The MCU's Most Powerful Character Is Confirmed

The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't exactly a powerful character desert. It has our boy Thor, the enchanted-hammer-swinging prince of a far-off realm and the literal God of Thunder; our sweet Captain America, whose combination of physical prowess and a virtually indestructible vibranium shield have proven incredibly potent in combat; and our favorite not-so-jolly green giant Hulk, who has sort of become the one Avenger the others call on when they want to deliver the battle-ending blow to their opponents. Everyone in the MCU (especially the Avengers and co.) is tough, it's true, but there's one character who's the best of the best — going higher, further, and faster than the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. 

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed who the most powerful character in the MCU is: Captain Marvel. 

Feige made the affirmation during an interview for Titan Publishing's Captain Marvel film companion book and collector's guide Captain Marvel The Official Movie Special, which takes readers behind the scenes of the Brie Larson-led film, details how the pic came together, features snaps from the movie's set, and includes talks with the cast and crew. 

This is what Feige had to say: "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" (H/T ComicBook.com). 

Those who have planted their fingers firmly on the pulse of all things Captain Marvel will find Feige's comments here familiar, as he's discussed the photon-blasting heroine's rank within the MCU in the past. 

Rewinding the clock back to October of 2016, prior to when directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck began shooting Captain Marvel and just a few months after Marvel Studios tapped Larson to step into the lead role, Feige relayed to Vulture that as soon as the titular heroine made her silver screen debut, she would soar to the upper echelon of MCU powerhouses and take the top spot. 

"It's very important to us that all of our heroes do not become silhouette-perfect cutout icons. All of the Marvel characters have flaws to them [and] all of them have a deep humanity to them. With Captain Marvel, 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 stated, adding that Captain Marvel's more vulnerable side is just as valuable as her strength. "It's important, then, to counterbalance that with someone who feels real. She needs to have a humanity to tap into, and Brie [Larson] can do that."

When Captain Marvel soared into theaters on March 8, fans felt Feige's words ring true. The film saw Carol Danvers unleash her inner badass in surviving a plane crash and the subsequent explosion of the Tesseract energy-core that imbued her with her superhuman abilities, escaping the clutches of the shape-shifting Skrulls with her own two hands, beating down the Skrulls when she still thought they were the bad guys, outsmarting her former Kree Starforce friends, destroying ballistic missiles with ease, and flying through space as if she does it every day — which, technically, she does. 

For most people who watched Captain Marvel in theaters (save for the small but very vocal minority who bombarded the film with negative reviews prior to its release), there was no doubt left in their minds that Larson's hero is now the strongest one in the MCU. But what still has the wheels in their noggins turning is what Captain Marvel's power means moving forward — specifically, what she will do when she teams with the surviving members of the Avengers for Avengers: Endgame. 

The newest trailer for Endgame featured Captain Marvel, wearing civilian clothes and looking a bit older than she did in her 1995-set standalone movie, arriving at Avengers HQ and winning over Thor (Chris Hemsworth) by not flinching when he summoned his hammer that went flying past her face. That sequence directly linked to the mid-credits scene of Captain Marvel, which saw her join Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and War Machine (Don Cheadle) at the headquarters in New York and ask them where Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) was. 

This all evidenced that Captain Marvel successfully received the page from Fury, which he sent out just before he crumbled away in a post-credits Avengers: Infinity War scene, and that she will lend the Avengers a helping hand in taking down Thanos (Josh Brolin). How exactly she will do that remains to be seen, since Marvel is keeping all Endgame plot details locked away and is doing very little in the way of letting fans know what Endgame might entail. All we know is that the most powerful character in the MCU has arrived to fight the fight of all fights — and, like fans at home, the Avengers are holding out hope that she'll be the one to defeat Thanos for good (and possibly reverse his universe-splitting Decimation).

To those doubting that Captain Marvel might actually demolish the purple-faced intergalactic despot in Endgame, listen to what Marvel.com had to say about her powers: "Danvers [can] spar with Hulk, take a beating like Iron Man, blast out energy with the best of them, careen through space at dizzying speeds, and is Captain America's peer when it comes to running an army. Danvers' competence underscores her toughness and her ability to take a beating and keep going. Her story is compelling not because she's talented or gifted — and she really is — but because she earns it, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of them and holding her own against the most tenacious threats in the galaxy."

Sounds like everyone on Twitter was right: Thanos is totally screwed.