Goose Cat From Captain Marvel

Whether or not you saw Captain Marvel, chances are you know the movie’s most beloved character, Goose. The orange feline sparked internet memes and even got his own poster alongside Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson. But how did the film’s directors bring Goose to life? The answer might surprise you.

The furry alien in question is a Flerken, which not only look like earthly cats but are also one of the most deadly aliens in the Marvel universe. They can protrude a lot of tentacles from their mouths, but they’re most dangerous for their ability to create pocket dimensions and teleport things that are too big to fit inside them. Flerkens have a reputation for being a little unfriendly, too, as evidenced by the fact that they often scratch people—like Nick Fury’s missing eye, which was caused by Goose.

In the movie, we learn that Carol brought Goose along on her space odyssey because she thought it was an ordinary cat. However, Rocket Raccoon explains to her that the cat is actually a Flerken who has a whole host of hidden abilities. This explains why the pet can’t stand to be tickled, and is able to detect Skrulls by their scent. It also explains how the creature can use its mouth to create giant octopus-looking legs and eat a Kree soldier, as well as spirit away the Tesseract into the sky like a cosmic hairball in the movie’s post-credits scene.