Avengers: Infinity War ended with a post-credits cliffhanger that left fans both thrilled and confused (spoilers ahead, obviously). As Thanos finally managed to snap his fingers and wipe out half the population of the universe, everyone's favorite special agent, Nick Fury, watched as cars crashed, planes fell from the sky, and his closest friends dissolved into dust. Before Fury went himself, he managed to send a final call for help, via pager, to a friend: Captain Marvel.

While the moment was definitely a dynamite tease for the hero's upcoming movie, it also left more than a few fans scratching their heads. Nick Fury could have contacted Captain Marvel this whole time? Where was this call when aliens invaded earth during The Avengers? Or when an insane robot lifted an entire country into the air, intending to destroy humanity in Avengers: Age of Ultron?

Not to worry! Fury has a perfectly reasonable, canon motivation for holding off on the call to Captain Marvel, which he gave to IGN during a press tour for the movie:

"She said only in emergencies. Other emergencies could be handled by the people who were present. It's just an alien invasion, that's something that could be handled. Half the population wasn't dying and flicking off and doing whatever."

It turns out the Infinity War is the first threat large enough to warrant a call to Captain Marvel.

"We finally have an emergency that I feel warrants her presence. This is unprecedented. How are you gonna fight that? I can't fight that. If I'm not here, I need to find someone to come here who can handle it. All those people are ineffective. They're great for normal, everyday world disaster. But intergalactic badass who has all the Infinity Stones needs a bit more."

The new movie, which premieres today, March 8, is expected to be the first movie of 2019 to gross triple digits in its first weekend. Set in the '90s, the film acts as a prequel to the entire MCU, in the days before Nick Fury needed an eyepatch.

Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel - Trailer 2 youtu.be

Fans are excited to see what exactly makes Captain Marvel so powerful.

Let's hope the new Captain is packing some serious heat, because the Avengers will be taking another swing at Thanos on April 26, and they're going to need all the help they can get.

Want your very own Nick Fury? Check out this action figure!

Marvel Studios' Avengers - Official Trailer youtu.be