Why Captain Marvel Shedding a Tear at Her Most Powerful Is so Important

Captain Marvel established Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most powerful heroes, through a mix of epic fight scenes and emotionally-poignant moments. During the film’s newly-released commentary track, co-director Anna Boden spoke about how one of the biggest scenes – in which Carol finally gets in touch with her powers and defeats the Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening) – came about. As Boden revealed, the fact that Carol begins to shed a tear in the scene wasn’t initially planned, but proved to be pretty impactful in the context of the scene.

“There’s nothing planned about that.” Boden explained. “It’s not how we imagined it, but there’s something really powerful about seeing somebody at their strongest and most self-possessed, so full of emotion. That there could be a tear running down their face and it not taking away from her power and her strength. There’s something that encapsulated so much of what this movie’s trying to say and who Carol is.”

This notion of Carol’s emotional complexity – and what seeing it represented onscreen means for female characters in the comic book movie world – has been praised by quite a lot of fans since the film debuted. After years of the character becoming a fan-favorite in the Marvel Comics world, the film’s cast and crew felt a lot of responsibility in accurately bringing Carol into live-action.

“I think she has an ego, but in a healthy way,” Larson told reporters last year on her take on Carol’s confidence. “She doesn’t have an unrealistic expectation of herself – she just owns that she’s really good and really skilled, which feels good to play. She also has an incredible sense of humor, makes fun of herself, makes fun of other people and has no issue if someone makes fun of her.”

“[She is] probably the most dynamic character that I’ve ever played.” Larson continued. “We’ll see what the movie is, but as of now, it’s been the most range I’ve ever played in a character. I’ve had to go through every emotion possible with her…That’s what I want: I want to see complicated female characters. I want to see myself, which is not a simple person. I surprise myself constantly by what’s happening and what’s coming up, so hopefully that’s what comes out on screen.”

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Spider-Man: Far From Home will land in theaters on July 2nd.