These Women are Real-life Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson, is often looked at as one of the most iconic superheroes of the Marvel Universe. In the movie, she started out her career as an Air Force pilot before uncovering her true mission. Each one of the following women is a perfect example of a real-life Captain Marvel.

Nicole Malachowski

Nicole Malachowski was a performer but not your usual Hollywood one type. She performed in the air as the first female Thunderbird of the United States. These pilots are specialized at exhibiting the remarkable and groundbreaking aviation technology through air shows across the country.

Women usually worked behind the scenes in the Air Force, but Malachowski became the first graduate fighter pilot. She earned her pilot’s license before earning her driver’s license. After getting her license, she went to the Academy and worked as an instructor and flight commander. She has the privilege of serving in three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter squadrons.

Jacquelyn S. Parker

Major Parker became the first female fighter pilot in history to fly an F-16 fighter jet. Prior to her achievement, a lot of women had succeeded in flying old generation aircrafts such as A-10, B-52, etc. The F series of aircraft is considered a huge improvement over its predecessors. For this reason, women were not considered fit for flying these jets.

When Major Parker flew that fighter jet in 1988, she took a major step for female equality in the military. She was considered to be an inspiration for future female fighter pilots.

Marie Rossi

Marie Rossi served during Operation Desert Storm as a helicopter pilot. She was a pilot of the 101^st Airborne Division of the US Air Force. Her main role was to transport ammunition and fuel to the US forces in the area. She died on 1^st March 1991, when her helicopter crashed during a battle.

Despite the tragedy, she left behind a legacy as being one of the first female soldiers to participate in an air assault. She now rests in Arlington Cemetery, Virginia. Although she did not have any supernatural abilities like Captain Marvel, she was a superhero. Her sacrifice and services are revered and remembered by the entire nation.

Elaine Harmon

Elaine Harmon was a World War II veteran. In addition to that, she was also a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). Interestingly, she didn’t work as a pilot during her service and this makes the achievement even more worthy. If that was not enough, what she did in death changed the entire dynamics of the US Air force. Harmon died in 2015 at the age of 95.

She made it possible for female World War II pilots to be buried in Arlington Cemetery. Previously, female pilots were not allowed to be buried there. This veteran pilot, who worked untiringly for the advancement of the war effort, deserved a place in Arlington Cemetery.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the only fight for recognition and honor the WASPs have had. They struggled for thirty years to even be recognized as veterans. Their efforts were finally rewarded in 1977. In 2016, Barack Obama allowed WASPs to be buried in Arlington and Elaine Harmon finally accomplished her final mission.

Heather Penney

In 2001, Lieutenant Penny was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base as a fighter pilot in the Air National Guard. Women were recently granted the right to train for and join Combat Aviation. Heather had jumped at that opportunity.

Before the attack on the World Trade Center, the F-16s on the base were not combat-ready so they had to leave unarmed. The plan was to locate Flight 93 and ram into it, bringing it down. It was assumed that this flight will target the White House, the Capital, or the Pentagon.

Even though it was clearly a suicide mission, this real-life Captain Marvel went on with it. The mission was not completed because the target flight crashed earlier in Pennsylvania. According to reports, the passengers aboard that flight fought the hijackers and crashed that plane.