Summary
- Adam Warlock awakens to immense power in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
- Scarlet Witch nearly destroyed Thanos with her Chaos Magic in the MCU.
- Loki evolves from the God of Mischief to the God of Stories in the multiverse.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced the world to many characters over nearly two decades of content, ranging from iconic superheroes to despicable villains. With the universe spanning various storytelling genres across time, space, and even alternate realities, many powerful characters have come and gone.
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Some characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been literal gods living among humans, while others are cosmic entities capable of destroying planets without a second thought. Each of these characters possesses incredible abilities and power levels that significantly impact their storylines and the overall narrative of the MCU.
10 Adam Warlock
A Manmade God Before His Prime
- Played By: Will Poulter
- First MCU Appearance: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
Adam Warlock was created by the Sovereign to be the closest thing to a god for their culture and to have the power to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, he was awakened too early. In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, he is depicted as immensely powerful, with most of the Guardians struggling to fight him. He even overpowers someone as strong as Drax.
Even in his immature state, Warlock showcases immense power, but lacks control and emotional stability; however, the potential for him to become more like his comic-book counterpart is still present. This, combined with his childlike nature, resulted in his becoming a founding member of the new Guardians of the Galaxy with room for growth in the MCU's future.
9 Thor
The Son Of Odin Lives Up To His Name
- Played By: Chris Hemsworth
- First MCU Appearance: Thor
Not many can claim they can go head-to-head with the Hulk and survive, but Thor is one of those few, already displaying enough strength to live up to his status as a god of thunder. As he advanced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor became even stronger, especially when he unlocked his true godly powers to summon lightning without a conduit like Mjölnir.
Without his traditional weapon, Thor came close to defeating Thor in the Contest of Champions, and then, when wielding the newly forged Stormbreaker, he became even more of a god. In fact, Thor was the one to kill Thanos using Stormbreaker, something even Tony Stark with his most advanced nanotech armor couldn’t do.
8 Thanos
The Mad Titan Took Out The Hulk
- Played By: Josh Brolin
- First MCU Appearance: The Avengers
Even as the Mad Titan himself, Thanos held a great amount of power, as shown by the number of worlds he massacred before ever wielding an Infinity Gauntlet. The Chitauri serve him without question, and a villain like Ronan The Accuser served out of fear, which only hinted at his strength as the Infinity Saga slowly but surely built up the character.
In the first ten minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos wielded two Infinity Stones, yet he never used them once to defeat the Hulk: just his fists mixed with tactical prowess in a fight.
Even the combined efforts of Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man struggled against the might of Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, with only Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel dealing any major damage.
7 Dormammu
It Took A Time Stone And A Sharp Mind To Stop Him
- Played By: Benedict Cumberbatch
- First MCU Appearance: Doctor Strange
A denizen of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu is an entity of dark matter itself, devouring worlds after the barrier between his realm and another is broken. Even a sorcerer supreme is nothing in comparison to the might of Dormammu, until Doctor Strange fought the entity with his mind, creating an endless time loop to drive Dormammu to the point of his breaking point, as his immortality could not handle time as a concept.
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Dormammu never died in Doctor Strange; instead, he agreed to a bargain and chose not to conquer the Earth-616 dimension. By all accounts, Dormammu could return at any time and poses the potential to become an Avengers-level threat if his pact with Doctor Strange is ever rendered void.
6 Scarlet Witch
Wanda Nearly Destroyed Thanos With Chaos Magic
- Played By: Elizabeth Olsen
- First MCU Appearance: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Chaos magic combined with enhancements from the Mind Stone, Wanda Maximoff has become known for her immense power as the Scarlet Witch, who has spent time as both a hero and a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From her first appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda was able to fight off any Avenger thrown her way, either through powerful telekinetic or telepathic abilities.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Wanda destroyed the Time Stone, and in Avengers: Endgame, she would have destroyed Thanos had he not commanded his forces to rain fire on the battlefield. Later, she would use her power to manifest an alternate reality with Hex, featuring her lover Vision and two sons. When she devolved into a villain in the Multiverse Saga, no one was able to thwart her except herself.
