Marvel Universe has a hierarchy system, but several reboots do not keep this system constant. For Instance, Thanos was once the strongest character in the Marvel universe, but now he isn’t.
You may be wondering which marvel characters are on this list? Some will agree, and some may not agree with us, but this is a well-researched list of the most powerful characters from Marvel Comics.
Yes, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a huge fan base, and people who only watch movies and shows from the MCU will not be familiar with the many characters listed here.
So, Today we’ll go through the top 20 most powerful Marvel characters of all time.
Note: We have included both superheroes and super-villains in this list. Also, Keep an eye on the top two characters, as they are way beyond the power level of many others on this list.
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#20 Maestro
First Appearance: For fans of the MCU, Maestro is an alternate version of Hulk created by Peter David and George Perez.
Marvel’s dystopian version of super-villain Maestro first appeared in Hulk: Future Imperfect #1 in 1993.
Known For: When I say an alternate version, Maestro’s storyline takes place in Earth-9200.
He possesses the rare combination of Hulk’s strength and Bruce Banner’s intelligence. By this alone, You can consider him one of Hulk’s deadliest comic-book versions.
If you know Hulk, it is evident that the big green monster is a threat to the human race because of his brute strength.
Now imagine a morally unbalanced Hulk with Banner’s intelligence and serious power. This can drive any superhero or government insane.
So why was Maestro a super-villain? To put it simply, the excessive amount of gamma radiation drove Hulk to insanity.
What about his powers, then?
Maestro’s powers are almost similar to the Hulk, like extreme strength, super-human speed, durability, and regenerative healing factor but constant exposure to radiation makes him way stronger than the Incredible Hulk.
In addition to all that, Possessing knowledge equal to 7 PhD’s makes him way more calculative than all other versions of the Hulk.
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#19 Kang The Conqueror
First Appearance: The legendary duo Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Kang the conqueror.
Kang made his debut in the pages of Fantastic Four #19. The super-villain has different incarnations throughout the different versions of Earth in Marvel Comics, but the most popular one is Rama-Tut’s persona which first appeared in the comics.
The Kang we know from the MCU made his first appearance in the Avengers Comics #8. You can consider it as an updated version of the evil tyrant.
Known For: The name Kang the Conqueror explains his role in Marvel Comics.
To put it simply, Kang conquers different timelines in the Marvel Universe with multiple variants of himself and can easily time travel in those realities.
You might not know this, but Kang’s actual name is Nathaniel Richards, and he is a descendant of Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic.
He was born in 3000 A.D. in an alternate reality dubbed Earth-6311. Kang has different names in different timelines as Rama Tut in ancient Egypt, The Scarlet Centurion in the lost timeline, and Immortus in a future timeline.
Even his younger version, Iron Lad was a member of Young Avengers, which shows he can not only involve himself in various timelines but can also manage his iterations with perfection.
#18 Hercules
First Appearance: Hercules first appeared during the Silver Age of comics. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created this character after getting inspired by the popularity of Steve Reeves’ on-screen portrayal of Hercules.
Yes, He was actually taken inspiration from a movie and not the other way around. In the comics, Hercules was first seen in “Journey into Mystery Annual” #1 in 1965.
Known For: Hercules is very similar to Thor from a personality perspective.
In Marvel Comics, He always appears as a rival to Thor and has fought several times against the God of Thunder. In Thor’s Blood Oath edition, Hercules actually won the battle of gods.
He is an Olympian God, and as a god, he possesses super-human strength and is physically the strongest god among the Olympians.
With immeasurable strength at his disposal, His wounds can also quickly heal as he is immortal.
As an ancient being, he has vast combat experience with various godly weapons. Hercules possesses several deadly weapons like Golden Mace forged by Hephaestus, the skin of the Nemean Lion that acts as an indestructible armor, the sword of Peleus, and the shield of Perseus.
This surely means that Hercules is one of the strongest Marvel gods to debut in the comics. Despite having all these abilities, he is prone to alcohol which is quite disappointing.
#17 Odin
First Appearance: Inspired by Norse Mythology, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created the character. Odin debuted for the first time in 1962’s Journey into Mystery #85.
Known For: Odin Borson is the mightiest one at the top of the ladder amongst the Norse Gods, but what makes him this powerful?
