Warning: SPOILERS for Captain Marvel #15

Captain Marvel has already proven she has the strength to take on powerhouses like Thor and Iron Man and come out as victor. She served Thor’s head on a silver platter and stripped Iron Man of his armor like a plastic toy. But now, her mission to kill every Avenger has led her to her toughest fight yet: against the Avenger she considers the strongest. And, if she’s able to take them out, well, that makes her the strongest one of them all.. even if she does get sufficiently smashed in the process.

Captain Marvel’s current arc “The Last Avenger” starts with Carol having to kill every member of the Avengers. The mystery of why was short-lived, as it was quickly revealed that she was being forced to kill the Avengers by Vox Supreme – a mutated Kree who recently wiped out the entire Inhuman race. Vox gave Carol 24 hours to kill the core Avenger team, and if she refused, he will set off bombs placed in highly populated areas of Earth. To ensure her compliance, Vox fitted her with a suit that monitors her location and audio.

Carol’s plan to save her Avenger friends and appease Vox was to swap out the bodies of the Avengers with cloned corpses. But because Vox could hear everything Carol was saying, she could not warn her fellow Avengers of her plan. Her plan still requires Carol to have a full out grudge match against Earth’s mightiest heroes. And while Thor, Iron Man, and Black Panther are considered some of the most powerful Avengers, they all got a good old fashion whooping by Captain Marvel. After winning her battles, she would swap the real bodies with clones, hide the real heroes in a pocket dimension, and deliver the bodies to V0x.

In order for her plan to succeed, she still has to beat the Avengers in combat – and that she does. With these heroes, there is always an edge they have that could be taken away. Tony’s technology, Thor’s hammer, T’Challa’s suit. Take away that edge, and Carol was able to best them all. But with Jen Walters a.k.a She-Hulk there is no edge, just her – a Hulk. But Carol knows how she can beat the Hulk: by getting her angry. Of course, She-Hulk will get stronger as she gets madder, so this appears counter-productive. But the angrier she gets the more likely she will make mistakes. And that is where Carol wins and proves she is the strongest Avenger.

While She-Hulk may in fact be physically more capable than Captain Marvel when she gets this angry, she effectively becomes dumber. If Jen does not have the mental capacity to control herself and use that power effectively, she cannot be the strongest there is – but Carol can. Captain Marvel is able to go toe to toe with She-Hulk, surviving her smashing, and is able to give it back just as good. The part that gives her an edge is her ability to think while being as strong as she is. Strong enough to multitask fighting She-Hulk AND solve how Vox is blowing up refugee camps. Carol manages to figure out how Vox is getting bombs into populated areas, by putting bombs in the actual Kree refugees themselves – all while trading blows with the She-Hulk.

In the end, Carol was able to beat Jen the same way she beat Thor, by absorbing energy - but not by absorbing massive amounts of energy thrown at her like when she fought the God of Thunder. Instead, the energy she absorbed was not copious amounts of gamma energy, but the subtle energy of She-Hulk’s brain electricity. She knocks She-Hulk unconscious, something that would kill anyone less than a Hulk and wins the fight. It cements Captain Marvel as the most powerful Avenger. No one on the team can beat her.

Captain Marvel #15 is available now at your local comic book shop, or direct from Marvel Comics.

Next: Captain Marvel’s New Role is Her Most Powerful EVER