Captain Britain vs. Captain Marvel: Who Would Win & Why?

There are numerous characters donning the “Captain” moniker in Marvel Comics. Captain Britain and Captain Marvel, however, have to be among the most powerful of them all. So, if the two “Captains” ever fought, who would win, and why?

Captain Marvel would win against Captain Britain in most fights, although it would be quite close. At their best versions, Captain Marvel is stronger, exponentially faster, and has better additional powers based on energy absorption and projection.

Captain Marvel’s biggest weakness against Captain Britain would be magic, which is the source of his powers, and her own head, as she often suffers from depression, alcoholism, etc. There are things about both characters that the other could exploit, so let’s see what those things are and how they match up against each other.

Strength & Durability

As I’ve mentioned, there have been numerous versions of both Captain Marvel and Captain Britain. So, I’m going to stick to the two most popular ones – Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, and Brian Braddock as Captain Britain, both at their peak yet non-enhanced powers. That’d be Braddock with his confidence-based power-up and Danvers as Binary.

Captain Britain used to have his powers depend on where he was and what he was wearing. Brian’s suit served as an antenna and a battery for his powers, which were somewhat localized to Britain. If he left the UK and didn’t wear his suit, his powers would slowly diminish. That completely changed lately. Now, his powers don’t stem from the suit but his confidence.

The more confident Captain Britain is about his powers, the stronger he becomes. At his best, Captain Britain can lift up to 90-100 tons. That was enough for him to go against Juggernaut, the Super-Skrull, etc.

As for his durability, Braddock’s basic durability is powerful enough to withstand a punch from Juggernaut and keep coming. However, there’s also a force-field generated around his body that is as powerful as Captain Britain is confident. At one point, it was strong enough to withstand the fully-powered Phoenix Force that knocked out Thor moments before.

However, the force field diminishes after repeated blows or if Brian loses confidence.

On the other hand, Carol Danvers is as tough as nails. It seems that the MCU version has been portrayed to be even more powerful than the comics, but her powers are quite spot on.

As Binary, Captain Marvel can lift well over 100 tons, as seen in Avengers Vol. 8 #2, where she lifted the body of a dead Celestial that fell to Earth. Danvers held her ground against the likes of Thanos.

Also, one could argue that Carol’s durability is simply on another level from Captain Britain. Her energy absorption and channeling allow Captain Marvel to withstand incredible amounts of force without suffering any damage. That includes unfathomable heat, physical damage, energy blasts, etc. 

She once survived an explosion so powerful it decimated an entire planet in Ms. Marvel Vol. 2 #23. Still, let’s say that Braddock is as confident as possible, and his durability matches Carol’s. Even if she does get hurt, she has a powerful healing factor stemming from her energy manipulation. Hence, if she gets hurt, Carol can channel energy toward healing her wounds.

In this category, it’s not even a question. Captain Britain is strong and durable, but Captain Marvel is just on another level.

Point: Captain Marvel (1:0) Captain Britain

Flight

Both Captain Marvel and Captain Britain can fly and, quite frankly, use their bodies as living projectiles. However, Captain Marvel has a clear advantage in this regard for several reasons.

First, Captain Britain flies at about the speed of sound (770 mph), or slightly above. On the other hand, Carol Danvers can fly close to light speed, which is exponentially faster than Captain Britain. That means it also generates higher power on impact.

Also, her base powers allow Captain Marvel to travel through space without aid. And although Captain Britain is capable of interdimensional travel and has flown through space on occasion, it’s not a natural ability to him as it is to Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel is a better flyer than Captain Britain, and she gets the point for that.

Point: Captain Marvel (2:0) Captain Britain

Intelligence

This is where Captain Britain gets back into the game. Before he obtained the Captain Britain powers from the magician Merlyn, Brian Braddock was a brilliant scientist with a genius-level intellect, prolific in the fields of physics and engineering. 

His knowledge only expanded further when he became Captain Britain, and he began exploring alternative fields, such as magic, interdimensional travel, energy manipulation, etc. His intellectual capacity allows Britain to learn at an incredibly fast pace, regardless of what we’re talking about.

On the other hand, Carol Danvers is no slouch. She is extremely smart and prolific in numerous fields as a result of her lifelong experience. However, she is not, nor was ever considered a genius. 

Captain Marvel has knowledge in aerodynamics from her pilot training, is multilingual, is an accomplished author of several books, etc. Also, due to her experiences with the Kree, Danvers has extensive knowledge about their highly-advanced technology. With all that being said, Captain Marvel is smart, but simply not on Captain Britain’s level.

If push comes to shove, Braddock will outsmart Danvers long before she’d outsmart him.

Point: Captain Britain (1:2) Captain Marvel

Additional Powers

Apart from superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, stamina, and reflexes, Captain Britain has additional powers revolving around his ability to draw interdimensional energies.

Braddock can travel between dimensions on a multiversal level, most notably the Otherworld dimension. He can draw upon such energies to refocus and amplify his senses to see at much greater distances, hear and detect sounds outside of the normal human spectrum, etc.

Other powers that Captain Britain has highly revolved around the equipment and weaponry he uses. Most recently, Braddock is known as Captain Avalon, wielding the Sword of Might, one of the most powerful weapons on the planet, nearly as powerful as Black Knight’s Ebony Blade. 

However, that’s about as far as his powers go. Sure, he had some power-ups over the years, but nothing permanent. Now, when you compare those powers to Captain Marvel, Braddock is severely underpowered.

Apart from her incredible physiology and flight, Captain Marvel has a level of cosmic awareness, regenerative healing factor, energy manipulation, absorption, and projection. She can also heal others by channeling energy towards their wounds and can even manipulate matter on a molecular level, as seen in Iron Man Vol. 3 #7.

Finally, Carol is an experienced pilot and spy, an expert combatant, a talented journalist, and is fluent in several languages, including English, Russian, Arabic, and Kree. In these terms, Captain Marvel destroys Captain Britain, hands down.

Point: Captain Marvel (3:1) Captain Britain

Weaknesses

Captain Britain has had several weaknesses before based on his suit – he had to wear it to maintain his power levels. Now, however, his powers solely depend on Brian Braddock’s confidence levels – the more confident he is, the more powerful he is. As much as that is a strength, it’s also a weakness.

If Braddock loses confidence for any reason, he grows weaker and weaker, meaning he becomes more susceptible to damage. However, it’s hard to destroy the confidence of a guy who knows that when his confidence is up, he’s nearly indestructible. That alone is a confidence booster.

On the other hand, Carol Danvers’ biggest weaknesses lie in her own mind. She’s been through a lot, which prompted her to resort to alcoholism, and dove into depression. However, in Captain Marvel #28, we learn that she has an additional weakness – one that could play into Captain Britain’s hand. As it turns out, Carol has a weakness to magic.

Seeing that Brian Braddock’s powers stem from Merlyn – a magician – he might be able to harness the magic to battle Captain Marvel and exploit her weakness.

Point: Captain Britain (2:3) Captain Marvel

Captain Britain Vs. Captain Marvel: Who Wins?

In the end, Captain Marvel would win against Captain Britain more often than not. She is simply stronger, more durable, faster, and has more additional powers that make her a bigger threat than Brian Braddock.

Also, her combat skills are certainly superior to his, as well as her healing powers and energy/matter manipulation. That being said, I wouldn’t say Captain Britain has no chance against Carol.

First of all, he is more intelligent, and despite her experience, I bet he could find an intellectual way to defeat Danvers. If not, one of Captain Marvel’s weaknesses is magic, and Captain Britain’s powers stem from a magical source, so it would play into his hand. Finally, if he is confident enough, Captain Britain can go against anybody, including Carol Danvers.

In the end, I would give Captain Marvel a 3:2 advantage over five fights, just like the point score suggests.