Captain Marvel Trailer Review: 9 Ups & 2 Downs

2. Girl Power!

The biggest positive for Marvel making this movie is the effect it's going to have on a generation of young girls who will now have someone who they could really aspire to be as one of the MCU's titular heroes. That was one of the biggest things to have come out of Wonder Woman's success (and of Black Panthers in terms of that film's representation of black identities) and it's going to be a major deal for Captain Marvel.

And the film absolutely nails its Girl Power message. It's hard to recall any of the MCU's leads whose powers have been this heavily shown off in a first trailer, but that's only part of it. The narrative of the trailer is very much focused on Carol Danver's strength and coolness while making her gender an incidental thing, rather than a marketing opportunity. There's no sexualised imagery, there's no insidious "but she's JUST a girl" imagery, it's all brilliantly balanced.

There's very much a vibe that we're going to see Marvel hunting Skrulls in disguise on Earth (hence her punching the old woman) and that should provide lots of opportunity for us to see more of the complexities of her character rather than just her punching things and shooting energy beams out of her hands.

Also, nothing says girl power like punching an old lady on a train. Please do not try this yourself. The outcome will be vastly different.