The 50 most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, ranked (2023)

God of thunderis arguably one of the most powerful conventional superheroes in the Marvel Universe, withAsgard Physiologyand divine powers that give him some impressive abilities. Thor is of course one of the strongest characters in the world. he is nearly invulnerable and his hammer Mjolnir gives him control over time as well as access to vast amounts of destructive energy.

Another familiar face,Wanda Maximoffis one of the few Earth-born characters on this list. In his early depictions, he appeared to be a mutant with the ability to emit probability-altering hexes, but as time went on,Snaga Wandeand influence grew. She is now recognized as a chaos magic operator and terrifying interpreter of reality (she once wiped almost all mutants out of existence with a thought) and is revealed to be a Nexus being of Marvel's primary reality, Earth-616, making her a key figure in the workings of the universe.

Thomas Lightner is one of a long line of scientists who gained powers through accidents that should have killed them. He became a living vortex, absorbing all light and energy in the manner of a black hole - and in doing so destroyed seven different universes, before finally exchanging powers with a child named Benjamin Jones, who reversed the damage he caused. After Benjamin Jones took over his powers, Lightner fell silentanotherSorcerer Supreme. Although he no longer holds that title, Lightner still retains the magical abilities that put him on par with Doctor Strange and is called the alter ego Mysterium.

Another Earthling (and MCU star),Doctor Strangeholds the title of Supreme Wizard of Earth-616. As such, he is a master of the mystical arts and one of the most powerful magic users in the entire Marvel Universe. His powers have varied greatly over the years and have been difficult to pin down at times, but at his best Strange can do almost anything. He often travels to other dimensions to fight ancient demons and extraterrestrials and has proven that he can get along with almost anyone.

Let's face it: Mephistoit is notdevil. Of course, his name is half Mephistopheles, a Faustian figure who intercedes on behalf of Hell. he is a real demon. and has red skin and pointy teeth. He also rules an interdimensional plane literally called Hell! But - and this is important - Marvel Comics wants you to understand thisMephisto nije vrag. I got it? Moving on: While in his dimension, Mephisto is undeniably invincible—but even when he's outside, he's extremely terrifying, boasting magical abilities, functional immortality, and reality-warping powers powerful enough to create alternate universes. He also steals human souls, of course.

Widely considered to be the oldest mutant on Earth, Apocalypse began life as En Sabah Nur. Born in ancient Egypt, he was abandoned because of his appearance, he is one of the few mutants whose mutations showed physical characteristics even in childhood. Apocalypse first appeared in the comics as Darwin's villain for the X-Men. The mantra of "survival of the fittest" was later revealed to be a universal effort to ensure that the mutated species survived the judgment of the Celestials. In addition to immortality, superhuman strength, speed and endurance, Apocalypse is skilled in telepathy, having surpassed Jean Grey. In addition, the celestial changes to his mutant body gave him the abilities of shapeshifting, regeneration, and teleportation, as well as the ability to access and manipulate celestial energy itself.

The Elders are a diverse group of extremely old aliens, each the last survivor of their species. These immortals have existed since the Big Bang and are among the oldest beings in the universe. Given their origins, they have access to the Primordial Force, which is the energy left over from the creation of the universe. Each Elder uses this power as he sees fit, including two characters who have appeared in the MCU: The Collector (Benicio del Toro), who uses his power to acquire items, and the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), who uses it to hold competitions High risk.

While Kurt Russell brought a certain charm to itcharacter in the MCU, the comic book version is much more brutal. An anthropomorphized living planet, Ego has absolute control over the entire planetary surface. He can create life from his biological material and order it to do his bidding, and he eats other celestial bodies for fuel. He also has immense psychic powers that enable him to fight against cosmic entities and other powerful beings. As the only member of his species, he is technically an Elder of the Universe, but despite his MCU counterpart's claims, he is not a Celestial (more on those later).

That's right: Thanos, the big villain from the Avengers movies, doesn't even make the top 40. Thanos is a mutated (not of that kind) Eternal from Titan, Saturn's moon, and has incredible strength, durability, and energy manipulation powers. His prowess alone makes him at least equal to someone like Thor, but what makes Thanos even stronger is his determination and cunning. Thanos has conquered the universe multiple times in the comics by gaining access to MacGuffins like the Infinity Gauntlet and the Heart of the Universe — and when he has them, he's nearly omnipotent, easily making the top 10 on this list.

