TheMarvel Cinematic Universeis filled to the brim with threats that have been universe-ending at times. This means that the Earth’s mightiestheroeshave to be pretty dang powerful to put a stop to said evil deeds.The cinematic world’s villainy is filled with gods, monsters, sorcerers, and more—the same applies to the heroes. Most of the time, the heroes have to be stronger, either physically or intellectually (because not all strength comes from muscles, either).
Over the years, the heroes of the MCU have had to stop the likes of Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett), Celestials,Thanos(Josh Brolin), and have even been/become villains themselves.The Avengersarea team of the greatest heroeson Earth, so they have to be made up of some pretty powerful heroes.
10Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Played by Robert Downey Jr.
When someone thinks of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), they most certainly do not think of the word “strongest.” Many would consider him one of the weaker ones, given the fact that he’s just a guy without his suit of armor. However,strength does not just come from physical ability.Sometimes,strength comes within the brain,and if anyone in the MCU is a smart cookie, it’s Stark.
He didn’t become a billionaire and Iron Man out of nowhere.Stark is one of the MCU’s most brilliant inventors and scientists, and that makes him more powerful than many villains and heroes on an intellectual level.By the timeAvengers: Age of Ultronrolls around, he’s funding and inventing a lot of the technology that the Avengers use in battle. He also helped invent (and cracked the code of) time travel.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.
9Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)
Played by Tessa Thompson
First making her appearance on the distant planet Sakaar inThor: Ragnarok, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) became an Avenger via her big inclusion at the end ofAvengers: Endgameand wasmade the ruler of Asgard by Thor(Chris Hemsworth) himself. In Norse mythology and, in turn, Marvel,the Valkyries are some of Asgard’s strongest warriorsand, unfortunately, Valkyrie is the last of them.
Being an Asgardian, she has a lot of the same strength attributes that most Asgardians do, but even stronger(not everyone can be a Valkyrie). If she and the other Valkyries could take on Norse monsters, myths, and even gods, that means she’s far more powerful than some of the standard Avengers, because not many can say they can do such things.
Thor: Ragnarok
Imprisoned on the planet Sakaar, Thor must race against time to return to Asgard and stop Ragnarök, the destruction of his world, at the hands of the powerful and ruthless villain Hela.
Played by Paul Bettany
Not many Avengers can say that they are literally powered by one of the strongest items in the Marvel universeand made of one of the strongest metals in the Marvel universe, too. Vision (Paul Bettany) is made up of artificial tissue and, primarily, Vibranium. There aren’t manymetals stronger than Vibraniumin the Marvel world, and to be mostly made up of it makes him one of the most durable Avengers in the team.
Before it was ripped out of his head by Thanos inAvengers: Infinity War,Vision was powered by the extremely powerful Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones—the most powerful items in the MCU. A power like this is unlike any other Avengers (besides one), and that makes him powerful beyond belief. Besides that, Vision being artificial also allows him to wield Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjölnir.
Avengers: Infinity War
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
7Shang-Chi
Played by Simu Liu
Not many heroes in the MCU can say they’re an absolute martial arts master. So much of one that they can stand up against the ever-powerful Mandarin, better known as Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung). His fighting abilities are better than pretty much everyAvenger in any lineup of the team, meaninghe could most likely best any of them in hand-to-hand combat.
This is only a portion of what makes him so powerful, though. After the end of his solo film,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he now holds possession of the legendary Ten Rings—another ten of some of the most powerful items in the MCU.The Ten Rings are absurdly powerful, and now that he owns them and his martial arts abilities can be combined with them, he is going to be an incredibly huge asset moving forward.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
6Hulk (Bruce Banner)
Played by Mark Ruffalo
While some may question his current day strength in the MCU after his injury and conversion to “Smart Hulk” inAvengers: Endgame,The Hulk(Mark Ruffalo) has always been one of the strongest there is.In both the comics and the MCU, Hulk gets stronger the angrier he gets, meaning so long as he’s angry, he can grow more and more powerful than before.
Even when he was “Smart Hulk,” he was able to absorb and survive a snap from the Infinity Stones with the Nano Gauntlet,something that almost killed Tony Stark on the spot. He even managed to recover from the massive injury it gave him over the course of about a year. If that isn’t strength, what is? The Hulk has always been, and most likely always will be, one of the strongest Avengers there is.
Avengers: Endgame
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.
5Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)
Played by Benedict Cumberbatch
Magic is already one of the most high-powered forces in the Marvel continuity. So the one and only Master of the Mystic Arts,Doctor Strange(Benedict Cumberbatch), must be astoundingly strong.Before the Infinity Stones were destroyed, he was the wielder of the Time Stone, so he actually had control over time itself. Most notably, he used it inAvengers: Infinity Warto go into 14,000,605 different futures to see the percentage of chance that they had tobeat Thanos in that battle.
Outside his use of the Time Stone, he’s, as stated, the Master of the Mystic Arts.He can enter different realms, like the Dark Dimension and the Mirror Dimension– as seen in his fight withSpider-Man(Tom Holland) inSpider-Man: No Way Homeand even astral project. There are so many other powers that he has that would make an entire list in and of itself. That much command over magic is unlike any other Avenger (except for one).
Spider-Man: No Way Home
With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
4Thor Odinson
Played by Chris Hemsworth
Come on, he’s a god. It truly doesn’t get more powerful than that, especially since Thor is commonly known in almost every single adaptation of Norse mythology as one of the strongest Norse gods. Being the direct son of the almighty Odin Borson (Anthony Hopkins),Thorhas astounding power—the power of thunder, rushing through his veins.
There’s a reason that one of the only heroes in the MCU whohas taken on Hulk one-on-one, without protection, is Thor. He endured the power and immense heat of an entire star for quite a while inAvengers: Infinity War. Even when he lost himself a bit whenAvengers: Endgamecame around,Thor was still one of the most powerful Avengers there, next to Hulk, and became King Thor to go toe-to-toe with Thanos in his prime.
The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
3Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
Played by Brie Larson
After her solo film in 2019,Captain Marvel(Brie Larson) entered the fray of the modern-day MCU to essentially become a walking and talking tank inAvengers: Endgame. She isn’t primarily used in the main plot, but the writers bring her back when the Avengers need her most. She’s pretty much used for her immense power, and it makes total sense.Whenshe went hand-to-hand with Thanos, she took a hit from him without flinching or moving. Had it not been for his use of the Power Stone, she very well could have killed him.
The power that runs through Carol Danvers comes from the Tesseract, aka the Space Stone, via the explosion of the Light-Speed Engine. Her power was shown off even more inThe Marvelsand continued to prove that she is not one to sneeze at. Despite what some more toxic parts of the fan base may think of the character, she’s easily one of the most powerful Avengers and characters in general in the MCU.
The Marvels
The Marvels sees the long-awaited team-up of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) as the trio work together to find out how their powers have become inextricably linked. Acting as a sequel to both Captain Marvel (2019) and the Ms. Marvel television show, The Marvels is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2Sentry/The Void (Robert “Bob” Reynolds)
Played by Lewis Pullman
Right next to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the absurdly strong Sentry/The Void (Lewis Pullman) was the absolutefan-favorite character to come out ofThunderbolts*. For a very long time, Sentry has been compared to DC’sSupermanin strength.The way he is depicted inThunderbolts*makes it feel like he has seemingly endless abilities. Most notably, when he was his darker self, The Void, he created an entire pocket dimension of shadows with a thought.
If anyone is going to have even a sliver of a chance of actually harming the ever-mad and diabolical Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), it’s going to be Sentryand potentially his darker half, The Void. As a member of The New Avengers, he’s definitely going to be involved, and they’re going to need Bob to shift into his super side to take on the new MCU villain.
Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts follows a group of unconventional superheroes who emerge in a world without the Avengers. As this new team bands together, they navigate complex missions and moral dilemmas, seeking to establish themselves as protectors while uncovering hidden threats that could jeopardize global safety and stability.
1Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)
Played by Elizabeth Olsen
There has never been a doubt that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) was, by far, the strongest Avenger in the entire MCU. The Void may have been able to create a pocket dimension, but Wanda can manipulate reality itself as she sees fit, control people, invade their minds, even the likes ofProfessor Charles Xavier(Sir Patrick Stewart) himself,and utilize Chaos Magic—the more powerful style of magic in MCU witchcraft.She scared Thanos so much with her power that he had to call in his trump card and sacrifice a ton of his troops by raining fire down on the battlefieldto get him out of a situation where she was easily going to kill him.
InWandaVisionand more impressively inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,Wanda became the Scarlet Witch and did some extremely powerful and, honestly, horrifying things with her magic. Doctor Strange and his allies weren’t able to even defeat her. She had to end herself to put a stop to the madness inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
WandaVision
Blends the style of classic sitcoms with the MCU, in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision - two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives - begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
NEXT:6 Reasons Why Yelena Belova Should Become the Next Face of the MCU
