While Captain Marvel has been widely referred to as the MCU’s most powerful hero for a while now, her recent solo debut seemed to leave the full extent of her abilities to the imagination. In the new book Captain Marvel The Official Movie Special, however, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige officially declares her place at the top of the superhero heap.
The producer’s statement includes a few thoughts on Carol Danvers’ place within the cinematic universe, suggesting that she serves as a bridge between the two sides of the MCU, before reaffirming that she’s currently the franchise’s most powerful character.
“In our comics mythology, Captain Marvel is a character who’s got one foot on Earth and one foot in the cosmic arena. Now that we’ve made a number of movies that take place on Earth, and a number of cosmic adventures with the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Thor, we thought it was the right time to finally introduce Captain Marvel to the world. She’s one of the most powerful – and one of the most popular – characters in our comics, and will be the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Carol’s immense abilities have been a cause for concern among some fans, who wonder how future films like Avengers: Endgame can maintain their stakes with such a powerful character in the mix. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo even discussed the issue in an interview with CinemaBlend last month. After acknowledging that “the reason that people relate to these characters is their humanity, and that they’re flawed,” Joe Russo claimed that they’d found “a thoughtful way” of evoking the flawed humanity of Captain Marvel.
In the same interview, Anthony Russo remarked that one of the funnest parts of working with the heroes of the MCU is finding ways in which they’re vulnerable. Indeed, this is hardly an issue that’s exclusive to Captain Marvel. After all, superheroes are by definition exceptionally powerful people, and yet the success of the genre is a testament to the ability of writers to continuously find ways to even the playing field and keep the stakes high. We’ll find out how the Russo Brothers intend to keep this tradition going when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th.