The upcoming Captain Marvel relaunch gives Carol Danvers her predecessor’s Nega Bands. Does this confirm a major plot point of the upcoming The Marvels?
We’re just a few short months out from the release of The Marvels, which means it’s time for the corporate synergy machine to start its work. And the machine might just be working overtime for this one.
Ms. Marvel just underwent her most significant change since her debut, dying in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man so she could be reborn as a mutant. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel herself is getting a relaunched series and a snazzy new costume.
That synergy is creating an interesting dynamic, though. The upcoming Captain Marvel relaunch also brings an important Marvel Comics artifact back into the forefront, perhaps spoiling a major plot point for The Marvels.
Captain Marvel is reintroducing the Nega Bands to the Marvel Universe
A solicit shared by Marvel reveals that Captain Marvel #2 sees a new character, cat burglar Yuna Yang, bound to the Nega Bands – and entangled with Captain Marvel. Bound together, the two find themselves fighting for their lives against a new villain, Omen, who is on the hunt for the Nega Bands.
The Nega Bands are incredibly significant, as they’ve been the source of rumors surrounding Ms. Marvel since her Disney+ series. In the Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel’s powers come from a bangle that belonged to an ancestor.
Fans began theorizing that the bangle is one of the Nega Bands. This theory was given more fuel in the season finale’s post-credit scene, where Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel switch places. All the talk of entanglement in the trailers for The Marvels hasn’t helped, either.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
The Nega Bands are a legendary Marvel artifact, first introduced in 1969’s Captain Marvel #16. The bands were created for the first Captain Marvel but trapped him in the Negative Zone. The bands would eventually be bonded with the Hulk’s best friend, Rick Jones, who could tap the bands together to swap places with Captain Marvel, creating an Earth-born secret identity for the Kree hero.
While there have been multiple incarnations of the Nega Bands, they most often find themselves in the hands of the current Captain Marvel. Rick Jones again got possession of them following 1999’s Avengers Forever event, this time bound to Mar-Vell’s son, Genis-Vell.
Most recently, one of the original Nega Bands was reforged into wedding rings for Mar-Vell’s other son, Dorrek-Vell, when he married the Scarlet Witch’s son, Wiccan.
The design of the Nega Bands shown on the Captain Marvel covers is strikingly different from the typical, simple bands seen in the past, so these may be a new set of bands or the originals have been reforged yet again.
The presence of the bands indicates the kind of corporate synergy that Marvel is fond of right now, as seen in their latest Thunderbolts line-up. For the latest on Marvel Comics, head over for our continuing coverage.