Why Captain Marvel Might Be The Only Hero Capable Of Defeating Thanos In 'Avengers 4'

Spoilers ahead. After the end of Infinity War, the MCU's future seems grim. With the snap of a finger, Thanos wiped out not only half of the Avengers and their friends, but also half of the Earth's population overall. Based on the Infinity War post-credits scene, Captain Marvel may be the only hope to saving the world, but in order to do that she'll have to defeat Thanos. Is Captain Marvel stronger than Thanos, though? She'll have to be a seriously powerful force to conquer the big bad in Avengers 4, but it seems that Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel's human name) is up for the challenge.

If you pick up a comic book about Captain Marvel's adventures in space, you'll see the label, "Earth's Mightiest Hero" in plain sight on the cover. That isn't as hyperbolic as you might expect, because Captain Marvel basically has all of the powers of the individual Avengers combined into one. Her story begins when she gets caught in a blast with a Kree warrior, Mar-Vell, and her genes got melded with that of a Kree alien's. As a result, her powers all come from her DNA rather than some fancy suit — something which the character (played by Brie Larson) should definitely gloat over whenever she gets to interact with the haughty Tony Stark.

The superhero powers that those Kree genes allow Carol Danvers to inherit include strength that would rival the Hulk's, and the ability to fly. The hero is also so skilled in combat that she could probably beat Black Widow with ease. Even cooler, Captain Marvel has some powers that you've never even seen before, like an ability to absorb an energy blast and redistribute it in her body to make her more powerful. She even has a never-before-seen Cosmic Awareness, and the ability to shoot light beams straight from her human hands.

Considering that Captain Marvel combines so many superhero abilities, the idea that she might beat Thanos should they meet face-to-face is actually plausible. It's no wonder that Nick Fury messaged her on his beeper right as he realized that half of the Earth's inhabitants were mysteriously evaporating into thin air. That was a (literal) good call on Nick's part.

Before Captain Marvel will almost certainly help the Avengers in the currently untitled Avengers 4, audiences will get the chance to learn all about her in the standalone Captain Marvel, set to come out March 2019. In an interview with Vulture, Marvel Studio's president, Kevin Feige, gave some more intel on just how exciting a hero Carol Danvers truly is. "She is as powerful a character as we’ve ever put in a movie. Her powers are off the charts, and when she’s introduced, she will be by far the strongest character we’ve ever had," Feige said.

Based on both the comic books' iterations of Captain Marvel and Feige's quote, it seems like Captain Marvel really might be stronger than Thanos even without a team of Avengers backing her up. Sure, the ones who survived Infinity War's horrific Earth-wiping ending will probably help her out in the fight, but it sounds like she could manage to undo Thanos' damage without them.

After all, Captain Marvel's Cosmic Awareness has often been described as a "seventh sense," and it allows her to see into the future, both by sensing danger and by peeking into the possible fates of the universe (like what Doctor Strange did in Infinity War.) Seeing as Doctor Strange was one of the unfortunate Avengers to fall victim to Thanos' genocide, Captain Marvel's hyper-awareness and precognition will certainly come in handy in the future — as will her ability to breathe in outer space without any additional support, and her super-strength, and her lightning bolts, and... well, you get the picture. Captain Marvel will probably save the day, and it will be fun to see what happens if, and when, Thanos meets his match.