Captain Marvel Suffered A Humiliating Defeat To Transformers’ Autobots

There are few heroes in Marvel Comics more powerful than Captain Marvel, but when the Marvel Universe had a crossover with Transformers, Carol Danvers suffered a humiliating defeat to the Autobots. Autobots are known for being the protagonists in the Transformers series so the idea of them fighting the Avengers seems unnatural. However, when the two teams met for the first time they were each unsure of the other’s intentions and had to settle their differences by way of an all-out brawl. When Captain Marvel went up against the Autobot Ratchet, she was defeated in a truly humiliating fashion. 

In New Avengers/Transformers #2 by Stuart Moore and Tyler Kirkham, the Autobots are on the hunt for the notoriously evil Decepticons and fear that the evil robots in disguise have recruited the help of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Similarly, the Avengers are tracking some irregularities in the area and come across the monstrous alien robots that are the Autobots. Both teams skeptical of the other, they launch into combat and in the process Captain Marvel suffers her most embarrassing loss yet. 

While fighting Ratchet, Captain Marvel, who at the time was still Ms. Marvel, was trying to disable the Autobot by going after the steering panel of the emergency vehicle Ratchet was still in the form of. Not fully understanding the mechanisms behind Transformers, Captain Marvel falls into a trap which Ratchet quickly unleashes before she even has time to react. While inside the vehicle, Ratchet sets off his airbags, trapping Captain Marvel inside and taking her out of the fight while the other Autobots battle the remaining Avengers. The worst part about the defeat is that Ratchet vocalizes how humiliating it is when he launches the trap, saying, “’Standard Human Containment Techniques’ do not always preserve the subject’s dignity.” 

Not only does Captain Marvel fall victim to a pathetically simple trap that should not have worked on a hero of her power level, but the Transformer rubs it in her face. Ratchet knew how humiliating it was to be taken down by an airbag, and he let Captain Marvel know that as it was happening to her. While he may have just been trying to apologize for the humiliating manner in which he was forced to incapacitate her, he did it in a way that only added to the humiliation. 

Throughout her comic career, Captain Marvel has fought off evil doers from across the galaxy and threats that are nearly beyond comprehension, yet in this issue she gets taken out by an airbag. While the defeat didn’t last and Captain Marvel came back at the Transformer with full force and a newfound fury, it still managed to take her out of the fight during an integral moment in the battle. Even though she managed to pull herself together afterwards, Captain Marvel was still beaten by an airbag which marks her most humiliating defeat by the hands (or airbags) of Transformers’ Autobots.

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