The Marvel universe is huge – there are around 8000 staple characters and more one-offs and multiverse versions. A tiny fraction of these has been introduced to the big and small screens, so a major chunk of the general public doesn’t know much about the expansively populated Marvel universe. While we’ve been exposed to a few extremely powerful heroes and villains in live-action, the majority of the most powerful Marvel characters are still restricted to comic books. So here are the 15 most powerful Marvel characters, ranked according to their abilities. Eternals, Celestials, and Lovecraftian space monsters, as well as cosmic beings (true cosmic beings, not aliens or Earth-inhabiting spacefarers), have been omitted from this list.
Top 15 Most Powerful Marvel Characters in the Marvel Universe
15. Kang the Conqueror
On this list, Kang is the only character who doesn’t have superpowers. He relies on knowledge, determination and tech. A brainchild of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for 1964’s Avengers 38, Kang attacks the Earth’s Mightiest Defender’s side at will, because he can travel freely through time, gathering fantastic weapons and tactical information about his enemies. A brilliant engineer and a politician, he has trained himself to become as skilled in combat as a human possibly can be. Add to that the technology coming from the 40th century and Kang is all set to take down gods and heroes from every age. If he isn’t enough for the Avengers, Kang can always summon reinforcements from different timelines, as his different Variants can work together for a common goal. He’s one of the deadliest enemies Earth’s heroes have ever faced.
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14. Vulcan
An Omega level mutant, Gabriel Summers, the brother to Scott and Alex Summers of X-Men fame, is more powerful than his brothers, so powerful that he took over ruling the Shi’ar Empire. Vulcan can control water, wind, fire, earth, light, electricity and darkness, and can channel these forces into a deadly blast. He can use his powers to create force-fields and lift and move objects, and can also syphon power from other mutants. He can detect, suppress and manipulate energy from nearby sources. He’s fought Black Bolt and the X-Men, Inhumans and Starjammers. Vulcan was presumed dead after he sacrificed himself to save Scott, his brother. However, rumours of his death are quite exaggerated.
13. Hulk
Hulk is what happens when Dr Bruce Banner gets made. He transforms into a giant, green, unstoppable monster that totals everything in his path. This happened to the doctor when he was exposed to an experimental gamma bong radiation due to which he absorbed massive amounts of gamma radiation. Ever since the Hulk has taken over Dr Banner’s body when he gets angry, turning him from a brilliant but fragile scientist into a giant green rage monster as smart as a toddler. The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets. He has a nearly invincible exterior and strength and is beyond class 100 strength, destroying meteors the size of Earth with his fists.
12. Apocalypse
Technically stronger than the Hulk, this character has many other abilities like telepathy, shapeshifting and telekinesis. One of the first mutants to be born, En Sabah Nur was conceived in ancient Egypt and discarded for his strange appearance. His inborn gifts as well as the technology he discovered in Rama Tut’s tomb and on a Celestial spaceship made him the most powerful being on Earth at the time. He’s used technology to regenerate himself constantly, surviving to this present day. He and four horsemen would accompany him on his genocidal endeavours, enlisting powerful mutants and others against their will, including Wolverine and Archangel. He’s also had many incursions with the X-Men, particularly Jean Grey, Cable and Cyclops, trying to syphon their powers. He has almost taken over the world many times as well.
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11. Thor
One of the most recognized characters in the MCU, Thor is one of the most powerful Marvel characters. The MCU movies might have turned him down a notch or two to make full-length features where the bad guys don’t perish in 30 seconds. In the comics, he can destroy planets, control the weather, break adamantium, fly through space at the speed of light and summon lightning bolts. He has beyond Class 100 strength, and the might of his hammer behind him. He has fought the Hulk, Thanos, the Silver Surfer and Galactus as well. Thor is one of the most famous Marvel characters and it is only fitting that he be on this list of the most powerful as well.
10. Hercules
The son of the Olympian god, Zeus, Hercules can survive the vacuum of space and bear cosmic attacks. He’s considered to be the physically strongest Marvel character ever created. Legend says he replaced Atlas in holding the sky on his shoulders, and single-handedly moved the island of Manhattan which according to the comics weighed 99,000,000,000 tons. Thor didn’t do that. Hercules has beaten Thor and the Hulk in battle. He is immortal as well and has the power of a Namean Lion skin cape, and an adamantine mace, both of which are virtually indestructible.
9. Dr Strange
Dr Strange might not be as physically strong as the others on this list, he is the magic man, Sorcerer Supreme, the most powerful wizard in the world. His command over magic is magical, allowing him to perform feats like teleportation, astral projection, levitation, time travel, dimensional travel and more. His powers have varied a lot over the years and sometimes has been difficult to define. Once the protector and user of the Time Stone, he has an awesome living cape, and has beaten Galactus in battle. He destroys timelines and threatens to wipe out the whole Multiverse, in both What If and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He does however have a moral compass to prevent most of his Variants from unleashing his full power.
