With the release of Captain Marvel, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has upped the ante for Phase 4 of the grand plan, taking things more cosmic than the movies have ever before gone! When it comes to Marvel Comics, this means very big things. Cosmic storylines in the classic pages of titles like Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange have only begun to be tapped by these movies. Likely, this has a lot to with the fact that major universal forces can be expensive to express on screen, whereas earlier MCU efforts kept things more Earth-bound as the first Iron Man and Captain America films did, for example. But that’s all over! With Carol Danvers ready to set space aflame with her blast-ray fireworks, we even have the grand space opera The Eternals slated for Phase 4 (and yes, Black Widow and Black Panther 2, which may well be more terrestrial than interplanetary themselves). All this brings to mind: since she is rumored to be a big factor in battling Thanos in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, which of the Mad Titan’s potential allies could pose a serious threat to Captain Marvel – and which would be easy to take out? While the film will begin to answer that question, the comics do provide a clue. And let’s face it, anybody Thanos enlists to take her on will just make Ms. Danvers’ task that much harder. Ready for a series of interstellar grudge matches? Here’s Captain Marvel: 10 Thanos Allies She Could Destroy in Seconds (and 10 Who Would Defeat Her).
She Would Destroy: Ronan
When we first see Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy, he seems pretty unstoppable. This very large man with a very large sledgehammer is tough enough to take on Drax, Gamora, and Groot all at the same time. And he was no slouch in the comics, either, almost single-handedly taking down the Fantastic Four in his publication debut. But Captain Marvel is just tougher. She comes from the same Kree training, but obviously owns enhancements well beyond that: she fires mega-beams from her hands, she flies around effortlessly in space, and seems to pull her punches against Super Skrulls. The so-called Accuser would find surely himself to be judged the weaker fighter in this matchup! This pawn of Thanos falls to Ms. Danvers.
She Would Lose To: Annihilus
No matter how strong you are, it’s tough to beat up a virtual god. In the comics, Annhilius is the overlord of another realm known as the Negative Zone. This ruthless tyrant derives his power from a cosmic rod, which allows him to run roughshod over his realm. In major Marvel Universe events, this insectoid monster has at times been an ally of Thanos (and also an adversary). What would happen if Captain Marvel had to go one-on-one with her? Likely, it would be a short fight. While Annihilus has been defeated, it took team efforts or far tougher characters to make a difference. Sorry, Carol, you’d almost definitely get annihilated in this battle!
She Would Destroy: Proxima Midnight
In Avengers: Infinity War, we see a version of Proxima Midnight who, we must say, is less than impressive when it comes to single combat. While we all love Black Widow, she’s just a normal human. And yet, in the Battle of Wakanda, they fought to a stalemate. So are we supposed to think that she would last five seconds against the cosmically-endowed Captain Marvel? No way. She may be one of Thanos’ favorite “children” and perhaps does a good job of eliminating weaker natives on various planets. But not this time, we are afraid. Carol Danvers is just way too powerful. The Kree warrior would wipe up the floor with Ms. Midnight from dusk to dawn!
She Would Lose To: Corvus Glaive
This is a tough one. When we meet Corvus Glaive in Avengers: Infinity War, he is indeed a fearsome warrior. But he also does get his behind handed to him pretty readily in the movie during the faceoff he and Proxima Midnight dealt with against Scarlet Witch, Vision, Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon. However, in the comics, Corvus is actually immortal so long as he keeps a grip on his weapon. Which is pretty much always. So how in the world can you ultimately defeat somebody who cannot lose their life? Answer: you can’t. And is he, Thanos’ favorite of the Black Order (at least in the comics), able to take on Captain Marvel? Knowing how tough she is, he would unlikely unleash his full fury and take her down. And Carol Danvers is most definitely not immortal!
She Would Destroy: Ebony Maw
Another member of the Black Order would not fare as well against Kree’s fiercest warrior. While Ebony Maw’s powers in Avengers: Infinity War were impressive, they seemed mostly to work around telekinesis. He can throw all the cars, buildings, and star cruisers he wants at Captain Marvel, she will just cut through it all like a knife through hot butter when in full cosmic mode. Now, in the comics, Mr. Maw is also a master manipulator who can overcome even very powerful minds, such as Dr. Strange. But Carl Danvers is a soldier trained by the most ruthless army in the universe – the conquering Kree! Unlike Strange, she has surely been put through tough “hostage survival” training which would include shielding her mind. But really, Ebony would be toast in seconds anyway, and nothing he could say would change that!
