The MCU is more closely aligning Ms. Marvel's powers with Captain Marvel's and Monica Rambeau's for the upcoming Ms. Marvel series and beyond, but which of the three is the most powerful? Ahead of their upcoming team-up in The Marvels, each woman will have had her own chance to shine — Captain Marvel in her solo film, Monica in WandaVision, and Kamala Khan, otherwise known as Ms. Marvel, in her own Disney+ series. Their ties to each other, not to mention the similarities in their abilities, make comparing their powersets rather inevitable.
Of the three of them — Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel — only Captain Marvel has been able to fully display her powers in the MCU so far. Carol Danvers has helped save the day in several MCU movies already, whereas Monica did not gain her powers until she was repeatedly exposed to CMBR energy from Scarlet Witch's Hex in WandaVision. Since she was only beginning to understand what had happened to her, Monica did not get much of a chance to show off what she could do.
Likewise, Kamala Khan's MCU powers are different enough from her comic book counterpart's that it's impossible to know for sure what all she can do until her Ms. Marvel series releases. Yet, the planned team-up between all three energy-wielding heroes will give viewers plenty of opportunities to see each of their strengths and weaknesses in action. Here's how powerful Ms. Marvel is compared to Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau.
Despite borrowing her name and occasionally her likeness in the comics, Pakistani-American high schooler Kamala Khan's powers were dissimilar from her idol, Carol Danvers. Kamala has undergone significant changes from page to screen so that her abilities more closely resembled Captain Marvel's in the MCU. In the comics, Kamala's polymorphic powers enabled her to manipulate her own body's size and appearance. She could grow or shrink any part of her she wanted, as well as shapeshift into a completely different person at will. Since Kamala was also able to heal herself, but only when not donning a disguise, these powers held an important significance for her coming-of-age story. She had to learn the worth of remaining in her own skin despite her insecurities. Yet, partly because of the difficulties in showing such powers in live-action and partly in an effort to more easily connect Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau, the Disney+ Ms. Marvel series has altered her abilities.
The Ms. Marvel trailer shows Kamala utilizing her powers in several fun ways. Mainly, she appears to be able to summon crystallized energy that allows her to both defend against and attack her opponents. In the trailer, Ms. Marvel forms a giant fist made of energy that surrounds her own, which presumably extends far beyond her body like her large fists in the comics, enabling her to subdue threats from a safe distance away. Kamala also uses this ability in the Ms. Marvel trailer to close doors from across the room, form powerful shields, and float above the ground. While in the comics, Kamala was able to cover large distances very quickly by extending her legs or swinging from buildings with her enlarged fists, she takes a different approach in the Disney+ series. Instead, she forms crystallized energy beneath her feet, which supports her in the air with every step.
In Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers gained her powers when an experimental light speed engine, powered by the Tesseract, exploded. As a result, Carol possessed typical superhero powers like strength, speed, and durability, as well as energy absorption and energy manipulation in the form of photon blasts. Captain Marvel is nearly unstoppable in her glowing binary form, which also allows her to fly. Although Ms. Marvel has a version of most of these abilities, hers appear to be more limited. For instance, Kamala's version of flight, where she walks atop spheres of her crystallized energy, understandably slows down and restricts her movements in a way that Carol does not have to worry about.
Both Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel are able to deflect and absorb energy, though it's unclear if Kamala can emit energy blasts on a comparable level to Carol, who has destroyed entire spaceships singlehandedly. Kamala has not displayed signs of superhuman strength comparable to Captain Marvel in the Ms. Marvel trailer either, though even if she did, that would likely still not be enough to defeat Carol, who is one of the strongest characters in the MCU. Captain Marvel is also older and more experienced, giving her much more time to understand and develop her powers. For these reasons, Kamala would likely not stand much of a chance against her.
Like many superheroes, Monica Rambeau has gone by several different names in the comics, including Photon and Spectrum. She has not yet adopted any such name in the MCU, likely because she hasn't fully come to terms with her new powers yet. In WandaVision, Monica was revealed to possess spectral vision, allowing her to see electromagnetic energy, as well as energy absorption powers like Carol and Kamala. She also possessed kinetic energy absorption. This power essentially makes her bulletproof, which she proved when she stepped in front of gunshots aimed at Tommy and Billy in the WandaVision finale.
Just like Kamala, Monica is still in the process of learning how to use her powers. Yet, unlike Kamala, Monica already has a lot of combat experience, which would give her a significant advantage. In other areas, however, Kamala would likely have the upper hand since her abilities in the Ms. Marvel trailer appear to be more versatile. Of course, Monica Rambeau's powers could still be developing, and she may yet gain some of the other cool powers she had in the comics, such as flight, invisibility, and intangibility. However, based on what the MCU has shown of both heroes so far, Ms. Marvel's powers would probably serve her better in a direct fight between them.