Well, He possesses the ever-powerful Odin force that grants him vast amounts of cosmic energy. With this tool, He can also bring dead people back to life which sounds scary.
Odin also fought several big names in the Marvel Comics, like Thanos and Galactus in the comics.
As the king and protector of the nine realms, He always keeps Asgard safe. Again, As one of the oldest Marvel characters, Odin has vast knowledge about everything you can come up with.
The Norse God uses different weapons made out of Uru metal which is only available in the Asgard realm. He can teleport, manipulate matter, and erase a being out of existence with ease.
#16 Thanos (With Infinity Stones)
First Appearance: Jim Starlin took inspiration from DC’s Darkseid and created Thanos. The Mad Titan first appeared in Iron Man Volume 1 #55 in 1973.
Yeah, If you thought Thanos was a rip-off of Darkseid, then you are not wrong.
Known For: As we all know, Thanos is strong even without the infinity gauntlet. The Mad Titan is a member of the Eternals race but possesses genes of the Deviants.
This makes the character extraordinarily powerful with near-immortality. Besides raw strength, Thanos is also one of the smartest super-villains in the MCU.
He possesses a vast knowledge of the Marvel universe and is one of the few characters to have actually met “The Living Tribunal and One Above All.”
With the infinity gauntlet, Thanos’ powers increase nearly tenfold. Not only the gauntlet grants him limitless power, but it can also give him the ability to manipulate time, reality, space, matter, soul, and the minds of others in the Marvel universe.
In his quest to become stronger, The Mad Titan challenged most of the cosmic beings in the comics.
Overall, Thanos can be considered the true user of the infinity gauntlet and his Captain America’s shield smashing Thanos Copter.
#15 Emperor Doom
First Appearance: Emperor Doctor Doom first appeared in 2015’s Secret Wars: Battleworld #2.
Like any other version of a Marvel character, Emperor Doom is a more powerful incarnation of our regular Doctor Doom.
Known For: If you wonder how much stronger this version of Doctor Doom is, then take a deep breath and continue reading.
At the very beginning of his story, This guy just straight up absorbed the powers of Molecule Man, who is also one of the powerhouses in Marvel.
With the help of Doctor Strange, Emperor Doom became the ruler of Battleworld, and he kept on twisting the residents’ minds to make them forget events before his arrival.
As for his love life, The evil deity replaced Reed Richards and married Sue Storm, which is absurd.
The most fun part of being Emperor Doom is controlling an army of Thors. Yes, This guy actually put an army of Thor Odinsons and made them patrol the multiverse to enforce Doom’s law.
After reading all this, If you still can’t judge his power, Emperor Doom defeated Phoenix-powered Cyclops, Thanos, and an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Black Panther.
Even though Molecule Man regains his powers and puts an end to Emperor Doom, Victor’s short stay in the comics is as dreadful as most other antagonists.
#14 Sentry
First Appearance: Introduced by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, Sentry first appeared in The Sentry #1. He also made his debut in a miniseries called Marvel Knight of 2000.
Known For: Considered one of the most powerful superheroes in Marvel Comics, Sentry’s actual name is Robert Reynolds.
After mistakenly consuming the Golden Sentry Serum, Robert Reynolds was transformed into this superbeing.
In the comics, Sentry claimed that he has the “power of a million exploding suns.”
Marvel’s Superman defeated some strong characters like The Void, Ares, World War Hulk, Morgan Le Fay, and many others in his long comic-book career.
As a member of the Dark Avengers, This dude’s power is way beyond anything you’ve seen in the MCU. Once Sentry resurrected his dead wife with a single touch, I mean, This is the godliest thing a superhero could do, right?
#13 Rachel Summers
First Appearance: The daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey, Rachel Summers was first introduced by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in Uncanny X-Men #141 in 1981.
Known For: Rachel is an Omega-level mutant like her mother, Jean Grey.
This character comes from the alternate “Days of Future Past” timeline, where Rachel became a mutant “hound” by force and tracked other mutants before escaping to the present day.
She is also one of many hosts of the Phoenix Force and has inherited psionic powers from her mother.
Though Rachel lacks control over her powerful telepathy and telekinesis, She has different types of psychic abilities.
