It’s no surprise that Captain Marvel and Shazam! both had movies released within weeks of each other this year. Despite being from separate comic universes, the two superheroes have always been inextricably linked by a connection with their name.
Shazam was the original Captain Marvel?!
The DC Comics character Shazam was originally known as Captain Marvel. He started out as a Fawcett Comics character in 1940 and was the most popular superhero at the time. In 1953, DC filed a lawsuit against Fawcett claiming Captain Marvel was basically just a version of Superman. In 1972, Fawcett sold the character rights to Captain Marvel to DC.
Shazam’s search for a name
However, Marvel Comics was already using the copyrighted name Captain Marvel by then for their own original character. (Note: At this point, Captain Marvel was still male and not the Carol Danvers of the later era.) So DC began marketing the character using the copyrighted phrase “Shazam!”, which is what protagonist Billy Batson says to change into a superhero and vice versa. Many consumers assumed this was the name of the character.
When DC relaunched the title in 2011, they officially named the character Shazam! There is a running gag in the new movie Shazam! about what to call the main character, which is a sly reference to his history of name changes. Plus the title Captain Sparkle Fingers probably didn’t test well with audiences.
If you love superheroes, be sure to download the RunPee app. Kevin Feige has said there will be no time to pee during Avengers: Endgame, but we’ve got your back. We already have Peetimes and a review available. You can also follow us on Twitter @RunPee for the latest movie news.
Captain Marvel is a girl. We kind of all knew that in advance. But while her origin story sends the girl power message a bit over the top, Just A Girl by No Doubt still really works, cinematically. It’s a fun, feel-good movie moment.
The entire film’s 90s sound track is a great trip down memory lane, and this song, obvious as it is, deserves to highlight Carol Danver’s heroic journey.
So here to send you back to grungy 1995 are the video and lyrics to No Doubt’s Just A Girl. It’s still as catchy as it was a few decades ago. (Has it really been that long?)
Video to Just A Girl – No Doubt
Lyrics to Just a Girl
Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I’m exposed
And it’s no big surprise
Don’t you think I know
Exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me
To hold your hand
‘Cause I’m just a girl, little ol’ me
Well don’t let me out of your sight
Oh, I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don’t let me have any rights
Oh, I’ve had it up to here!
The moment that I step outside
So many reasons
For me to run and hide
I can’t do the little things
I hold so dear
‘Cause it’s all those little things
That I fear
‘Cause I’m just a girl
I’d rather not be
‘Cause they won’t let me drive
Late at night
Oh I’m just a girl
Guess I’m some kind of freak
‘Cause they all sit and stare
With their eyes
Oh I’m just a girl
Take a good look at me
Just your typical prototype
Oh, I’ve had it up to here!
Oh, am I making myself clear?
I’m just a girl
I’m just a girl in the world
That’s all that you’ll let me be!
Oh I’m just a girl, living in captivity
Your rule of thumb
Make me worry some
Oh I’m just a girl, what’s my destiny?
What I’ve succumbed to
Is making me numb
Oh I’m just a girl, my apologies
What I’ve become is so burdensome
Oh I’m just a girl, lucky me
Twiddle-dum there’s no comparison
Oh, I’ve had it up to!
Oh, I’ve had it up to!!
Oh, I’ve had it up to here…
Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)
Even before Captain Marvel began battling the Skrulls in theaters on March 7, she was facing another foe online: internet trolls. On Rotten Tomatoes, the comment section for the Marvel film was filled with negative reviews before it opened.
Some were most likely in response to comments star Brie Larson had made about diversity and inclusivity among film critics, wanting to see more than just the opinions than middle-aged white men represented. Some were probably the usual gang of misogynists who show up with torches and pitchforks whenever a female is the lead in a genre picture. (See: Ghostbusters 2016, Wonder Woman, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Rogue One, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the new season of Doctor Who, etc.)
Rotten Tomatoes recently instituted a new policy that no longer allows the general public to review a movie before its official release date. (Rotten Tomatoes insists this was not done on behalf of Captain Marvel specifically.) Within hours of Captain Marvel‘s premiere, it had tens of thousands of reviews and an audience rating of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. (Compared to a rating of 81% by the critics.) The internet trolls had sandbagged it.
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, Captain Marvel had already amassed more audience reviews than Avengers: Infinity War did in its entire run.
