“The Last Time I Trusted Someone…”
Back in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury revealed to Steve Rogers that his trust in people has dwindled over the years as “the last time [he] trusted someone [he] lost an eye.” In Captain Marvel, we finally get to learn how Fury lost the use of his left eye: it was thanks to a nasty scratch from Goose.
The reveal has been controversial with fans, to say the least. For one, some feel it doesn’t make sense that Fury would say “someone” when referring to a cat. Given that Fury later lies to Coulson in CM that he lost his eye battling the Kree, though, it’s clear that the spy was never really honest about what happened with the alien feline.
The film does make sure to reference the “trust” part of Fury’s Winter Soldier line, however. After discovering that Goose is a Flerken, Fury tells the cat, “I’m trusting you not to eat me.” Well, this trust pays off to some extent as Fury isn’t eaten, but the temperamental creature does lash out at him all the same. Apparently, this act is what causes Fury to become a darker, less trusting soul.