Why Captain Marvel's Haircut Means More To Fans Than You Think

At face value, Captain Marvel's short hair in "Avengers: Endgame" is a seemingly nondescript detail in a movie where superheroes are fighting extraterrestrials in upstate New York. But, as Den of Geek noted shortly after the release of "Endgame," the significance of Captain Marvel's haircut is more important than you think.

The character's hair pays homage to the writer Kelly Sue DeConnick's interpretation of Carol Danvers in Marvel Comics. From 2012 to 2016, DeConnick's inclusion of shorter hairstyles on the superhero helped rebrand the character (via PopSugar). Given how closely Captain Marvel's "Endgame" hair resembles DeConnick's version, it's more than a faithful component of adaptation because it impacts the fans' reading of the character; specifically, female-identifying and LGBTQ+ fans. Like the comics, Captain Marvel's "Endgame" haircut is free of patriarchal implication and queer coded in its presentation, helping serve as an entry point for these two fan groups in identifying with her. The haircut is one of a few elements in her MCU arc where fans have seen queer coding, per Gay Times, and have helped make the character accessible to the sections of the Marvel fandom, including the Carol Corps, aka the Captain Marvel fans (via Polygon).

Additionally, Brie Larson's support of the LGBTQ+ community adds another layer here and helps us view the actor as someone whose real-world views support Captain Marvel's triumph over sexism and defiance of the rigid gender binary. Overall, the MCU lacks well-rounded queer and female-identified representation in its films and shows, so it's reasonable to say that a single hairstyle in "Endgame" won't atone for this. However, female-identifying and LGBTQ+ fans can still take heart in Captain Marvel's unmistakably meaningful haircut.