Captain Marvel tells Carol Danvers’ origin story, but in a way it also sets the groundwork for the iconic X-Men character Rogue. The completion of the Fox/Disney deal is still pending, but if Marvel does get the rights to use X-Men characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then it could result in the most comics-accurate portrayal of Rogue on the big screen to date, all thanks to Captain Marvel.
In the comics, Rogue debuted in 1981’s Avengers Annual #10. Introduced as a new member of Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, she was a brutally efficient fighter, able to fly with great speed and hit like a truck. She even took down Captain America and Thor, adding their strength to her own to become momentarily unstoppable against the assembled Avengers. This was because her mutant gift was to temporarily drain others of their powers and memories. But during an encounter with Carol Danvers, then known as Ms. Marvel, Rogue held on for too long and wound up stealing Carol’s powers permanently. Making matters worse, Rogue also absorbed Carol’s consciousness, leaving Carol powerless and without memory.
It’s hard to imagine a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie without Stan Lee popping up make fans laugh via some kind of cameo. The co-creator of so many Marvel characters, from Spider-Man to Scarlet Witch, has been a regular fixture in the MCU, appearing briefly in each film, along with a handful of non-Marvel Studios titles.
With Lee’s passing in late 2018, though, there was some fear that his cameo in Captain Marvel would be the last. Thankfully, that’s not the case. In an interview with ET Online, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirms that more appearances were filmed before Lee’s death. Warning: The following contains spoilers for Lee’s role in Captain Marvel. If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now.
“We shot a couple of others, so we’re coming up on the last of them, yes,” he said. Feige also confirmed that one of said cameos is for the next MCU movie, Avengers: Endgame. When asked about Spider-Man: Far From Home, he offered, “We’ll see.”
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Captain Marvel Spoiler Review!
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Lee’s role in Captain Marvel actually finds him playing none other than Stan Lee. In a scene set on a train, he can be seen holding the script to Kevin Smith’s 1994 movie Mallrats–in which he plays himself–rehearsing dialogue. For a moment, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) thinks he’s a Skrull in disguise but instead acknowledges him with a small smile before moving onto the next potential suspect.
As a further tribute to Lee, the film also opens up with a modified version of the Marvel Studios signature, in which all of the MCU’s heroes have been replaced by his cameo appearances from over the years. The introduction is followed with a simple, “Thank you Stan.”
According to Feige, the idea to honor the comics icon this way came to fruition shortly after his passing. “We figured, as we always have, the way to pay honor to him is the way we’ve been trying to do while he was alive, which is the movies. I had always thought in the back of my head, should that day ever come–which as I’ve previously said, I wasn’t sure it would. Like, I envisioned him at 127–that I would want something sort of touching and rousing up front, as opposed to sort of depressing at the end.”
Captain Marvel is the final stop on the Marvel Cinematic Universe space train that’s been hurtling inexorably towards Avengers: Endgame for an entire decade. What Marvel has accomplished with the MCU is basically a miracle, tying disparate franchises with varying tones and dozens of characters together into one masterful tapestry that somehow, against all odds, really works. This has never been done before–or even attempted–which means there’s no set template for how to end it. Marvel had to sit down and decide, at some point, whether they’d make Captain Marvel so integral to the plot of Endgame that this penultimate MCU movie would be essential viewing.
That’s an important question for the more casual MCU fans among us: Is Captain Marvel essential viewing? Do you have to go see Marvel’s first movie starring a female superhero if you want to have any hope of understanding what’s going on in Endgame? The answer, ultimately, is probably not–but at this point, we can’t exactly be 100% certain, considering Endgame is still on the horizon.
Here are the facts: Avengers: Infinity War ended with a pretty killer Captain Marvel tease, as Nick Fury’s final act before disintegrating into cosmic dust was to send a message using what appeared–and indeed turned out–to be a modified 1990s era pager. As the camera zoomed in on that strange, retro plot device, an unmistakable logo appeared: Captain Marvel’s red-and-blue-flanked star.
The Captain Marvel movie had already been announced as Marvel’s first female-led MCU adventure way back in 2014–five years ago!–and Brie Larson was introduced as the actress playing Carol Danvers in 2016. The movie was eventually delayed from a planned 2018 release date into 2019, but other than that, we heard very little about Captain Marvel between 2016 and Infinity War’s release last year. But with the teaser following Thanos’s Snap, it became clear that Carol Danvers will play a part in the finale of the MCU’s first three phases in Avengers: Endgame.
