Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's What If…?

Captain Marvel's new power in Marvel's What If...? explains an intriguing moment during her fight with Thanos  (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Endgame. Fairly new to the MCU, Carol Danvers was only introduced in 2019's Captain Marvel directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. But the hero has apparently been in existence since the mid-90s following her first encounter with a young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who was still a SHIELD operative at the time. Since then, her adventures have been mainly set in the cosmos, only returning to Earth when Captain Marvel was paged on the heels of the snap in Avengers: Infinity War. 

There's still a lot to learn about Captain Marvel; as the MCU transitions from the Infinity Saga to its next overarching narrative, she's expected to be one of the key players in the franchise moving forward. In the two films that she's appeared in thus far, it's clear that she's extremely powerful. At one point, Marvel Studios' boss Kevin Feige even announced that she's the strongest among their current characters. That's up for debate now as Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) learns more about her abilities, however. Regardless of the official rankings, seeing more of Carol using her powers will always be something to be excited about. 

Related: Captain Marvel Risks The Same MCU Power Problem As Scarlet Witch

Hence, why it's so interesting to see Captain Marvel fight Party Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in What If...? episode 7, "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?" In the outing, acting SHIELD director Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) summoned Captain Marvel to reprimand the Asgardian Prince who was wreaking havoc around the globe. The heroes fought a couple of times; at one point, Thor blasted Carol with the power of lightning, but she was unfazed, merely absorbing the energy directed at her. This establishes this particular ability for Captain Marvel, which could explain why she's able to handle herself so well against Thanos in Endgame. During their match, the Mad Titan headbutted the significantly smaller heroine, but it didn't affect her one bit. Based on what happened in the latest outing of What If...?, Carol could very well be also sucking up power from the Infinity Stones as she and Thanos were locked in a tug-of-war for the completed Infinity Gauntlet then.

Captain Marvel powering up in What If

Carol was already a formidable hero when she joined the bigger MCU in Endgame. Between getting her powers from the Space Stone and honing her fighting skills throughout her adventures in the cosmos, she is going to be a big help to the Avengers in case another galactic threat comes along. This particular skill makes her uniquely dangerous since she could easily absorb the energy from attacks geared towards her, making her even more powerful. She did it in the Sacred Timeline during her fight with Thanos and then again in What If....? while battling Thor. Chances are that she will use the power again moving forward in the MCU. That said, Marvel Studios still needs to properly establish how this specific ability actually works in future films, including if there are any limitations to it. 

It's curious how Carol's ability to absorb high levels of energy will be different from Monica Rambeau's (Teyonah Parris). In WandaVision, Maria Rambeau's (Lashana Lynch) daughter exhibited similar ability, but she also has kinetic energy absorption, essentially making her bulletproof. Luckily, Marvel Studios can further explore both of the characters' powers in The Marvels where they will co-star. 

More: Marvel Just Clapped Back At Captain Marvel’s Most Ridiculous Criticism

Marvel's What If...? airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

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