Adam Warlock is essentially Thanos' mortal enemy, and the two have been trying for decades. He was originally created by a group of scientists on Earth trying to make the perfect human - and ended up being a bit too successful. Warlock became a cosmic being who had to save the universe more than once. (An alternate future evil version of him called the Magus also took over the universe, but that's okay.) Warlock can't die—at least not forever—and his power is bound to the universe. This gives him cosmic consciousness, magical powers, the ability to manipulate matter, and the ability to absorb and create vast amounts of energy. He is also permanently bound to the Infinity Stone,jewel of the soul, which provides further impressive capabilities.

In addition to the Norse gods, Marvel uses other pantheons - including that of the Greek gods - and imagines them as living, breathing characters. At the top of the Olympian hierarchy sits Zeus. As one of the Skyfathers - the leader of their pantheon - Jupiter is a high-ranking cosmic being in the Marvel Universe. He possesses a high level of cosmic awareness, is absurdly strong and almost impossible to hurt, and has immense magical abilities. (INThor: Love and Thunder, Russell Crowe plays Zeus as a drunk to great comic effect, but the Greek god is very different in the comics.)

Surtur appeared insideThor: Ragnarok, and while Thor pissed him off at the beginning of the movie, the climax of the movie showed the character's true power.Surtur is a fire giantwho rules Muspelheim, one of the Nine Kingdoms of Norse lore. He is the mortal enemy of Odin and Asgard and is considered the equal of the Norse Skyfather. (Not only capable of destroying Asgard, but actuallyfatefulto, as seen inThor: Ragnarok.) He is indescribably huge, of living fire and immortal.

TheMerlin (of Arthurian fame) and his daughter Roma are two immortal inhabitants of the Otherworld, a sort of pocket dimension nestled between other dimensions. Since the Beyond, both have taken turns in the role of guardians of the entire multiverse. But, unfortunately, they can be petty and tend to quarrel with each other. they often use earth travelers as pawns in their game. Aside from serving as the Sorcerer Supreme for a time, Merlyn's main claim to fame is creating the Captain Britain Corps, a multidimensional corps of powerful superheroes tasked with protecting the entire multiverse. For her part, Roma resurrected the X-Men once, then kept the fact a secret by casting a spell on them that prevented them from being detected by any kind of camera or other equipment.

While the MCU's Odin is more of a supporting character (if he has an experienced role in Sir Anthony Hopkins), the comic book version is a force to be reckoned with. He is the leader of the Skyfathers and wields a significant amount of power and influence in the world. He has powers comparable to Zeus' but is even stronger and has shown the ability to hold his own in battle against cosmic entities such as Galactus. Odin also has access to the Odinforce, an incredibly powerful source of magic that enables the Asgard god to do almost anything.

While the Norse goddess of death is the sister of Thor and Loki in the MCU, the Earth-616 version of Hela is rumored to be Loki's daughter, according to the original Norse mythology. As an Asgardian, he has many of the same characteristics as Odin and Thor, including longevity and superhuman physical traits. In addition, Hela's mastery of the dead grants her additional skills, including the ability to kill an immortal with a single touch or the power to fire bolts of mystical energy that cause victims to rapidly age and then die. However, its real strength is longevity. When Ragnarok comes and all the gods of Asgard die, it is Hela who comes to rule them.

Knull exists as a dark Enigma Force counter (more on that below). A recent creation in Marvel Comics, Knull spent most of his known existence imprisoned under the symbiotes of the planet Klyntar, only recently escaping in an attempt to conquer Earth during the events of The King in Black. Although Knull is a god of darkness, he is distinct from the concept of darkness itself, which is embodied in Oblivion (also found later in this list). He is also known as the forger of the Necropath, later used by Gor, the butcher god, who you may have seen innedavni Thor: Love and Thunder;.

You'd be forgiven for forgetting the existence of the Enigma Force, given that only a handful of appearances have appeared in the entirety of Marvel's annals. An ancient god of light, the Enigma Force swore to fight against the forces of darkness, and to that end occasionally granted what is known as Uni-Power to worthy heroes, transforming them into a near-all-powerful Captain Universe. While this power is never permanent, it is notable for the number of heroes who have wielded it, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, and perhapsVas.

Dormammu is an extremely ancient and powerful magical being composed solely of mystical energy. As such, his mastery of mystical arts surpasses even that of Doctor Strange - though Strange has used his cunning to defeat him on occasion, such as in 2016.Doctor Strange. Dormammu is the master of the dark dimension, and like other interdimensional beings, he is most powerful (and almost invincible) in his home dimension.

Just above Dormammu is another magical creature that Doctor Strange often encounters. One of the universe's greatest threats, Zom was an interdimensional being created to destroy, but he was so powerful that he had to be contained by a group of other extremely powerful beings - including Dormammu. He took down many Marvel superheroes at once and only showed weakness in some of the more terrifying cosmic abstractions.

