15 Captain Marvel comics you need to read before seeing the movie

Captain Marvel has a big movie out, but Carol Danvers has been around since 1968. Here are some of her most essential comics to read before seeing the film.

Captain Marvel: have you heard of her?

Okay, if you’ve been on the internet for more than a couple of days at this point, you have probably seen the trailer for the latest Marvel movie featuring her. “So what?”, you may ask. We’ve had approximately a thousand different superhero movies at this point, including two major team-ups (the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy), three different Captain America movies, and more Iron Man appearances than you can truly fathom.

Captain Marvel really is a big deal, however. It’s not just that she possesses some incredibly cool cosmic powers, or that she’s on her way to kick Thanos’ butt after the most recent galactic stunt he’s pulled, to put it nicely.

No, Captain Marvel – who goes by Carol Danvers when she’s not all suited up – is one of the most groundbreaking superheroes in recent history. As most comics writers have handled her, she is one of the strongest and most complex female superheroes strutting around today.

Since she’s been around since the 1960s in one form or another, we do have to admit that she’s dealt with some old-fashioned comics sexism. Sometimes, that’s taken such a hefty form that we’ll have to give you a warning before we discuss it in detail.

It’s not all drama and doom, thankfully. Under the direction of big name writers like Kelly Sue DeConnick and Margaret Stohl, Captain Marvel has moved on. She’s ditched the space swimsuit outfit and the victimization and moved on to leading superhero teams and generally saving the universe. Thanos had better watch out. Okay, and the newest Captain Marvel outfit is pretty cool.

If you want to learn more about this big deal superhero, read on for 15 Captain Marvel comics to read before you hit the theaters.