Most Powerful Marvel Hero(es)

[Talakeal]

Who would you put in the top tier of super heroes in Marvel comics?


I am excluding:

Gods (Sky fathers, celestials, abstracts, elder gods, etc.)
Villains
Characters who are a temporary merger of multiple characters or otherwise boosted with a macguffin (Rune-King Thor, Captain Universe Spider Man, Onslaught, Phoenix, etc.)
Characters whose powers are "magic" (Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch, Franklin Richards, Adam Warlock) as their abilities are inconsistent and ill defined even by comic book standard.

As contenders I am so far thinking Thor, Silver Surfer, Quasar, and Gladiator, but I am sure there are a ton of others.

Thoughts?

[The Glyphstone]

Squirrel Girl.

[BeerMug Paladin]

Squirrel Girl.

I was going to post this. Darn. She's called the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl for a reason.

[BiblioRook]

I would argue that Captain Marvel probably tops the charts among Marvel's contemporary heroes. I means she is practically Marvel's Superman at this point.

[GloatingSwine]

There's a reason the tagline on Captain Marvel's comic is "Earth's Mightiest Hero". Because she kinda is.

There are others who can potentially top out higher like Hulk or the Sentry*, but their power isn't as consistent or reliable as Carol.


*Higher than Carol now. Not as Binary, which put her right up in "do not **** with under any circumstances" territory.

[Talakeal]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't realize current Captain Marvel was that strong.

Also, completely forget about the Sentry, probably for the best as he is pretty controversial.


What about Mantis? I saw a lot of people pissed at her portrayal in the movie as in the comics she is supposedly stronger than Thor, but I am not actually familiar with her portrayal in the comics and don't know if this is true or just internet hyperbole.

[BiblioRook]

My knowledge of Mantis is probably lacking, but I thought she was just more along the lines of an expert martial artist with empathetic powers?

[Southern Cross]

Which got boosted when she became the Celestial Madonna.
If memory serves, Mantis could use her knowledge of pressure points against Thor, but she wasn't super-humanly strong.

[GloatingSwine]

Mantis isn't physically stronger than an average woman, but in the comics she does have thousands of years of martial arts experience, is extremely physically durable (near indestructible, also is reborn if she does happen to die) and her telepathy is a lot stronger than the film.

[Rater202]

The Hulk's strength and power is potentially infinite--and that "Green Scar" persona takes that infinite from "potentially" to "literally."

There's a reason why The Hulk insists he's the strongest there is.

[Darth Ultron]

What about Mantis? I saw a lot of people pissed at her portrayal in the movie as in the comics she is supposedly stronger than Thor, but I am not actually familiar with her portrayal in the comics and don't know if this is true or just internet hyperbole.

Mantis's power has changed over time. By default she is just are martial artist. But from time to time she has had great cosmic powers of telepathy, affecting/controlling plants and ''positive life force'' in general. Really she falls into the ''magic abilities are inconsistent and ill defined even by comic book standard.'' But then Thor, Silver Surfer, Quasar, and Gladiator are all right there in the ''magic spot'' too.

[Anteros]

I think that's just a comic thing in general. Even the most consistent of characters fluctuate wildly from depiction to depiction. Sometimes Spiderman can prop up a falling building and other times he struggles to lift a truck. Sometimes Wolverine can quickly heal from a single cell while other times he's incapacitated by a punch.

Comics are just not a medium to look to if you want consistency.

[Thrudd]

I think Blue Marvel (Dr. Adam Brashear) and Spectrum (Monica Rambeau) are up there in power, too. Blue Marvel is close to cosmic powered, deriving from connection to negative zone/antimatter stuff. Spectrum is made of living light/energy.

Hyperion is another guy with superman-level powers. He's basically exactly Superman.

America Chavez, Miss America, is pretty dang powerful, too.

[khadgar567]

Most powerful marvel hero probably goes to green scar hulk with iron fist knowledge

[BiblioRook]

I think Blue Marvel (Dr. Adam Brashear) and Spectrum (Monica Rambeau) are up there in power, too. Blue Marvel is close to cosmic powered, deriving from connection to negative zone/antimatter stuff. Spectrum is made of living light/energy.

