Captain Marvel is considered the most powerful superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is she really more powerful than Thanos? The MCU began in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, which introduced Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark and set the tone for the subsequent movies, as well as the basis for the formation of the Avengers. Since then, Marvel has produced over 20 movies and has a long list of upcoming projects to further expand this connected universe of superheroes.

The first three phases, collectively known as the Infinity Saga, introduced a bunch of superheroes – both classics like Captain America and more modern characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy – who came together in Avengers: Endgame to save the universe. Throughout various movies, the MCU set up the arrival of Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) and his quest for the Infinity Stones and the Infinity Gauntlet, which he finally acquired in Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos accomplished his goal of wiping out half of life in the universe with the snap of his fingers, but before the MCU gathered all its heroes to undo Thanos’ actions and defeat him once and for all, it introduced a key character: Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).

Danvers became the first female superhero to get a solo movie in the MCU, and it took viewers back to the 1990s to explore her origin story as well as her relationship with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Carol Danvers was named the most powerful hero in the MCU by Kevin Feige, who later changed his mind and stated it’s Scarlet Witch as she came close to killing Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Still, Danvers is among the strongest and most powerful superheroes in the MCU, and could regain the #1 spot in Captain Marvel 2 is she’s given some of the powers she has in the comics that the movies haven’t explored yet, but a question remains, especially after Avengers: Endgame: are her powers and skills above Thanos'?

Captain Marvel fighting Thanos in Avengers: Endgame

Although Captain Marvel’s origins were changed in the MCU, linking her powers to the Tesseract instead of the Kree, she still has various powers and abilities that make her one of the most valuable heroes in the MCU to date. As she’s a Kree-Human hybrid as a result of a blood transfusion of Yon-Rogg’s (Jude Law) blood, she has superhuman strength, durability, reflexes, enhanced speed and agility, regenerative healing factor, and longevity. Thanks to the absorption of the energy of the Light-Speed Engine that came from the Tesseract, she’s able to manipulate cosmic energy, and this power was so strong that the Kree placed a photon inhibitor on her. Once she got rid of it, she was able to shoot photon blasts, channel energy, have exothermic manipulation, energy absorption, and can go on binary mode, which augments her physical attributes, becoming essentially invulnerable and incredibly strong.

Thanos, on the other hand, and without the Infinity Stones, had superhuman strength, durability, stamina, speed, agility and reflexes, regenerative healing factor, and was a master manipulator and excellent hand-to-hand combatant – but so is Captain Marvel. Thanos relied mostly on the Infinity Stones, which is how he managed to get rid of Captain Marvel during the Battle of Earth. Thanos’ extraordinary powers came from the Infinity Stones, while Captain Marvel’s don’t depend on external objects and weapons, and had it just been a one-on-one fight with no gauntlet and stones, Captain Marvel would have most likely defeated the Mad Titan. With Thanos now gone and the MCU moving on, it’s yet to be seen who Captain Marvel will fight next, and hopefully, Captain Marvel 2 will explore more of those powers she has in the comics.

Next: How Captain Marvel 2 Can Bring X-Men's Cyclops Into The MCU