The Marvels: Why Samuel L. Jackson's 'Black Girl Magic' Battlecry Is So Powerful

"The Marvels" is a project of firsts for the MCU. It's the first Marvel film to be helmed by a Black woman director, Nia DaCosta, who also unseated Ryan Coogler as the studio's youngest director. "The Marvels" is also the highest-budgeted film to be directed by a Black woman, as well as the first Marvel movie to be led by a group of female protagonists: Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).

"The Marvels" is a groundbreaking release within the Marvel oeuvre, but it's plenty nostalgic, too, especially when it comes to revisiting the friendship between Carol and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). "We wanted to kind of keep that connection to 'Captain Marvel' where we saw a lighter side of him, because of his relationship with Captain Marvel," DaCosta told GamesRadar+. "Something I really like about Fury is that he kind of shifts depending on who he's with, and I think with these women, he's a much softer Fury."

That softness and humor is evident in the trailer for "The Marvels." Fury brings his dad energy to the fold, with all of the encouragement and corniness that it entails. At the end of the trailer, Kamala can be seen hurtling through the sky towards Earth. "Monica, you've gotta fly," Fury says. When she waffles, Fury snaps, "Black girl magic!" It's a cheeky, literal wink at the phrase, which first became a slogan of empowerment when it was coined by CaShawn Thompson in 2013.

"Black girl magic" is a phrase that has proliferated pop culture, but it began as a Tweet. "In 2013, I remember being upset about the number and frequency of this media storm that was basically coming for our necks," CaShawn Thompson explained to Black History Untold. "The last straw was something that was said about Serena Williams. And I said, 'I don't know what they are talking about. Black girls are magic.'"

The hashtag turned into a movement meant to celebrate the achievements of Black women, whether it's the superstar abilities of Williams or the ordinary magic of Thompson's grandma's cooking abilities.

It's an apt phrase for "The Marvels," which primarily centers women of color in front of and behind the camera, including its villain, Dar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton. When Nick Fury implores Monica to tap into her own Black girl magic, it's in part a tongue-in-cheek reference to her otherworldly powers. But it is also an exhortation that Monica embraces her inner confidence and self-assuredness, no matter how much literal magic is involved.

"The Marvels" isn't the first Marvel project to invoke Black girl magic. In an article for Essence, Charisma Deberry detailed the moving experience of seeing the Dora Milaje's choreographed entrance at Disney's Avengers Campus. "At that moment, it dawned on me that I had never experienced Black women celebrated so boldly at a theme park," she wrote. Nick Fury's battlecry confirms that the celebration will continue to be felt on the big screen.