America Chavez, Miss America, is pretty dang powerful, too.

Sounds like someone is (or should be) a fan of The Ultimates.

[Thrudd]

Sounds like someone is (or should be) a fan of The Ultimates.

Oh yeah. That's one of my favorite current series. I wish I had time to keep up on stuff, I'm like 6 months behind at this point.

[JeenLeen]

I heard that Ghost Rider, at some point, essentially gets reality warping powers, maybe stealing the powers of the devil for himself or something like that.

[GrayDeath]

if we`re talking who among all the nonexcluded is strongest at any given moment (ergo reliably), I`d have tos ay Captain marvel.

If "Strongest At all" Hulk.

If "At all, including diversitiy of Powers" Sentinel.

Pick! ;)

[Knaight]

I think that's just a comic thing in general. Even the most consistent of characters fluctuate wildly from depiction to depiction. Sometimes Spiderman can prop up a falling building and other times he struggles to lift a truck. Sometimes Wolverine can quickly heal from a single cell while other times he's incapacitated by a punch.

It's more a characters with multiple depictions thing - it's not like Sherlock Holmes or King Arthur have a particularly steady set of capabilities from work to work, and that's without getting into the fifty million Journey to the West adaptations and how little they all have to do with each other.

[Luz]

Characters whose powers are "magic" (Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch, Franklin Richards, Adam Warlock) as their abilities are inconsistent and ill defined even by comic book standard.

Franklin Richards has no magic he is a reality warper mutant.

And the phoenix force and the Scarlet witch are the most powerful.

[Talakeal]

Franklin Richards has no magic he is a reality warper mutant.

And the phoenix force and the Scarlet witch are the most powerful.

Isn't scarlet witch the same?

But yeah I didn't mean literally "magic," more just people who have ill-defined reality warping powers rather than a standard array of super powers. But, yeah, comic books make it pretty hard to draw that line sometimes, for example I am told that before Scarlet Witch joined the team Thor would often "discover" that Mjolnir had a new power and use it as a deus ex machine to resolve plots.

[Rater202]

Isn't scarlet witch the same?

Scarlet Witch has very strong probability manipulation.

She is also a user of Chaos Magic--which can do almost anything but has random results.

This is a highly abusable combination.

[Lord Joeltion]

I would personally take Silver Surfer from OP's list. His power is bestowed to him by Galactus, and is technically as powerful as him (and Galactus has Sky Father's kind of overpoweredness). In fact, I don't remember when he was ever defeated if it wasn't by a silly mcguffin, tricks or by telling him "hey, why not be pals?". And he faced most of the mightiest heroes... together.

In any case, if we are running bets, all my bets go to Blackagar. His whispers nuke entire cities, that's a feat even Hulk and Sentry can only dream about. Never mess with the King of All Saiyans Inhumans!

Oddly enough, there's an Alternate Reality version of Gambit who quite fits OP's requisites, and I guess he would take on even Black Bolt himself and eat him for breakfast. It's an old story from back when Gambit had his first solo title (late nineties, I think?). In that story they revealed Gambit's full extent of powers
Gambit asked Mr. Sinister to "nerf" his powers by removing a part of his brain, because he was unable to control them, and that's what kicked the events of the Morlock Massacre
He is basically Magneto, only he doesn't control magnetic waves but kinetic energy. Meaning he would manipulate anything with the capacity of movement. From electrons to anything with mass. A being like that is nigh-invulnerable, made of pure energy, can fold space-time, insta-incinerate anything that comes across his eyes and is OP as ****. In retrospective, being a big Gambit fan, I'm glad he never evolved into that. Thanks Sinister.
That Megaevolved Gambit appeared as a villain tho, so he doesn't count (http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/New_Sun_%28Earth-9921%29). But he is so cool :smallcool:

[Mato]

Who would you put in the top tier of super heroes in Marvel comics?If Silver Surfer counts than so does Morg who was Galactus's most powerful herald ever made.

