If you thought Captain Marvel was insufferable before, wait until you see this newly-released clip from the movie, which is an extended version of a scene included in the theatrical release.
In the original scene, Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson), crash-lands into a Blockbuster Video store in Los Angeles. While looking at a map, a man asks her, “How about a smile for me?” When he goes into the store, she steals his motorcycle.
Hooray for feminism! A man creepily asked for a smile, so she commits grand theft auto. That’s not at all a disproportionate or insane response.
In the extended version, which was released exclusively to USA Today on Thursday, Danvers becomes a straight-up villain. The man, played by Rob Kazinsky, rides up to the Blockbuster while Danvers is looking at a map, wearing her superhero costume.
“Nice scuba suit,” the man says jokingly. Danvers glares at him and goes back to her map.
The man then asks, “Do you need a ride, Darlin’?” and pushes down the top of her map.
“How about a smile for me?” he asks, in the creepiest way possible.
She responds, “A smile?” And he says, “Yeah, you want me to help you? The least you could do is give me a smile.”
To be sure, this is jerky behavior. No one owes you a smile or anything else just because you offered to help them (she hadn’t even accepted any such help). But what Danvers does next proves she’s the real villain in this scene.
She asks the man if he’d accept a handshake, and he does. She says her name is “Vers,” to which the man responds, “People call me, ‘The Don.’” With no other provocation, Danvers tightly grips the man’s hand so he can’t get away. She then uses her super “hero” strength as a vice grip and sends the man to his knees in pain.
“Here’s a proposition for you,” Danvers says. “You’re gonna give me your jacket, your helmet, and your motorcycle. And in return, I’m going to let you keep your hand.”
“Take it,” the man says in extreme pain while handing Danvers his keys.
“What, no smile?” Danvers asks with a grin.
Then she looks at a display mannequin, steals its clothes (did the shopkeeper also ask her to smile?) and drives off on the motorcycle driving on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting a car (did the driver ask her to smile?).
Let’s recap. After a jerk suggested he would help her in a creepy way and asked for a smile, Danvers crushed his hand, carjacked him, took his clothes, and stole items from a nearby clothing store and broke traffic laws. And this is supposed to be a celebration of feminism and rebuke of toxic masculinity?
In the original scene, Danvers committed grand theft auto. In the extended scene, she commits assault, a carjacking, a mugging, shoplifting, and a possible driving felony.
Here’s how USA Today described this same scene:
After creepily sticking his nose into Carol’s travel business, she offers a handshake and he introduces himself as “The Don.” However, she uses her energy-filled fists to bring him to his knees. Carol asks for his jacket, helmet and bike, “and in return, I’m going to let you keep your hand.”
Smartly, he hands his keys over and Carol doles out more sick burn before she departs: “What, no smile?” she says with a victorious smirk.
Yes, it’s smart to give in to a bully and a criminal who is stealing your stuff.
Author Brian Truitt also describes the exchange as Danvers “punch[ing] toxic masculinity right in the mouth.”
“Watch Brie Larson totally own a dude in this exclusive ‘Captain Marvel’ video,” read the headline.
The video is titled, “Exclusive, Brie Larson smiles for no man in ‘Captain Marvel’ scene.”
Apparently, the answer to fairly mild toxic masculinity is extremely violent, chaotic, and criminally toxic femininity. As journalist Tim Pool wrote on Twitter, Danvers’ actions make her the “villain.”
Watch the full clip below: