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Captain Marvel is one of those characters that has a rich and very diverse history in the history of Marvel Comics. There have been several different iterations of the character, and although they donned the same name, each of them was very different. The current Captain Marvel is former pilot Carol Danvers and she, or more specifically, her powers are going to be the focus of today’s article. Captain Marvel is notoriously known as one of the strongest superheroes in Marvel’s lore and we are going to be explaining just why she is as strong as she is and how she can be defeated. Keep reading to find out more!
Captain Marvel is so strong because the source of her powers is alien. Due to an explosion, her genetic code got mixed with Kree genes, which made her so strong, but also gave her superhuman powers, which – in turn – allowed her to become Captain Marvel. As for her weaknesses, she doesn’t really have any specific weakness, but she is prone to losing control over her powers from time to time.
Today’s article is going to focus on Captain Marvel and her powers. You’re going to find out how the character changed over the years and how the most recent iteration of the character got her powers. After that, we are going to list these powers and explain why Captain Marvel is so powerful. Finally, we’re going to talk about the character’s inherent weaknesses. It’s going to be a fun read so stick with us until the end!
How did the character of Captain Marvel change over the years?
The character of Captain Marvel has a very long and interesting history. The first Captain Marvel wasn’t actually a Marvel Comics character, but rather the superhero that we today know as Shazam, who is part of the DC Comics universe. The original Captain Marvel debuted back in 1939/1940, while Marvel’s character of the same name appeared in 1967. It is interesting to know that the original Captain Marvel wasn’t even a DC Comics character, but a character created belonging to Fawcett Comics; in 1953, DC Comics sued Fawcett over Captain Marvel, alleging that he was a copy of Superman, after which Fawcett stopped publishing Captain Marvel stories, before selling the rights to the character to DC in 1972. But, since this text is about the Marvel Comics character, let us see how that character developed.
Jumping in the void created by the DC-Fawcett lawsuit, Marvel Comics created their version of Captain Marvel in 1967, with the character debuting in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (1967). The first among several iterations of the character was a member of the Kree race known as Mar-Vell, who donned the costume until 1982, when he was replaced with Monica Rambeau, after dying from cancer.
Monica Rambeau as Captain Marvel until 1993, when she gave the title to Genis-Vell, Mar-Vell’s son. After more than a decade, Genis-Vell gave the mantle to his sister, Phyla-Vell, who would be known as Captain Marvel from 2004 to 2007.
A Skrull sleeper agent known as Khn’nr became the fifth Captain Marvel in 2007, donning the name for just a couple of years, until 2009, when he was by Noh-Varr.
The most recent and current Captain Marvel is Carol Danvers, who inherited the title in 2012 and has been further popularized by MCU, where this iteration appeared in the movie Captain Marvel and in other Avengers movies. Because of this fact, we are going to use Carol Danvers as the protagonist of our article.
Carol Susan Jane Danvers is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel. Carol Danvers is best known as the current Captain Marvel, although she has a much longer history within the Marvel universe. She was created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.
The character of Carol Danvers debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (1968) as an officer of the United States Air Force. She was a colleague of Dr. Walter Lawson, the human alias of Mar-Vell, the first Captain Marvel. The first major event of her history happened when she was hurt in an explosion of a Kree device; Mar-Vell saved her life, but she was seriously injured. During the explosion, her DNA got mixed with Mar-Vell’s, which gave her superhuman abilities.
Carol Danvers returned during the 1970s with her superhuman abilities as the superhero Ms. Marvel, debuting in the comic Ms. Marvel #1 (1977). She was a very progressive character at the time and has since become one of the foremost female superheroes in the Marvel universe.
Carol Danvers worked with the Avengers and has appeared in titles involving other characters. She herself has changed superhero identities again in 1982 (when she became Binary) and in 1998 (when she became Warbird), before finally becoming Captain Marvel in 2012’s Avenging Spider-Man #9 (2012).
The role of Captain Marvel has increased Danvers’ popularity so much that she has now become an essential Marvel superhero.
Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel has appeared in several animated movies and TV shows, video games and the MCU, where she appeared in both her own stand-alone movie and the Avengers saga. In the MCU, she is played by Brie Larson.
What are Captain Marvel’s powers and abilities?
In his analysis, Nick Fury classifies Captain Marvel as being Power Level 8. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z (2010) gives the following numbers:
| Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Carol Danvers) | |
| Intelligence | 3/7 |
| Strength | 5/7 |
| Speed | 5/7 |
| Durability | 6/7 |
| Energy Projection | 5/7 |
| Fighting Skills | 4/7 |
Both Fury’s classification as well as the table show that Captain Marvel is, indeed, powerful. She has a plethora of different powers and abilities, all of which enable her to fight under different circumstances and against different types of enemies. We are now going to list all of her powers:
- Enhanced superhuman abilities, which include:
- Superhuman strength
- Superhuman stamina
- Superhuman durability
- Superhuman agility
- Superhuman reflexes
- Flight, which includes space flight without any vehicles;
- (Hyper-)Cosmic awareness, which is a form of precognition, also called Flash Precognition;
- Regenerative manipulation, which involves different healing factors:
- Contaminant immunity
- Decelerated ageing (conventional immortality)
- Healing
- Energy manipulation skills, which include:
- Energy absorption
- Photonic blasts
- Molecular manipulation and matter transmutation
- Energy-construct creation
- Self sustenance
As Binary, Carol was once linked to the power of a white hole and was able to generate heat, light, radiation and access all other forms of energy along the electromagnetic spectrum on an almost solar scale. She also had minor control over gravity. She could breathe in space and travel at the speed of light. And was able to go toe-to-toe against Firelord. The link was believed to be severed, therefore she could no longer do so on the level she once had. However, Carol proved she still retained the capacity for this power, as she still remains the ability to connect with white holes at will within her.
As for her regular human abilities, Carol Danvers is an experienced spy and also multilingual, being able to speak English, Russian, and Arabic, as well as Kree. She also speaks both common and Imperial Shi’a, passable Rajaki and has a limited vocabulary in several other languages, including Chinese. She is a master pilot, a master combatant and an unusually talented journalist.
Why is Captain Marvel so strong?
The reason for Captain Marvel’s strength is the source of her powers. Namely, whichever iteration you consider, they are either alien or have come into contact with alien energy. This gave each of the characters significant powers, which made them – in a way – similar to Superman when compared to regular humans. And while Captain Marvel isn’t as strong as the Man of Steel, the alien (or extradimensional) powers she has give her superhuman abilities.
Also, as Binary, Carol Danvers, the current Captain Marvel, was able to link her powers to a white hole, a powerful energy source, which made her even more powerful and gave her amazing abilities. All of this explains why Captain Marvel is such a formidable character and why she is considered to be one of the strongest in Marvel’s universe.
What are Captain Marvel’s weaknesses?
As far as her weaknesses are concerned, Captain Marvel doesn’t have any specific weakness like some characters. There is no specific object or substance that causes any problems for her. Yet, she is not invincible and she is far from flawless. She does have her weaknesses, but they are more of a psychological than a physical nature.
Namely, Carol Danvers has problems controlling her two personalities, which has caused her to be unstable from time to time. She also had addiction issues, which rendered her useless for certain periods. Another thing that tended to cause problems is her temper and the ability to control it, especially when exposed to large amounts of energy.
So yes, Captain Marvel is far from flawless and she has her weaknesses, but they are of a different nature than what we are used to from comic book characters.
And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we helped solve this dilemma for you. See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!