Last year, Marvel Studios made history by making its first movie starring a female lead in Captain Marvel. The blockbuster starring Oscar-winner Brie Larson was a huge hit among fans as the movie introduced the hero behind the backdrop of Los Angeles in the ‘90s. But, ahead of the film’s release, the superhero flick wasn’t exactly met with open arms, thanks to online trolls.
A recent appearance of Carol Danvers in Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness’ Avengers #29 has a subtle callback to the 2019 controversy. Check it out below:
Here’s what she says to the Herald of Galactus as she gathers her energy back up:
Sure thing. Why don’t you tell me to smile more while you’re at it, Firelord?
Brie Larson memorably clapped back at her haters by reposting a series of photoshopped images of male MCU heroes with shiny smiles on their faces instead of brooding stares such as hers. It made a great point about the double standards often brought upon women to always look happy and therefore more attractive. Take a look:
The “smile more” line was also part of the Captain Marvel movie itself in a scene where Carol Danvers comes across a stranger who lays the comments on her before she nabs his motorcycle for her escape.
Following comments from Brie Larson calling for a more inclusive press tour, people online tore down Captain Marvel’s Rotten Tomatoes’ “want to see” score. Within the same week, Rotten Tomatoes changed their policies but claimed it wasn’t because of the Marvel release. Not to mention the viral complaints regarding Larson’s Carol Danver’s not smiling in the promotional images and trailer ahead of its spring release.
The numbers certainly showed those trolls because Captain Marvel was the fifth-highest grossing movie of 2019. The movie made $1.128 billion worldwide and audiences gave the film an A grade on CinemaScore. The movie led right into Avengers: Endgame, which would also feature Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers – and it became the biggest movie of all time!
But, someone actually edited the footage to leave out many of the women in the movie. Looks like there’s still an uneven mindset out there concerning male and female dynamics.
Check out Avengers #29, and you can see Brie Larson with Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx in Just Mercy, in theaters now!