The young mutant can control others’ minds, erase memories, make herself invisible by creating telepathic illusions, and create psionic blasts out of nothing.
If you thought she was fantastic, her ability to travel through time and space is just something else. In addition to that, Rachel can also fly like her mother, Jean Grey.
With the pet name of Marvel Girl, She appeared in several storylines like Age of X, Avengers vs. X-Men, House of M, Inhumans vs. X-Men, Dawn of X, and many others.
#12 Hyperion
First Appearance: Roy Thomas and John Buscema brought Hyperion to life. He first appeared in The Avengers #69 in 1969 as a member of a super-villain team called the “Squadron Sinister” in Marvel Comics.
Known For: Hyperion is the first Marvel version of Superman, and the origin story is quite similar.
Squadron Sinister is a villainous version of DC’s popular Justice League.
Hyperion has super-human strength, super-human speed, and the ability to fly. Even his eyes can project beams of heat energy. Does this sound familiar?
Well, He also has X-ray vision, microscopic vision and is resistant to cosmic radiation. The super-villain has got some great combat skills too.
If you thought this was oddly similar, then here’s another thing that’ll make you rethink comics.
Hyperion’s body cells can absorb solar energy that grants him immense power and healing abilities. Though he fought the Avengers many times as a super-villain, recent comics have started portraying him as an anti-hero.
What’s more bizarre than a direct copy of Superman is that he was once a member of the very Avengers the fought.
#11 Phoenix Force
First Appearance: The Phoenix force was first seen in Marvel Comics in the guise of Jean Grey.
Created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, This powerful, immortal entity first appeared way back in 1976’s The Uncanny X-Men #101.
Known For: How does it look? Honestly, it does not have any physical form.
The Phoenix is one of the oldest beings in the Marvel universe. It represents a force of both destruction and creation.
This unknown entity always manifests itself by using a host. It has a long list of hosts, and Jean Grey is by far the most famous and notorious one amongst them.
As for its powers, The Phoenix Force is practically omnipotent. The enormous force can travel in time, space and can absorb any kind of energy thrown at it.
In addition to all that, The force gives unimaginable power to its host.
From being invincible to manipulating vast amounts of cosmic energy, It amplifies the basic abilities of the host, which we saw in The Avengers vs. X-Men storyline.
As the Phoenix Force leaves its host after some time, it also leaves behind a small fraction of its power in the host’s body.
#10 Cyttorak
First Appearance: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Alex Toth created the super-villain Cyttorak.
Even though we first saw his name in 1964’s Strange Tales #124, Cytoorak debuted in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #44 in 1992.
Known For: You may be thinking, who the heck is this Juggernaut-looking freak?
In the comics, Cytorrak is a powerful being described as both god and demon.
His most crucial ability is to possess an infinite amount of mystical powers. Though comics have shed some light on this evil character, Most of his origin story is still a mystery.
Humans of Earth once worshipped him as a god, but he was banished to the Omniverse.
Cyttorak is a powerful deity in Marvel comics as sorcerers like Doctor Strange, The Ancient One, and Dormammu draws magic from him.
This entity once used Juggernaut as his avatar and granted a fraction of his power which made Juggernaut almost invincible.
Not only in terms of destruction, but Cyttorak can also create life out of thin air and once created a race of elves out of pure magical energy just to worship him.
#9 Galactus
First Appearance: The undisputed legends of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Galactus.
The iconic super-villain first appeared in The Fantastic Four #48 in 1966.
Known For: So, Why is he a big deal in the MCU?
As the name suggests, Galactus has the Devourer of Worlds title. He is always hungry for energy, and that alone makes him dangerous.
Speaking of energies, He prefers rich life forms to satisfy his needs. Sadly, Plants and humans are a source of life forms.
To identify his next target, Galactus puts a squad called “Heralds of Galactus” to help him out, and in return, He shares a fraction of his powers with them.
If you wonder who those might be, then Silver Surfer is one among his squad of planet killers.
Every action Galactus takes is powered by his hunger to destroy life. His advanced suit can sustain him with the massive bundles of energy drawn from various life forms.
The extent of Galactus’ power is limitless, and he can manipulate the power of the cosmos itself and use it of his own accord. Yet, his true form is still unknown.
#8 Michael Korvac
First Appearance: Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin created Michael Korvac as a character confined to just one story.