Rotten Tomatoes is now saying thousands of those numbers were reviews submitted before the movie opened, and a bug in their system accidentally let them through. They have now been deleted. But the audience score for the film still hovered around 55% throughout opening weekend. (As of this writing, it is up to 62%.)
Fandango also appears to still be attracting trolls with vague but hateful reviews like the following:
Spencerjameson12356
ABSOLUTE GARBAGE FOR THE BRAIN
Femimism destroys brain cells. Don’t subject yourself to this POS movie.
—–
tarakeet
WASTE OF MONEY
Sick of SJW’s taking over every single darn escape from reality entertainment avenue
—
klwarber
HATED IT WORSE THAN MY CAT DYING OF KITTY AIDS
Derivative nonsense
—
gray42james
IT WAS TRASH
It was 100% sjw trash. wish i could give less than 1 star
Captain Marvel won this round, as the movie made $153 million on opening weekend. It won the top box office slot two weekends in a row. And it made over $760 million worldwide at this point. Furthermore, Rotten Tomatoes is now planning to create a way to have users verify they’ve seen a movie before being allowed to leave a review.
Carol Danvers isn’t the only Marvel hero to face backlash. The whole world seemed to be excited for Black Panther‘s release last February, but not everyone was. Facebook banned a group called “Down with Disney’s Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys.” The group planned to bring down the audience score for the movie on Rotten Tomatoes because of concerns about minorities and “social justice warrior” messages. The Facebook ban didn’t stop thousands of trolls from going to the Internet Movie Database to give Black Panther a 1 out of 10, the lowest rating possible — before it even opened. Not that anyone noticed, most likely with the flood of positive reviews coming in for this record-breaking film.
The popular Star Wars franchise is not immune from trolls either. The hashtag #BoycottStarWarsVII was started by a few internet trolls who opposed a woman and a black man starring in a Star Wars film.
Daisy Ridley left social media after an Instagram post was deemed by fans to be too political, and she was attacked for it. Kelly Marie Tran left Instagram after trolls repeatedly left hateful, racist, and sexist comments on her page because they didn’t like her character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The 2016 all-female reboot of Ghostbusters faced some of the worst trolling. IMDb users down-voted it to a 3.7 out of 10 before it opened. Leslie Jones eventually left Twitter for a period of time, because she was receiving death threats and unspeakably racist messages and images.
So far, Tessa Thompson (from Thor: Ragnarok) doesn’t seem to be receiving the same treatment for Men In Black International. Perhaps because she’s “only” the co-star, and not the sole lead. Most YouTube comments on the trailer bemoan the absence of Will Smith. Only a very few complain that a woman shouldn’t star in a movie called MEN in Black, or that the movie is pushing a social justice warrior message. (Seriously? Have you seen how goofy the trailer is?)
Marvel is looking to cast their first openly gay male lead for The Eternals, and unfortunately he’ll probably have to deal with the trolls too.
I’m excited to live in a time when there is so much diversity and representation on-screen. This past year, there were an amazing amount of films written by, directed by, and starring people of color. There was a record number of Oscar wins by both women and black people this year. How is that not exciting to people? I don’t understand people who see a political agenda in a well-made movie, just because it features a woman or someone who’s not Caucasian. I hate that anyone tries to put a damper on the enthusiasm of fans who are passionate about something.
I’ll give the last word on this to Clark Gregg (MCU’s Agent Coulson) who described haters as “butthurt” and “dinosaurs heading towards the tar pits.”
Follow RunPee on Twitter (@RunPee) to stay up to date on all the news about Captain Marvel and other superheroes. Be sure to use the RunPee app to get Peetimes for Captain Marvel and upcoming movies like Dumbo and Shazam.
Chris Estrada: RunPee’s Newest Guest Geek Extraordinaire!
Guest article by Christopher Estrada
I am no Marvel Cinematic Universe newbie. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all but one MCU film to date — that one being 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. We were thrown into the middle of Dr. Banner’s story with little in the way of actual origin story. Maybe Marvel was leaning a bit on the other Hulk movie released not long before the MCU version. Or maybe they just didn’t want to get bogged down with the cinematic birth of The Hulk. Whatever the case, I wasn’t, and am still not impressed, with the big green guy’s first MCU outing.
All of this is to say that I went into Captain Marvel with apprehensive expectations. Which actually was disappointing for me. Immediately following Avengers: Infinity War, I was excited for the first female-led MCU movie. I wanted to learn about the Captain trademarked by the comic book company.
Can A White Man Review Feminist Films?
