Captain Marvel (DVD) Review

Xandar is the capital planet of the Xandarians and home to their military branch, the Nova Corps. It was nearly destroyed by Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the same event forms the backdrop to Captain Marvel.

Brie Larson’s first solo outing as the MCU’s most powerful female superhero is mostly an origin story about her, but it also reopens the galaxy-spanning conflict between two alien races that has been ongoing for millennia. This conflict frequently involves Earth, and Captain Marvel offers a glimpse at what may happen when the planet is in the crosshairs of both the Kree and the Skrulls.

The central mystery of Captain Marvel is the Orb, a mysterious weapon that is able to destroy planets with the touch of its owner. The Orb is coveted by interstellar baddies including Yon-Rogg (Lee Pace) and Ronan the Accuser (Djimon Hounsou). Yon-Rogg hopes to use the power of the Orb to lay waste to Xandar and its peaceful governing body, the Nova Corps. Ronan, meanwhile, wants to use it to acquire the Power Stone and wipe out the enemy Skrulls, which would be a massive betrayal of his original deal with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

While Peter Quill brought the Orb to Morag, the broker there attempted to sell it to the Kree for a fortune. Gamora stopped the transaction by ambushing the dealer, and the broker evicted Peter from his shop. On a subsequent visit to Xandar, Peter Quill obtained the Orb from the Ravagers’ leader, a hulking enforcer named Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). Attempting to keep the Orb away from these threats, Danvers becomes reluctant partners with her tag-along feline pal Goose and the mercenary duo Rocket Raccoon and Groot.