That leads us to the question: Do you need to see Captain Marvel’s standalone movie if you want to understand the hero’s role in Endgame? We say probably not, because whatever her role in the upcoming movie is, Marvel will likely take some time to re-introduce her to audiences in Endgame itself. There’s a perfect opportunity built into the plot, as the rest of the remaining Avengers and other heroes–Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, Ant Man, Rocket, Nebula, and War Machine–currently have no idea who she is, and they’ll have to meet her at some point. (We have a recap if you want to know what happens in Captain Marvel’s end credits scenes.)
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Even if Endgame brushes quickly past this introduction–the movie will no doubt have a lot to jam in when it comes to undoing Thanos’s victory–there will be countless ways to catch up on Captain Marvel’s story before Endgame comes out. If you just can’t bring yourself to head to the theater in the coming weeks and see it for yourself, you can still check out our explainers for everything the movie establishes, from how Captain Marvel got her powers to what it reveals about Nick Fury’s origins and the beginnings of the Avengers Initiative.
All that said: Even if Captain Marvel feels like a somewhat unnecessary narrative cul-de-sac this close to Avengers: Endgame’s release on April 26 (which I argue in my review), it’s still an extremely solid entry in the MCU in its own right. It certainly doesn’t reach the previous heights of movies like Civil War, Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Infinity War–or even worthy side stories like the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie–but Carol’s origin story is a fun adventure with a strong hero front and center, the great blend of action, drama, and comedy we’ve come to expect from the MCU, and a fun mystery at its core.
If you have the ability to go see Captain Marvel, absolutely do. We can’t be completely sure at this point whether or not Carol’s origin story will be integral to understanding everything that’s about to go down in Avengers: Endgame. But if you’re wondering whether Captain Marvel is absolutely essential viewing in the build-up to the Avengers’ final fight, my money is on “no.”
Ubisoft’s new loot-driven shooter, The Division 2, is only a few days away. The publisher is taking an Anthem-like approach to the game’s release and offering it several days early depending on where and what edition you pre-order. Regardless of when you can jump into the game, however, you’ll first need to download a hefty day-one update.
As it detailed on its support website, Ubisoft is releasing a big patch alongside The Division 2 that includes “various bug fixes and improvements for the main game.” On Xbox One and PC, the update will weigh in at 48-52 GB “depending on your region and preferred language,” while the PS4 patch will weigh between 88-92 GB.
On top of that, Ubisoft is rolling out Title Update 1.5 beginning March 11. This patch is likewise mandatory but is mercifully much smaller, weighing in around 2 GB depending on your platform and region. Ubisoft says this update “addresses occurrences of audio missing or cutting out experienced by some during Open Beta.”
The Division 2 officially launches on March 15, but some players will have a chance to play the game a little early. Those who pre-order the Gold or Ultimate Editions will get to dive into the title beginning March 12. The game will also go live at different times depending on region; you can see all the listed times here.
Much like the previous game, Ubisoft will continue supporting The Division 2 with a steady stream of free post-launch updates. The publisher recently laid out the game’s Year One roadmap, which will see two new episodes arrive this summer and fall, with a third slated for this winter. Ubisoft is also offering a $40 Year One pass that will grant early access to these episodes and exclusive cosmetics and other perks.
As with May 4 and Star Wars or October 3 and Mean Girls, March 10 is one of those days that has become inextricably linked to an iconic piece of pop culture: Mario. At some point in human history, someone realized that March 10–when stylized as MAR10–has an uncanny resemblance to the name of Nintendo’s heroic plumber, and while Nintendo had no involvement in declaring March 10 as Mario Day, the company has since come to embrace the unofficial day of celebration. This year, many retailers are recognizing Mario Day by offering discounts on select Mario games with the purchase of a Nintendo Switch console. Here’s a full breakdown of all the deals:
Starting Sunday, March 10, you can purchase a Nintendo Switch and one of its Mario games for a combo deal of $330. The five Mario games being offered are:
The Switch sells for $300 and first-party Nintendo games are steadily priced at $60, so this combo deal is about $30 in savings. It may not seem like much, but if you were already planning to buy a Switch, getting one of its best games for 50% off isn’t anything to sneeze at.
GameStop is offering the above deal on March 10 only, while supplies last. However, other retailers are offering this deal all week long, from March 10 through March 16. Those retailers include Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. This promotion is running both online and in stores.
Already own a Switch? Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target also also offering a digital download code for one of the above Mario games for $40, so if you’ve been waiting to pick up any of those games, now’s a great time to do so.
Nintendo’s recent announcement that the next Labo set will be a virtual reality kit was undoubtedly a bit of a surprise to all. We here at IGN aren’t sure how the final product will come together, though there’s been some internal debate as to just how much success Nintendo will see with it’s “My First VR” playset. Our Reviews Editor Dan Stapleton and our host (and unofficial toys editor) Max Scoville had contrasting opinions on the whole thing…here’s how they felt about Nintendo diving into the VR market.