Then Brie Larson made headlines that were…off-putting…with talk of the movie being very feminist…and not wanting white males crowding the press tour…and then we had Brie’s speech at the Oscars.
Inclusivity also means white males count too. It means that everyone can have talent. Gender and color should be meaningless, although society isn’t there yet.
I mean, I get it. This is 2019 and a highly politicized era. The world is pushing for more representation of people of color, and of women. That is all admirable and great things to work towards. But it’s not really the fault that white men today — and film critics and reporters — are white males. It could be argued that news organizations and film review publishers are at fault. It could also be argued there simply aren’t as many women and people of color that want to be film critics and reporters. Not that there shouldn’t be: just that it is up to the individuals to want to do that job, and to be good enough to get the job.
Despite my Hispanic surname, I am a white male. It’s yet to be decided if I am good enough at writing and critiquing to be doing it. (This is my second attempt in the area. The first being my thoughts on the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame. And while this review may be published, I could very well be uninvited or ignored in the future.) But is it my fault that I’m not a person of color? That I would have an opinion on entertainment? That the RunPee Family noticed a theory of mine in a discussion on their Facebook page?
My point is that it really shouldn’t matter what ethnicity or gender a person is. What should matter is whether what they have to say is worthy of publication. People of color are just as capable as any white man of having thoughts on any subject. The question is how many of them practice the craft, and pursue a job or freelance work in that field. The more of them that do so, the more of them there will be in the field. It takes time.
So, I was less excited about going to see the movie than I was just a few months ago. But I still wanted to see it. I still wanted to add more MCU canon to my brain. I wanted to give the movie a chance.
A Captain Marvel Review (with mild spoilers)
I’m glad I did. The movie was, in my white male opinion, a success. Is it as good as Black Panther or DC’s Wonder Woman? No. But it is a decent movie.
The origin story is fleshed out through the movie. Sometimes in jarring, unexpected flashbacks. Other times, in ways that make perfect sense for the flow of the movie.
There is some decent comedy sprinkled throughout. The best of which came from Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D Nick Fury, and his interactions with Goose, the brilliant ginger cat that steals every scene s/he purrs into.
Likewise, the seeming antagonistic Skrulls were a good source of humor. The titular hero, on the other hand…Brie’s acting in the comedic bits was…unconvincing. She seemed kind of stiff when it came to cracking puns back at her co-stars. I’m not saying I didn’t get her jokes, or that I didn’t laugh. I did. It was just a bit delayed in comparison with the other funny parts. I think the exception is when she crashes to Earth near the beginning of the film. The stiff acting actually made sense, and made for decent humor when she asked if the human security officer understood her. When she asks for a communication source and he points at Radio Shack — here it worked.
The action is typical Marvel quality with good choreography and CGI special effects. The overwhelming powers Carol Danvers wields is made crystal clear when she breaks free of the Kree binds, and confronts her former team.
I was somewhat disappointed that she didn’t fight and overcome Jude Law’s character in a non-powered exhibition at the end. She basically pulls an Indiana Jones pistol shot, on the bad guy with a sword in the courtyard in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was worth a short chuckle. But it would have been awesome to see her best him in the hand to hand combat they were practicing early on. Then Ronan’s reaction when Carol blasts her way through one of the enemy ships was also a chuckle-worthy bit. It was all fairly anti-climactic in my estimation, though.
A digitally de-aged Agent Coulson. They de-aged Nick Fury too.
The CGI to make Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg look younger is a tough cookie. Fury looked pretty good — maybe a little plastic or rubbery. But Coulson…he just looked weird and inconsistent. The facial CGI is still a technology that needs to improve. Forward and backward in age…
The film was touted as being a very feminist movie. Everyone from Larson to Kevin Feige made a point to advertise it as the first female MCU hero movie. The trailers etched the tag line in our heads. “Her” flashing into, “A Hero”.
Then we saw the mantra heavily repeated during the Super Bowl Captain Marvel trailer saying “Higher, Further, Faster.” And the flashbacks of authority figures telling the younger Carol what she should, and shouldn’t — or can’t be doing — and her exclamation of “I’m kind of done with you telling me what I can’t do.” The theme isn’t bad. In fact it’s a great theme that should help uplift girls and women everywhere. Sadly, I think the film falls short of that message overall.
