Warning: SPOILERS for Captain Marvel: The End
It is not even Valentine’s Day yet, but Marvel has given Defenders fans perhaps their most beautiful romance yet in Captain Marvel: The End. It might be even more right than Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, though let’s just say they were involved in the making of this union.
In Captain Marvel: The End writer Kelly Thompson and artist Carmen Carnero reunited to give fans a touching good-bye to an interstellar icon. While that was the central narrative, they also did not limit themselves to just Carol’s story. They also gave fans a glimpse into the future of several favorite characters and what might be in store for the next generation of some of the former Avenger’s closest friends. While fans should without a doubt pick up this issue to see all the future fun, there is one romance that is just too good to keep quiet about.
As Captain Marvel is being introduced around, Dani Cage presents her to someone she has never met: Dani’s wife. Lucy is another Defender’s legacy as the daughter of Iron Fist and Misty Knight. Fans will remember that Dani was named for Iron Fist (Danny Rand), her father’s close friend, and now it seems that the two families have gotten even closer. While not much is divulged about their courtship, Dani does say that the two “grew up together,” which makes sense given the Defender’s history on both sides of this marriage. The couple shares a sweet greeting that should fill any reader’s eyes with heart emojis. (It might even be sweeter than Power Man and Iron Fist: Sweet Christmas).
Dani has not been in the Marvel Universe for that long, but she has already made her mark even in the shadow of her two powerful parents. Fans have seen Dani take up Captain America’s shield and most recently, in the Dead Man Logan series, Thor’s hammer. She has truly lived up to her parent’s legacies and is quickly becoming a powerful force for good in the Marvel Universe. This marriage, though, reminds fans that before her other titles Dani was a part of the Defender’s legacy first. (Speaking of firsts, Dani has previously been shown as a wife [in Black Panther Annual #1] but not with a wife before.)
Additionally, when Captain Marvel meets Lucy, she hesitates over her name. While it might just be a coincidence, Lucy’s name could also be a subtle callback to the Defenders’ comics (pre-)history. Marvel’s Defenders first appeared in Marvel Feature #1 (1971), but they were preceded by a Golden Age team of the same name that appeared in Great Comics #1 (1945). While this team was comprised of three regular guys, they did band together with a similar mission of fighting crime and seeing justice done. And the artist of this early series? Lucy Feller. This is of course pure speculation, but it would be a fitting easter egg for a Defender’s couple that was pretty much made to be.
History aside, in the future, Dani and Lucy’s marriage might be the most beautiful result to come out of the Defender’s many years of trial and tribulation. The legacy that they continue is part of the reason why Captain Marvel: The End remains incredibly hopeful even as it says its final farewell.
Captain Marvel: The End is available in your local comic shop and online.
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