Why Nick Fury Waited So Long To Call Captain Marvel

Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War...

The eleventh-hour call that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) made to Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) in the end credits of Avengers: Infinity War was a doozy of a scene that mostly served to hype up audiences for Carol Danvers' highly-anticipated solo venture in 2019.

But as exciting as that moment was, it also throws a wrench into the Marvel Cinematic Universe's canon. Why did Fury wait so long to call a superhero who has been teased as one of the most powerful characters in the MCU? Why not whip out that communicator six years earlier like in, oh say, Avengers' Battle of New York? Yeah, we probably won't find out the real reason until Captain Marvel hits theaters in March 2019, but the Captain Marvel Prelude comic reveals a few more answers about that last-minute Nick Fury Captain Marvel call.

In Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel Prelude #1, which is set to hit shelves on February 19, 2019, readers get a glimpse at the moments leading up to the Avengers: Infinity War post-credits scene and get insight into Fury's call to Carol Danvers.

Reeling from the Avengers' dissolution following the fallout between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War, Maria Hill suggests to Fury that they call upon another hero they have on retainer, to which Fury refuses. "Nah. If we do our job right, we'll never be in a position of having to call her," he says (via Heroic Hollywood). "Make sure you keep an eye on the raft. Got a feeling our guys will need a little assist kicking the door open."

That doesn't really tell us more than what we already know: That Captain Marvel was a last-ditch backup plan only to be called when the moment was most dire. But didn't things seem pretty desperate back in 2012, when the world risked destruction by a massive alien attack? Captain Marvel Prelude writer Will Corona Pilgrim explained Fury's thinking to Marvel.com:

Carol's the biggest gun you've got and Fury's never one to waste a silver bullet, so if he's finally making that call after all this time and after all he's faced alongside the Avengers, then he's truly seeing the situation as a last resort.

Honestly, I buy it. Back in the time of Avengers, the team was still disassembled and suffering from disunity, only brought together in the darkest hour following Agent Coulson's tragic (non-)death. With a little help from Fury and Coulson's old Captain America cards, of course. The way I see it, Fury was intent on bringing the team together through this world-threatening event, and calling in his "biggest gun" would have upset that delicate balance. You can't fly before you walk.

We'll find out more about Nick Fury and Carol Danvers' unique relationship when Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, 2019.