There are flashbacks to Carol’s time as a human child, teen, and young adult, where we see her father and other authorities telling her negative things: what was shown in that Superbowl trailer, but sprinkled throughout the film. Then we see all of those flashbacks at once, just before she realizes her full power.
But the theme wasn’t played up enough to amount to anything more that this one person saying that, yes, she can. Carol never sits down and tells little Monica to never let anyone hold her back. That Monica, and by extension all girls, can do what they want if they put their minds to it. If they push past their own limits and do what others say they can’t: this is a missed opportunity in my opinion.
Women Superhero Films Today
This missed opportunity kind of negates the leftist politics and feminist push from the PR campaign before the film released. The politics aren’t in your face. That makes this a fairly typical Marvel movie.
Even Legos deserve our respect.
It’s actually an interesting comparison with Wonder Woman. Ultimately both films center on each franchise’s first female-hero led film. Both show awesome, bad-ass women kicking butt and proving that women make excellent warriors. Both are origin stories. Both are prequels to a larger universe. But they both left me in different places. We knew more or less what was next for Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, because what was next was actually shown to us before, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
What’s next for Captain Marvel is a bit of a mystery still. We know she will be in next month’s Avengers: Endgame. But since we haven’t seen that movie yet, and we expect her in it, this story feels incomplete to me. Yes, she completed her objective for this movie. But we’re left wanting more in a different way than Wonder Woman. I think part of this is because of the mid-credits scene which shows us a flash-forward to the post-Thanos-Snap world. It leaves us by teasing us.
Oh yeah, Wonder Woman is in there. It’s a start.
Another difference between the two comics movies is the pre-release marketing. I could be wrong, but I don’t recall Wonder Woman being pushed as a feminist film. Gal Gadot certainly didn’t politicize the press tour. The film quite simply introduced us to a strong female hero that didn’t dwell on her peers telling her she cant do this or that. She rolls her eyes and puts on the trench coat to cover her armored body. She hears the entrenched soldiers saying they can’t push forward, and picks up her shield, climbs the ladder and says “Follow me!” She just did it.
DC didn’t push the film as an empowerment story for women in the way that Marvel did with Captain Marvel. They both ultimately present that theme successfully. But one alienated a large portion — possibly a majority — of the fan-base. The other didn’t. That only hurts the film early on, because, again, I am a part of that portion of the fan-base that was targeted and putt-off, and I ended up enjoying the movie.
My Captain Marvel Movie Grade
On a 1-10 scale, I’d give Captain Marvel an 8/10 or a B grade.
Captain Marvel herself.
Much of Brie Larson’s acting just seemed stiff and un-involved. Some of this could be the idea that she’s on an unknown, forgotten world, and as an alien she doesn’t know how to behave around humans. But that idea slips away with her relative comfort working with Fury, where she still seems like she has a board strapped to her back. (Maybe its the costume? But no; she’s in normal human clothes for a lot of this bit.)
Overall, I’d say this movie is worth a theatrical viewing. Boycotting a box office ticket for it because of the recent politics is only keeping you from adding to the Avengers canon. The movie isn’t blatantly political or anti-white male. I might go see it in theater again, in a few weeks, when the theater isn’t packed with other people…before Endgame.
—
Christopher Estrada: “Take a look at my first e-book An Abducted Date. The book is available for free in all e-book formats. So anyone using a Kindle, Ipad, Tablet, Sony Reader, Nook, or Kobo e-reading device can enjoy. Also available as PDF format for reading on a computer! Read and Review!”
Christopher Estrada is an aspiring writer and photographer, born and raised in the Inland Empire of Southern California. He enjoys many genres of film entertainment, the majority being; Action, SciFi, Comics and Novel adaptations, and the occasional comedy. Follow Chris on Instagram @CR3_Chris.
2019 is going to be a big year for films. It will feature the conclusion of some films such as Star Wars to remakes of movies such as Lion King. Whether it be Hollywood or films from Asia, there is a lot to look forward to.
M Night Shyamalan finally brought together characters from two of his biggest hits in a direct sequel. One thing about Shyamalan is that he knows how to bring up twists infamous villains and heroes who are aware of their actions.
So, what happens when you bring protagonists from hits Split and Unbreakable. You end up having a bigger hit. Glass has brought together the DID afflict Kevin Crumb (David McAvoy), the super-ego of David (Bruce Willis) and the ego of the hero and the villain in Elijah Prince also known as Mr. Glass (Samuel L Jackson).
Glass is already out, and if you still haven’t seen it, then I don’t know what you are waiting for.
