The little device is apparently a beacon of some sort, because, once struck, it emits a signal that travels well outside of the solar system to a cloud of spherical devices hanging suspended in space. The signal activates one of the devices, which causes it to… start making a baby at an accelerated rate. The device fills the child’s head with a strange cocktail of information (William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 29,” facts about the ancient supercontinent Pangea — which is real in Marvel canon — and a breakdown of the concept of mythology) to help it “understand this foreign world.” Then, of course, the baby-carrying sphere makes a bee line for none other than Earth. Whoever, or whatever, this kid is, it must be pretty important to warrant the priority gestation treatment — and it knows how to fight. Chances are very good we’ll get to meet the results of that process in The Life of Captain Marvel #2.

RELATED: Life of Captain Marvel Redefines Carol’s Origin as a (Super) Family Drama

The presence of Kree technology (and we know it’s Kree technology because the gestation pod specifically introduces its artificial intelligence as “Mother Kree”) in the hands of a Danvers other than Carol is a surprising twist that could have numerous ramifications on the Captain Marvel origin story. Perhaps the most pressing thing to point out is that we don’t know who really penned the letter. The debut issue is just as focused on Carol’s dad, Joseph, as it is on her brother, who shares his father’s name. Carol assumes the letter was written by her father, which could imply that the man had some hand in her becoming Captain Marvel, intentionally or not, if it was penned before that fateful explosion. It could just as easily mean that the Kree infiltrated her family through her brother, though it’s unclear to what end. Either outcome would be wholly plausible.

Something else to ponder is the identity of the recipient. It would seem as though the letter’s intended recipient got close to one of two men in Carol’s life and then… gave them an extremely powerful weapon. Captain Marvel has tangled with the likes of Doctor Minerva, a brilliant, rogue Kree geneticist, for years, and the Kree Empire is known for dispatching spies to Earth whenever it suits them. Whoever is behind the strange new attack, it would seem as though they are trying to destroy Captain Marvel from the inside. The final panel sees Carol lament that her faith in love as a perfect force has waned because of her recent revelations. Regardless of what comes out of that gestation pod, it would seem as though some measure of the intended damage is already done.

On sale now, The Life of Captain Marvel #1 is written by Margaret Stohl with art by Carlos Pacheco. The issue’s cover is provided by Julian Totino Tedesco.