She Would Lose To: Mangog
Imagine taking the “sum total of the dislike of a billion beings” and cramming that into a single supervillain? Well, that’s precisely the resume of the virtually unstoppable Mangog, who first appeared in the pages of Thor, only to reemerge years later as a servant of Thanos. This is a really tough alien who almost took down the magical realm of Asgard all by himself! He’s hardly a pushover! And so how would Captain Marvel match up against such a monster? Probably not too well. While she might get a few licks in, it would really take a higher being like Odin (who did defeat him) or a powerful team effort to drag down this massive orange powerhouse.
She Would Destroy: Gamora
Everybody loves Gaomra. She is an excellent character with a deep history and great dramatic inner conflicts. But what’s that you say? She’s not really an ally of Thanos? That would be correct – now. Especially after what the Mad Titan did to her in Avengers: Infinity War! But never forget that she was at the supervillain’s side for years after he adopted her. So, yeah – that counts. Let us not mince words from here. Captain Marvel would destroy this lady very, very quickly. Sure, she’s a smart life-taker with some slick moves. And yeah, she’s brave enough to take on a crashing spaceship speeding at her full bore. But she’s not long on superpowers. And would not be long for this world should Ms. Danvers unleash her full fury upon her.
She Would Lose To: Mephisto
Back before it was socially acceptable for comic books to include the Dark One as a recurring character of any kind, Marvel Comics came up with the next best thing: Mephisto. An obvious stand-in for “the lord of the underworld himself,” this supreme netherworld demon first appeared as an adversary of the Silver Surfer, whose soul was so pure, he just had to own it. As a godlike ruler of a fiery realm, he was created in the same cosmic explosion as the Infinity Gems themselves – and he’s probably just as powerful as any of them. Which is why Thanos allied himself with the creature in the comics. In a raw matchup of power, there’s few entities in the Marvel Cosmos who take this red baddie down. And that includes Captain Marvel. His one weakness is purity of soul, and a veteran Kree warrior is not likely to be that noble.
She Would Destroy: Chitauri
So when are not-so-powerful aliens actually kind of powerful? When you face off against a whole army of them. And that’s exactly what happened in the first Avengers film. Nevertheless, just seven heroes were able to chase off these henchmen sent by Thanos to conquer Earth. Could Captain Marvel do that all on her own? Signs point to yes. These are not superpowered beings and we know that the mighty Kree warrior can take spaceships on in space all by herself. Fully unbridled, Carol Danvers would be able to wipe out a full battalion in the blink of a cosmic ray blast and still have enough gas to fly back to whatever planet her home is on.
Should Would Lose To: Magus
Although Adam Warlock has not been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet, it’s really only a matter of time. Included as part of the same dramatic pantheon which surrounds Thanos and the Infinity Gems, Warlock is another tough customer. But his evil alter ego Magus is even tougher. This version of Adam from the far future is not only insane and evil, he’s had centuries to become smarter and more powerful. Think of him as The Joker, only with the power of a universe backing him up. And Thanos was his ally for a hot minute (before turning on him eventually). In a fair fight at a neutral setting, we do not believe even Captain Marvel could take on this space-faring demi-god.
She Would Destroy: Ultron
There are few terrestrial threats more imposing than the cold, soulless android known as Ultron. Possessing the intellect of several supercomputers and made of unbreakable adamantium, this master schemer can harness technology like nobody’s business and plan several steps ahead of any opponent. But Captain Marvel isn’t just any opponent. She cuts through the hulls of interstellar cruisers and can withstand the vacuum of space. And Ultron is, at the end of the day, a hunk of really smart metal. It can be smashed. It can be pulverized. Put these two in a ring and we say Carol takes the tin-plated-tyrant out gear by gear, even if she would probably lose in a chess match to him!
She Would Lose To: Loki
It’s not fair to keep measuring up Captain Marvel against a series of gods, but hey! These powerful entities exist all over the greater Marvel Universe, so we’ve got to deal with them. Loki has a couple of things going for him which Carol Danvers does not: centuries of scheming and virtual immortality (don’t be surprised if former ally Thanos didn’t really destroy him in Avengers: Infinity War). And that’s just in the MCU. In the comics, Loki is a far more powerful mage, and exhibits greater strength than he does in the films. Using a combination of illusions, Asgardian magic, and perhaps one good weapon in hand, he could likely outfox Ms. Danvers just enough to take her down.
