In one of the latest What If… episodes in the Marvel Universe, we got to see Captain Marvel and Thor battle it out. And although the result of the fight was inconclusive, it gave us a great insider look at what a fight would look like between two superheroes with immense, godlike powers.
We’ll take a closer look at both Captain Marvel and Thor in this article, from their skills, weapons, tools, and abilities to let fans know who is the most powerful hero once and for all.
Thor vs Captain Marvel - Who Would Win?
Both Thor and Captain Marvel are bestowed with celestial powers, albeit from different sources -- Thor, by being the son of an Asgardian god; and Captain Marvel, from absorbing the powers of the Tesseract.
At first glance, it may look as though Thor has the upper hand, with a definitive advantage when it comes to fighting experience. He also has access to a wide array of Asgardian powers that Captain Marvel may be unfamiliar with, which could come as a surprise attack.
But who knows, though? Captain Marvel may have a few tricks up her sleeve to even out the playing field more.
Captain Marvel
Background
Captain Marvel was born as Carol Danvers, the only daughter of Joseph Danvers. As a child, Carol dreamed of becoming a pilot.
As soon as Carol Danvers turned 18, she enlisted into the United States Air Force to pursue her childhood dream. Not a day went by that she didn’t get reminded by her superiors that flying a plane was “a man’s job.” Still, Carol proved them all wrong by demonstrating grit and perseverance and eventually working her way to becoming one of the best pilots the USAF has ever had. Here she meets Maria Rambeau, who would eventually help her regain her memories when she crash-lands to Earth later on.
Unknowingly caught amid an inter-universe war, a plane explosion caused Carol to absorb the energy of the Tesseract, a cube that housed the Space Stone. This granted her cosmic powers.
Fighting Skills
Carol Danvers, as a human, was already in good shape, thanks to the USAF training. After the freak explosion that gave her the powers of the Tesseract, though, she was abducted by the Kree and was subjected to a Kree blood transfusion. This gave her superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and reflexes and essentially turned Carol into a Kree-Human hybrid.
She was also trained by Yon-Rogg, a Kree Empire commander, on centuries-old art of battle by the Kree and became so adept at it that she could defeat her opponents without using photon blasts or cosmic energies. Her punch can destroy a whole city. In the Marvel Studios movie Avengers: Endgame, Thanos had to use the Power Stone as Captain Marvel was getting too much for him.
Abilities
When Captain Marvel absorbed the Tesseract’s powers, she acquired the ability to channel and produce powerful cosmic energies that could annihilate enemies on the spot. Blunt trauma, high altitude falls, and even large explosions are no match against her.
Perhaps her most impressive feat is her immunity to energy-based attacks. She can absorb energy to make her stronger or demonstrate her signature energy projection. She can also surround her entire form with this energy, which manifests as a glowing aura around her known as the Binary.
Weapons & Tools
Captain Marvel relies on her body to emit cosmic energy and doesn’t really require weapons.
Read: Ms Marvel vs Captain Marvel
Thor
Background
Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth in the movie, is an Asgardian prince born to Odin, King of Asgard. He grew up with his adoptive brother Loki, who had an affinity for mischief. He is an Avengers mainstay with Iron Man, Captain America, and Scarlet Witch, among others.
He was taught how to be a warrior by his father and spent his whole life training. His ideals were heavily influenced by the warrior culture of the Asgardians, which put emphasis on loyalty, strength, and courage above all else. He aspired to become just like his father, who was known as a war hero across the Nine Realms.
Read: Scarlet Witch vs Captain Marvel
Fighting Skills
Asgardians, by default, possess incredible superhuman powers. Thor is considered the third strongest Asgardian, with only his father and big sister Hela surpassing him. He has over 1,500 years of combat experience as a warrior prince and has superior fighting ability, strength, and invulnerability.
In Thor: Ragnarok, he single-handedly took out Hulk until the Grandmaster cheated.
Shop The Marvel Collection NowAbilities
Thor is known as the God of Thunder and could channel energy blasts and lightning. He can summon powerful lightning bolts from the surrounding skyline and manipulate electricity.
