SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR MAY FOLLOW. YE BE WARNED.

I think it’s about damn time Marvel gave a woman her own superhero film, and with the end-credits scene from Infinity War, I’m glad it’s Carol Danvers.

Now, if you’re just a casual movie-goer and not a comic nerd, you may be unfamiliar with this hero. Gather round, and listen to Mummy Collectress, as she tells you a little bit about the awesomeness of Captain Marvel, and just what role she may play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A Brief Brief History

Carol Danvers was a major in the Air Force before being recruited to work in the CIA, alongside one Nick Fury. During this time, she worked alongside Logan and some other notable Marvel characters, until she was captured by the KGB and imprisoned. After Logan rescued her, she took a position at NASA, where she met Mar-Vell, the Kree warrior/superhero. (Remember the Kree? They were important in Agents of Shield and in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1).

Her friendship with Mar-Vell eventually turned into something a little more, and they worked and fought together for a long time. Until, an explosion of the superhero-origin kind merged Carol’s DNA with Mar-Vell’s, and she became a perfect blend of Kree and human, allowing her access to all of Mar-Vell’s powers and knowledge. In the comics, she then becomes known as Ms. Marvel, and she continues to kick ass with her guy, Captain Mar-Vell.

The character’s history is long and more complicated than you can image (kidnapping…forced impregnation…cloning…to name a few things…the 1980s were not a good time for comics), but she’s been kicking ass with the Avengers on and off for decades, and in 2012 Ms. Marvel finally took on the mantle of Captain Marvel.

What about the MCU?

So what do we know about the Captain Marvel film so far? Well, we know that it’s set in the 1990s, Nick Fury has hair (and both his eyes), and Lee Pace is due to reprise his role as Ronan the Accuser.

While it is likely that this film will be the origin story for Carol (set pictures have been floating around the interwebs of Brie Larson in Air Force jumpsuits), it is also likely that the film will answer a few questions left behind by Avengers: Infinity War, namely: what happened on Zandar? The inclusion of Ronan the Accuser will fill in some backstory that probably pertains to the first GotG, but what else can we expect?

We are also going to get a good glimpse at the powers and abilities of the Earth’s strongest hero (sorry, Hulk…), and see exactly how Carol is going to measure up against the giant angry purple Smurf.

The introduction of Carol Danvers will also usher in the next age of Marvel heroes in film, since it’s quite likely that the original Avengers will retire (or worse) in next year’s Avengers 4. More than likely, this will also be the cinematic introduction of the Kree/Skrull war, which was a huge part of Marvel comics. As Phase 4 of the MCU picks up speed, it’s likely that the attention of future Marvel films will expand to include more of the cosmos, and who better than Carol to introduce us to this bigger picture?

Captain Marvel is due in cinemas on March 8, 2018.