Marvel Reveals and Retcons How Captain Marvel Got Her Name and Powers

We knew Captain Marvel would be getting a reworked origin, and The Life of Captain Marvel delivered that and more.

Spoilers incoming for The Life of Captain Marvel #4, so if you haven't read the issue yet you've been warned.

The previous origin for Carol Danvers becoming Ms. Marvel was tied to her interactions with Mar-Vell and the Psyche-Magnetron, but that all changes in The Life of Captain Marvel #4. At the end of the last issue, we find out that Carol's mom is actually a Kree warrior, and in this issue, we find out that her real name is Mari-Ell, and she trained with Kree from birth on Hala. She was eventually sent to Earth by Empress Pam'a on a mission to observe and report back.

She was given an amulet that would cloak her true identity — the same amulet she turned off in the last issue. As they brace for combat with a Kree Kleaner, Mari-Ell tells Carol her real name is Car-Ell, and she is a "daughter of Hala by Bloodright and by Starlight..."

That means Carol is a full-blooded Kree, which changes things significantly since her original origin was human and then half Kree due to Mar-Vell saving her from the radiation of the Psyche-Magnetron. It also changes the origin of her powers, as Mari-Ell tells Carol that "They're not anyone's but yours. They never have been," regarding her powers. Carol says she doesn't believe it, but Mari-Ell says "but you feel it. Light and power and speed and strength. Because it's who you are." She also reveals that the Magnetron only activated her powers that were already there, and didn't in fact create them.

She goes onto relay how she met her father, and how after they had Carol she turned the tracking device off to hide away from the Kree. Now they're back to bring her in, but they didn't plan on getting a fight from two warriors.

You can check out the spoiler images above.

The Life of Captain Marvel #4 is written by Margaret Stohl and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Erica D'Urso. The official description is included below:

"THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: THE ORIGIN OF CAPTAIN MARVEL! It was an accident of fate. A mysterious bonding between a super hero, a human and an alien machine. Mar-Vell and the Psyche-Magnetron that gave her Kree powers have been part of Carol's story since the beginning — but that's just the story you know. The true tale of Carol Danvers and her journey to becoming Captain Marvel begins years ago, on a star-filled night in a sleepy town. A night that no one knew would change the world."

The Life of Captain Marvel #4 is out in comic stores now.