The Captain Marvel trailer that dropped during Monday Night Football did a lot to distract Marvel fans from the “missing” Avengers 4 counterpart (word on the street is that it’s dropping on Wednesday, but seriously, no one knows the truth), and for good reason. We learned why Brie Larson punched that old lady and got to see Carol Danvers soaring through space and showing off all that power that could eventually push Thanos to tears. And yes, we did see more from that mysterious cat butt, which we already knew belonged to Goose the Cat (who was named “Chewie” in the comics, but Funko Pop has revealed differently for the film) and how he might be tied to a long-standing question about Nick Fury.
The fan theory that has resulted is kind of crazy, and perhaps entirely bogus, but it’s intriguing, and Marvel doesn’t drop anything into its trailers for no good reason, right? They want to encourage discussion, so let’s do it.
Samuel L. Jackson, of course, has been digitally de-aged in this film, back to the raging 1990s when Fury had full use of both eyes before taking on a patch in later years. The effect of seeing him looking much younger leans into the uncanny valley, so one must move past that, but more importantly, the second trailer may hint at what happened to his left peeper. That’s been a point of mild contention for awhile. It’s been stated for awhile (and in the comics) that his eye was minimally damaged by a grenade during World War II, and he slowly lost use of the organ over decades, hence the patch. He’s been able to use his blind eye to unlock S.H.I.E.L.D. systems, and in 2014, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Fury vaguely explained that he lost his eye after trusting “someone.”
Who was that someone? This question was never clarified.
Well, the Captain Marvel trailer contained the surprise revelation (who would have thought?) that Fury is a cat person. He sees Goose and reaches down to cuddle the tiny beast while crooning, “Aren’t you the cutest lil’ thing?”
We already know that the cat isn’t really a cat but a flerkin — an alien life form who is capable of tearing some sh*t apart along with reproducing at rapid speed and creating pocket universes inside its own body. In the comics, this kitty-alien didn’t get along with Rocket Raccoon, and god only knows how Goose/Chewie really feels about Fury’s attempts at cuddling. In addition, there might be some forecasting at hand when NIN-clad Danvers tells Fury to get himself together because they’ve got things to do. Fury looks up, and he’s already got those bandages along his left eyebrow.
What’s going on here? Marvel’s either messing with fans (which is entirely possible) or simply tossing out a fun easter egg or joke to get everyone wondering more about the Fury-cat dynamic. Either way, social media started thinking about whether that “someone” who Nick Fury once trusted was actually this cat. That is to say, there was clearly some damage that had already been done to the eye, but maybe the “cat” finished the job. Could this actually be the surprisingly lame reason that Fury fully lost his eye?
https://twitter.com/ai_n555/status/1069854059543187458
https://twitter.com/capgotham/status/1069906581826011136
https://twitter.com/HaydenMcGhee/status/1069915119910641666
@brielarson @SamuelLJackson Please tell me this is how Nick Fury lost his eye 😂 pic.twitter.com/tB9QHTQx8U
— Brandon Kell (@brandon_kell) December 4, 2018
I hope there’s a post credit scene of Rocket Raccoon telling Carol her cat is a Flerken as it tears out Nick Fury’s eye. This is how Captain Marvel should get her Fury beeper, cause Carol saved Nick from an alien cat.
Here kitty 🐱 pic.twitter.com/48JVulav2E
— Not Near Mint (@RobWorst) December 4, 2018
I 100% believe that Nick Fury lost his eye to that cat #CaptainMarvel #CaptainMarvelTrailer
— Fandom Trash (@crreative_chaos) December 4, 2018
Never say never in a universe where Hulk and Thor actually become friends.