Here’s What Flerken’s True Form Is! Explained

When ‘Captain Marvel’ came out in 2019, the reviews from both the critics and the audience were somewhat divided. However, one thing that everyone could agree on was that Goose the Cat stole the show. Although a real-life cat actor named Reggie was perfect for the role, Goose is actually an alien species called the Flerken. So, what is a Flerken, and what’s its true form?

What is a Flerken?

Did you know that the domestic cat is the most popular pet in the United States? Their overwhelming cuteness and careless attitude are the perfect recipe for a pet that enamors and intrigues us so much. I mean, there have been times when I thought to myself that my cat must be an alien. Well, in Captain Marvel’s case, that’s actually the truth.

You see, her cat, Goose, looks, walks, and behaves like your normal everyday cat. He purrs, meows, sleeps, and eats, so in the comics, Carol didn’t even know that her cat was a Flerken. Goose from the MCU, however, was a known Flerken that was brought to Earth by Mar-Vell before she died, and Goose was left alone before meeting Carol and Nick Fury.

Goose was played by a real-life cat – an adorable ginger tabby boy named Reggie – but there’s more to a Flerken than just being a space cat. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful, most dangerous species we’ve ever seen in the MCU.

You see, Flerkens have tentacles coming out of their mouths, expanding to incredible sizes. And, once swallowed by a Flerken, you’re stuck in a pocket universe that hides within. Yup, there are whole universes hidden within a Flerken. That’s why Goose was able to swallow the Tesseract so easily, and I tell you, not many species in the MCU could do that.

The thing is, despite being dangerous and powerful, Flerkens are still very popular as pets around the universe. That makes them even more like cats – they might literally demolish your home by simply being themselves, but you still adore them.

There’s another big difference between Earth cats and Flerkens – their reproduction. Instead of procreating as mammals, Flerkens can lay up to 117 eggs in a single ‘batch.’ Goose’s comic book counterpart was named Chewie, and Carol didn’t know he was a Flerken until her feline companion laid eggs in ‘Captain Marvel’ Vol. 8 #7.

In another universe – the Earth-18157 universe – the Kree had a Flerken breeding program, creating hundreds of Flerken and distributing them across various worlds, where they were easily adopted as pets due to the creature’s uncanny cuteness.

However, the Kree had a plan, wanting to turn on a signal beacon and directing all the Flerken to attack the native species of the respective planet where they were situated. Luckily, Captain Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy managed to prevent and ruin the Kree plan before it was set in motion.

Seeing the uncanny resemblance to Earth’s cats, Captain Marvel instructed the Guardians of the Galaxy to find and relocate all the Flerkens from across the galaxy to Earth, where they were to be adopted as cats. Who knows? Maybe your kitty is a Flerken, too.

Are Flerkens sentient?

Another thing that people found quite interesting about Goose is that he seemed to understand what was said to him – it’s just that he didn’t care all that much. I guess you can call it another similarity between cats and Flerkens.

Indeed, Flerkens are a sentient species capable of understanding cognitive conversation but aren’t capable of speaking themselves, at least not in human language.

To add to their awesomeness, all Flerkens shared the same pocket dimension through their bodies. So, if you were to be swallowed by a Flerken and could somehow find your way out of the pocket universe, you could get out of any Flerken anywhere in the universe.

What does a Flerken really look like?

Due to the uncanny resemblance to a domestic cat, many fans believed that Goose was just posing as a cat while actually having a different true form. The truth is – that Flerkens actually look exactly like cats. That is their true form.

Well, plus the tendrils that lead into a maw that leads into a pocket universe, but apart from that, Goose is just as adorable as your common kitty cat. That explains why they are so popular as pets all around the universe. A cat’s awesomeness is a universal language, I guess.

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