It has been a long coming for a film dedicated to a female superhero. The film will star Brie Larson as Carol Danvers. The movie is set in the 90s. She wears nine-inch nails t-shirts at some point in the movie. Danvers will be joined by the likes of Gemma Chan and Jude Law. Although there are no reviews yet to be released, you should check out the trailer.
For a long time, most movie lovers did not know that Us was a follow-up film of Jordan Peele’s Get Out. The latter was a big hit, and it gained international accreditation. Coming back to Us it has a fantastic cast from the likes of Oscar award-winner Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, and Winston Duke.
The trailer was released on Christmas Day 2018, and it showcases a family which is headed by Duke and Lupita, who find a family of doppelgangers in their new home. The trailer is quite scary, and even the poster of the film by Lupita is creepy. However, fans can’t wait to check it out.
#4. The Beach Bum – March 22
You know that the director of Spring Breakers can never let you down if you are looking for a fun movie. The Beach Bum stars Matthew McConaughey in a role which he was bound to play alongside Zac Efron. Did I mention that Snoop Dogg is part of the cast? However, given the weed fat content, you cannot miss him in such a movie. [Ed note: Jimmy Freaking Buffet is supposed to have a role! Rejoice, Parrot-heads! We are seeing this tonite….review coming soon.]
#5. Dumbo – March 29
The Director of Alice in Wonderland is going to give us a new view into Disney. Dumbo is a sad movie, set in a circus. However, by the look of the trailer, Dumbo seems good.
Just like every year in Hollywood, this year has some great surprises too. Let us know which movies you are looking forward to this year.
Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂
Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.
I’ve seen Captain Marvel twice now, and can honestly say I enjoyed it more the second time around. With my initial impressions I gave the movie a B. I’m bumping it up to a B+ now.
As a big Marvel Cinematic Universe fan, I think the most useful rating is to place it along with all the other 20+ MCU movies. Personally, I don’t dislike any of the movies, so the worst ones are still decent. But there are clearly the best of the best, the really good ones, and just good groupings.
In no particular order, I’d say the best of the MCU best are:
Avengers (the first one), Infinity War, GotG, GotG2, Thor: Ragnarok, Civil War, and Age of Ultron.
You’ll notice that all of these are ensemble movies, and none of them are an origin story, unless you consider that the first Avengers movie is a quasi-origin story for the ensemble.
When I look over that list, I can’t say that Captain Marvel can bump any of the top tier of MCU movies out, but it’s close…very close.
How Was Brie Larson as Captain Marvel?
I think Brie Larson did an adequate job with her character, but it’s going to take time to see if she can really “own” the role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. However, the action scenes lacked a certain physical presence I think the role requires. Personally, I wish they had chosen Blake Lively for the role. She has the snarkiness — and definitely the physical presence — to express Captain Marvel. I hope in time Brie can show us she was the right choice, but for now, I think the jury is still out. Let’s see how she measures up when she’s grouped with the other Avengers going forward.
The humor in Captain Marvel is good. It’s nothing like either of the Guardians movies, or Ragnarok, but there are still plenty of good laughs to be had.
I love the way the story gives us not only Captain Marvel’s origin, but also Fury’s. That was deftly handled.
What I liked most about the movie was the theme of the story. (Which I can’t really get into without mentioning spoilers. Click on the spoiler tag below only if you’ve seen the film.)
Captain Marvel Spoilers
Click here to read further: spoilers
Without coming across as preachy, the story deftly explores how important it is to always question one’s allegiances.
Early in the movie Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) says, “Know your enemy. It might just be you.” We later learn the statement is literally true, when Marvel discovers she’s fighting on the wrong side of an unjust war.
There is a scene early in the movie that foreshadows Marvel’s change of allegiance, when Agent Coulson lowers his weapon and allows Fury and Marvel to escape. That not only sets the stage for putting Coulson on Fury’s map as his “one good eye” (a line from the original Avengers) but in a conversation shortly after that, Fury tells Marvel that what Coulson did –listening to his gut — is a hard thing to do, but that’s what makes us human.
MCU movies have also explored this idea with Captain America. He starts out as the dedicated patriot, and evolves into a fugitive from the very same authority that created him.
I personally find it ironic that society/authority/governments continually preach loyalty and patriotism. Essentially encouraging citizens to offer robotic support, while the computers we create are becoming more adept at questioning, understanding, and adapting. What makes us human — humanity — may soon be the purview of our creations.
