Captain Marvel is a film for the “fake news” era

[This article contains spoilers for Captain Marvel.]

Can a superhero movie like Captain Marvel teach us anything about the “misinformation age” in which we currently live? In an era in which the president of the United States reportedly lies an average of 22 times a day, why should we pay attention to a story involving aliens and a sardonic footsoldier with hidden superpowers?

It turns out it can teach us a lot and is worthy of our attention.

When viewers of Captain Marvel first meet the film’s protagonist, played by Brie Larson, we are introduced to her as “Vers,” a headstrong warrior for the militaristic alien race of “noble heroes” called the Kree. Vers is plagued by recurring nightmares, which she believes are connected to her frustratingly murky past. Her desire for answers — and to blast adversaries with her supercharged hands — puts her at odds with her mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), and her planet’s omnipotent leader, the Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening).

In an early scene in the film, Vers is fed at least four bald-faced lies by the Kree leadership in an attempt to urge her to do what “all Kree must” and fight for them. First, the Supreme Intelligence assures Vers (not really her name) that her inability to remember her past is actually a strength (nope!), since she is a victim of the “expansion” of the Skrulls (lie number three!), marauding shapeshifters that are the sworn enemies of the Kree. The Supreme Intelligence then conjures an image of a Skrull brandishing a weapon at Vers, and tells Vers there are “horrors” she does not remember. (This, we later learn, is the biggest lie of all.)

During this “Kree First!” pep talk, two crucial narratives are established: Vers should let go of her troubled past, and the Skrulls are parasites that must be destroyed. The audience at this point believes this narrative, too, which is reasonable given that it exemplifies the typical superhero origin story identity crisis. Vers must ask herself: “Who am I? And what demons (real or imagined) must I conquer before I can become a ‘true hero’?”

Later, however, Vers is captured by the (allegedly) murderous Skrulls, who use a memory probing tool to search her mind for information that may be useful to their cause. During the extraction, Vers’ hazy night terrors transform into full-blown memories of a life before being a Kree warrior. These memories lead her — and the Skrulls — to travel to Earth to find answers.

On Earth, Vers learns that she is actually a human Air Force pilot named Carol Danvers, who was declared dead after a plane crash involving a covert Kree agent. With the help of Avengers stalwart Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Air Force comrade Marie Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), and Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), Vers is able to piece together her identity and lost memories. She realizes that though she is a tortured loner as a Kree, she was a kind and fun-loving person on Earth. And the Skrulls are not bloodthirsty polymorphs but actually intergalactic refugees who are trying to find a home far away from the Kree. Essentially, the film’s narrative shifts to show how reclaiming one’s memories and personal narrative — or in the case of the film’s “villains,” the Skrulls, a shared cultural narrative — is particularly vital when faced with an all-too-real “demon”: a propaganda-wielding empire.

So let’s review: Vers is actually Carol Danvers, the Skrulls are actually not that bad, and the Kree are the worst. With this new information, our heroine resolves to help the Skrulls find a home — an act that is a clear affront to the Kree leaders she formerly served.

Danvers succeeds in reuniting Talos and his Skrull loved ones, but is captured by the Kree and brought back to the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being makes increasingly futile attempts to unsettle Danvers’ newfound confidence, but Danvers declares that she’s tired of living with “one hand tied behind my back” and, using the full heft of her powers, destroys the Supreme Being — but not before shouting, “My name is Carol!” It is the claim on her identity and past that allows her to unlock her powers and destroy true evil.

This is, of course, not the first time that a Marvel property has dealt with a shady government (see Captain America: The Winter Soldier) or even gaslighting (see Netflix’s Jessica Jones). But Captain Marvel debuted in the age of “fake news” — and on International Women’s Day no less.

The Kree are able to maintain a do-gooder façade by laying claim to the stories of outsiders — a rogue soldier and an entire alien race — and twisting them to aid their ultimately nefarious goal. Keeping Danvers’ past a secret from her is how the Kree leadership can control her immense power and maintain her loyalty. Keeping the true nature of the war against the Skrulls a secret from Vers (and presumably the Kree layperson) is how the Kree leadership is able to continue their nefarious project.

It is particularly important for women and people on the margins to always examine what we know and how we know it, and who benefits from us believing certain narratives about ourselves or others. Whether it’s decoding history textbooks that downplay the brutality of slavery or breathless reports about caravans carrying MS-13 gang members careening toward the U.S.-Mexico border, it is essential that we seek difficult truths that empower us, especially at a time when the future seems frustratingly murky and fear fuels much of our political discourse.

In the film’s final fight scene — if you can even call it that — Danvers confronts her former mentor, Yon-Rogg, who insists on her fighting him with her fists rather her powers. She knocks him on his hind parts with a single energy blast and sends him back to the Kree people to deliver the message that she is shutting it down: “the war, the lies — all of it.”

Carol Danvers recognizes that the lies told to her are part of a larger enterprise meant to keep her and others down, and, frankly, she’s had it.