Captain Marvel trailer: Why did Captain Marvel punch an old lady on a train?

Captain Marvel is a superhero – a force for good and justice in the world.

Her Kree alien hybrid DNA turned Carol Danvers into this superhero – long touted by Marvel as the potential saviour of the Avengers.

The trailer offered a window into some of her powers, as well as a hefty dose of 1990s nostalgia.

But fans were left bemused by one funny, but shocking, moment in the trailer.

Why did Captain Marvel punch an old lady on a train?

To understand why a superhero would punch a seemingly innocent old woman, one has to understand the context of the movie.

The Captain Marvel movie is set during the Kree-Skrull war, a conflict between two alien species for dominance in the universe.

The latter species are shapeshifters, who can assume any form.

Not only can they shapeshift to appear like any animate or inanimate object, but some Skrull soldiers can also mimic the superpowers of those they mirror.

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While the old lady may look like an old lady, she was – in all likelihood – a Skrull in disguise.

Given Captain Marvel is caught in the middle of the war, on the side of the Kree, it makes perfect sense she would attack a Skrull.

Of course, if she was mistaken and the old lady was just an old lady, Captain Marvel has got some explaining to do.

Separate to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Skrull have, in the history of the comics, been at war with the Kree for thousands of years.

The Kree are familiar to movie fans from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, which introduced us to Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and Korath the Pursuer (Djimon Hounsou)

Both are reprising their roles for Captain Marvel and can be glimpsed in the trailer if you pay close enough attention.

The conflict between the two alien species covers plenty of ground, including Earth.

From the trailer, it appears Talos, the Skrull leader played by Ben Mendelsohn featured in the image below (left), will be hiding in plain sight as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

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Since Captain Marvel is not an origin story, and by the time we have caught up with her she’s a seasoned member of Starforce, her action against a suspected Skrull soldier is wholly acceptable.

The moment in the trailer is one of the few comedic scenes audiences are treated to.

Captain Marvel looks to be a much more serious movie than previous Marvel outings like Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy.

To be sure, fans will have to wait for the movie to land in cinemas.

Captain Marvel will be in cinemas on March 8, 2019.