Grade: B+
About The Peetimes:Overall, all 3 Peetimes are pretty good. I would recommend the 1st Peetime over the others. It’s very easy to get caught up on what happened. The 3rd Peetime is almost as good, but includes a little humor. The 2nd Peetime is almost all dialog so it has a longer than average synopsis.
Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂
Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.
A digitally de-aged Agent Coulson. They de-aged Nick Fury too. Can they do this for me?
Right, I know, Captain Marvel hasn’t come out yet — but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest a few films you should watch to understand what the deal is with Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, and the state of the MCU. If you’re not a rabid Marvel fan, or just need a refresher, you can get ready with just four MCU films. (Or three films and two short videos, if you’re short on time.)
In a real way, audiences are lucky with Captain Marvel — it’s a relatively painless entry point for an MCU movie.
By this, I mean you don’t need to sit down this week and watch the 20+ movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain Marvel (the film) goes back in time to the 90s, making it essentially the chronologically first film in the Avenger timeline. (Ignore for now that Captain America – The First Avenger started around World War 2…)
So, you’re off the hook for this film in a way you CAN’T be for the spring 2019 release of Avengers 4 – End Game. End Game will require audiences to be on their toes and completely up to date. As the title suggests, it’s the culmination of a long ranging plan. Ten years of movies! And it will be over three hours long, so you’ll need our Peetimes for it.
For Captain Marvel, these are my guesses to understand the events we’re about to see (links go to RunPee’s movie reviews):
Avengers 1 – Avengers Assemble – This movie best establishes the characters of Nick Fury and Agent Phil Coulson, who should have major roles in the Captain Marvel story. Also, this movie is a great entry point to explain who the Avengers are without having to watch every individual origin story. And there’s this: where was Captain Marvel during the Battle of New York? I’m hoping the upcoming film explains why Fury didn’t see fit contact her then, or ever, until Infinity War.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 1 – You need to see Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 1 to understand the cosmic end of the Marvel universe, see who the Kree are, what Xandar is about, and get a proper introduction to Ronan The Accuser. Of all the movies on this list, GOTG 1 is probably the most crucial to view. Fortunately, this kick-ass film is always a crowd-pleaser.
Avengers 3 – Infinity War– Why does Fury carry that pager around for decades and only use it now? This is the only story that refers to Captain Marvel explicitly. We still don’t know how she fits in. I’m going to warn you: Infinity War is a HUGE film, with its own list of must-preview movies. I dithered about putting this on the list, to be honest. If you’re a complete novice to the MCU, I recommend you skip it. You’d be hopelessly lost. Just watch the end credit scene, provided here (a MUST):
Ant-Man & The Wasp – This one contains the most speculation on my part. Will Ant Man and crew even show up in Captain Marvel? Probably not. But since Time Vortices are mentioned, and the Quantum Realm might play a role in Captain Marvel’s story, this might be worth watching. It’s still on Netflix, so grab it while you can (before Disney pulls all the Marvel films off onto their own subscription streaming channel). Captain Marvel is supposed to have time travel in it. If you can’t get your hands on the Time Stone, the Quantum Realm is the next best place place to look, and only the guys in Ant-Man know about it. So far.
I also have another movie in mind worth viewing, but mentioning it would be a complete spoiler if the rumors are true. This particular superhero is covered in Infinity War anyway, so it’s fine to skip it. I think. (Remember, this is a speculation article.)
UPDATE after seeing Captain Marvel: I was thinking above that the Dr. Strange movie would be a part of the Captain Marvel story. It wasn’t. But it’s one of the Marvel films that has time travel as a major component…so it’s possible that Strange and Marvel get together to save the day in Avengers – Endgame. Actually, who are we kidding? Let’s just say it’s going to happen.
Update: Watch a Short MCU Video About Agent Phil Coulson for Free, Now
A Funny Thing Happened…I found a handful of super short Marvel Cinematic Universe one-offs this week, and sat down to watch them all. It didn’t take long, and they don’t offer many hints on the MCU, to be honest. But there’s one you MUST see before Captain Marvel if you don’t know much about the main characters. Watch these few fun minutes of Agent Phil Coulson in his Thor years, in a short called A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer:
After Captain Marvel comes out, we can see how close my guesses are. What do you think?
Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)
Shanee Edwards, LA film critic who writes for SheKnows.com, has verified that she is going to the premiere of Captain Marvel. We’ll have Peetimes for Captain Marvel on Tuesday afternoon! Well ahead of its public release around the world.