But I'd go Franklin Richards, through he is kind of half-banned. He isn't a real celestial, his mutant powers just operate on the same scale as their powers and he's classified to be higher than anyone imbued with the Phoenix Force. He has telepathy, telekinesis, time travel, and reality warping powers through his mutation and Reed's intellect. Like as an adult, was was shown to invent a box capable of removing Blackbolt's powers to allow him to talk like a normal person (rather than accidentally blowing the planet away).

His most powerful feat is when Galactus took on four Celestials, killed one, and was destroyed. So Franklin resurrected Galactus (calling him his herald) and helped him defeat the other three. Then they chilled out as the universe blew up while Galactus had a sentimental moment about being alone between the heat death of the current universe and the birth of a new one, but now he won't be and Franklin recreated everything (http://i.imgur.com/LaLp5Xi.jpg) so they just have to wait a couple billion years.

[Keltest]

Squirrel Girl.

Didn't she beat up Thanos a couple times on her own?

[Blackhawk748]

I was gonna say Dr. Doom, but no villains, then i was gonna say Dr. Strange, but no magicians. With those bans in place i would say its either Green Scar or Savage Hulk (each one has pros and cons the other lacks) or Ghost Rider. Seriously, the Penance Stare is a flat out BS power and Ghost Rider is incredibly strong as well as durable. Plus he rides a motorcycle powered by Hellfire. Im aware that has nothing to do with power, its just badass.


Didn't she beat up Thanos a couple times on her own?

As much as i enjoy Squirrel Girl, when shes written properly, one of her super powers is Silver Age Convenience, which is basically Plot Fiat the power, so i dont think shes necessarily fair. Its like bringing Dr. Manhattan to a DC vs. w/e fight.

[BiblioRook]

As much as i enjoy Squirrel Girl, when shes written properly, one of her super powers is Silver Age Convenience, which is basically Plot Fiat the power, so i dont think shes necessarily fair. Its like bringing Dr. Manhattan to a DC vs. w/e fight.

These days her reputation as being 'unbeatable' tends to have little (if anything) to do with her powers and more of her out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to solving problems. For example, early in her solo series she managed to single-handedly defeat Galactus... with the power of friendship.

[Starbuck_II]

These days her reputation as being 'unbeatable' tends to have little (if anything) to do with her powers and more of her out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to solving problems. For example, early in her solo series she managed to single-handedly defeat Galactus... with the power of friendship.

She lost in her own series once sadly. So she is no longer unbeatable (it was when she was camping in Canada). :smalltongue:

[eggynack]

She lost in her own series once sadly. So she is no longer unbeatable (it was when she was camping in Canada). :smalltongue:
Also lost to Doom once, and I think she lost to her kinda evil clone. Maybe Ratatoskr too. She wins long term though. Such is her nature.

[Thrudd]

I don't consider Squirrel Girl, as seen in her solo books, as even a part of the normal Marvel continuity. Anyone that breaks the fourth wall or invokes comic narrative conventions as powers I consider as being in a separate comic universe from the rest. Even stuff like Rocket Raccoon's solo series, though not breaking fourth wall, is so cartoonish and goofy that it can't be seen as the same universe where the main comics take place. I just can't consider Squirrel Girl's victory over Doom or Thanos or Galactus as something that did or could have happened in the 616 Marvel Universe.
So to me, she's not really eligible as a contender alongside the others.

[eggynack]

Does she do that stuff all that frequently in Unbeatable? I don't recall much if any fourth wall breaking or reliance on narrative tropes in those comics, though I may be forgetting something. And, given that her victory over Galactus occurred in that comic, as did one of her Doom victories, it seems like fair game. Actually, was her first appearance, when she defeated Doom, particularly fourth wall breaking or something? Cause, if not, then she actually beat Doom twice under these conditions.

[Blackhawk748]

Does she do that stuff all that frequently in Unbeatable? I don't recall much if any fourth wall breaking or reliance on narrative tropes in those comics, though I may be forgetting something. And, given that her victory over Galactus occurred in that comic, as did one of her Doom victories, it seems like fair game. Actually, was her first appearance, when she defeated Doom, particularly fourth wall breaking or something? Cause, if not, then she actually beat Doom twice under these conditions.

From what i recall she just buried him in squirrels the first time.