Korvac first appeared without any first name in the Giant-Size Defenders #3 in 1975.
After that, Roger Stern and Jim Shooter made Korvac a much more prominent character in the comics.
Known For: Just to get started here, You should be aware of a computer technician. Because our super-villain, Michael Korvac, is a computer technician from the 31st century.
Korvac became a threat to mankind after he betrayed humans for a group of aliens called the Brotherhood of Badoon.
As expected, Korvac got a prestigious position under the Badoon rule, but one day, a senior officer found that Korvac was away from his duty.
As a result, The Brotherhood of Badoon turned him into a freaking cyborg, which transformed Korvac into one of the most powerful villains of Marvel Comics.
So, Why is this being placed in our top 10 most powerful Marvel characters?
This is because Korvac has the ability to absorb any kind of energy from any given source.
In the comics, He absorbed the entire energy of Galactus’ ship and became over-powered. Basically, Korvac has the potential to possess infinite power.
If we place him against someone similar to Galactus, Michael Korvac can grow a lot stronger due to the fight.
#7 Infinity Ultron
First Appearance: Roy Thomas and John Buscema invented the comic book version of Ultron, but Infinity Ultron is not from the comics.
This version of Ultron first appeared in Marvel Studios’ What If…? season 1 in 2021.
Known For: Unlike the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, This iteration of Ultron was able to fuse his technology with an organic body.
Apart from the typical superhero quirks, Ultron can transfer his consciousness into any artificial intelligence.
Obsessed with becoming stronger, Ultron has completely gone off the charts with this creation.
We have to agree that this version of Ultron has utilized the Infinity Stones in a much more crafty way than Thanos.
As a result of his synthetic body, The evil robot can utilize the power of the Infinity Stones to its full potential. This means Infinity Ultron is a lot scarier than anything we’ve seen in the MCU.
This bad boy easily defeated the Watcher and was able to break into other realities looking for a challenge.
It took the combined efforts of Evil Strange and many other superheroes to finally bring him down, which you’ll learn in the next one.
#6 Evil Strange
First Appearance: Writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko introduced Doctor Strange in Strange Tales #101 in 1963.
As of Evil Strange, The character first appeared in Disney’s What If…? series and quickly became a fan favourite.
Known For: Honestly, The extent of Evil Strange’s powers is still unknown.
He can reverse time as he pleases, and in his universe, Infinity War never took place. So, he still possesses the ever-powerful “Eye of Agomotto.”
This version of Strange is quite tragic as he was bound to lose his better half, Christine Palmer. To bring her back from the dead, He gathered knowledge from the dark ways and changed the reality itself by force.
Yes, Love can drive anyone insane.
Doctor Strange gained power by consuming mystic beings from different universes for centuries in his efforts to bring Christine.
The new one-eyed monster, Shuma-Gorath, we saw in Doctor Strange 2 trailer was also one among them.
Finally, Strange was able to break the ultimate fate of Christine’s death by consuming his other half but ultimately failed as the reality of his universe collapsed.
After realizing his actions, Evil Strange turned good and led the Multiverse’s Guardians to defeat Infinity Ultron.
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#5 Franklin Richards
First Appearance: Once again, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Franklin Richards.
Comic readers first saw him as a kid in Fantastic Four Annual #6 in 1968. Later, Franklin Richards’s adult version debuted in 1993.
Known For: You might be thinking how in the hell a kid can secure the fifth spot in our list of the most powerful Marvel characters but here me out.
Franklin Richards is the son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. As a result, He was blessed with some crazy powers.
Franklin is an omega-level mutant, and he does not have something like super-human strength, but this guy can bend reality just like that.
His abilities include total control over the universe’s fundamental forces, a vast amount of telekinetic applications, can lift tons of weight with his psychic powers, and can make powerful energy blasts.
In addition to all these, Franklin has the ability to time travel, create entire worlds and resurrect the dead.
Franklin Richards is so powerful that he can warp realities at a cosmic level and also defeated Mephisto when he was just a child.
One good thing to take away is that his father, Reed Richards, always tries to suppress his powers.
#4 Molecule Man
First Appearance: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced Molecule Man as a super-villain to the comic book readers in the Fantastic Four #20.
