Carol Danvers' Greatest Underdog Moments

In the most recent mighty Captain Marvel mag, CAPTAIN MARVEL #24, Carol Danvers and her friends are dragged into a very tricky predicament... Carol is still gaining her footing in 2052, and when she and her friends uncover the secrets of Ove’s Atlantean paradise, they quickly find themselves cornered and outgunned.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Carol has faced terrible odds. Time and again, she's has managed to find a way to save the day, even in the most difficult circumstances. With that in mind, we're taking a look at a few of Captain Marvel’s most memorable underdog moments.

Clone Wars

In 2006’s MS. MARVEL #6, back before Carol became the captain herself, Mystique found out that Skrulls had left behind a replicant of the original Captain Marvel. Because the history between Mystique and Carol was, let’s say...somewhat fraught...Mystique hatched a plan to unleash the Cap Clone on Danvers. Given that his powers closely matched hers, Carol had her work cut out for her. They had a pretty epic fight before he exploded and Carol absorbed his energy. Not bad for a day’s work!

Old Wounds

In AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) #10, Carol had a run-in with Mystique and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Rogue, who had yet to become a hero and who was Mystique’s adopted daughter, absorbed Carol’s powers. But because Carol’s power was so intense, she ended up overdrawing and absorbed much of Carol’s mind, as well. Danvers was left with amnesia and, essentially, powerless.

It was one of the relatively rare moments in Carol’s history when she wasn’t able to rally and win the day. The odds just weren’t in her favor this time. Although she went through rehabilitation and ultimately gained new cosmic powers as Binary, it took Carol some time to bounce back from this one.

Her Own Worst Enemy

Who would be more difficult for Carol to beat than...herself? In 2006’s MS. MARVEL #10, shortly after the first CIVIL WAR, the then Ms. Marvel came face to face with her doppelgänger from another reality going by the name Warbird; this alternate Carol had never recovered from the trauma that Rogue inflicted on her. Evil Carol had been hopping from reality to reality, killing all the Rogues and all the Carols who had forgiven their world’s Rogue—which our Carol had done by this point.

Fighting her perfect match would be a challenge in any situation, though of course we all know who came out on top. 

Eye in the Sky

It seems like nothing good ever comes of time travel. In 2012’s CAPTAIN MARVEL #4, Carol Danvers accidentally traveled back to 1943, plopping right down in the middle of World War II. But she wasn’t the only being in the wrong time period. Carol teamed up with the Banshee Squadron, a group of women fighters trying to push back Japanese forces in Peru. Together, they eventually wound up fighting a giant, time-traveling eyeball machine from space called a Prowler.

So, in a situation not so dissimilar from the one in this month’s CAPTAIN MARVEL #24, Carol was out of her element in the wrong time period, facing a surprisingly powerful foe. But she turned the tables by using the Prowler’s own energy to create an energy field that she harnessed around the thing until it exploded.

Mercenaries in Space

In 2014’s CAPTAIN MARVEL #12, Carol found herself up against a highly motivated opponent. The Haffenseye are a species of mercenary aliens, and their most recent client had offered them top dollar to take Captain Marvel out. They’d proven themselves formidable, and Carol knew defeating them would be no walk in the park.

The action culminated in a highly memorable space battle in which Carol went outside her ship to fight off an entire fleet of Haffenseye. She destroyed one of their ships with an energy blast and was preparing to take down the others when the Guardians of the Galaxy showed up to offer an assist...although frankly, Carol probably would've been just fine on her own.

They Have an Army

In yet another example of Captain Marvel taking on a whole fleet of alien ships, SECRET EMPIRE #0 saw her fight off a Chitauri army. SECRET EMPIRE centered around the misadventures of an evil Steve Rogers, loyal to Hydra. In fact, Hydra Cap revealed his loyalties at what was probably the worst possible moment for Carol, who was out in space with her forces, preparing to defend Earth against an onslaught of Chitauri.

The newly minted Planetary Defense Shield was brought online and Hydra Cap used it to lock Danvers and company out, leaving them to fight off the invaders with no way to retreat back to Earth. But, as we’ve come to expect, Carol and her forces rallied and ultimately won the day.

Thanos Is the Worst

Has there ever been a situation involving Thanos that hasn’t led to disaster? In CIVIL WAR II, an Inhuman named Ulysses had precognitive abilities that Carol thought should be used to take down villains and criminals before they had a chance to cause trouble, but Tony Stark didn’t agree.

Carol and her team went after Thanos using information from one of those visions; she and her team managed to ambush and apprehend Thanos, but Rhodey was slain in the process...and Tony blamed Danvers for it. It ended up being one of the most difficult moments of Carol's life. 

When Good Plants Go Bad

This year’s EMPYRE event also impacted Carol in some pretty dramatic ways. The Kree and Skrulls had formed an unprecedented alliance and, as they approached Earth, the Avengers geared up to fight them and to defend the Cotati, a race of intelligent alien plants. But the situation quickly devolved and our heroes realized the Cotati were the real enemy, as they wanted to form an empire of their own and take over the universe in the name of all the plants that had ever been abused by humanoids.

In 2020’s CAPTAIN MARVEL #18-21, Carol played her part in taking down the villains, fighting them off more than once. It was a storyline that connected Carol with a long-lost half-sister, saw her wielding a new weapon, and a lot more. The Cotati were extremely strong and driven by a long-standing sense of vengeance, so defeating them was no easy task, but Carol’s continued efforts were critical to the success of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Read these stories on Marvel Unlimited now! And to find out how she handles her latest sticky situation, pick up CAPTAIN MARVEL #24, on shelves at your local comic shop today!