It’s no secret that Brie Larson and her avenging alter ego Captain Marvel is the most controversial of the many leading superheroes in the MCU. Four years on from her franchise debut in her own self-titled origins movie, Carol Danvers continues to inspire backlash like no other character in the whole wide Marvel multiverse. It’s hard to pin down exactly why that is, but simply put, it seems that many are intimidated by the sheer power the heroine exhibits and the sheer confidence Larson exudes in the role.
For countless others, though, these reasons are exactly why Captain Marvel is beloved, as across her mere two appearances in the MCU to date (not including her brief cameo in Ms. Marvel), Carol has already proven herself to be a powerhouse among powerhouses. It’s no secret that she may be the Avengers’ greatest weapon, something that has been made clear by several moments across Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.
So let’s hold back the hate with a reminder of why Captain Marvel goes higher, further, faster than any other Marvel hero.
Beating Yon-Rogg
The final fight between Captain Marvel and Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) is far from the grandest confrontation between a hero and a villain in the MCU — in fact, it may just be the shortest as Carol is able to finish it before it’s even begun while the corrupt Kree leader is still egging her on — however it remains a big power moment for the character. Yon-Rogg has been controlling Carol for years, and while she’d be in her rights to go to town on him, she proves how unimportant he really is to her by beating him with embarrassing swiftness and sending him back home to get told off by mommy (i.e. the Supreme Intelligence).
Staredown with Thor
Some of Carol’s best power moves, though, don’t even require her to lift a finger, or even an eyebrow. Case in point, the instantly iconic moment where she stares down the God of Thunder himself and doesn’t react at all when Mjolnir, a magic hammer that’s capable of killing deities, flies right past her ear. “I like this one,” Thor says. So do we.
P.S. remember when this moment was first revealed in the trailers and folks were shipping Carol and Thor for a while? That was weird. Although, come to think of it, we’d be interested to live in the universe out there that got a version of Thor: Love and Thunder co-starring Brie Larson.
Destroying Thanos’ warship
Things were looking a little bleak for the Avengers in the ultimate battle against Thanos, with the Mad Titan’s massive warship, the Sanctuary II, firing down on our heroes in an unceasing assault… until something enters the upper atmosphere. Is it a bird, is it a plane? Nope, it’s S…omething else. Repeating a move she debuted in her own solo movie (more on that in a moment), Carol shoots down like a meteor from space and takes out the Sanctuary II single-handed. The look of total fear on Thanos’ face when he realizes the might of the Avengers’ new ally will never not be satisfying. One of the best pieces of evidence that Carol really is the team’s biggest gun.
Facing Thanos solo
The “A-Force” scene might remain one of the most divisive moments of Endgame‘s final battle (is it a well-earned female-fronted sequence or forced pandering? You decide), but the part that immediately follows it is undoubtedly one of the coolest of the film’s jumbo-sized third act. Much like Carol destroying the Sanctuary, seeing her go toe-to-toe with Thanos in a fist-fight is a real punch-the-air moment. When he head-butts her and gets absolutely no reaction in return, leaving him gawping at her with abject confusion, is pure perfection. If the big guy hadn’t cheated by using the concentrated energy of the Power Stone to knock her away, Carol definitely would’ve won this.
Rescuing Iron Man and Nebula
Messianic imagery is definitely more of a DC thing, as it’s particularly favored by Zack Snyder, but Marvel has dabbled in it too from time to time. Most notably in the awe-inspiring moment when Tony Stark is on the verge of death, as he and Nebula are trapped a million lightyears from Earth with no apparent hope of survival or of returning home, when a glowing angelic figure emerges from the depths of space. Having Carol appear as an almost heavenly savior to the original — and, to many, the greatest — MCU hero was an extremely loaded moment that just goes to emphasize Carol’s significance.
Going Binary
When talking about Carol Danvers’ most powerful moments, though, naturally the scene that first springs to mind is when she first showcased her ultimate form in all its glory. After finally leveling up to what comic book readers know is her Binary mode, Captain Marvel — glowing with Super-Saiyan energy — takes on the invading Kree forces above Earth, downs one of their ships, and scares even Ronan the Accuser (the first nemesis of the Guardians of the Galaxy) into retreating. For those still in doubt, by this point it became clear to every fan watching that Carol was the number one strongest Avenger introduced into the MCU to date.
Expect Captain Marvel to prove her power in many more instances once The Marvels hits theaters this Nov. 10.
