Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are two ultra powerful characters in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), respectively.
Since they are so strong and well-matched against one another, you may ask who would win if these two squared off in a fight.
Captain Marvel can project energy at an opponent with the force of a nuclear weapon, something Wonder Woman doesn’t fare well against. However, Wonder Woman has magical abilities that Captain Marvel won’t have an answer for, plus sound mind control ability that could give her the ultimate edge.
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Who is Captain Marvel?
A member of the Starforce and a former pilot for the US Air Force, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) acquired her powers from the Tesseract’s energy when the Light-Speed Engine was destroyed.
She later discovered the Kree Empire used Danvers for her powers, leading her to betray and defeat the empire when they tried to invade Earth. This helped Danvers further unleash her ability.
For the next twenty-three years, Danvers, now calling herself Captain Marvel after her deceased mentor, Mar-Vell, wandered throughout the universe. However, when Thanos snapped half the universe from existence, she came across a distress call from Nick Fury.
She later located a stranded Tony Stark and Nebula, helped the Avengers win their war against Thanos, and once again ventured back into space.
Who is Wonder Woman?
A member and founder of the Justice League and hailing from Themyscira, Wonder Woman (Diana) wanted to become a warrior, even when her mother, Queen Hippolyta, objected.
Diana was persistent, and she pushed her Aunt Antiope to train her in secret. Antiope accepted, but Hippolyta soon discovered the plot. However, she accepted Diana’s wishes and told Antiope to provide her daughter with top-notch training.
Diana soon crossed Steve Trevor as he fled from the German Army during World War I. This led her to join the war and fight for the Allies, where she encountered, battled, and defeated Ares, the true instigator of the war.
Steve, however, did not survive the war, and others she’d met also died following the conflict. While this left Diana feeling isolated, she still wanted to protect humanity.
This led her to take jobs at places like museums under the alias Diana Prince, allowing her to continue fulfilling her purpose while she went to battle against supervillains like Lex Luthor and Maxwell Lord.
Captain Marvel’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
One of the most powerful Avengers in the MCU, Carol Danvers’ greatest strength is that she can absorb and manipulate energy. This lets her increase her powers, and if she absorbs enough energy, Danvers can beat almost any opponent she faces.
Her energy blasts are off-the-charts powerful. Danvers can project these from her hands, and they carry as much force as a nuclear weapon.
Captain Marvel also has precognitive abilities, allowing her to sense an opponent’s attack and react. If she’s quicker than her opponent, Danvers can escape any potential battle unscathed, regroup, and attack from a distance.
And since she can fly faster than the speed of sound, it’s safe to say Danvers is faster than many superheroes and villains in the MCU and the DCEU.
She doesn’t need a special suit or anything to survive in places humans can’t, like in space. If she can lure an opponent into space, she will increase her odds of winning a fight.
Danvers can also fly through space without tiring, giving her plenty of projectiles to hide behind and catch an opponent off-guard. She can also teleport.
Of course, Captain Marvel has common superpowers like increased strength, durability, agility, reflexes, self-healing, regeneration, and endurance. Diseases, viruses, and toxins also don’t affect her.
Danvers can further manipulate opponents by casting illusions, throwing them into what would look like a horrifying alternate reality.
Weaknesses
Although Captain Marvel is one of the strongest superheroes out there, she still comes with a fair share of weaknesses.
One big weakness involves the fact that Danvers can be brainwashed. Such brainwashing can also leave Danvers susceptible to mind control and in rare cases, possession.
Her powers are also so great that if she faced an opponent with the ability to absorb another’s abilities, she could wind up having her own powers turned against her.
If an opponent siphons Danvers’ powers, her memories can also be absorbed, leaving her to exist as an empty shell. This was something we once saw Rogue use against her.
While Danvers can absorb another’s powers, she cannot absorb magical powers. This would put her at a disadvantage against heroes like Thor or Doctor Strange.
Wonder Woman’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Since she’s the daughter of the god Zeus and a warrior, Wonder Woman’s god-like abilities serve as the most distinguished of her many powers.
She is immortal, much like Thor in the MCU, and her life can span thousands of years. Like most immortals and heroes, Diana’s strength, speed, durability, endurance, self-healing, and reflexes have eclipsed superhuman status.
Wonder Woman also has the power to teleport. She can escape from her opponents and use her enhanced senses to determine where they are moving, attack from a distance, and end any fight with ease.
No environment is too harsh for Diana, as she can breathe underwater and withstand thin air on the world’s highest peaks.
Diana is also one of few characters in Marvel and DC worthy of wielding Mjolnir, which further adds to her godlike persona.
Wonder Woman can force opponents to succumb to mind control, and she can also evoke magical abilities. The latter allows Diana to change her appearance into a sorceress-like being, which could strike fear in opponents.
She can also fly and master most combat weapons.
Weaknesses
Judging from her strengths, Diana is one of the most complete superheroes in the DCEU, but she doesn’t come without her fair share of weaknesses.
Despite her godlike powers, Wonder Woman isn’t completely immune to poison. She also has sensitive eyes, and if an opponent keys on them, they could defeat her within seconds.
She can’t deal with certain gasses, as they could cause her to hallucinate, and while she can master an entire weapons arsenal, she can’t always defend herself against them.
While her bracelets provide for a strong defense mechanism against deadly weapons, they also prevent her from unleashing the full extent of her abilities.
Diana can also be rather naive. This could cause her to underestimate a powerful opponent and let her guard down. And if she underestimates someone like Captain Marvel, there is no way she is winning that fight.
Side-By-Side Comparison
| Name | Captain Marvel | Wonder Woman |
| Greatest Strength in This Battle | Energy Blasts | Mind Control |
| Biggest Weakness in This Battle | Mind Control | Naivety |
Who Would Win?
Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman are evenly matched in many ways. They each possess the usual superhero traits of enhanced strength, durability, reflexes, and speed. Each hero can fly, teleport, and even survive harsh environments like high altitude and space.
Captain Marvel has a huge advantage in this one since she can sap much of Wonder Woman’s god-like abilities. The only issue is that Danvers is unable to siphon magical ability, so that would still leave Diana with plenty of powers to use.
Even worse, Danvers would have a tough time staving off Diana’s mind control ability. And even if Diana’s bracelets negate such an ability to a degree, Danvers is so weak against it that it might not matter.
Therefore, the only real way Danvers can win this fight is if she siphons, uses Wonder Woman’s powers against her, and creates a false illusion. She could also project her powerful energy blasts, but Wonder Woman could be quick enough to teleport from them to safety.
And since Diana can put distance between herself and an opponent while still sensing their movements, she will know where Captain Marvel is heading at all times.
Overall, Diana has too many answers for Danvers’ ability. And Danvers couldn’t absorb Wonder Woman’s magical powers.
Through her magical ability, enhanced senses, and mind control, Diana has this battle won. You could claim that Wonder Woman’s naivety may cause her to let her guard down, but against a character with a proven track record like Carol Danvers, that’s not happening.
Conclusion
This fight comes down to who has an answer for whose strength. And when you look at Carol Danvers’ list of weaknesses, she doesn’t have enough answers here, which will tip the scales in Wonder Woman’s favor.
The only way Danvers would have a chance to win this battle would be if she was fast enough to project her powerful energy blasts. But with super speed and the ability to teleport, Wonder Woman would have an answer here.
Sion Fawkes has been covering Star Wars since January 2022, expanding his expertise in Star Wars Canon, Legends, and MCU. When not writing, you can find Sion in the gym or running trails. He also likes watching sports and listening to audiobooks.