Who is the first female superhero to headline her own MCU film?

Captain Marvel is the first female superhero to headline her own MCU film. The 2019 movie stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, an Air Force pilot who gains extraordinary powers after an encounter with an energy core tied to the Tesseract.

Set primarily in the 1990s, Captain Marvel explores Carol’s lost memories, her connection to Nick Fury, and the conflict between the Kree and Skrulls. The film takes place before most MCU stories shown in release order, explaining why Fury already knows about extraterrestrial threats and why the Avengers initiative eventually receives its name. Carol’s appearance in the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War helped build anticipation for her solo debut.

The wording matters: several MCU women had previously been major characters, including Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Gamora, but none had headlined an MCU feature film before Captain Marvel. Black Widow later received her own film in 2021, though the character had appeared in the MCU since Iron Man 2. Captain Marvel also became one of Marvel Studios’ largest worldwide releases, crossing $1 billion during its theatrical run.