Chthon is one of the Elder Gods and is arguably the most powerful of their ranks. Elder Gods (not to be confused withElders of the Universe) were the first intelligent beings on Earth and had access to significant cosmic powers. Chthon's power is so great that he is among the main sources of magic in the universe (the Crimson Witch's chaos magic powers come from him), and he also has some serious reality-warping abilities throughout the universe. Like other interdimensional beings, he is most powerful in his home dimension of his own making.

Another extradimensional mystical being, Cyttorak inhabits and dominates the Crimson World. He is all-powerful there, and it is not clear how powerful he is outside of it, since he is confined to his own dimension. Cyttorak's influence is mostly seen through items that give users just a drop of his power - such as the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak which gives X-Men villain Juggernaut his immense strength and invulnerability, and the Crimson Brand of Cyttorak, which Doctor Strange used extensively to enhance his abilities .

Cosmic cubes, sometimes called tesseracts (not to be confused with the Infinity Stone-enhanced Tesseract seen in the MCU), are extremely powerful devices that grant reality-altering powers on a global scale. The Shaper of Worlds is an evolved version of the first cosmic cube created by an alien raceknown as Skrulls. The Shaper is capable of altering reality and creating illusions that are indistinguishable from real life, and has even been shown to create entire alternate realities.

Rounding out the list of mystical interdimensional beings is their grandfather, Shuma-Gorath. Arguably Doctor Strange's greatest and most dangerous foe, Shuma-Gorath belongs to an incredibly powerful, multiverse race known as the Multi-Angled Ones. He is one of the oldest beings in the multiverse and rules an empire consisting of hundreds of dimensions. Within his kingdom he is immortal and nearly omnipotent, and his mystical powers are so vast that he is capable of destroying entire realities.

The older brother of the more famous twins Brian and Betsy Braddock (former and current captain of Great Britain), Jamie Braddock was once a racing driver who became involved in illegal business. After being exposed as a criminal and coldly rejected by Brian, Jamie's latent mutant abilities are awakened after a traumatic encounter with one of his crime partners. Worse, as his abilities to alter reality itself awakened, he began to experience life itself as a dream. since he believed that none of the people he met were "real", he did not care for their health or safety. This makes him incredibly dangerous, but also keeps him from being more of a threat than he is. He's so focused on the things around him that he doesn't think about what his power might do on a larger scale.

The In-Betweener is a cosmic digest created to compete with two other cosmic digests we'll discuss later, Lord Chaos and Master Order. As such, the In-Betweener—depicted as a half-black and half-white being, split down the middle—equally represents chaos and order, as well as basically all other diametrically opposed concepts (peace and violence, etc.). It possesses immense powers on a cosmic level, but due to its dual nature, it has sometimes shown itself to be a more modest force.

Another cosmic abstract, Saturn was once one of themEternals— a race of immortal, superpowered Earthlings who evolved from human beings after being experimented on by an ancient and all-powerful alien race known as the Celestials. A laboratory experiment gone wrong ended up destroying Saturn's body and scattering its particles throughout space. The event connected Saturn to time itself and he is able to use his cosmic powers to influence and control the flow of time.

Watu, sometimes simply called "The Watcher", is the most prominent member of a mysterious race of beings called the Watchers. The Watchers are believed to be the oldest living beings in the universe and are tasked with observing the universe but not interfering. Uatu, however, has used his immense powers to interfere with the tone over the years. He has access to untold amounts of cosmic energy, can read the minds of every being in the universe, and can travel anywhere in an instant.

While living in the 31st century on Earth-691, Michael Korvac was transformed into a cyborg by an alien species called the Badoon, before being used by the Grand Master in a plan against Doctor Strange. Although he lost that battle, Korvac took the opportunity to analyze the Grandmaster's power and thus greatly increase his own. From there, he traveled from Earth-691 to Earth-616, where he found himself fighting the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy in an attempt to transform Earth into a utopia. After killing several heroes, Korvac finally realized the folly of his actions and died of suicide, reviving the heroes he killed in the process. While the concept of an adaptive cyborg is not unique to the pages of Marvel Comics, Korvac's unique ability to scan and absorb almost any energy source has allowed him to use the powers of the Elders of the Universe as well as the Power of the Cosmic with impunity. Only his repeated (and voluntary) returns to the land of the dead kept him from being a constant threat to the universe.

Alien is a cosmic entity that usually appears alongside heavy hitters such as Eternity, Galactus, Lord Chaos and Master Order when major events occur in the universe. Mysterious and unknown by design and curious by nature, the Stranger is known for conducting experiments with his considerable cosmic power (the result of one such experiment wasI Living Planet). He has unfathomable strength and psychic powers, as well as cosmic consciousness bordering on omniscience.

