Origins: ‘The Marvels’ Introduces Dar-Benn
From Hugh of @hughv302
On November 10th, The Marvels hits the big screen featuring the team up of three connected but unique heroes: Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. Bound by a cosmic connection, the three are set to face an adversary from the dreaded Kree Empire named Dar-Benn who is trying to restore her homeland after a civil war and is dead set on killing Carol Danvers for past transgressions against her and her people, the Kree. But who is Dar-Benn? What is her relation to the Kree? What threat does she pose to our trio of heroes? Find out now below!
Origin
As with most comic book characters there are multiple origins, identities, incarnations and adaptations of certain characters across comics and various media. For this overview we are going to go over the first and only incarnation of the character that appeared in comics. Dar-Benn was a male Kree General known as the austere, living symbol of the racial mosaic that is the Kree Empire. He gained leadership over the Kree alongside fellow general, Ael-Dann , after enacting a successful coup that allowed them to take the Empire by force. They started off by plot to assassinate Kree leader and hapless alien Clumsy Foulup. Foulup had been put into power by a scheme of both the Cotati and a Skrull posing as the Elder of the Universe called Tath Ki, AKA Contemplator. The generals successfully carried out their assassination plot using a robotic Silver Surfer, leaving them as joint rulers of the Empire. While ruling the empire Dar-Benn shows himself to be a demanding and unforgiving ruler that believes in eliminating all potential threats including various superheroes in the galaxy as well as all members of the old regime should be eradicated, including Kree enforcer Ronan the Accuser. Their rule was eventually challenged by members of their own race, various heroes and members of another alien race called the Shi'ar Empire. Both Dar-Benn & Ael-Dann would end getting killed by a member of the Shi'ar Empire called Deathbird. Upon their deaths their minds would be absorbed by Kree’s Supreme Intelligence, the Artificial Intelligence that formerly ruled the Kree but had found a new purpose of its own to follow.
Powers & Weaknesses
Dar-Benn is a brilliant strategist hence why he was able to lead a successful coup and as a Kree warrior, he’s trained in armed and unarmed combat. While armed has been known to wield either a powerful gun that discharges an energy beam or a staff. While unarmed he has super strength, stamina and durability, which are all natural traits amongst his species. And like his species, he shares similar weaknesses including the inability to breathe properly on other worlds requiring a special breathing formula to survive. Even though he is stronger than most other Kree he is by no means immortal as demonstrated by his death at the hands of Deathbird, whose skill and abilities vastly outmatched his own.
What to expect?
Based on the trailers for the film, Dar-Benn has undergone significant changes, though is still a member of the Kree Empire like in comics as well as a fierce warrior. Dar-Benn is considered to be a rather obscure character to choose as the main villain to face our three heroes however the Kree of the MCU needed a face to represent and lead them so Dar-Benn is a fitting choice. Plus the advantage of having a lesser known and developed character from comics is that it allows directors and writers to take more creative liberties and evolve them into something more than what they were. The film’s version of Dar-Benn is seeking to restore her homeland after a civil war however it seems that her main objective is to get vengeance upon Carol Danvers. It is heavily implied from some of the trailers that Carol Danvers did something terrible to her and her people in some kind of event that has her filled with great rage and views Carol as a villain in her eyes while most others see her as a hero. This feels like a more compelling villain motivation in comparison to Dar-Benn’s comic counterpart that was a typical cruel and power hungry dictator whose only motive was controlling the Kree Empire with an iron fist. Also in this film, Dar-Benn is seen wielding an Accuser's hammer and an identical bangle to Kamala Khan's bangle indicating a potential connection with the Kree culture that was first teased in the Ms Marvel series when the bangle was found on what appeared to be the corpse of a Kree. Dar-Benn is likely to be a key figure to unlocking certain unanswered mysteries from the Ms Marvel series as well as also explaining the status of the Kree since the events of Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1. The Secret Invasion series also indicated that the Kree were wanting to have peace talks with the Skrulls of Earth but whether this is part of Dar-Benn’s plans is currently unknown for now. Dar-Benn may have been an obscure and short lived character in comics but the film version of her could potentially change that.
The Marvels hits theaters on Friday, November 10th, 2023.