When you sing our praises, sing them loudly. 🙂 (Seriously, we’d love it if you shared this on social media.)
In addition, Dan Gardner (creator), Vera Tsien-Gardner (CEO RunPeeChina), and Jill Florio (co-creator) are also seeing the movie on Thursday night, March 7th. We will collaborate on the Peetimes to make them the best we can.
UPDATE: Three collaborated and triple-checked Peetimes for Captain Marvel are posted on the RunPee app. We’re pretty happy with them. A lot happens in this film that you won’t want to miss.
Overall all 3 Peetimes are pretty good. I would recommend the 1st Peetime over the others. It’s very easy to get caught up on what happened.
The 3rd Peetime is almost as good, but includes a little humor.
The 2nd Peetime is almost all dialog so it has a longer than average synopsis.
Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂
Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.
Oscar winner Brie Larson lights up the screen in her new movie Captain Marvel, propelling us forward to Avengers – End Game. Here’s a quiz on this amazing actress, covering her star-studded career.
I hope you enjoyed my quiz — feel free to share it with all your friends. It doesn’t cost anything, and it makes me look good to my boss, who’s withholding my hard earned raise until my Social Sharing numbers increase. 😉
More Posts on Captain Marvel, and Getting Up To Date Before Avengers: Endgame:
RunPee Mom is our emotional bedrock. Without her, RunPee never would have lasted a decade as an app (which is since the dawn of time in internet years). She’s our biggest cheerleader and an unending source of unconditional love. She works cheerfully and tirelessly, seeing any movie we ask of her, writing interesting reviews, and being our…well…MOM. Her genres of choice: kiddie flicks, animated movies, emotional dramas, historical features, war films, diverse biographies, and even dense, diabolically plotted thrillers. She knows more about famous and infamous figures in history than said figures probably knew about themselves. She’s the Quiz Manager for the RunPee.com blog, and our resident movie celebrity/trivia expert. If you’ve taken a RunPee Quiz, you’ve most likely been given a virtual hug by RunPee Mom.
Who is this young woman, and how can she possibly fight Thanos?
Have you noticed the Captain Marvel trailers dropping for the upcoming March 8, 2019 film, set within the (admittedly large and dense) Marvel Cinematic Universe? There’s a lot of speculation on who exactly Ms. Marvel is, how she’s going to fit into the Avengers ongoing storyline, why the movie will be set in the past, and what we need to know before we see the flick. Rest assured, you don’t need to catch up on years of Captain Marvel comic books to follow along — we’ll tell you the few things we think will help get you up to speed.
There are some slight spoilers here, but nothing to fret over if you’ve seen the trailers at all. (Skip this post if you want to be completely in the dark.)
RunPee writer Golden Man, of the Oscar-awards oriented blog Etched In Gold, lists these cool details to help you better understand Carol Danvers (AKA Captain Marvel):
— In the comic books, Carol Danvers was known as Ms. Marvel, until taking over the mantle of Captain Marvel in 2012.
— The movie draws inspiration from the 1970s comic storyline The Kree-Skrull War.
— Skrulls are the villains in the movie. They have the ability to simulate other people (like the old lady on the train in the trailer).
— There are rumors this movie will plant the seeds for a future film based on the 2008 Secret Invasion storyline, where Skrulls impersonated many famous characters from the Marvel universe.
— The movie is set in the late ’90s. This basically makes it a prequel to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
— In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed we will find out what happened to Nick Fury’s eye in this movie.
— A young Agent Coulson appears in the movie. (That is Clark Gregg taking off his sunglasses in the latest trailer.)
— This movie makes the first time Marvel Studios has used de-aging effects on actors for an entire film (for Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg).
— Lashana Lynch plays Maria Rambeaux. In the comics, her daughter Monica also takes on the mantle of Captain Marvel at some point. (She is also known by other superhero names.)
— While a sequel is likely, Marvel is remaining super secretive about Phase Four and no movies have been officially announced beyond Spiderman: Far From Home.
Here’s the first Captain Marvel trailer to get you started. It’s less than two minutes long, but packed with great (albeit lightning-quick) details — things you’ll understand better after reading our tips:
It’s no surprise that Captain Marvel and Shazam! both had movies released within weeks of each other this year. Despite being from separate comic universes, the two superheroes have always been inextricably linked by a connection with their name.
