally remember who she was, she *embraced* who she was - including the abilities her powers gave her to see her priorities and goals through to the end.
She is strong enough all on her own - as *herself,* powers and all.
And she knows it. So there's nothing she needs to prove to anyone else. Especially not those who had been manipulating her and holding her back.
And seeing that development play out is just one of the reasons why I love this movie!
Commentaires
It was easily one of the worst introductory films they put out.
Easily bottom 5 for all MCU films.
I am not a movie critic by any means, so your points here make me wonder if the movie is indeed *objectively* lacking in the areas you mention like "plot, characters, antagonist, action, pacing," OR if it's more so that some viewers have seen other iterations/stories with these characters and simply prefer those stories instead.
My knowledge of Marvel is based solely on the MCU, previous Spider-Man and X-Men movies/series, and some random wikipedia searches on a few storylines and character power sets. So I came into *Captain Marvel* with very little idea of the backstory of the Kree/Skrull conflict, for example (I knew Ronin was a bad guy from *GotG* but didn't know practically ALL the Kree were like him). Maybe coming into this movie with no preconceptions helped me enjoy it more? And while I'm sure I would like other versions of Captain Marvel, I still don't see any reason why I can't like *this* version on its own merits.
Kinda related: I'm a major Star Wars fan. My older brother was the Star Wars fan who got me into it with the OT before the prequels were even released. Now, my brother had a decade or more to get into the "original lore" and what's currently Legends/EU material before the prequels were released. I, being several years younger than him, did not. It's been interesting to hear him talk over the past few years about how much he dislikes the canon material after the OT, because he prefers the "original lore." Personally, at this point I've read some of the Legends material and watched all the canon stuff, and I like them both. I just keep in mind that they're separate continuities, and it ends up that I have twice the amount of Star Wars material to enjoy.
The first movie was significantly better.
So yeah, the diff menus look like 90’s screensavers with a mellow beat going. The main one is the flerken screensaver. The computer icons like the trash and folders. Haha
And thanks for looking!
I wanted one more big display or fight. Certainly not with YonRogg, but something.
What might be surprising narrative turns for some people are predictable for others. I'm sure a lot of this comes down to personal experiences, individual personalities, and even the patterns in stories/media we each individually choose to consume over our lifetime.
This movie marked the downturn of MCU.
They started promoting an agenda instead of telling a good story.
2- I really don't think Brie Larson is attractive but to each their own I guess. This doesn't have any impact on my rating of the film
I have “The Marvels” as Kamala’s movie.
I'd rather they used a villain with some actual superpowers, personally. Especially considering who the title character is.
I respect your view here, but I have to point out that this scene came after pretty massive fight scenes with Carol up against Yon-Rogg's forces on Mar-Vell's ship, and then Carol stopping the Kree invaders. Like, we get a solid 10+ minutes of a fight scene before *this* particular conflict ends the way it does.
She is confident in who she is, and doesn't need to conform to others standards or ideals.
Did anyone else notice that when Talos starts looking through her past against her will and says, “[Let’s open ‘er up](https://youtu.be/BkDMmeT0qxQ?si=ZsI_2un1oS9sZYJU)” it is one of cinemas most phallic shots? I was shocked in the theater and looked around. No Freud, but I was ready for some bold choices
My tangent: I watched She-Hulk before I did an Arrowverse full watch. Let me just tell you when Pug came on the scene on Arrow, I was completely thrown.
😂😂😂
I watched *Arrow* before *She-Hulk,* so seeing Josh Segarra as an absolute sweetheart rather than the villain took a bit of getting used to!
Yeah, I know I'm on Reddit.
Anyway, Captain Marvel will forever be one of my favorite MCU movies. I love Carol so goddamn much, y'all.
I just wish, like I do with most of Phase Three, that they hadn't leaned into the comedy so much. The scene that stands out is the post-credit scene where Fury loses his eye. We'd previously had it implied that someone close to him betrayed him; that emotional beat got thrown aside for a gag. Which the MCU did too often in that era (I'm looking at you, Thor Ragnarok).
Positive reaction to Ragnarok is what activated the corporate executive brain loop that says THIS, PEOPLE LIKE THIS. THE HERDS EAT THIS AND POOP OUT MONEY DOLLARS. NOW EVERYTHING IS THIS.
The first Thor and Avengers films built up the idea of him ruling as a terrifying prospect. He's a tyrant that is implicitly compared to Hitler ("there are always men like you", said by a German).
And yet in Ragnarok, his rule of Asgard in disguise as Odin is basically fine. He's a hedonist, not a dictator; he may be ineffectual, but is ultimately harmless. Why would anyone be scared if that?
And then his conflict with Thor is turned into a sibling squabble.
It's a matter of tone and of *scale.* Ragnarok jumps out to the galactic level so you can see Asgardians in context, as other beings aware of the power structures in the galaxy see them.
That fits with the story modulation in that era: toward the stars. You're not seeing Asgardians the way Jane Foster saw first Thor -- with awe -- anymore. You're seeing them the way the Collector sees them. Or how Asgardians see each other.
I agree that there's a challenge in retaining *stakes* when you're dealing with semi-omnipotent immortals, and telling stories on the scale of interstellar civilization, etc -- and Marvel does not navigate that well.
The later movies lack nail-biting peril, because the stakes are hard to comprehend.
Compared to, say, Tony Stark using sci fi tech -- and understanding of flight mechanics, air resistance, etc, to save the lives of a bunch of normal people in suits falling out of an airplane. *That* is a good sequence because you just instantly *get it* and see what he's doing, and why it matters.
The exception is the What If tv show, imo. That feels both cosmic *and* personal at times. But it has its conceit already established and has multiple seasons to play with.
Loki tv show also not bad, but it forgets to relate back to why Loki is so sad and angry, in a blood and bone way. He just comes across as sullen, immature, and impatient, like a hormonal teenager (and that's accurate, but inadequate to us being able to identify with him) which dilutes the impact of his COSMIC LEVEL face turn.
A spy? That lies? It's the end of the world.
I’d argue that bc their relationship w the us military has already been established it does still make most of these movies function as propaganda. Because that’s a valuable partner for them so obviously they’re going to protect that relationship, probably always why marvel shys away from ever really criticizing them or you get stuff like falcon and winter solider or cap 4 that addresses topics like americas racist history in the most boring, Milquetoast way.
Cap 2: Winter Soldier was denied funding by the military because it was about the government secretly being full of Nazis. It's also rated as one of the best MCU movies.
Me seeing Danvers throw down with an old lady on the train: 🤯
Was thrilled when she was just like "Nah bro" and blasted him. Unapologetic badass power move.