Known For: Molecule Man has chronic insecurity but is one of the most powerful characters in all of Marvel.
Owen Reece, aka Molecule Man is a laboratory technician, but an accident turned him into the way he is now.
So, What about his superpowers?
His name explains most of his powers. Molecule Man can mentally control and manipulate all types of energy molecules.
He can create force fields, shoot energy blasts, and create wormholes to travel faster than light.
Owen Reece, aka Molecule Man is considered a comic-level threat.
Though he is not a mutant, his body mutated through the radiation of a particle generator. Even Galactus admits that the Molecule man could eradicate him out of existence.
Despite all these, he is not mentally sound. In recent times, he has started to appear as an anti-hero in the comics.
#3 The Living Tribunal
First Appearance: Though The Living Tribunal rarely makes an appearance, Stan Lee, Marie Severin, and Herb Trimpe jointly introduced him in the Strange Tales comic edition of 1967.
Known For: If you follow Thanos’ infinity quest, then we can clearly see the authority of The Living Tribunal in the Marvel universe.
He is a single entity across the entire multiverse and only obeys the One Above All.
The extent of the Living Tribunal’s powers is unimaginable and untold. I mean, this weird-looking entity can erase any reality from existence itself.
The One Above All created The Living Tribunal to judge the actions at a cosmic level. He is the embodiment of the Marvel Multiverse, and his sole purpose is to maintain stability in the universe.
If you are cheeky and thought, what if we use the Infinity Stones against this guy? Then it is of no use as they don’t even affect him.
As the judge of the entire Marvel universe, only two entities stand above him. After his death at the Beyonder’s hand, Adam Warlock took over the role of The Living Tribunal.
#2 The Beyonder
First Appearance: Jim Shooter created The Beyonder and introduced him in the Secret Wars comic series. Later, A proper introduction of the character was made in the Secret Wars II comic.
Known For: The Beyonder originates from an infinite realm beyond Marvel’s Multiverse.
For your clarity, Everything outside of the multiverse comes under the Beyond-realm. After gaining self-awareness, Beyonder became the physical embodiment of the Beyond universe.
Yeah, You are right. The Beyonder has a disputed origin story. You might have already guessed by the ranking that his abilities are beyond your imagination.
Basically, The Beyonder’s powers are limitless. Just imagine his strength if he can kill The Living Tribunal.
For instance, He took over an entire planet by just thinking about it. Come on, Do you know any other character from Marvel who does that?
Beyonder’s psionic abilities are no match for any or all other Marvel heroes. He can regenerate, manipulate matter, teleport anywhere, and do anything he desires.
Even though The Beyonder is incredibly powerful, He is a psychologically complex character. He sometimes acts as a saviour who loves peace and often as a villain who wants to destroy everything.
#1 One Above All
First Appearance: One Above All is the supreme being in the Marvel universe. He first appeared in Doctor Strange #13 and always made brief appearances.
To be precise, One Above All appeared just 15 times in the entire Marvel comics saga.
Known For: What about his powers? Believe me, That is not an easy question. The more simple one would be, what can’t he do?
The answer is “None.”
After all, he represents the creators, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee of the Marvel comics.
As said, One Above All is the supreme ruler of the multiverse. He is the ultimate source of good and evil.
He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. This godly diety stands above all cosmic powers that ever existed.
One Above All has no specified form, but he is known to appear in different shapes and sizes.
This is the very being who has command over The Living Tribunal we saw in spot 3 of this list.
As a literal god in the Marvel comics, Very few characters have felt his presence, including Thanos, Adam Warlock, Spiderman, and Fantastic Four.
One Above All created the Omniverse and is the reason for everything happening in the Marvel universe.
So, That brings us to the end of the most powerful Marvel characters of all time. I hope you have enjoyed our ranking, but there are many more powerful beings than the one’s on this list.
If you want to know about the most powerful fictional characters, visit the link below. Here we are talking about Marvel, DC, Anime, and all other known fictional worlds we have ever seen.
Want To Know The Top Characters In All Of Fiction?
But yes, there is a ‘but’ included.
The list misses out on one crazy character, which is Deadpool.
In the comics, He single-handedly killed the entire Marvel universe. So, there is a possibility that Deadpool can literally jump out of the comic pages and re-write the whole list.
