If you’ve just come from seeing The Marvels in theaters, you might have some questions. Specifically, you might be wondering about the character Darbin.
Well, good news, you’ve come to the right place because this very article is here to explain everything (that we can) about Darbin in The Marvels. So let’s get to it.
Who Is Darbin In The Marvels?
This is an easy one: you’re misspelling Dar-Benn, the actual name of the character.
That’s okay, don’t feel bad, there is no point during the duration of the movie that they spell the character’s name. She doesn’t fill out any paperwork, or go through security at an airport where they need to check the spelling of her name or anything. It’s also one of those weird alien spellings that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
But it is Dar-Benn, and the character is played by Zawe Ashton.
Are You Sure It Isn’t Darwin In The Marvels?
Again, this is on you. You misheard the name, beyond spelling it incorrectly. It’s Dar-Benn. Darwin is the last name of the guy who developed one theory of evolution that has been popularly accepted as scientific fact. Or perhaps you’re thinking of Darwin, the X-Men character, who appeared in X-Men: First Class played by Edi Gathegi. His power was continuous evolution. If something threatened him he adapted to it so he would never die.
Anyway, they killed him first in that movie, which was pretty messed up! But he is not in The Marvels. There might be other X-Men characters who are in The Marvels, but we don’t want to get too much into spoilers here.
Okay, So Who Is Dar-Benn In The Marvels?
Dar-Benn is a character who was first introduced in Silver Surfer #53 in 1991, created by writer Ron Marz and artist Ron Lim. In the books (nothing against the two Rons), Dar-Benn is A) a man, and B) a pretty generic Kree bad guy. He’s an imposing general — and eventual Emperor — and really doesn’t like the Silver Surfer.
So the Dar-Benn we meet in The Marvels is totally different. We’re going to get into spoilers for the movie past this point, but despite what some of the scenes show you, Dar-Benn was not in Captain Marvel. She’s a new character for this movie who was retconned (short for retroactive continuity, i.e. adding something to the continuity as if it was always there, but after the fact) into the earlier film.
As we discover in The Marvels, Dar-Benn was originally a Kree soldier, but after Carol Danvers destroyed the Supreme Intelligence, she rose to become the new leader of the Kree. She also changed jobs at some point, becoming an Accuser like Ronan (Lee Pace) from Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as a brief appearance in Captain Marvel. Accusers are essentially judge, jury, and executioner, and carry a big ol’ hammer.
The rest you see in the movie, but essentially Dar-Benn is strong, as are all Kree, and carries the big hammer, as mentioned. She’s also very particular about the spelling of her name, and if you get it wrong she will kill you. Just kidding.
What To Know About Zawe Ashton, Who Plays Dar-Benn In The Marvels:
Zawe Ashton is a 39-year-old British actress and playwright probably best known for playing Deborah Arnold in Case Histories and Violet “Vod” Nordstrom on Fresh Meat. She was also Journey Blue on an episode of Doctor Who because if you’re British you are legally required to guest star on that show.
However, more than her TV and film work she has some serious stage chops. She starred as Bianca in The Globe’s production of Othello, Salome in Salome, and more recently in Betrayal at the Harold Pinter Theater. Wonder what she thought about wearing weird gold teeth and looking at literally nothing while swinging a hammer? Who is to say? Not I!
There’s probably one other thing you’ll want to know about Zawe Ashton: since 2019, she has been in a relationship with none other than Tom Hiddleston, aka Loki himself. In fact, they’re engaged. And also, they have a child together. So, that’s going on.
Coming up, she’s starring in Mog’s Christmas opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy. You can join her 144k followers on Instagram, where she seems thrilled the SAG-AFTRA strike has ended. And her 51.4k followers on X (formerly Twitter), where she hasn’t posted in two years.
The Marvels is in theaters everywhere now.
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