Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are often counted among the biggest superheroines in the world of comics. However, some people may say that Jean Grey, Storm, or Scarlet Witch are more important and more liked than Captain Marvel, even though Captain Marvel’s comics have been published longer than the total comics of these three. Wonder Woman is considered a feminist and an icon of the LGBTQ community. She was the one who started this path and inspired many superheroines who came later, including Captain Marvel.
Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel may look very similar from above, but in reality both are quite different from each other. Both are good people and heroines who do great feats. Yet when we look a little deeper, it is understandable that Diana (Wonder Woman) and Carol (Captain Marvel) may seem similar on the outside, but there is a huge difference between them on the inside.
Wonder Woman has better weapons
Wonder Woman is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons. The Amazon race has existed for thousands of years, and their armor and weapons were created by the Greek gods themselves. Wonder Woman has found Themyscira’s finest weapons, including a near-unbreakable shield and a magic sword, which can also injure Superman.
But Wonder Woman’s most powerful weapon is her “Lasso of Truth.” This lasso never breaks, and whoever gets trapped inside it has to tell the truth. It is such a powerful weapon that even big villains of the entire universe are afraid of it. In comparison, Captain Marvel never had special and effective weapons like Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman is a much better fighter
Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman are both tremendous fighters. Both are strong, courageous, and never shy away from fighting the most powerful enemies. In their respective universes, they are counted among the most dangerous warriors, and they also stand against enemies who are much more powerful than them.
But if we talk about fighting skills, Wonder Woman clearly surpasses Captain Marvel.
Wonder Woman has trained with Themyscira’s finest warriors and later outdid them all. In the Justice League, where warriors like Batman and Aquaman are involved, Wonder Woman is considered the best fighter, and that’s no small thing. Captain Marvel is also a good fighter; she has military experience and has trained with Captain America and Mar-Vell. But Wonder Woman has even defeated the God of War herself. She has learned to fight warriors who have been confronting demons and gods for thousands of years.
Wonder Woman is more physically powerful
Captain Marvel is extremely powerful, and it must be so, as she fights dangers at the universe level. Her greatest strength is her ability to absorb and use energy. She is certainly strong and durable, but even in the Avengers, she is not considered as powerful as She-Hulk or Thor. Wonder Woman does not have the speed or energy powers of Captain Marvel, but she is far ahead of her in terms of physical strength.
DC Comics characters are usually more powerful, and Wonder Woman is a great example of this. Even though Superman is more powerful than her, Wonder Woman can both stop his attacks and hurt him. Wonder Woman has enough strength to fight the most powerful gods face to face with her hands. In a different timeline, she also suffered a strong attack from Darkseid. Despite Captain Marvel’s high speed and power, Wonder Woman proves to be better than her in bearing injuries and enduring attacks.
Wonder Woman has had the best creators in comics
Comic series by both Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel have been running for several decades. Wonder Woman had her first entry in “All-Star Comics #8” in 1940, while her own solo series debuted in 1942. Since then, Wonder Woman has appeared in countless solo comics. Captain Marvel first appeared in 1967’s “Marvel Super-Heroes #13” as Carol Danvers, but her own series debuted in 1976 with “Ms. Marvel #1.”
There have been many brilliant writers and artists associated with the comics of both characters, but the creators working with Wonder Woman have given the most memorable stories ever.
Big names like Tom King and Daniel Sampere have worked in recent Wonder Woman comics. Earlier, veteran creators like George Pérez, Greg Rucka, Phil Jimenez, Grant Morrison, Gail Simone, Jodi Picoult, and Nicola Scott have also been a part of the Wonder Woman series. Captain Marvel’s books have also had brilliant talents such as Kelly Sue DeConnick and Kelly Thompson, but overall, Wonder Woman’s comics clearly surpass Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel in terms of creators.
Wonder Woman’s legendary history (Mythos) is more grand
Stories have been told about Wonder Woman for decades, starting with the Golden Age. The princess of an island where only women live, Wonder Woman was sent to the world of men so that she could spread the lessons of peace and justice of her people there. Her story changed several times over time, but its basics always remained the same. As time passed, new aspects were added to her story, and in the end Wonder Woman was deeply connected to Greek mythology. Wonder Woman has created a distinct and special identity for herself in the DC Universe, and her mythological history is quite rich, deep, and complex.
