[Nicole] Perlman dropped plenty of information on the development of Marvel's first female-led superhero cinematic outing, including the need to distinguish Ms. Danvers from certain intergalactic characters before her.
In the comics, Carol Danvers is an Air Force officer working with Dr. Walter Lawson, the latter of whom is actually Mar-Vell, a Kree in disguise who defends Earth as Captain Marvel. After Mar-Vell shields Danvers from a Kree device's explosion, she absorbs radiation that gives her similar powers, and takes the mantel from her friend. Coincidentally, Green Lantern is Hal Jordan -- an Air Force test pilot who inherits his own cosmic strength after stumbling upon the dying alien Abin Sur, so one can at least see where Perlman is coming from. None of this seems to worry the writer, however.
So, obviously, comics canon doesn't matter...until it does.