Connoisseurs of Space Jam's website rejoice—the new Marvel website to promote their first female led superhero film, Captain Marvel, is an homage to the early aughts of internet design. It's a brilliant marketing play for a film that's set in the 1990s. Captain Marvel will follow the titular superhero, a.k.a. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), as she's embroiled in intergalactic conflict. Danvers was teased at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, so we know she plays an essential role in saving the team.
Advertisement
The Captain Marvel site's 90s internet aesthetic totals beyond its component parts. In case you're wondering, here's a short list of everything we love: Liberal use of Comic Sans, ugly beveled buttons, chintzy icons, scrolling rainbows, HTML style site sections, and clipart backgrounds. The site also includes a guest book where visitors can sign in, as well as a beautifully shitty game where you "spot the skrull." In the soulless internet of 2019, the game basically amounts to an extremely difficult CAPTCHA—and it's amazing. It all harkens to the time when you had to boot up the modem while screaming at your parents to get off the phone.
Screenshot via Marvel
It's a far cry from more typical movie marketing efforts that are bland at best, and a sweet antidote in an era that seems to be razing the "old internet." It also doesn't hurt that we're in the middle of a full blown 90s revival. Trends happen in cycles—we're wearing Doc Martens and dad sneakers, overalls and rugby polos, bucket hats and snap backs, fanny packs and snap clips, and 90s R&B tinged albums are toppingthe charts.A 90s site is that same kind of welcome diversion. And who knows, maybe Captain Marvel's Carol Danvers will help us rewrite the toxicities of the 90s too—like the fact that a movie with a strong female lead could have never actually been made in that era.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow Nicole Clark on Twitter.
ONE EMAIL. ONE STORY. EVERY WEEK. SIGN UP FOR THE VICE NEWSLETTER.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.
