The world has been introduced to a brand new Alien race in Marvel Studios’ latest release, Captain Marvel. This film brought us the adorable yet deadly Flerken race that resembles earth’s famous moody felines. Goose becomes an unlikely ally throughout the film as only the Alien species understand the danger that it represents. They are considered one of the most dangerous species in the known universe due to their capacity of holding an entire Galaxy within their mouth. Some of the film’s best Moments involve the deadly Little cat as he helps our heroes out of rather dangerous situations. At the end of Captain Marvel, we see Goose comfortably enjoying his life at Nick Fury’s side but we still do not know what exactly has happened to him since his initial appearance in the 90s. There has been no word if we get a cameo from the cat in this year’s Blockbuster Avengers: Endgame but there is a lot of potential in exploring the Flerken’s absence.
There is one moment in the Brie Larson film that hints at the potential behind a story focused on the little alien. Briefly after Fury fawns over the little cat with one of my favorite lines, they enter an archive at the P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Research facility. After they enter the dimly lit halls to find some files on the project that Dr. Lawson was working on, we get an horror-inspired shot of Goose randomly appearing in the dark. It is sadly the only shot in the film that hints at the feline’s true nature but it left quite an impression. The reveal of it actually being a Flerken after the running gag of every alien fearing Goose was a perfect surprise. It made comic fans happy to see this out-there concept in a blockbuster film and caught the regular moviegoer completely off-guard. In any other context, this would have made for a great horror story and Marvel Studios could have some fun with this concept. So, here is my pitch for what they can do with the introduction of the Flerken.
There is a lot of potential in how one would approach a Flerken-inspired horror story. As such, instead of just sticking to a single story they could create a mini-series for Disney+. Multiple episodes tell what the cat was up to over the years. Each episode will also function as a tribute to a different style of horror subgenre. An alien life-form living on earth that looks like a normal cat opens up a lot of potentials. There is also the rather mystical aspect to a feline being able to have various tentacles coming out of its mouth. Here are just a few ideas of what they could do with a Flerkraftian-inspired mini-series.
Haunted Home Invasion
The first episode would start off with us spending time with a normal family. Now and then, we get hints that they are wondering when their father will return home, as they haven’t seen him in a while. We get a glimpse into the family’s everyday life before Goose makes his appearance. Most of the world is already aware of his alien heritage but the family does not seem to be aware of it. He is living his life like a normal house cat. We get a short glimpse of a stray animal picking a fight with the Flerken which he instantly regrets. It offers us a vague hint to confirm that this is the cat we all think it is. After everyone was enjoying their day like any other, the family heads to bed after finding out that they will be seeing their father the next day. The youngest daughter lays down while Goose gets comfortable sleeping in her bed. It all feels nice and quiet as everyone falls asleep but one can see some strange lights outside her window.
The camera shows the peaceful home’s garden until suddenly a group of mercenaries is wandering through the night. It starts out to look like the episode is turning into a house invasion film similar to 2002’s Panic Room. They all seem to be in tactical gear and are heading towards the home. After they make their way in, we follow a soldier who is losing the connection to his colleagues. He keeps hinting at a target that may be taking them out one by one. We follow a few soldiers as they inspect each room only to suddenly vanish. We get small glimpses of Goose standing near them as they walk by or even some jokes on the cat jumpscare moments. Playing on some home invasion and haunted house tropes, we end the invasion with one soldier’s visor reflecting tentacles heading towards him. We only hear a silenced scream as we see the family spending their next day as if nothing has happened. Only the youngest daughter seems to have noticed what was happening but no one believes her. It all culminates with the reveal of the mysterious father who explains the events from the last night.
The only people on earth that know about Goose’s true nature are Fury and the Rambeau Family. Last time we saw him, he was comfortably sitting in Fury’s office but was nowhere to be seen in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Subsequently, either Goose was moved to a different location or he may have enjoyed the life as someone’s pet. We are going with the second option for this mini-series and it helps also show a new side of an existing character. There aren’t many people that Fury would trust but if he had a secret family he would entrust them with looking after the Flerken. He has many enemies so he would want to keep his family a secret from the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., not too dissimilar from Hawkeye’s family in Avengers: Age of Ultron. This episode would introduce us to our main backdrop for the mini-series and also offers viewers a brand new look at a well-established character. Fury makes a cameo at the end of the episode to see his family and sheds his stoic nature for the character we got to meet in Captain Marvel.
Alien Exorcism
The next episode introduces us to a new character as the family prepares for a brief vacation. They kindly ask a girl from the neighborhood to look after their house and, of course, feed Goose. To her dismay, she is unaware of the fact that it is Flerken breeding season so the cat starts acting up. It starts with her thinking the cat isn’t feeling well, so she tries to look after her. Similar to the Pixar short Jack Jack Attack, we get to watch as everything starts to completely derail. Goose is starting to act crazy with hints of his alien-nature almost breaking through. The babysitter tries to do some kind of exorcism of the cat, which would act as a tribute to the film The Exorcist. All of a sudden, Goose disappears and she tries to find him throughout the home. Suddenly, she hears noises coming from the basement and she slowly starts ascending. She tries calling the family but no one is picking up, not even the emergency number she was given by the mother. The Flerken has started to do something that turned the basement into an alien nest. She somewhat turns into 1986’s Aliens as she fights her way through the alien nest only to end up seeing the little cat comfortably laying surrounded by its eggs as the catsitter loses conscious from the bizarre happenings around her.
Lovecraftian Cultists
The last episode will offer us a look at what has been happening in the neighborhood. All the events that have been building up over the various episodes left an impact on the people living in the neighborhood. A small cult has developed around the strange creature with many people acting off. The neighbors seem to have been driven insane almost like 1993’s Body Snatchers or like Lovecraft’s Dunwich. Some of the family members get creeped out by the strange behavior, especially as they almost seem to worship whatever their cat is doing. One daughter hints at the fact that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. The teenager is trying to avoid all the strange happenings but one of her classmates seems to keep asking her to join a new cult that has been growing. She starts to notice that something is rather familiar with the creature they worship. It is a combination of Goose and Cthulu which starts to make her suspicious. She starts trying to find out what is happening by following her cat and finds out what is making the people around them act so strange. It turns into a bizarre mystery as everyone’s bizarre worship of an ordinary house cat seems to be getting out of hand.
These are just concepts for three horror-inspired episodes featuring the loveable Flerken. They could also have a Kaiju-inspired episode where Goose is rampaging through a makeshift city built by the family’s youngest daughter. There are many potential twists they could pull on such a simple concept and it would be fun to explore the life of a Flerken in our world. We get a deeper look into the life of Nick Fury and the kind of person he is outside of his work environment. It would make for a nice bridge between Captain Marvel Fury and the one we are familiar with in the modern era. It also could offer us a look at the everyday life of people in such a bizarre world. We got a small glimpse of it in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but this could show how people react in a world with aliens and supernatural creatures.
Would you want to watch a series focused on Goose? What would you want to see in such a series? Leave your thoughts and ideas below!
