I can’t believe it as I type this, but The Marvels (2023) is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A direct sequel to the 2019 film Captain Marvel & continuing the events from the miniseries Ms. Marvel, the newest film in the cannon, is directed by Nia DaCosta (Little Woods, Candyman). Now popular as the shortest Marvel film to date (running at a swift 105 Minutes), the film hinges on the story of the unconventional alliance between Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) when they strangely start swapping places whenever they use their powers.
In the following article, we will take a detailed look at whatever happens in The Marvels and what that strange Mid-credit scene means. If you still haven’t seen the film, I’d recommend coming back to the page once you have seen the film after its Disney+ premiere on 7th Feb, 2024.
The Marvels (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The movie starts with Dar-Benn and her team mining on a planet for an ancient artifact. She discovers a Quantum Band – exactly like the one that gives Kamala Khan her powers. Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) floats in space, regretting the Kree/Skrull civil war she triggered by destroying the Supreme Intelligence that made the Kree planet worth living. On the side, she is doing some tasks to help Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) find a safe space to live for the Skrulls. The other task involves investigating a strange hole in the universe, also being examined by Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), a superpowered astronaut and associate of Nick Fury/Danvers’ estranged niece working on Earth’s S.A.B.E.R. space station. In Jersey City, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), aka Ms. Marvel, a teenage superhero idolizing Captain Marvel.
When Danvers and Rambeau touch the space hole, they switch places with Khan. Whenever they use their powers, they switch, often at inconvenient times. This is tied to Dar-Benn, who is the vengeful Kree warrior we saw during the opening moments of the film. She is seeking revenge against Captain Marvel for her role in the war that destroyed her planet.
What is the reason behind Carol, Monica, and Kamala’s location swaps?
Upon touching their respective jump points, the trio—Rambeau, Danvers, and Kamala Khan—are inexplicably transported to each other’s locations, demonstrating a connection through their light-based powers. They use their abilities to fend off Kree’s enemies, inadvertently causing destruction in Kamala’s home. Upon returning to their original places, they learn about the quantum entanglement that links their powers.
What does Dar-Benn wants to do?
Fury and Rambeau visit Kamala on Earth, and they deduce the connection between the three heroes. The Marvels unite at a Skrull refugee colony, where peace talks between Skrulls and Kree are underway. When talks break down, Dar-Benn jeopardizes the colony by siphoning its atmosphere to restore Hala’s air. The Marvels realize that Dar-Benn is targeting planets significant to Danvers in order to restore what she has destroyed in the Kree Home.
What does Dar-Benn plan to do on Earth?
The team travels to Aladna to warn its inhabitants before Dar-Benn arrives to manipulate the planet’s water. Dar-Benn’s ultimate plan is to use Earth’s sun to restore Hala’s sun. In a confrontation, Dar-Benn attempts to use both Quantum Bands, resulting in her demise, severing the entanglement, and creating a rupture between realities.
The Marvels (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
Is Monica Alive?
Kamala reclaims the Bands and, with Danvers’ help, energizes Rambeau to close the reality rupture. However, in order to do this, Rambeau has to close the rapture from the other side, so she sacrifices herself and goes into the rapture to close it from the inside. Kamala returns to Earth. Danvers, on the other hand, flies directly into Hala’s sun to restore it.
Does the ending of The Marvels hint towards the formation of The Young Avengers?
Inspired by their short-lived team-up and a throwback to the first Iron Man movie’s post-credit scene, the ending of The Marvels finds Kamala seeking out other young heroes and forming a new group, starting with Kate Bishop, whom we last met in the Disney+ show Hawkeye.
Marvel has been subtly hinting at the formation of the Young Avengers, with clues scattered throughout various productions. Speculation began with Wanda Maximoff’s children, Billy and Tommy, also known as Wiccan and Speed.
Kate Bishop debuted in Hawkeye, while America Chavez was introduced in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Other members from the comics have also appeared in the cinematic universe, including Cassie Lang from Ant-Man, Iron Heart, Skaar (Hulk’s son), and Kid Loki. The Marvels signaled the team’s formation, with them coming together to combat Kang The Conqueror, positioned as a significant villain akin to Thanos.
What does the Mid-credit Scene in The Marvels mean?
As we witnessed in the last few sequences of The Marvels, Monica Rambeau closes a destabilizing wormhole created by Dar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton. This wormhole poses a threat to the space-time continuum, and Monica, using her teammates’ powers, seals it from the inside. Consequently, she finds herself in a different dimension, depicted in the post-credits scene.
In this scene, Monica wakes up in a sterile laboratory bed and encounters her believed-to-be-deceased mother, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch). Monica had previously returned from the Blip in Wandavision’s fourth episode, learning about her mother’s death due to cancer.
The emotional reunion of sorts, however, takes a puzzling turn as Maria, now in a red-and-white superhero costume resembling Binary from Earth-616, fails to recognize her daughter. The scene implies a connection to the X-Men, especially with the appearance of Beast, hinting at the X-Men’s future integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as previously suggested by Marvel head Kevin Feige.
Does The Marvels have an end-credit scene?
The MCU movies have been famously known for keeping the hype going by letting people wait till the final credits go down, but I’d like to warn you that The Marvels (2023) does not have an end credit scene after the mid-credit sequence.
