Women of the Marvel universe bracket: Captain Marvel is the queen of the dance

It's all over, folks: Captain Marvel cut down the metaphorical nets in this tournament. Keep reading to find out how she did it.

Because it's March, the month of cry-inducing elimination brackets, we've created a smackdown that truly showcases the power of Marvel women. Every week, different heroes and villains will slug it out for your amusement and wonder starting right here. 

We've selected 32 strong women (yes, we cut the list down already and we eagerly await your opinions on that), and divided them into two sides like East and West in a basketball bracket. One is full of goodie-goodies, the other packed with baddies. That's right, it's Heroes versus Villains this month on CNET.

Here's the lowdown:

• There are four total divisions. Under Heroes, there are the Mavericks and the Blockbusters; on the Villains side, it's the Antiheroes and the Secret Destroyers.
• Have your say on Twitter by voting in each of the rounds. 

We have our champion.

The final contest proved to be the most exciting of the entire tournament. Captain Marvel and Dark Phoenix took it all the way to the final buzzer, finishing with a 51 to 49 final score. Captain Marvel has been competing in close races since the first round. That experience ultimately gave her the edge over the Phoenix in this photo finish.

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

Voting for the final round is open!

We're down to our final two Marvel women. After four rounds of voting, one hero and one villain remain. Visit Twitter.com/CNET or click below to vote! And keep reading to see what happened during rounds one through four, including some big upsets.

And then there were two...

The Final Four saw two matchups with four powerful women. Captain Marvel, representing the Blockbusters division, outlasted the last remaining Maverick, Jean Grey. Carol Danvers will go on to compete in the final, a real good-vs-evil contest.

And that evil will be represented by none other than Dark Phoenix of the Secret Destroyers division. The Phoenix defeated fellow mutant and winner of the Antiheroes division, Mystique.

Captain Marvel and Dark Phoenix enter the final round on a hot streak. The two women both won their Round 4 matchups by decisive margins.

So, will good triumph over evil? Or will the Phoenix Force prove too powerful and finish her path of destruction all the way to the championship? Visit twitter.com/CNET to cast your final vote.

Previously: Round Three has wrapped up, and we now know our final four, two heroes and two villains.

Let's start with the villains this time. Like most final fours, this one will include a blue blood. In the Antiheroes division, Mystique's shape shifting proved too much for the Cinderella pick, Emma Frost. Powerhouse Dark Phoenix easily took the Secret Destroyers division, defeating Hela 61 to 39.

Out of the Blockbusters division, our only remaining non-mutant, Captain Marvel, cruised at altitude over Scarlet Witch, trouncing the telekinetic twin by 42 points. And in the Mavericks division, Valkyrie made a late run in the contest against Jean Grey but ultimately fell short, losing by 18.

Will the world get to see Jean Grey battle Dark Phoenix in a firey, mutant battle for red-haired dominance? Will Captain Marvel soar to the final round? You decide. Head over to twitter.com/CNET to cast your vote or click below the bracket below to see the remaining matchups.

Previously: Round Two was a bit of a doozy.

In the Blockbusters division, Scarlet Witch upset Shuri, sending the tech genius home early. Captain Marvel advanced to the Elite 8 after a second consecutive too-close-for-comfort contest.

In the Mavericks division, Jean Grey easily defeated Jessica Jones. And Domino's luck finally ran out, as she was defeated by the Asgardian warrior Valkyrie.

Emma Frost continued her icy cold reign in the Antiheroes division, advancing past Elektra with a 54 to 46 victory. She'll face the heavily favored Mystique in Round Three.

And, as predicted, the Secret Destroyers division has been whittled down to two forces of nature — Hela and Dark Phoenix, death vs. destruction. You do not want to miss this.

Vote now on twitter.com/CNET or click below the bracket below to see the matchups.

________

Round One is also over. The votes -- more than 15,600 of them -- have been tallied, and this tournament is shaping up to be a marvel-ous one. Here are a few things that stood out.

In the Blockbusters division, Shuri defeated Okoye in the head-to-head Black Panther matchup. Captain Marvel escaped a tight race with Storm to advance to a second-round battle against Black Widow.

In the Mavericks division, Jessica Jones narrowly defeated Agent Peggy Carter, setting up a hotly contested second-round matchup between Jones and Jean Grey. The closest score of the first round came between Valkyrie and Spider-Gwen. Valkyrie will test her luck against Domino in round two.

Mystique asserted her dominance in the Antiheroes division, knocking out Typhoid Mary with an authoritative 92-8 finish. Dark horse Emma Frost upset Psylocke, paving the way for Mystique to easily roll to the final four.

And, as expected, in the Secret Destroyers division, Dark Phoenix had her way with the far less powerful Raina. You might think that makes her a shoe-in for a spot in our final four. However, barring any astounding second-round upsets, the Phoenix will go up against Hela, Goddess of Death, in the elite 8. That's a toss-up, if you ask us.

Can Ghost or Madame Gao become the Wichita State Shockers of this tournament? Vote now on twitter.com/CNET or click below the bracket.

After Marvel Studios' historic night at the Oscars with Black Panther, it's time to look ahead to the next big, game-changing Marvel movie. 

And no franchise has given us more strong female heroes than the Marvel heroic universe. We're not just talking about the big-screen Marvel Cinematic Universe either -- the home of Black Widow, Shuri, and the brand-new Captain Marvel. 

We're also talking about Marvel's women of the small screen, such as Jessica Jones and Mariah Dillard, plus the women outside the MCU entirely, like Negasonic Teenage Warhead. (Because the X-Men are definitely still Marvel.)

So get out there and vote! 

Again, all you have to do to keep your favorite Marvel women in the game is have your say here on Twitter as the rounds progress.

The bracket will run through March, with each week whittling down the competitors. You'll have four days per week to vote, vote, vote for your favorite Marvel women (and get others to do the same!), until the final showdown in week five. And that final round will pit one hero against one villain in a battle for true supremacy.

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

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Originally published Feb. 24.
Updated March 29, 1:50 p.m. PT: Adds final recap.