Comics lore, timeline questions, and more things to know before seeing The Marvels

What do you call a Marvel Studios movie based on Marvel Comics that takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel? The miracles, clearly. There is no other choice.

Now that the MCU is returning to theaters for the first time since May Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it’s time for a refresh. This is what you can expect from it The miracleswithout any spoilers in the way.

Does The Marvels have a post-credits scene?

The miracles has one scene mid-credits, between the flashy animated credits and the simple white-on-black credits. There’s no post-credits scene, just a little funny sound effect at the end.

What is The Marvel about?

The miracles is about a trio of super-powered characters – Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) – who discover that their energy-based powers are intertwined and that they spontaneously switch places when they use those powers. That’s complicated, considering one of them works in orbit, lives far out in space, and is a high school student from New Jersey. There’s a villain who tears down the walls between universes, or something like that; Nick Fury is there, and so is Goose the cat – I mean, the Flerken Captain Marvel.

Which MCU films and shows do The Marvels come from?

The miracles is the most direct sequel to that of 2019 Captain Marvelwhich introduced Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers to the MCU as a woman brainwashed into participating in an alien war after being granted godlike abilities by an Infinity Stone.

The other two heroes are at the helm of The miracles also received their introduction in previous Marvel projects. In WandaVisionTeyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau (known as Spectrum in the comics) walked away from an encounter with the Scarlet Witch with the ability to see and control all forms of electromagnetic energy. And Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan got her own TV series, Ms. Marvelwhere she went from superhero mega-fan to superhero after an old family heirloom unlocked her latent mutant energy powers.

When does The Marvels take place?

While Captain Marvel turned back the clock to show Carol Danvers’ origin story in the 1990s, The miracles is set in the present day of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which means it’s 30 years later Captain Marveland much less time afterward WandaVision And Ms. Marvel. It takes place after Secret invasion, according to that show’s director.

Is The Marvels based on a certain comic?

Not outright. It appears to be a collection of elements from various comics, from deep ideas like the Nega-Bands – which allow the two people wearing them to switch places – to alien environments seen in modern times. Captain Marvel And Ms. Marvel books, some of Marvel Comics’ biggest sleeper hits of the 2010s.

Do you have to watch all that MCU stuff to see The Marvels?

It certainly makes the short emotional arcs better – you won’t have much attachment to these characters and the tensions between them if you haven’t seen their origin stories. But The miracles is enough of an action movie that the background isn’t crucial. In terms of actual facts you need to know, the characters provide exposition to inform the audience about who has what powers and why.

If you’re going to look at one thing as homework, you need to understand it The miracles but take a closer look Ms. Marvel, a charmingly striking Disney Plus series with no fewer than six episodes. If you want to catch up on the whole list of what to watch, we have a post for that!