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Women of the Marvel universe bracket: Secret Destroyers division

Some of these Marvel villainesses are so subtle you might underestimate them. Big mistake. Big, big mistake.

Leslie Gornstein Senior Editor
Leslie Gornstein is a senior editor with CBS Interactive. For the past two decades, she's covered consumer and B-to-B tech; biotech; entertainment and various other subjects that seemed interesting at the time. She's the author of The A-List Playbook (Skyhorse) and she lives in Los Angeles.
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Leslie Gornstein
4 min read
secretdestroyers
Marvel

WE HAVE OUR CHAMPION

It's all over, folks. Captain Marvel cut down the metaphorical nets in this tournament and won it all. Keep reading to find out how she emerged as the queen of this dance.

Forget March Madness. We have a much geekier tournament for you: the Women of the Marvel universe bracket smackdown. There are four divisions with 32 badass heroes and villains from across the  Marvel Cinematic Universe , comics, X-Men movies and crossovers and more. The final matchup will pit one goodie against one baddie... and only one woman of Marvel will be left standing in our mega bracket.

Best of all: you get to decide who that is right here (click out to Twitter for the full thread!).

Final round results:

Dark Phoenix was in the game until the bitter end, taking Captain Marvel all the way to the wire before losing in heartbreaking fashion, 51 to 49. In the end, it was Captain Marvel's experience closing out in close races that proved too much for the last remaining villain in this bracket, and now it's official: Captain Marvel is your favorite Marvel heroine of all time.

Thank you for following and voting in our Women of Marvel bracket.

Round 4 results:

Remember when we said Dark Phoenix was a contender? Well, she's advanced all the way to the final round, and she's showing no signs of cooling off anytime soon.

Her defense has been stifling. No competitor has gotten within 20 points of the Phoenix in the entire tournament, up to this point. Standing between the Phoenix and world domination is Captain Marvel.

Will Jean Grey's supporters embrace the dark side and launch her fiery alter ego to win all the marbles? Or will the forces of good and the popularity of Carol Danvers prove to be the only thing that can stop the Phoenix's march to the finish?

You decide. Head over to Twitter.com/CNET now to cast your final vote.

Round 3 results:

If Round Three taught us anything, it's that Dark Phoenix is a serious contender in this tournament.

True to form, the Phoenix Force has destroyed everything in her path on the way to the Final Four, including Hela, goddess of death. In Round One, she knocked out Raina with a resounding 91-point victory. A week later, she rolled past Ghost with a 77 to 23 rout. In Round Four, she'll go up against Mystique.

Will the Phoenix show mercy for the blue mutant or will she torch Mystique like she has everyone else? Cast your vote on Twitter.com/CNET and help decide who will advance to compete on behalf of good and evil in the finals.

Round 2 results:

Round Two pretty much shook out as expected in the Secret Destroyers division. 

Dark Phoenix and Hela both handled their business and dispatched of Ghost and Madame Gao, respectively. Both the Phoenix and Hela won handily, by more than 50 points apiece. So, the embodiments of death and destruction will meet in an seemingly inevitable Elite 8 battle.

You do NOT want to miss a chance to cast your vote in this historic Baddie Bowl. Head over to Twitter.com/CNET or click the tweet to let your voice be heard.

Round 1 results:

The first round is wrapped up, and here's how this division shook out.

It's no secret: Dark Phoenix destroyed Raina in the first round. The red-headed entity won decisively, with a final score of 92-8. Next, she'll face off with Ghost for an opportunity to go to the Elite 8. And, if all goes as expected, Hela, unique-hat collector and Asgardian Goddess of Death, will be waiting for her.

But first, Hela must make it past Madame Gao, the ruthless crime queen-pin. No doubt they'll both play dirty.

Vote now on Twitter.com/CNET or click below!

Watch this: Why we love the women of Marvel

Meet the Secret Destroyers division, one of two divisions reserved for baddies. Click the names for more on each hero's history, powers and appearances. (Note some appeared under different names in Marvel's comic books.)

  • Ayesha: This high priestess of the golden-skinned Sovereign race does not mess around, especially if she suspects you of stealing. The last time we saw her, it was in a mid-credit scene, observing the gestation of Adam, a Sovereign who looks like he's real, real bad news.
  • Ghost: Being half out-of-phase all the time is a real bummer. So is fighting for your life. But in Ant-Man and The Wasp, she starts out as an antagonist, so she's on our bad-girl list for the moment.
  • Lady Deathstrike: Think Wolverine, only female ... and really mean even when not being mind-controlled.
  • Raina: Her all-over body spikes can penetrate even serious armor. Her claws are worse ... and she can see into the future. 
  • Hela: This Asgardian goddess is more than a match for heroes such as Thor, thanks to her skill with her Necrosword and her ability to summon infinite blades from within her cloak.
  • Dark Phoenix: She is what happens when a very powerful member of the X-Men loses control.
  • Madame Gao: Talk about cruel. Here's a crime lord who not only deals in heroin but also requires her workers to be blinded. 
  • Mariah Dillard: This nemesis of Luke Cage is also a lord of the criminal underworld and a ruthless killer. She may not have traditional superpowers, but don't underestimate her connections.

Women of the Marvel universe bracket: Vote for your favorite heroes and villains

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See who's winning and who's been knocked out every week on our main bracket page. Plus, check out the other categories here: 

Originally published Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. PT.
Updated March 29, 1:30 p.m. PT: Adds Round 5 recap.