5 Sentry
Humanity Created Its Greatest Hero And Villain In One
- Played By: Lewis Pullman
- First MCU Appearance: Thunderbolts*
In an attempt to create her own personal superhero to control, Valentina de Fontaine approved the experiment that would turn Bob Reynolds into the Sentry, who debuted in Marvel's Thunderbolts*. On the one hand, she was successful at creating someone stronger than all the Avengers combined, but she also created a dangerous villain that nearly wiped out New York City in less than half an hour after rising.
Bob Reynolds’ childhood trauma created an alternate personality known as The Void, which uses his powers to capture people in a shadowy realm of constant shame. As the Sentry, Botodidn't receive a single scratch from the Thunderbolts* throwing everything at him, featuring immense strength, flight, matter manipulation, and more that allowed him to overpower the Thunderbolts* without even trying.
4 Captain Marvel
Even Thanos Couldn’t Hurt The Cosmic Avenger
- Played By: Brie Larson
- First MCU Appearance: Captain Marvel
Thanks to her DNA being infused with the power of the Tesseract, Carol Danvers was instantly transformed into Captain Marvel and, thus far, the most powerful of the Avengers. The Supreme Intelligence and the Kree Empire were frightened of what she could do with her powers, so they used inhibitors and lies to keep her under their control in the war against the Skrulls.
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When fully powered, Captain Marvel was able to wipe out an entire fleet of Kree ships with ease, only using a fraction of her strength. In Avengers: Endgame, she was shown taking full-blown punches and headbutts from Thanos, and she didn't move an inch. It only took the power of the Power Stone to do any harm, and she recovered fast.
3 Arishem
The Original Creator Of The Marvel Universe
- Played By: David Kaye
- First MCU Appearance: Eternals
Celestials are practically gods, using their essence to create galaxies and the lifeforms within them. Arishem is the Prime Celestial, who created the Eternals and the Deviants for his own quest of expanding the universe, with each planet being a planet that would spawn a new Celestial and continue the process.
While Arishem's power is mostly ambiguous in Eternals since he dispatches the titular team of artificial beings out to do his bidding. However, at the end, when Tiamut is destroyed, Arishem is quick to pull the remaining Eternals off Earth, acting as if his plan being foiled was only a minor inconvenience.
2 Death
No One Can Truly Stop Death
- Played By: Aubrey Plaza
- First MCU Appearance: Agatha All Along
That’s not a codename or a means to make others fear her; she is the literal grim reaper known as Death. She poses as a green witch named Rio, but in actuality, can manipulate reality itself while wielding the same kind of magic as witches like Agatha Harkness, but far more powerful. She can heal, teleport, read minds, reap souls, manipulate the weather, and so much more, making her an entity that even gods feared.
One of the big twists of Agatha All Along is that the titular anti-villain and Wiccan were powerless in comparison to Death, even at their most powerful states. Death wins the final battle of that series by letting Agatha choose between herself or Wiccan, leading to Death claiming Agatha’s soul with a kiss, creating a proper balance.
1 Loki
From God Of Mischief To The God Of Stories
- Played By: Tom Hiddleston
- First MCU Appearance: Thor
Even as the Asgardian trickster, Loki possessed impressive powers, including his skills in illusions and super strength. However, his variant from the Disney+ series has managed to surpass all others. By becoming an agent of the Time Variance Agency, he gains access to advanced technology, enhancing his already formidable abilities.
In the second season of Loki, the titular anti-hero would fully become a hero to save the multiverse from falling apart. Upon entering the Loom, Loki would finally achieve godhood and become an eternal guardian of all existence in the form of a multiversal tree. The result would rename him the God of Stories, burdening him with a glorious purpose.
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