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Comic Book Combat, Fight #3: Wonder Woman vs. Ms. Marvel
This matchup was one I really had to think about. Not because the fight was difficult to map, but because I couldn’t find a decent opponent for Wonder Woman. I am, admittedly, not well versed in the modern Marvel Universe, so, my knowledge of its current super-powered denizens is at least a decade or more old. I was going to match Diana up with the She-Hulk, but I think I’ve found someone who could match up with her a little better: Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers.
Both women have rich histories (Diana’s is admittedly longer at 70+ years, but Carol has packed a lot of living in her 40 years). Their powers have changed, as they are want to do, over their publishing histories. Carol’s taking the wildest ride to get to where she is now. We will not, however, be using the current incarnations of either character for this fight. In this matchup, we’ll be using the Post-Crisis Wonder Woman and the Civil War-era Ms. Marvel.
First: Wonder Woman.
Like all characters who have been around as long as she has, Wonder Woman’s powers have evolved since her introduction in December of 1941, although only slightly. They were gifted to her upon her birth by the gods of Olympus. Those powers include, in no particular order, super-human strength, speed, agility, endurance, and reflexes; superior knowledge of armed & unarmed combat, as well as military tactics & strategy. (She didn’t gain the ability to fly until the 1960s. Up to then, she relied on her invisible plane.)
Her main weapon, if you can call it that, has remained constant throughout her history: the golden Lasso of Truth. Anyone bound by the Lasso can utter nothing but the truth. (It was suggested at one point that Diana herself radiated a sort of “aura of truth” which made deception in her presence impossible and that the lasso amplified and directed that aura. She was once elevated by the Olympian gods to “Goddess of Truth” because of this. This suggestion was abandoned not long after she renounced her godhood.)
Her other magical weapons include her bracelets and tiara. Her bracelets are indestructible and can deflect any weapon directed against her. The tiara can be used as a thrown weapon and will return, boomerang-like, to Diana. She also has access to a wide array of magical Amazonian weaponry, but no one of those weapons is specifically associated with Diana.
Now to Ms. Marvel.
Ok, here’s where I’m going to rely on Wikipedia and my recently reacquired copies of the Deluxe Edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, because as stated above I know little about the modern Marvel Universe, and even less about the modern Ms. Marvel. Now, I do know a bit about Carol beyond Wikipedia & OHOTMU. I do know, for instance, that she previously held the name Ms. Marvel as far back as the 70’s. She was bound somehow to Mar-Vell, Marvel’s original Captain Marvel, in an explosion, turning her into a Kree/human hybrid, which is where she gained the majority of her superpowers. It was in Avengers Annual #10 where she had the misfortune of meeting up with Rogue, before Rogue became one of the X-Men. Through a mishap with her powers, Rogue permanently absorbed all of Carol’s powers and memories, leaving Carol a blank slate until she returned as Binary some time later.
It’s here where her history starts getting murky for me. I know after she became Binary she made scattered appearances in X-Men, due in no small part to the fact that she’d joined up with the Starjammers and Cyclops' dad, Corsair, was their captain; the Starjammers patrol Shi’ar space & Professor X was the consort of the Shi’ar queen, Lilandra; yaddda yadda yadda… But back to Carol. It was as Binary that she gained energy absorption and projection powers due to her connection to a “white hole”. When this connection was severed, she retained those powers, but to a radically diminished degree. Her history from this point is a bit immaterial, because it is at this point that she and Wonder Woman will be meeting in my scenario.
Now, on to the fight…:
Diana and Carol are both pretty evenly matched physically. Both are immensely strong, fast, and agile. I would have to give the edge in hand-to-hand combat to Diana, though. She has trained all her life to be a warrior. Thanks to her Olympian gifts, she has unmatched military prowess and, if the combat were to take place primarily on land, her connection to Gaea, the Earth Spirit, allows her even greater strength and, more importantly, healing abilities.
Where Carol might have the advantage is in long-range combat. With her energy powers, Carol could take Diana out from long-range, provided Diana is unaware of the attack. If Diana knew the bolt was coming and knew where it was coming from, she could more than likely deflect it with her bracelets, all but negating Ms. Marvel’s long-range advantage.
Once the initial shots have been fired and the opponents have revealed themselves, Diana would probably bring the fight close-quarters, keeping Ms. Marvel’s energy bolts to as close to a minimum as possible. She would move then to try to subdue Ms. Marvel with her Lasso. If it works, the fight ends right there. Carol wouldn’t be ably to break free and Diana would just compel her to stop resisting: fight over.
I really can’t see any way for Ms. Marvel to gain the upper hand, unless she took the fight to the upper atmosphere. Thanks to her residual Binary powers, she can still breathe in space, whereas Diana cannot. Unless she were physically brought up there, Diana would know of this limitation and not pursue the fight there.
Ultimately, I think Wonder Woman takes this one. Not by a lot, unless she gets the chance to use her Lasso, but still, because of her martial prowess and warrior skill, she would, given time, beat Ms. Marvel unconscious.
Comments
As for who she should have gone up against, maybe Valkyrie would have been a better match?
Side note: I think all moms have this superpower too.
Yeah, Wonder Woman wins, but Marvel still leads 2 to 1.
Also we'd have to rule out the whole Diana giving the "We are sisters and should not fight" speech she's bound to give. :)
I'll be contrary and give it to Carol. Yes, Diana is a force of nature and will not give up until she's dead, but Carol is/was military trained and has SHIELD backing her up if need be. Once she sees Diana's a close-quarters fighter, she'd know not to bother going hand to hand with her, pummeling her from a distance. Wondy would of course deflect the beams with her bracelets, but she can only do that for so long. Long enough for a SHIELD operative to zap her with a tranq dart or something along those lines. Cheating? Perhaps. Winning? Definitely.
And if Diana somehow did manage to get the upper hand, I'd have Carol overcharge and become Binary again. Drag Diana out into space while baking her with the energy of a star.
If it were a knock-down drag out fight, I'd give it to Wondy in heartbeat. Carol's smart enough to know she'd lose that kind of fight and never let it get there.
As for military training, Carol may have been in the military, but she didn't get there until she was 18. Diana was trained in all manner of armed and unarmed combat from the time she could walk, so I think Diana has a distinct edge in the "military trained" area.