Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige once called Captain Marvel “as powerful a character as we’ve ever put in a movie.” That’s high praise, considering the MCU employs a green giant, the god of thunder, and a talking raccoon (hey, when’s the last time YOU saw a raccoon talk?). Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo agree with Feige’s praise, and while they were working on the sequel to Infinity War, it was a worry of theirs that she might be too powerful. If Captain Marvel instantly wiped out Thanos, well, that’s not very compelling, or enough material to fill out a three-hour movie, for better or worse.
“It’s always a concern of ours about overpowering characters, because the reason that people relate to these characters is their humanity, and that they’re flawed,” Joe Russo told Cinemablend. “And the reason we love working so much with Captain America was that he was limited, and his heart was his superpower, you know? So we’re all acutely aware of the dangers of having an overly powerful character. [But] we found a thoughtful way through it.”
Captain America’s superpower being his “heart” is as corny as Jay-Z rapping his Achilles’ heel is love in “Monster,” which is why it’s perfect for bleeds-red-white-and-blue Cap. Anyway, Anthony Russo added that “when you do have powerful characters, you have to work that much harder to find their vulnerabilities and complexities.” Good storytelling needs tension, and “that makes for great drama, and you run in that direction. As storytellers, that’s been one of the most fun things we’ve had working with these characters is figuring out ways into them where they are vulnerable and they aren’t all powerful.”
Suddenly, Hawkeye being one of the Avengers makes perfect sense.