Did Captain Marvel Really Save The Day In Endgame?

Ms. Marvel presents Captain Marvel as the true hero of Avengers: Endgame‘s final battle, but whether that is truly the case is open to debate. The Battle of Earth has become the MCU’s most significant event, both in real life and for the characters in the story. Normal people in the MCU such as Kamala Khan (as she starts out), study and celebrate the Avengers taking down Thanos and his army. Everyone will have their favorite Avenger of course and argue that their contribution was more significant than others, as is the case with Ms. Marvel’s hero-worship of Captain Marvel.

In Ms. Marvel’s opening Kamala Khan animates The Battle of Earth for her Youtube channel, and celebrates Captain Marvel’s role as the ultimate hero that saved the day when the other Avengers were all but defeated. Captain Marvel is unquestionably one of the most powerful heroes on the Avengers roster, and she does turn up at a critical moment in Avengers: Endgame’s finale. The Avengers are taking a battering from the canons on Thanos’ ship before their attention is turned to Captain Marvel entering the Earth’s atmosphere, who proceeds to swiftly and easily destroy the ship. After that she fights Thanos himself, stopping him from snapping his fingers at a crucial moment.

Notwithstanding that Captain Marvel’s contribution to Avengers Endgame’s final battle is significant, it’s a stretch to say that the Avengers were losing the battle at the point that Captain Marvel arrived, or that they would have lost (again) without her. If she hadn’t arrived when she did, there are still powerful Avengers who could have affected the battle in the hero’s favor. The fact of the matter is that it takes all of the Avengers to defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Though Iron Man’s sacrifice was the winning move, he wouldn’t have been able to click his fingers if the other Avengers, including Captain Marvel, hadn’t done their bit. The Battle of Earth is a showcase of all the heroes working together seamlessly, something that took them three Phases of the MCU to figure out. Captain Marvel is an important cog in the wheel, but only through teamwork is Thanos defeated.

Though her enthusiasm is entertaining and infectious, Kamala Khan’s information on the play-by-play details of the battle is flawed, which is understandable. She’s getting most of her information from either the internet, or Scott Lang’s podcast interviews, “Big Me, Little Me.” Ant-Man is well known to gush over his fellow heroes, and it’s easy to see his enthusiasm and passion turning into exaggeration when chronicling the events of the battle for an eager audience. Kamala Khan is also incorrect in saying that Captain Marvel was the only one who managed to hit Thanos. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy (among others) all got in hits (to varying degrees of success) over the course of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

It’s great that Ms. Marvel’s found a hero in Captain Marvel and a role model that she can look up to (Kamala Khan will get to team up with her in next year’s The Marvels). However, while Captain Marvel played an important part in Avengers: Endgame’s battle, awarding her the “hail Mary” play downgrades the contributions of the other Avengers. She may have swooped in, but the Avengers team as a whole saved the day.

Ms. Marvel releases new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney+.

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