David Haller, better known as Legion (starFX seriesof the same name) is a mutant born on Earth and one of the most powerful mutants ever. This is partly due to his origins, as Legion's father is the powerful telepath Professor X, founder of the X-Men. Legion's powers may be limitless, but because they manifest through multiple personalities (he has dissociative identity disorder), he never reaches his full potential. However, Legion has been shown to control minds, manipulate time, and alter reality, among dozens of other feats, so that's a pretty good start.

Although it might seem hard to tell him apart from Jim Jaspers (below) - after all, they're both reality shows that just look the sameBoy— Absolon Zebardyn Mercator, better known as Mister M, has all the elements that Jaspers lacks. While the feats Mister M is capable of are indeed quite something (creating nuclear explosions, activating and deactivating mutant powers by altering their genetic code), he mostly refuses to participate in anything. Simply put, he realizes how dangerous his powers are and therefore voluntarily removes himself from the field whenever a conflict arises. He currently resides in the Otherworld, where he keeps the entire empty domain to himself, building and rebuilding as he sees fit.

While this list primarily focuses on Earth-616, and thereis616 Jim Jaspers, we would omit to mention the original "Mad" Jim Jaspers of Earth-238. Both versions are near-omnipotent reality shows, but after a successful campaign to ban superheroes, the original Jim Jaspers created The Fury, a nearly unstoppable, adaptive cyborg designed to kill every superpowered person but himself. This later led to a two-dimensional conflict known as the Jaspers Warp, where The Fury of Earth-238 gained the ability to travel between universes and attempted to kill Jim Jaspers of Earth-616, destroying nearly the entire multiverse in the process.

The existence of the Celestials - a race of giant armored alien robots - predates the universe itself. For reasons known only to themselves, they had an abiding interest in mortal matters. Their ancient experiments on Earth created Eternals, Deviants, and the gene that led to mutants. Their access to cosmic energy is almost unlimited and they are almost indestructible. While it's true that they spend most of their time standing, they occasionally decide to judge worlds, usually when they end up going up against the Avengers or the X-Men. In the MCU, the Celestials have had a few brief cameosGuardians of the Galaxymovies, but their real debut came with its releaseEternals by Chloe Zhao.

If Eternity (below) is the embodiment of creation, Abraxas is its opposite. Abraxas was born at the same time as Eternity and embodies the primal forces of destruction. As an immortal, conceptual being of primordial power, Abraxas is an eternal threat controlled by Eternity alone, who created a being in every universe to act as Abraxas' prisoner and guard against his release. This being? Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.

One of the most notorious Marvel villains in history - even if he's not technically a villain - is Galactus. A cosmic summary necessary to keep the universe in balance, Galactus must eat planets to sustain himself. Like the Celestial, he exists before the current universe and is basically immortal. But Galactus is more powerful than the Celestials, because he has unlimited access to the Cosmic Force, a terrible energy force that is connected to everything in the universe. Galactus is able to use this power for almost anything, and when it comes to knockdowns, confrontations with beings of similar power, the results have rippled throughout reality.

The Phoenix Force is an immortal, eternal, abstract cosmic entity that represents all life in the universe. He has an almost unlimited amount of cosmic power at his disposal, is connected to all of his psychic energy everywhere (which includes every multiverse, pocket dimension, etc.) that exists or will ever exist, and has the ability to create or destroy huge chunks of the universe. In most of its comic book appearances, the Phoenix Force conducts its exploits using a host, with the favored handler being Jean Grey, a powerful, telekinetic member of the X-Men.

Origin and non-existence are still further avatars of creation and destruction, albeit with a more specific, metaplastic slant. The Origin is the sentient force that creates significant events in the universe, and the Non-Being is its opposite, always seeking to undo its work. Among the feats claimed by Origin? Starting the cosmic storm that empowered the Fantastic Four, choosing the powers the mutants would eventually manifest while still in the womb, and directing various aliens to planet Earth - including the Asgardians, Kree, Skrulls and more.

Like his sonMembers of the Fantastic FourReed Richards and Sue Storm Richards, Franklin was always destined for great things, but few could have predicted that the child would become one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. Franklin is, in a word, exhausted. As a child, he demonstrated the ability to restore fragmented reality and create entirely new universes, while the future adult version of the character demonstrated dominance over Galactus, fought and defeated many Celestials, and was widely regarded as a level threat.

