Light-based powers, artists, and successors of a long lineage of heroes, both Ms. Marvel and Green Lantern are legacy heroes with limitless imagination. But what would happen if the Marvel Comics fan-favorite and the DC Comics veteran were to go up against each other?
We're here to answer: If these two beloved characters were to fight in a crossover, who would win?
Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan (MCU)
Kamala Khan’s just your average nerdy teen from Jersey City—fangirl, daydreamer, Avengers stan. Her life takes a sharp left when she finds this old bangle stashed in her family’s attic, and boom—suddenly she’s throwing glowing punches and running across the sky on platforms made of light like it’s no big deal.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, her powers aren’t from Terrigen Mist like they are in the comics. No, it’s way messier and more mysterious. The bangle basically unlocks some hidden, latent mutant ability, while also being able to open dimensional portals when combined with the other bangle. She can whip up hard light constructs—think shields, giant fists, floating platforms.
Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
A struggling artist in L.A.—graphic designer, comic book nerd, rent barely paid—when the universe straight-up chose him to become the last Green Lantern. Ganthet, the last guardian of the universe (at the time), hands him the most powerful weapon in the galaxy and leaves him to figure things out to test him to see if he's worthy to keep it. This all goes down after Hal Jordan goes full meltdown and wipes out the Green Lantern Corps. So (at the time) it's just Kyle and no Corps to back him up. Green Lantern Ring is standard issue—but in Kyle’s hands, it’s a whole different beast.
The ring can create anything he imagines, powered by willpower. Most Lanterns go for basic stuff—shields, beams, big hammers. But Kyle, being an artist, creates giant mechs, anime dragons, and full sci-fi battle scenes. He later becomes a cosmic god named Ion, and then later the White Lantern, unlocking every emotional spectrum including hope, rage, love, fear, etc. He basically becomes the Swiss Army Knife of Lanterns.
I know what you're thinking.
Kyle has way more years on Kamala, it's not a fair battle. You're right. So for this one, I'm going to keep things a little fair and only use examples of Kyle's first few years as Lantern, as Kamala has a few adventures and examples of her prowess to pull from in the MCU.
Ms.Marvel vs. Green Lantern: Which character would win out?
So, who would win? There are two beings whose wild imaginations fuel their immense power. The answer obviously has to be... Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern, for this experience, or maybe Kamala Khan, Ms.Marvel, for her added abilities of opening jump points. Well, there are a lot of occurrences we need to go over.
In Ms. Marvel's first episode, Kamala endangers her friends and a crowd of people by not being able to gain control of the powers (that, to be fair, she didn't know she had).
BAM! 👊
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 51, Kyle Rayner fights Ohm, and takes many hits from a mech suit to the face and gut. Still only making simple designs with the ring.
SMACK! ✨
In Ms. Marvel episode 2, Kamala really doesn't do anything particularly notable in her powers that rival what Kyle was able to do within his first few days/weeks. She does save a child from falling to his death, but Kyle was creating light constructs more intricate and saving people as well.
POW!💥
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 52, you can see Kyle beginning to quickly make very complex light constructs, where he made a construct of Alex, his girlfriend. And he takes a punch from Mongul straight to the face without any green light buffer. However, he does out-maneuver Mongul with a light construct of a subway train. Mongul, by the way, Superman was having trouble defeating.
BAM! 👊
In Ms.Marvel episode 3, Kamala does hold her own against the Clandestines, a group of beings from the Noor Dimension that were exiled to Earth, who were mistakenly referred to as Djinn. Kamala has no training in fighting, but she fends off these ancient beings relatively well for a teen newbie superhero.
SMACK! ✨
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 54 (the infamous "fridge" issue), Major Force kills Kyle's girlfriend, and Kyle retaliates by stabbing Major Force through the abdomen (Force is supposed to be invulnerable). And he also takes a beating from Major Force after his ring loses power and he's in human form. While he doesn't "beat" Major Force, he greatly incapacitates him.
POW!💥
In Ms.Marvel episode 4, Kamala doesn't do anything particularly notable that she hadn't done in the previous episode, but she continues to hold her own against the Clandestines, which is impressive with zero training. However, Kyle never had any training as well, so they're pretty equally matched here. But Kyle never really shows his fighting ability much in his early days strictly relying on the ring to take care of him.
