One of the biggest surprises from Avengers: Infinity War is when Iron Man a.k.a. Tony Stark, survived. The guy has been the face of MCU for more than a decade and it’s high time for a new poster boy… or girl. Really, a purple alien with a pride parade gauntlet would have been Stark’s perfect exit since clearly, Iron Man isn’t powerful enough to defeat Thanos. Thankfully, Captain Marvel might be, and how strong is Captain Marvel? Let’s just say she might steal Thor’s “thunder,” as strongest Avenger.
Of course, it’s not really clear how Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) can defeat Thanos, especially for non-comic book readers. That is why we want to clarify and analyze the possibilities by comparing her and her powers to other MCU characters. As for you comic book purists, do note the difference between comic book Captain Marvel and Brie Larson Captain Marvel since MCU appears to be setting her up as the be-all and end-all.
First, let’s take a look at how strong is Captain Marvel. Her Captain Marvel powers are…
Superhuman Strength
She punches hard and can carry you, your house, your planet, and the emotional baggage you’re carrying.
Superhuman Endurance and Stamina
She punches hard and can carry you, your house, your planet, and the emotional baggage you’re carrying… and she won’t get tired.
Flight
She punches hard and can carry you, your house, your planet, and the emotional baggage you’re carrying and she won’t get tired… while flying several times faster than the speed of sound.
Superhuman Speed and Reflexes
By the time you’re done reading this, she already will have done all of those above except for the planet part. She can also evade a bullet at point blank range.
Superhuman Durability and Regeneration
Not much can hurt her, not even the review bombing from all the bitter Marvel fans in Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, she’s completely bullet/bomb/nuclear missile proof too while being able to regenerate like Wolverine.
Immunity to Toxin/Poison
All thanks to her human/Kree hybrid physiology, she just shrugs off poisons and toxins.
Energy Absorption/Manipulation
She can absorb energy and weaponize it. She even once tapped into a white hole and absorbed and controlled heat, gravity, and electromagnetism. On a regular basis, she can use energy to shoot beams using her hands or further enhance her strength.
“Seventh Sense”
Again, thanks to her conversion to the Kree alien race, she has acquired what is called cosmic awareness. Captain Marvel can sense what is going to happen in the future to a certain extent. That means she can predict certain dangers and outcomes before they even start to happen.
Doesn’t need air
She’s her own spaceship and can survive in the vacuum and coldness of space. We probably know at this point who’s going to rescue a space-stranded Tony Stark.
Military Training
Before she donned her Captain Marvel costume, Carol Danvers was an air force pilot on Earth. Though, she also did receive Kree combat training after she became Captain Marvel.
So, how strong is Captain Marvel? She’s pretty much MCU’s own version of Superman in terms of capabilities but a female blonde and with more tricks up her sleeve. How does she stack up against MCU’s established heavy hitters, though? Let’s explore that, Captain Marvel is…
Stronger Than:
Any genetically pure human in MCU with no machine or magic aid… obviously.
Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Shuri, Okoye. Anyone with guns, spears, or other basic human weapons need to step back and let Captain Marvel do her work.
Iron Man
Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, a big man with a suit of armor… and in dire need of a space rescue and recharge for his suit.
Doctor Strange
With Strange wielding the Time Stone, it will probably be more of a tie against Captain Marvel. However, we all know where the Time Stone went.
Spiderman
He won’t feel so good either in a match against Captain Marvel.
War Machine
Discount Iron Man, sorry Colonel Rhodes, even with both legs you still won’t beat Captain Marvel.
Captain America
Steve Rogers is gonna need more than a shield and his serum to have a fighting chance against her.
Winter Soldier
She’ll just zap his machine arm off and call it a day.
Loki
He’s permanently dead anyway. No more pranks.
Black Panther
Cute kitty cat, luckily for him, Carol Danvers does not need a pet.
Vision
Too unstable for a prolonged fight. Also, too polite.
Scarlet Witch
The only reason she can destroy an Infinity Stone is that her powers are connected to it. In any case, MCU’s Captain Marvel would just absorb anything she throws and become more powerful.
The Guardians of the Galaxy
No Groot nor funky ’80s music can save them against her, but together, well they might stand a chance.
Ant-Man/Wasp
These guys haven’t even fought anyone who is an actual threat to the MCU.
Now, the fun part, despite Kevin Feige’s claims of Captain Marvel being the most overpowered character in MCU, she could arguably be…
Equal To (OR maybe weaker than):
Thanos
Yes, Captain Marvel would probably be the key to defeating the mad titan, but it would be boring if she were to do it all alone in an anticlimactic manner now, would it? She’ll likely enlist the help of whatever is left of the Avengers. There’s also the fact that Thanos still has all the Infinity Stones. Since he won, he is now the de facto supreme supervillain of the MCU and will be our baseline for comparison.
Thor
Technically, Thor with his shiny new Stormbreaker defeated Thanos, Infinity Gauntlet and all. Unfortunately, Thor’s intellect is not exactly a great weapon against the mad titan, after all, the God of Thunder is not known to be wise or clever. Captain Marvel will predictably be smarter than Thor, but in terms of strength, durability, and fighting skill, that remains to be seen in Avengers: Endgame.
Hulk
Okay, hear me out, Thanos might have defeated the Hulk quickly, but that is with the help of the Power Stone. Any Hulk fan will know that his strength is infinite and proportional to his anger in a drawn-out fight which never happened against Thanos. Sadly, the Hulk is frustratingly underrepresented in MCU’s Avengers so we will probably never get to see him in full strength unless the plot requires it.
Hela
Thor’s big sister in the MCU, she can slap him around with his own Mjolnir like the little brother he is. Suffice to say, she is probably even more powerful than Thanos and would have given him a problem if not for…
Surtur
Destroyer of Asgard. Neither Thor, nor Hela, nor Hulk can defeat him. He’s probably stronger than Thanos too and for that matter, probably stronger than Captain Marvel. Thankfully, he is quite content at destroying only Asgard.
Ego
Our first glimpse of a “celestial” in the MCU, which in the Marvel comics, are one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Regardless, MCU’s interpretation of a celestial is quite murky and even flexible as the plot wills it. Ego, however, has proven to be a formidable “god” being who is as big as a moon and can create matter on the fly.
Dormammu
Technically, Dr. Strange did not defeat this being, even with a Time Stone. He just annoyed him to submission. Supposedly, he is stronger than Thanos (even with the gauntlet) or Captain Marvel for that matter. Perhaps the only reason preventing him from consuming the universe is the thought of getting trolled by Dr. Strange again.
While it does not hurt to speculate and assume, the best and sure way to find out how strong is captain marvel, especially when compared to others, is to see Avengers: Endgame or her own solo introductory film Captain Marvel. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long.
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How Strong is Captain Marvel Compared to Others?