Instead of a single being, Vishanti is a trinity of three incredibly powerful mystical entities. Together they are nearly omnipotent and arguably the most powerful magic users in the multiverse. They consist of Oshtur, the elder god. Hoggoth, an ancient alien mystical being. and Agamotto, descendant of Oshtur and the original Sorcerer Supreme. The Vishanti often aid Doctor Strange in his quests and have proven to be equal in power to at least some otherworldly entities.

When it comes to feats, these two really have nothing to show for it. But when it comes to fame, that's another story. The two cosmic abstractions are the embodiment of all love and hate in the multiverse, so you can imagine the amount of power that comes with that. In his worldly hierarchyMarvelov multiverzum, Love and Hate are on par with the mighty Chaos and Order, and above entities such as Galactus and the Celestials. In other words, they are extremely powerful, even if they don't use their power very often.

On the ladder of cosmic power sits this pair of inseparable abstractions, equally with Love and Hate. Although they have no physical form, they are literal embodiments of chaos and order, ruling everything - and unlike Love and Hate, Master and Master have shown a willingness to get involved in the affairs of the multiverse. They sought to gain more power for themselves and created the In-Betweener, a powerful cosmic being in his own right, to do their bidding.

The Demiurge - the sentient manifestation of Earth's biosphere - is the force of Life itself on Earth, and gave birth to those known as the Elder Gods (different, remember, from the Elders of the Universe). Of these elder gods, almost all have fallen into corruption and infighting, and only four remain: Gaia, Ostur, Set, and Chthon. The fifth, once known as Atum, was reborn as the Heliopolitan Sun God Ra, leading to the formation of the Egyptian pantheon in Marvel Comics.

Another cosmic abstraction, Death—sometimes called Mistress of Death—is the literal embodiment of death. She has unlimited cosmic power that allows her to manipulate time and reality and is immortal (if technically not actually alive). Every soul that dies comes under her control, and while she serves a key function in the universe, she has occasionally overstepped her bounds, most notably in the comic book versionInfinity Gauntlet Saga. You see, it was her idea to wipe out half the life in the universe to correct the cosmic imbalance, not Thanos's. He did it for her because he was in love with her (not judging).

Two more inseparable cosmic abstractions are Eternity and Infinity, which together encompass everything that happens within the universe. Yes, you read that right. These are literal concepts of reality and time, and they have unlimited power within that reality. They can manipulate and control everything in existence, which of course makes them absurdly powerful.

Another cosmic abstraction, Oblivion is closely related to Death, Eternity, and Infinity, but there are indications that Oblivion is more powerful than all of them. Forgetting is a manifestation of nothingness - emptiness. It existed before the multiverse and will exist after the death of the multiverse. His greatest desire is to see the end of all things, leaving him as the only thing that exists. Oblivion has unlimited destructive abilities and has used avatars to perform devastating feats. One avatar is Knull, its immortal kingsymbiotic, while the other is Skyfather Amatsu-Mikaboshi, who became the King of Chaos and destroyed about 98% of the multiverse with a single piece of Oblivion's power. This is impressive stuff.

We're down to the last man on the list, and what a feat to get to the top five! Let's get a big round of applause for planet Earth. Molecule Man was a scientist named Owen Reece who had a lab accident that imbued him with molecular manipulation powers. Since everything is made of molecules, he has absolute control over all matter and energy in existence and can literally do anything. Some mundane entities fear him - and with good reason, as he is extremely unpredictable.

Living courthe is a multiple being at the top of the traditional cosmic hierarchy. Depicted as a tall golden humanoid with three faces facing in different directions, the Living Tribunal is all-powerful and tasked with acting as the primary arbiter for the multiverse. In matters of great importance, he will judge other beings to protect the balance of the multiverse. He has judged beings as powerful as Eternity without batting an eye, and his cosmic powers are almost limitless throughout the multiverse.

The Beyonder is an interesting character. So far, every figure discussed is somewhere in the multiverse - but not beyond. He comes from his own dimension outside the multiverse, and possesses complete omnipotence and can do anything. The character debuted in the 1980s story "Secret Wars", where he created a Battleworld pitting Earth's heroes and villains against each other for his own amusement. Recent ret-cons revealed that the original Beyonder was merely the child of a race of Beyonders - a race so powerful that they could kill the Living Tribunal and had the ability to destroy the entire multiverse. For the most part, the Beyonders play by their own rules.

A newer character, who won't debut until 2018, The One Below All is the evil antithesis of the One Above All (more on that in a minute). He is the representation of all the hatred and destruction in the multiverse, and even though he has no real mind, he strives to become everything that exists. A part of him exists in everyone and his powers are limitless. The only thing that keeps the One Below from running roughshod over the multiverse is the fact that he is connected to the Nether Place, the lowest level of reality, from the One Above All.