[eggynack]

From what i recall she just buried him in squirrels the first time.
That she did. Wasn't sure if she prefaced that squirrel burying with some fourth wall breaking though.

[Ramza00]

So this may not count for sometimes he is a villain and sometimes he is not, but Exodus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(comics)#Powers_and_abilities

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Bennet_du_Paris_(Earth-616)

Telepathic on the level of the "great telepaths" like Professor X, Emma Frost, the Greys (Jean, Rachel, and so on). Besides taking these people on in matches and sometimes winning and sometimes losing, he often uses his telepathy to take on dozens of superheros in a team, or

Telekinetic with such fine control he can manipulate individual molecules on the nanoscale and possibly individually atoms, while upper limits of scale he has shown telekinetic attacks that are skyscraper destructive with little effort, and projecting city wide telekinetic shields.

Powerful energy blasts and eye beams that he does not use often but would be a serious x-men superpower in its own right if another mutant had these powers and only these powers.

Flight

Teleportation that works on both himself and other people and can also work on groups. It can be used for battlefield teleportation where you are trying to obtain a tactical location, but it can also be used to teleport anywhere on the planet or into space and back.

Durability of such an effect that when Rogue absorbed Gladitator's powers he just took the hits, and he has been clawed via wolverine and he still fights.

Exodus is a 100+ tonner with strength level.

Has the power to regenerate his body

Speed Exodus is fast enough to do things like bullet time bullets and stop them, and while he is not as fast as quicksilver he is fast enough to react to many of the tricks and attacks quicksilver has done on multiple fights.

Exodus is immortal or just really long life with him being alive for 8 centuries.

------

Lastly and the most awesome power of Exodus is that he has the power to resurrect the dead and he has brought back a named character back from the dead resurrecting them but also other far more minor characters in other instances.

Now Exodus is not all powerful, other mutants such as Apocalypse have taken him out. In addition while he may be more powerful than some mutants he seems to like serving other people who he sees as a messiah type cause (Magneto, Xavier, etc)

[The Fury]

Does she do that stuff all that frequently in Unbeatable? I don't recall much if any fourth wall breaking or reliance on narrative tropes in those comics, though I may be forgetting something. And, given that her victory over Galactus occurred in that comic, as did one of her Doom victories, it seems like fair game. Actually, was her first appearance, when she defeated Doom, particularly fourth wall breaking or something? Cause, if not, then she actually beat Doom twice under these conditions.

She didn't defeat Thanos on panel in Unbeatable, though she does mention that she has when fighting Galactus. The only fourth wall based humor that I recall from Unbeatable was Squirrel Girl's Marvel Universe trading cards, which were apparently written by Deadpool so it makes sense.

Squirrel Girl is pretty awesome.

[BiblioRook]

She lost in her own series once sadly. So she is no longer unbeatable (it was when she was camping in Canada). :smalltongue:

Hence the quote marks, but I guess it depends on what you mean by 'beaten'. Sadly she also had her fair share of defeats in the (rather many) team series she seems to end up in. One of the reasons I hate seeing her in team series because whatever team she ends up on and/or the writer of that series never seems to be willing to treat her as someone with her *cough* history should and often is reduced to a mere bit player.

(At least with the upcoming TV Show that inexplisitly puts her on the New Warriors they at least acknowledge that her being on the team is largely the selling point of the entire show and should be getting a fair amount of focus.)

[Talakeal]

Its like bringing Dr. Manhattan to a DC vs. w/e fight.

Is Dr. Manhattan all he is cracked up to be?

I think that a lot of his apparent omnipotence is more of a combination of ill defined powers and being a big fish in a small pond, i.e. a high tier paranormal being in a world of badass normal.

I have heard (although I don't know if it is true) that Dr. Strange has matched every feat Dr. Manhattan has ever demonstrated and more, but for some reason people don't look up to Dr. Strange in nearly the same way.

[Blackhawk748]

Is Dr. Manhattan all he is cracked up to be?

I think that a lot of his apparent omnipotence is more of a combination of ill defined powers and being a big fish in a small pond, i.e. a high tier paranormal being in a world of badass normal.

