Overpowered Marvel Superpowers

The Marvel Universe possesses an astonishing array of superpowers, but some heroes and villains are especially powerful compared to others. In the company's history of comic books and movies, they've produced unique and intriguing characters, including some who can alter, change, and manipulate the course of history to break the laws of nature.

From Scarlet Witch's reality-altering powers to Quicksilver's superspeed, some abilities can break the boundaries of human imagination. With decades of abilities under its belt, Marvel's most overpowered superpowers are regularly used to drive creative stories or fights, and the best ones tend to leave fans craving for more and anticipating what comes next.

Updated on January 16, 2025, by Blaise Santi: There are literally hundreds of powers throughout the Marvel Comics universe, but only a few are so powerful that they in turn make their users overpowered. Some of them are as simplistic as super-strength or super-speed, but there's loads of other superpowers that aren't just rare within the Marvel universe, but also incredibly niche. These additional powers may not encompass a lot of characters in the fictional comic book world, but the ones who do possess them are notably some of the strongest canonically. Plus, take a look at some of the other noteworthy heroes that possess each of these 20 overpowered super-abilities!

20 Intangibility

It's Not Hard To See Why This Power's Great

Lots of the strongest powers in the Marvel universe feature heroes who can harness power at an atomic or molecular level. For some of them, this includes intangibility, which allows an individual to phase through solid matter as if it was nonexistent. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is most notably used by Vision, as he can pass through walls with ease.

The X-Men character Kitty Pryde is also a prominent user of phasing as her primary mutation, which also allows her to create intangible clones of herself, as well as selectively choose with parts of her body are intangible at any given moment. For other heroes like Monica Rambeau, intangibility allows her to harness power from light and energy, and she can even turn invisible, too.

19 Necromancy

Death Means Nothing To These Characters

There are few powers that are more fearsome to the Marvel universe than necromancy. This ancient form of magic allows users to harness so-called "death energy" from corpses. Aside from powering very harmful spells, necromancy can allow Marvel magicians to not only speak with the dead, but resurrect or control them like puppets.

This was especially dangerous in the hands of characters like Thanos, who had a particularly tense relationship with Lady Death. Thanos has used necromancy to summon armies of the dead to aid him in his conquests, while other characters like Mephisto have used it to manipulate and torture others. As King of the Dead, T'Challa himself has also been shown to have control over deceased spirits.

18 Weather Manipulation

They Bring The Thunder... Literally

Ororo Munroe, a.k.a Storm, is one of the most iconic characters from the X-Men, and she's also one of the strongest Marvel characters canonically. Storm's mutation allows her to control the weather, which can range from summoning lightning indoors all the way to creating massive earthquakes and infernos. However, she's not the only Marvel character who can manipulate the weather.

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Weather manipulation falls into a similar category as powers like geokinesis, which is control over Earth. Characters like Thor and Jane Foster are notable heroes who can summon lightning. Even the Scarlet Witch has been seen using spells that can suddenly change the surrounding weather. Simply put, you don't want to mess with any of these heroes when they're having a bad day.

17 Power Mimicry

A Superhero's Greatest Nightmare Is Themselves

What's more of an overpowered skill than stealing other people's powers? There aren't many in the Marvel Comics universe who are capable of power mimicry, the act of temporarily copying the abilities of others. Power mimicry is done in many ways, whether it's by physically touching someone, as seen with the mutant Rogue, or the Adaptoids, which can copy an opponent's abilities by learning.

One such example of how powerful power mimicry can be is Yelena Belova, who briefly in the comics joined the organization A.I.M. To become a Super-Adaptoid antagonist of the Avengers. In this form, Yelena was capable of utilizing any power that she had been previously attacked with. However, other characters like Super-Skrull can only specific abilities, such as The Fantastic Four's.

16 Spider Physiology

These Heroes Do Whatever A Spider Can

It's surprising just how many characters in the Marvel universe happen to have the abilities of one specific animal. Leave it one of Marvel's most popular superheroes, Spider-Man, to popularize spider physiology in the comic book universe. Peter Parker isn't the only character in the multiverse to have found himself empowered by a radioactive spider-bite.

Among these heroes' more common superpowers include wall-climbing, web creation, and super-strength proportionate to a spider. Some versions of Spider-Man can also create poisonous venom, possess enhanced claws and fangs, and are able to grow an additional number of limbs, which can make them absolute threats in combat.

15 Self Sustenance

It Helps To Not Need A Lunch Break

This rare ability is often possessed by heroes who aren't quite living, whether it's because their bodies are primarily made of a non-flesh material, or because they possess powers that are godlike in nature. Self-sustenance essentially means that these heroes can survive all on their own, without the necessities most living beings need to live day-to-day.

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In the case of Moon Knight, he's really the avatar for the Egyptian god Khonshu, meaning that he has all the abilities and powers of the omnipotent moon deity. Nebula, on the other hand, was granted god-like qualities akin to her adoptive father, Thanos, after overcoming a trial given to her by the Witches of Infinity.

14 Energy Absorption

These Characters Have Thick Skin, Literally

Energy absorption is a little different from energy projection, in which beings can create their own energy to attack or defend themselves with. Energy absorption allows beings to take in energy from the outside world, whether it's used against them or just there, and re-distribute it offensively or defensively. One popular example of this is Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman.

Because the cells of Sue Storm's body were altered in outer space, she's able to manifest the energy inside of her to create force fields and turn herself invisible. Other heroes, like Carol Danvers, can absorb light and kinetic energy in order to sustain herself or to power-up photon blasts, making her one of the biggest cosmic threats in the Marvel universe.

13 Dimensional Travel

Sometimes Your Own Universe Gets Boring

Despite the simplistic name, dimensional travel is one of the more complicated superpowers in the Marvel universe. The ability involves an individual leaving their own reality for another universe, which can be done through teleportation or the creation of portals. One example of this in Marvel Comics is America Chavez, a teenager who creates star portals.

Other characters, like Kang the Conqueror, acquire the ability to traverse dimensions through technology, with Kang relying on his Time Chair. A different version of dimensional travel is breaking the fourth wall, which characters like Deadpool and She-Hulk are capable of in both their comic iterations, as well as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

12 Sorcery

Magic Is Real In The Marvel Universe

Sorcery comes in many shapes and sizes in the Marvel world. Different types of magic can be used by characters like the Scarlet Witch, Stephen Strange, and Loki. In the case of Wanda Maximoff, she's capable of both witchcraft and Chaos Magic, which she learned from her mentor Agatha Harkness, to grow stronger and more formidable as a magic user.

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Stephen Strange possesses abilities of more typical sorcery, though he is even more powerful after being named the Sorcerer Supreme. Other forms of magic within the Marvel universe include Chi, wielded by characters like Iron Fist and Power Man, and god-like sorcery, which is often abused for nefarious purposes by characters like Loki.

11 Healing Factor

No Pain, No Gain

The healing factor is a unique yet incredibly powerful superpower possessed by many in the Marvel universe. Characters with a healing factor are able to heal from wounds at an accelerated rate, sometimes including regeneration, resurrection, even immortality, and slow aging. It's particularly a trait of many mutants, from Wolverine to Angel, and even Deadpool.

Other characters make use of the healing factor through other means, such as Blade and Morbius taking advantage of their vampiric qualities to drain others of their life force. While these characters are able to live longer and are generally harder to kill, the blessing can also sometimes be a curse.