Fighter pilot-turned-superhero Carol Danvers–originally a.k.a. Ms. Marvel–has been one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Comics Universe since she was introduced in the late 1960s. But when she took up the mantle of formerly male superhero Captain Marvel in 2012 for a new series written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, she became a movement–her large, diverse group of fans, many new to comics, dubbed themselves the Carol Corps ( and inspired their own comics series ), and a Captain Marvel film is in development at Marvel Studios.

Previously: Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Captain Marvel

In the comics, Captain Marvel is about to set off on a new mission, with a refresh of the series launching this fall. In what may be an initial shock to her devoted fans, DeConnick is leaving the title to focus on other projects, including a development deal that she and husband Matt Fraction have with Universal TV.

There’s been a lot of controversy about Carol Danvers’ haircut.

But the team taking over the series have their own crossover bona fides: New Captain Marvel writers Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas are the showrunners for ABC’s critically adored series Marvel’s Agent Carter, featuring the badass British intelligence officer and superhero in her own right, introduced in the first Captain America film.

“It’s been really fun playing in a world where you can do anything,” says Butters about the transition from TV writing to comics. “In comics, there is no budget.” This includes working with series artist Kris Anka on designs whose only limit is imagination–such as for the space station that will be Captain Marvel’s new headquarters. The new series begins eight months in narrative time after the end of Secret Wars, Marvel’s current line-wide event that will change the status quo for most of the Marvel Universe’s characters and teams.

“Marvel really wanted us to design what her mission is within the universe,” says Fazekas. “We know what S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mission is, we know what the Avengers’ mission is, we know what Guardians of the Galaxy’s mission is. So how does Captain Marvel fit into all that?”

That new mission has Captain Marvel as Earth’s first line of defense against extraterrestrial threats.

Tara Butters

“This is really meant to be the next level for Captain Marvel,” says series editor Sana Amanat. “Carol is really meant to be a soldier and a commander, and also a diplomat. We’re really trying to build up this space complex and this space world. You’ll really feel like there’s an extension of the Avengers world into space, but not necessarily lost out in the Guardians of the Galaxy cosmos. It’s rooted in Earth but also an extension into the galaxy.”