I have heard (although I don't know if it is true) that Dr. Strange has matched every feat Dr. Manhattan has ever demonstrated and more, but for some reason people don't look up to Dr. Strange in nearly the same way.

They have, its why when i see DC vs Marvel fights they usually ban both of them. Frankly the only real difference between them is Dr Manhattan has more consistency on his power level and that hes just using physics to replicate magic.

Also i wouldnt call DC a bunch of "badass normals" though that may just be their, rather insane, power disparity talking.

[BiblioRook]

Also i wouldnt call DC a bunch of "badass normals" though that may just be their, rather insane, power disparity talking.

I'm pretty sure he's more talking about specifically the Watchman world.

[Blackhawk748]

I'm pretty sure he's more talking about specifically the Watchman world.

That would make significantly more sense. IIRC isn't Dr. Manhattan really the only true superhuman in that timeline?

[GloatingSwine]

These days her reputation as being 'unbeatable' tends to have little (if anything) to do with her powers and more of her out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to solving problems. For example, early in her solo series she managed to single-handedly defeat Galactus... with the power of friendship.

Well lateral thinking, friendship, and nuts. Lots and lots of nuts.

[lord_khaine]

Didn't she beat up Thanos a couple times on her own?

It was later revealed that was a Thanos LMD.


IIRC isn't Dr. Manhattan really the only true superhuman in that timeline?

Well he is the only noteworthy superhuman. Though it should be pointed out that Ozymandias caught a bullet with his hands.

[Devonix]

Surprised no one's mentioned Iceman He's one of the planets most powerful Mutants. An immortal ice elemental that even Odin feels could be a serious threat.

[WhovianBeast]

Earth 616 Leech? Simply by virtue of being able to "normalize" any powered being he encounters.

From the wiki:
Leech can project a dampening field out from his body that disables any additional neural pathways found in the human brain, temporarily blocking access to any paranormal abilities (including: other mutations, extraterrestrial, magical, etc) so long as they are within range of his field’s variable radius, which is approximately 10 yards.

As I understand this, this means he can negate Dr. Strange, Professor X, Iceman, Thor, even Hulk or Ghost Rider. The more powerful they are, the more effect he has against them, meaning the only characters Leech is useless against are badass normals like Taskmaster or Batman (and possibly cyborgs/machines like Cyborg or Warlock). Admittedly, he can be easily taken out by ranged powers or even a depowered human, but still, being able to disable the Silver Surfer by standing next to him is no joke.
.
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Even I don't even know if this is a serious suggestion.

[lord_khaine]

As I understand this, this means he can negate Dr. Strange, Professor X, Iceman, Thor, even Hulk or Ghost Rider. The more powerful they are, the more effect he has against them, meaning the only characters Leech is useless against are badass normals like Taskmaster or Batman (and possibly cyborgs/machines like Cyborg or Warlock). Admittedly, he can be easily taken out by ranged powers or even a depowered human, but still, being able to disable the Silver Surfer by standing next to him is no joke.

Really does not make any sense, even by Marvel standards. His power should not affect either Thor, Silver Surfer or Ghost Rider. The first two are not humans. And Ghost Rider dont even have a brain to affect. He is a skeleton on fire.

[Starbuck_II]

Really does not make any sense, even by Marvel standards. His power should not affect either Thor, Silver Surfer or Ghost Rider. The first two are not humans. And Ghost Rider dont even have a brain to affect. He is a skeleton on fire.
Also which Ghost Rider (Johnny, Reyes, that bad guy Pollution, etc) as there are a lot of them around.

I'd put Rogue would be the strongest if she stopped being self conscious. Her control is all mental based.

Power Man (the mutant not Luke Cage) is pretty strong as he absorbs the chi of knowledge around him.

[Blackhawk748]

Also which Ghost Rider (Johnny, Reyes, that bad guy Pollution, etc) as there are a lot of them around.

I'd put Rogue would be the strongest if she stopped being self conscious. Her control is all mental based.

Power Man (the mutant not Luke Cage) is pretty strong as he absorbs the chi of knowledge around him.

Id probably use Johnny, cuz doesnt he have all of the other Ghost Riders powers?