BAM! 👊
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 56, while it's worth noting, Kyle doesn't really do anything particularly impressive in this issue, it does show him dealing with a lot in the first few days/weeks as Green Lantern. A fight with Mongul, Major Force, his girlfriend getting killed, and in this issue, Adara - a former Green Lantern who lost her ring and powers after Hal went nuts - kills herself right in front of Kyle. While these don't make him stronger physically, I do think these types of experiences, being thrown into the fire, did mold him into the stronger warrior that he becomes. It creates trauma, but it makes him stronger.
SMACK! ✨
This is where things get interesting. At this point, Kyle, during his early days/weeks, is strictly only able to create hard light constructs to defend or save himself from death. However, in Ms. Marvel episode 5, this is where Kamala's powers are unique. Her story is still being written, so we're unsure of the extent of her powers and their origin. However, it's implied she's a mutant, and that the bangle she has unlocked an ability she already had to begin with. Where her personal powers begin and where the bangles end is a mystery right now, but in this episode, we saw her hold her own against a rift in dimensions that her bangle created when Najma strikes the bangle, damaging it. So we see that Kamala's bangle can open rifts.
POW!💥
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 57, Kyle creates a bunch of men as light constructs to help him move into and set up his new apartment. That's not a small feat. Imagine the concentration you must have to give that much detail to three other constructs while also giving details to your own body.
BAM! 👊
In Ms.Marvel episode 6 (the season finale), there is a nice twist in which we see Kamala put her artistic abilities to the test when the Department of Damage Control comes to arrest her at her school. Kamala and her classmates come up with an elaborate Home Alone-style plan to defend themselves against them. Interesting for sure, but Kyle has already been putting his artistic prowess to the test almost every time he creates a light construct.
Additionally she is able to take out a cannon that is similar to the one that gave Hulk a hard time in The Incredible Hulk.
SMACK! ✨
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 58, Kyle lets loose Felix Faust, a powerful mage who is a super villain, then proceeds to not try and stop him (or even get to the bottom of who he has just released from imprisonment). While not a fighting ability to use against Ms. Marvel, you can see Kyle's scruples, which are considerably lower than Kamala's in her early days.
POW!💥
In Kamala's most recent MCU appearance (as of writing), she plays a major role in The Marvels. She does a number of things in this movie, but first and foremost, it's clear that her fighting ability has increased, as she can even take on Kree soldiers and Dar-Benn. It would appear that at the end of the movie, her ability to do what she does (whatever that is) doesn't require the bangle(s).
Now, if the bangles are "meant" for her, as she says, then Kamala will at some point be able to create controlled jump points if she is ever allowed to use two bangles at once by Captain Marvel, but she only has the one at the end of the movie.
BAM! 👊
In Green Lantern Volume 3 No. 59, Kyle is supposed to be watching the monitors at Titans HQ, and he leaves because he's bored and needs to clear his head. Meanwhile, Dr. Polaris is on a rampage downtown; who knows how many people got injured or killed while Kyle was flying around "clearing his head" when he should've been on monitor duty? Again, another example of Kyle's irresponsibility and selfishness. Which could work for or against him in a fight against Kamala, depending on how you look at it.
So, even though Kyle, at the time of writing this, has two decades worth of adventures to pull from, Kamala in the MCU only has several appearances, so it wouldn't be fair to pull from Kyle's later appearances. So, so far, the way this is looking is that this contest would be Kyle, all the way. But the thing is, Kamala's bangle can do far more than Kyle knows how to utilize his ring in his early days. So, how does one determine who is the most powerful and who would win in a fight? Especially in two evenly-matched characters. My educated guess—backed by what feels like a PhD in comic book reading (as evidenced by a tuition-sized investment in these books)—is that, while both Green Lantern and Ms. Marvel are artistic and have wearable weapons with immeasurable power, it's hard to see any other outcome than a Green Lantern victory... at least at this point in time.
VERDICT: Green Lantern Wins
While Kamala will for sure become a force to be reckoned with (and I'm sure she will get the second bangle and be able to open jump points that she could easily throw Kyle into), at this stage Kyle is a working artist, meaning that he has the goods and experience to back up his imagination, as well as the fact that he proved more formidable with learning the ring's powers (more quickly than Kamala learned how to harness the bangles), showing his overall adaptability.