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8. Captain Marvel
Just like Thor, Captain Marvel is more powerful in the comics than on the big screen. Aside from being incredibly strong, Carol Danvers is indestructible, capable of interstellar flight and can shoot photon beams at people. She can also control gravity and light and is able to manipulate and absorb radiation and magic. She can tether herself to a white hole to become even more powerful. With her powers and strength, it is no wonder that Captain Marvel is one of the strongest Marvel comics characters we’ve ever seen.
7. Gladiator
The leader of the Shi’ar imperial guard, and stronger than Thor, Juggernaut and the Hulk. in fact Juggernaut punched Gladiator in the face and the latter did not blink. Kallark competed against a bunch of others for the Gladiator title. Kaalark already had impressive physiology, being from the planet Kaalark. The Gladiator trials granted him so much more. He is able to fly, is super-fast, durable and strong and can survive in outer space. He can destroy whole planets. He has knocked out the Thing, beat Vulcan in combat claiming one of his eyes as a prize, and even broke Hyperion’s back. Collapsing stars and destroying black holes, Gladiator has the stamina to fight for a long time before getting tired. He can shoot energy beams from his eyes that can burn Hulk’s skin, and can blow hurricane-level winds out of his lungs. He has even survived a supernova explosion.
6. Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff has a lot of power. Whether you brand her as a mutant, a witch or a science experiment or even all 3, she’s deadly. She can blast enemies with energy, fly, and perform telepathy and telekinesis. She can also cast probability-altering hexes and chaos magic, changing reality’s fabric. In the comics she has killed or depowered 90% of the population with a single thought. She is a Nexus Being – those few and rare individuals who can alter the world’s future. She can psychically control reality. Whether it is the comic books or the movies, Wanda is a force to reckon with and that earns her a spot on this list of Marvel’s most powerful.
5. Hope Summers
She is also an Omega-level mutant, the first born after the Scarlet Witch killed/depowered over 90% of the world’s mutant population. Considered a danger by much of the world’s population, she was taken to the future by Cable, son of Cyclops and a Jean Grey clone. Just like Rogue, Hope can absorb other mutant’s abilities with some differences – she doesn’t have to touch them, the mutant subject doesn’t lose their abilities in the process, and Hope gets to keep those powers forever. She has a connection to the Phoenix Force which makes her and her powers a little unstable. She once beat Scarlet Witch in a fight.
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4. Legion
Legion happens to be one of the most powerful mutants ever born, and of Omega-level ranking thanks to Charles Xavier. His powers are limitless, but curbed by his fractured psyche which is a result of his dissociative identity disorder. This happened because he underwent the trauma of watching his stepfather getting killed. This caused a psychic split, however, it hasn’t affected his powers that much. Throughout the comics, David has performed telepathy, pyrokinesis, and has displayed incredible strength, speed and healing powers and exhibited time travel, reality alteration and mind control, similar to Scarlet Witch. If Legion got his act together, he could top this list.
3. Proteus
Proteus is another Omega-level mutant, who can warp reality. Known for his varied and versatile powers, Proteus can teleport anywhere in the Marvel universe and multiverse, manipulate molecules to a great degree, generate force fields, and change terraform planets with a single thought. He can travel to the Astral Plane. He has immense telepathic and telekinetic abilities. In his natural form, Proteus is being made of pure energy, which contributes to his immortality. However he isn’t cosmic. He has to possess human hosts from time to time to feed on, leaving them as nothing but zombies.
2. Sentry
Reynolds has the power of a million exploding suns. Sentry has more than Class 100 strength, having ripped Carnage in two and beaten Thor, She-Hulk, and Captain Marvel simultaneously. Sentry also has light-speed flight and telepathic powers more than Professor X. Sentry can resurrect the dead and has such sensitive senses that he can hear the heartbeat of a butterfly halfway across the world. Sentry is an omega-level threat. A dark mirror version called the Void emerged and caused some havoc until Sentry accepted Void as part of himself, and they merged, forming an even more powerful being. Sentry can perform molecular manipulation and has beaten Molecule Man in battle. However, he doesn’t fully control his abilities and often depends on Void to take over when things get risky. Sentry can survive without food or water, has no known vulnerabilities, is basically immortal, and has beaten Galactus in a fight.
1. Franklin Richards
The son of Fantastic Four members Reed Richards and Susan Storm Richards, this character is more powerful than any member of his parent’s team. This kid is an Omega-level mutant with the potential of being the most powerful mutant in the Marvel Universe. This kid can alter reality and create pocket universes with just a thought. He has beaten Celestials and is thought to have powers as much as the masters of the universe. He can manipulate molecules, perform telepathy and telekinesis as well as time-travel, precognition, energy projection, astral projection and super-durability. An adult version of Franklin Richards beat Galactus. When he will make his MCU debut remains to be seen, but for now, he remains one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel comic universe.
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The above characters are the most powerful characters in the Marvel comic world. So which one is your favourite?
