Captain Marvel Vs Wonder Woman: Which Is Better?

2. As A Female-Led Superhero Movie

There's no denying that the key distinguishing characteristic of both of these movies is that they're the first female-led superhero films in their respective franchises.

They've both received flak from repellent sexists as a result, and they're both important entries into pop-culture for young girls seeking statuesque role models.

Wonder Woman is a more explicitly gendered film than Captain Marvel for sure - her gender is in the title, for one - but it also does a wonderful job of inverting typical gender dynamics, particularly in relation to Diana and Steve's relationship.

Furthermore, people were literally weeping over the iconic No Man's Land sequence, which says all that needs to be said about how this film connected with women in particular.

Unfortunately it's tough to think of a single scene in Captain Marvel that rouses quite the same emotion: the "rising up" montage in the third act is pretty great, but otherwise the film's attempts to toot the girl power horn come off a bit embarrassing (namely the ill-paced use of No Doubt's hit tune "Just A Girl").

WINNER: As the 21st entry into the MCU and the series' first (and long overdue) female superhero film, Captain Marvel should've been a home-run, but it lacks Wonder Woman's fist-pumping verve and comes off a bit flat in places.

Wonder Woman, conversely, totally rocked its girl power without needing to pander aggressively to its audience.