She Would Destroy: Cull Obsidian
Here’s a case that’s easily made: no matter how tough he is, Cull Obsidian can be defeated. We all learned that in Avengers: Infinity War when Bruce Banner, wearing the Hulk-buster Iron Man armor, took the big ugly sucker out literally with one arm! Despite his super-strength and supposedly impenetrable skin, this member of the Black Order just ain’t all that. Now face him up against the incredibly powerful and cosmically enhanced Captain Marvel. Not looking too good for Thanos’ pet crusher, is it? We will likely never know for sure as it does seem the bruiser met his maker after the events seen in the Battle of Wakanda sequence. Carol Danvers is A-List material when it comes to superpower brawling and Cull Obsidian is no match for her.
She Would Lose To: Hulk
If you ask us, it seemed a little strange just how easily Hulk got his behind handed to him in the first scene of Avengers: Infinity War. Sure, it was great for dramatic effect, setting the stage for an adversary so powerful, even “the strongest one there is” got scared of him. But we are willing to bet that ol’ greenskin will get over it in therapy by the time Avengers: Endgame comes through. And before you say it – yes, in the comics Hulk was once an ally of Thanos. Could Captain Marvel defeat Hulk? Not when he’s at full rage, at least not the comics version. In the MCU, the outcome might be more in doubt, but we ourselves doubt it.
She Would Destroy: Nebula
Nebula is another one of those on-again, off-again allies of Thanos who sometimes occupies a thin line between hero and villain, especially in the MCU. She’s a cybernetic being with excellent combat skills and a brilliant strategic mind. We certainly would not want to meet up with her in a dark ally. But Captain Marvel? Forget it! Carol Danvers would simply unleash her cosmic energy and make quick work of the former forlorn ward of the Mad Titan. Sure, she might dance around nice, sidestep a few laser-like blasts. But the good Captain could focus the full force of a mini-supernova in her direction, and well, it would be all over pretty darned quick!
She Would Lose To: Phoenix Force
Alas, yes, we must turn once again to yet another godlike entity in order to watch Captain Marvel taken down. Originally appearing in the pages of the X-Men, the Phoenix Force is a ravenous cosmic being that eats stars for breakfast. She’s possesses Jean Grey in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and threatens to end our world. Thanos once allied himself with it in the comics and woe be to Carol Danvers if he did in Avengers: Endgame. While the mighty Kree warrior is no slouch in the universal battle arena, Phoenix is many levels above the good Captain's grade. She would be gobbled up along with the rest of the solar system if the immortal firebird revved up to full power.
She Would Destroy: Terrax
Over the years, the mighty planet-eating cosmic entity known as Galactus has created many heralds to go out into the universe and locate suitable planets for him to consume as though they were just really big pastrami sandwiches. Terrax was one of the more corrupt of them, as his constant treachery has proven. He turned on Galactus just as he turned against former ally Thanos. But could Captain Marvel take him down? We think so. Terrax’s main powers, besides spacefaring, is absolute mastery over anything geological. He could throw a mountain at Ms. Danvers. But she could cut through that mountain. And if she unloads the full brunt of her powerful beams on his rocky head, we think he’d be ground to dust.
She Would Lose To: Silver Surfer
Galactus’ original herald was also his most powerful. When he created the Silver Surfer, he afforded him access to the “power cosmic” – an almost unlimited reservoir of sheer universal elemental force. The surfer is so powerful, Galactus made sure to make future models less so. This is a guy who supposedly flies through the hearts of suns. Can Captain Marvel do that? Probably not! He’s also gone dark and allied himself with Thanos. So if the Mad Titan threw this guy at her, she would probably not last very long, assuming that “pure soul” we spoke of earlier was no longer intact! Honestly, the only reason he got defeated so often in the comics is because he held back, being the nice guy he is!
She Would Destroy: Outriders
Remember that army of alien baddies who fought on Team Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War during the Battle of Wakanda? You know – the one that Black Panther, his citizens, and the other superheroes themselves beat back like nobody’s business? They are the Outriders, a mindless warrior race engineered to serve the Mad Titan. And we think that as it was with the Chitauri, so would Captain Marvel easily take down these guys. Imagine if you will that battlefield in Wakanda, with a fully aflame cosmic warrior using her power beams to plow through the Outrider hordes like she was using a flame thrower against a mass of ants. Not that she would be so cruel! But she could do it if she wants and those bad guys would go down!
She Would Lose To: Demise Herself
You know what they say – the house always wins. And in the game of life, it is the Grim Reaper who owns the house. Altered for the sake of the MCU, Thanos’ main motivation for destroying half of all life in the universe was different in the comics. In those storylines, he worshiped the personification of death like a smitten lover. He “sacrificed” all those lives as a “gift” to her (seriously, dude, roses and candy would have worked fine!). And nobody can beat this particular force of nature. We all succumb to it eventually, even the gods. And so, Captain Marvel, we salute you for always fighting the good fight for us, but we do not expect you to win an impossible fight.