He can control and manipulate the weather according to his bidding and fly at great altitudes and speed. He was arguably the most powerful hero in the Avengers: Infinity War movie, even taking on Thanos.
Weapons & Tools
Thor’s weapon is Mjolnir, a hammer forged from a material called Uru. The weapon was initially meant for Odin, but he found the hammer difficult to wield and manipulate, and it even devastated a planet when it flew out of control. Out of spite, he placed an enchantment on the hammer to prevent anyone else from wielding it until they were “deemed worthy.” [1]
After Thor proved himself worthy after several trials, the weapon was bequeathed to him, and he began summoning it to his will. The weapon allowed him to harness and control his power easily. Before he discovered that he could channel electricity from his own body, he used the weapon to direct blasts of lightning and electricity to his enemies.
Apart from Mjolnir, the character also wielded Storm Breaker, which further amplified his powers and even gave him the ability to teleport at will.
Hand to Hand Combat
When we say hand-to-hand, we mean omitting all the characters’ powers and other abilities. We could see a tie here between Captain Marvel and Thor, as both are enhanced with superior fighting skills and could easily take each other’s blows.
Speed
The two heroes can travel at great speed, but we think Thor wins if we're asked to give a conclusive answer on who is faster. Thor has access to the Bifrost, which would allow him to travel to all Nine Realms beyond the speed of light.
Although Captain Marvel is fast, the character still has to move across universes, which gives Thor the obvious advantage.
Read: Superman vs Captain Marvel
Durability
Captain Marvel and Thor are nearly invulnerable. Both heroes have demonstrated high durability throughout their adventures, and we cannot say for certain that either one is more durable than the other. We’re giving both characters a tie on durability.
Stealth Fighting
Both Avengers are big, bold, and boisterous when it comes to demonstrating their power; neither one of them is innately more stealthy than the other. However, Captain Marvel has had experience with stealth on a few missions, so we’ll let her win the round of stealth.
Energy
When it comes to using their innate power, no doubt Captain Marvel will win over Thor. She can easily absorb all thunder attacks that Thor channels at her in a fight. On the other hand, Thor may have a difficult time countering her powerful photon blasts.
Strength
Both Marvel Universe characters possess superhuman strength and have even destroyed an entire planet in their lifetime. Thor is a God who has withstood the full force of a neutron star, and Captain Marvel possesses the power of the Tesseract, so this is a bit of a toss-up.
Intelligence
When we say intelligence, we don’t necessarily mean IQ like Iron Man has. We mean which character could better outsmart their enemies in battle. Thor is known to rely on his impressive brute force, while Captain Marvel is more systematic when it comes to finding out the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of her enemies, just like Captain America.
We’ll let Captain Marvel win the round of intelligence.
FAQs
Can Captain Marvel lift Thor's hammer?
No, Captain Marvel cannot lift Thor’s hammer. However, during one instance in the Marvel comics (Captain Marvel # 16), after she was infused with Thor's DNA in a fight, she was able to pick up his hammer for a few minutes. After Thor’s influence ran out, the weapon immediately dropped.
Who is the faster character, Thor or Captain Marvel?
Both Thor and Captain Marvel are extremely fast, but we have reason to believe that Thor may be just a tinge faster. Let’s not forget he has access to the Bifrost.
Who is physically stronger, Thor or Captain Marvel?
It would be a tie when it comes to Thor and Captain Marvel’s physical strength. Both are extremely powerful heroes, so we can’t say with extreme conviction that either character is stronger than the other.
And the Winner Is…
Both the comics and movies portray different versions of Thor and Captain Marvel. Movie Captain Marvel will dominate movie Thor, but it’s the other way around for the Marvel comics because Thor is obviously stronger.
If we were to pick a winner on Thor vs Captain Marvel, though... Captain Marvel will come out as the victor. It’s hard to imagine Thor winning this fight when he relies heavily on lightning energy during combat, that Captain Marvel will eat up. If they were just to straight-up fight hand to hand, this might give our favorite God of Thunder a better fighting chance, and he might end up even winning.
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Shop The Marvel Collection NowReference:
- https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Mjolnir