[Devonix]

Id probably use Johnny, cuz doesnt he have all of the other Ghost Riders powers?

I'd put Noble Kale He's the most powerful Ghost Rider I'd say.

[TeChameleon]

Another serious contender would have to be Meggan Braddock, originally of Excalibur, because, well... this (https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/13/131045/3106574-9352627519-galac.jpg) probably sums it up rather nicely.

... for that matter, the Eternal Sersi is another in that power class, and I'm not sure I'd bet against either Sersi or Meggan if they were going up against the good Colonel Danvers.

Which, now that I think about it, would put Exodus pretty firmly in that weight class as well since Exodus and Sersi were stalemated when they encountered one another in Genosha a decade or two ago (and nearly killed the Avengers and the X-Men both with nothing but the fallout of their beam-o'-war >.>)

Magneto is a pretty good distance up the ol' power chart too, even in his heroic incarnations- the only times I can recall him simply being out-'muscled' one-on-one, rather than brought down by guile or the human factor are when he was going up against a Skyfather-plus (the Stranger, to be specific).

One problem is that 'most powerful' can have multiple levels of meaning- as an example, Nightcrawler could probably kill most Phoenix-empowered characters almost casually, simply by teleporting their heads off (assuming he was willing to do so, of course), but not many would argue that the fuzzy elf is 'more powerful' than any of the various Phoenixes.

[Reddish Mage]

I don't consider Squirrel Girl, as seen in her solo books, as even a part of the normal Marvel continuity. Anyone that breaks the fourth wall or invokes comic narrative conventions as powers I consider as being in a separate comic universe from the rest. Even stuff like Rocket Raccoon's solo series, though not breaking fourth wall, is so cartoonish and goofy that it can't be seen as the same universe where the main comics take place. I just can't consider Squirrel Girl's victory over Doom or Thanos or Galactus as something that did or could have happened in the 616 Marvel Universe.
So to me, she's not really eligible as a contender alongside the others.

You may not like it. However, Squirrel Girl crosses-over and gets involved in the other comics like a full-participant in the 616 Universe. Four-wall breakers and clownish and campy plots may not sit well next to the straight-faced fare, but she's legitimate.

I would point out, since Thor counts, other god-like beings may count (although you do say no gods and no "sky-fathers"). I suppose you are thinking of Thor as more of a "sky son?"

Also the High Evolutionary is in that sweet spot below the real gods of the Marvel Universe and above the mere mortals.

The quasi-god space is very busy in the Marvel Universe.

[JeenLeen]

Earth 616 Leech? Simply by virtue of being able to "normalize" any powered being he encounters.

From the wiki:
Leech can project a dampening field out from his body that disables any additional neural pathways found in the human brain, temporarily blocking access to any paranormal abilities (including: other mutations, extraterrestrial, magical, etc) so long as they are within range of his field’s variable radius, which is approximately 10 yards.

As I understand this, this means he can negate Dr. Strange, Professor X, Iceman, Thor, even Hulk or Ghost Rider. The more powerful they are, the more effect he has against them, meaning the only characters Leech is useless against are badass normals like Taskmaster or Batman (and possibly cyborgs/machines like Cyborg or Warlock). Admittedly, he can be easily taken out by ranged powers or even a depowered human, but still, being able to disable the Silver Surfer by standing next to him is no joke.

In addition to those already mentioned as potentially immune, I wonder if an enraged and thus transformed Hulk would count. Mainly, is his brain neurology still sufficiently human to be impacted by the mutant power? I definitely would agree that it could stop his Bruce Banner from transforming into the Hulk.

I could see him potentially impacting non-humans, as the human/non-human distinction isn't always that big in Marvel. Also, since extraterrestrial powers granted to a human can be blocked, it seems reasonable some inherent extraterrestrial powers might be blocked. But I'd reckon his power would be (or should be) unreliable and hard to predict on a case-to-case basis.

Adding that contemplating and nitpicking metaphysical distinctions and nuances can be fun, hence my writing this.

[Devonix]

Imaginary access put up another vid. This one about Thor Vs Hulk which has gotten people talking finally about because of Thor Ragnarok.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R57iDntD0x0&t=668s