Captain Marvel's powers give her a realistic chance against many of the Avengers' other heavy-hitters, although the outcome depends on the version of each character and the circumstances of the fight. Thor is one of Carol Danvers' closest rivals, as Captain Marvel can absorb and unleash immense energy and overwhelm the God of Thunder using her Binary form. Iron Man, Wonder Man, Hercules, and Vision would likely end up quitting in a long and exhausting battle against Captain Marvel. And while Captain Marvel herself has admitted she can't defeat Hulk, the Green Goliath would struggle to take her down without upgrades like his Infernal and World-Breaker power-ups.
Captain Marvel can easily defeat many powerful Avengers under the right circumstances, but when her power is reduced, she needs to learn how to fight without relying on her godlike strength, invulnerability, and flight.
Captain Marvel Can No Longer Fly, And She Feels Pain Now
Avengers #1; Written By Chip Zdarsky; Art By Marco Checchetto And Matt Wilson
This week, Marvel launches a new era of Avengers comics with Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto's Avengers, which establishes a new official line-up of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In the aftermath of the nuclear explosion at Pletetsk, Daredevil checks up on Carol Danvers, who reveals she has lost her ability to fly. Also, while she continues to be largely invulnerable to harm, she actually feels pain now. As Reed Richards explained to her in Avengers: Armageddon #5, Captain Marvel is now "operating at ten percent" of her usual power.
Daredevil accurately describes Captain Marvel's power downgrade as "a billionaire becoming a millionaire." Carol Danvers is still one of the strongest Avengers, especially considering this new era of Earth's Mightiest Heroes features Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Spider-Man as prominent figures. Of course, when compared to the incredibly powerful David Colton aka Miracleman, even Thor, Hulk, and Sentry would consider themselves outmatched. In practice, Captain Marvel can still lead the Avengers to victory without the need to fly.
Captain Marvel's Power Reduction Was Long Overdue
Carol Danvers' New Weaknesses Are A Blessing In Disguise
Captain Marvel's loss of powers helps clear the way for David Colton's Miracleman power-up without removing Carol Danvers completely. However, it also benefits Carol herself. For decades, Captain Marvel's immense abilities removed all sense of physical jeopardy from her battles, most of which she could technically win using nothing but sheer force, speed, and durability. Without flight and with ninety percent of her power gone, the risk of feeling physical pain restores a much-needed layer of tension that Captain Marvel has lacked for a long time, and it gives her battles much higher stakes.
After her heroic attempt to absorb the energy of an entire nuclear explosion, Captain Marvel can no longer simply blast her way through entire armies and brush off brutal attacks, only to come back without a headache. From now on, Carol Danvers needs to rely on her military training and her natural tactical intellect. Carol's fellow Avengers, Daredevil and Spider-Man, will likely help her adapt to her new weaknesses, as they thrive in battles where the odds are stacked against them. Both Matt Murdock and Peter Parker are so popular precisely because they're weak compared to most Avengers and still manage to come out on top.
What do you think about Captain Marvel's nerf?
Avengers #1 is available November 4 from Marvel Comics
Release Date
May 4, 2012
Runtime
143 minutes
Producers
Avi Arad, Chris Brigham, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham
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Steve Rogers / Captain America
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English (US) ·