The mythological history surrounding Captain Marvel is also fine, but Marvel seems to have tried to rewrite it several times to make her look bigger. The late 1960s at Marvel Comics were not a particularly good period for female characters like Carol Danvers. Carol’s personality was not shown to be very strong at the time, and her stories mostly revolved around male characters. Later writers tried to make Captain Marvel’s past more personal and emotional, but still she could not stand against the grand and glorious heroic history of Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman came in the Golden Age
Wonder Woman has been around since the Golden Age. Even though she was not the first superheroine, very quickly she became extremely popular and also got her own television show. In a period when women in comics were not usually the main characters, Wonder Woman’s comics openly challenged old thinking and stereotypes. Wonder Woman’s stories from the Golden Age were quite different and shocking compared to other comics of the time, especially because they showed feminist and LGBT ideas in a period when it was not common to talk about these things openly.
Captain Marvel made her debut during the Silver Age, but it took her a long time to become fully established as a superhero. Marvel took this opportunity to introduce her as “Ms. Marvel” when the wave of feminism intensified in the 1970s. Because of her Golden Age origin, Wonder Woman is considered a real and original superheroine.
Captain Marvel is a successor (Legacy) character
Many characters over the years have become Captain Marvel, and Carol Danvers was not the first woman to adopt the name. A Kree warrior named Mar-Vell is considered the first Captain Marvel in Marvel Comics, even though the real-world first Captain Marvel was not a Marvel character. Mar-Vell died of cancer and has remained dead since. An entire generation of Marvel fans considered Monica Rambeau to be the future Captain Marvel, who would go on to lead the Avengers.
At different times, Mar-Vell’s children, Genis and Phyla, also played Captain Marvel. The third woman to become Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, started her hero career as Mar-Vell’s sidekick. In contrast, Wonder Woman does not rest on anyone’s legacy. She has made her own history and has her own sidekicks and successors.
Wonder Woman is a leader in the DC Universe
The importance of Captain Marvel has definitely increased in the last few years. She played a key role in establishing Alpha Flight, a large space defense team that protected the Earth from major threats. She also led a large part of the superhuman community during the Second Civil War. Marvel has many times tried to make her look as important as Captain America, Iron Man, or Thor, and she has also become the leader of the Avengers. Despite this, Captain Marvel is not fully counted among the greatest leaders of the Marvel Universe, even if she is a capable leader.
Captain Marvel does not reach the level of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman, being part of DC’s Trinity, is held in special esteem throughout the superhero community. In the fight against threats such as Perpetua and the Batman Who Laughs, Wonder Woman led from the front and played a key role in saving the entire multiverse with her tactics. Being one of the founding members of the Justice League, Wonder Woman has led the team several times. Captain Marvel leads, but Wonder Woman stands on the highest summit.
Captain Marvel has no very large enemies gallery
It would be wrong to say that Captain Marvel does not have enemies, as she has faced many powerful opponents. Yet her number of enemies is limited, and many of them are linked to the Avengers or to her older Captain Marvel forms. Captain Marvel doesn’t have as many memorable and personal villains as any major superhero should have.
Against this, Wonder Woman has a long and strong list of enemies. She has faced Ares, Cheetah, Circe, Doctor Psycho, Angle Man, Doctor Poison, and many other dangerous villains. Among these, Ares and Cheetah are considered the biggest enemies, while Doctor Psycho and Circe also play important roles in her stories.
Captain Marvel is inspired by Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a perfect superhero. There were female characters in comics even before Wonder Woman, but most were either shown to be dangerous and clever women or cast as supporting characters. None of them had their own television show, nor did they achieve the popularity of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman had real success. Even as many superhero comics were going bust in the 1950s, Wonder Woman was among the very few heroines that survived. The first parallel Earth glimpses in DC Comics were also seen in Wonder Woman stories.
Captain Marvel appears to be largely standing in the shadow of Wonder Woman. Whatever path Captain Marvel proceeded on, Wonder Woman had already illuminated that path. The tremendous box office success of Wonder Woman’s debut also set the tone for Captain Marvel’s MCU debut. Wonder Woman is the scale to which Captain Marvel is compared. It was with Diana of Themyscira in front that the publisher introduced Carol Danvers as their Wonder Woman. Leaving aside the mutant side, the number of female characters in high positions at Marvel has always been small.
