The Marvel Universe is home to more than 7,000 larger-than-life characters. Amongst this collection of superheroes, villains, and monsters, there are some supremely powerful beings. But in a Marvel war to find the reigning champion of them all, who would win?
Well, I’ve been tasked with deciding just that. Without a doubt, this list is going to ruffle a few feathers, but I won’t waste any more time; let’s dive into the top ten most powerful Marvel characters (in our humble HooktoBooks opinion), starting with…
1. Captain Marvel
Carol Danvers, head of NASA security, was a brilliant pilot but a mere mortal until she was exposed to a powerful alien device that mutated her DNA. Since then, she’s been known as Captain Marvel, one of the most powerful superheroes in the universe.
Captain Marvel has superhuman strength and the ability to control and even create gravity. She can also see into the future, absorb magical energy without harm, manipulate radiation, and shoot balls of photon energy out of her hands. Oh, and did I mention she can fly at supersonic speeds?
The reason Captain Marvel took the lowest spot on the list is that, despite having incredible superpowers, her true potential can only be reached when she’s tethered to a white hole. That’s when she becomes one of the most powerful beings in the universe and almost indestructible to her enemies. Luckily, she’s on the side of the good guys.
2. Thor
Based on the Norse god of the same name, Thor’s character holds many of the same powers as his mythological counterpart.
Born to parents Odin and Frigga in Asgard over 15 hundred years ago, this ancient deity of thunder has superhuman strength, so powerful that he can crush a planet with ease. Thanks to his enchanted hammer, he can fly, manipulate the weather and move at lightning speeds; plus, he’s immune to pretty much any disease.
Thor is a founding member of the Avengers, dedicating himself to protecting the Earth along with his fellow heroes Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.
And thankfully, due to his enhanced longevity from the Golden Apples of Idunn, he’ll be around a long time. He’s not quite immortal, but he’s already walked the Earth for over a thousand years, and he’s still at the peak of his physical prime.
3. Thanos
Thanos is known as The Mad Titan, and no wonder he’s mad; born with Deviant Syndrome, as a baby, his mother took one look at his massive and ugly body and tried to kill him.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and Thanos has always had an undeniable appetite for murder. He’s left an endless trail of destruction in his wake, and his penchant for killing is so strong that his on-again-off-again girlfriend is Death herself.
His ultimate goal is to collect all six of the Infinity Stones, but his plans are, you guessed it, murderous. He intends to wipe out half of the population of the universe when he gets his hands on them.
Thanos is a mighty beast with enormous superhuman strength, stamina, and speed. He also has the power of telekinesis and telepathy, and he can absorb and project endless amounts of cosmic energy. Oh, and did I mention he’s immortal?
4. Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards might not have the most superhero-sounding name on our list, but don’t be fooled; this kid was one of the strongest beings ever to exist in the Marvel universe.
He’s the son of Reed and Sue Richards, otherwise known as Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of world-renowned Fantastic Four fame.
For a long time, everyone believed that Franklin was a mutant, but that was never the case. Instead, he’d used his incredible powers to subconsciously manipulate his own anatomy and mimic the presence of the X-Gene.
At his most powerful, Franklin was a master of energy manipulation, astral projection, telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation. Amongst his many god-like abilities, he could also warp reality and conjure up limitless possibilities with his mind.
Franklin Richards would have ranked even higher on this list if it wasn’t for the unfortunate fact that he lost his powers when he helped restore the multiverse and stand up to the alien Cormorant.
5. Phoenix Force
Phoenix Force is an essence that was birthed into existence in the void between states of being, becoming a child of the universe. The Force is one of the oldest known cosmic entities, said to predate even darkness. It represents the potential of all creation and destruction; pretty powerful, huh?
In a previous life, the Force saved the entire omniverse from eternal damnation and went on to be reborn from the comic fires of the Big Bang, emerging like a phoenix from the ashes. This character can absorb the power of a star, regenerate itself, and survive even the Death of the universe. And with its capacity to attach itself to any living being, it can bring others along for the ride too.
It’s safe to say that without the Phoenix Force, there would be no universe, and there would be no Marvel.
6. Zeus
Based on the Greek god of the same name, Zeus hails from the Olympian dynasty. He’s the undisputed ruler of the heavens, the sky, and the weather. True to classic mythology, Zeus is the strongest and most powerful of all the Olympians. They call him the Skyfather, and his arsenal of superhuman attributes is vastly superior to the rest of his race.
Zeus possesses superhuman powers of agility, endurance, speed, and strength. And at least a thousand years old, he’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon; this god is at the top of his game.
He can survive almost any level of attack from an enemy. In recent Marvel stories, he’s managed to defeat the Hulk and Galactus with relative ease. The only real way to take down Zeus is with a small army, and even then, they’d have a hell of a fight on their hands.
7. Eternity
Like the Phoenix Force, Eternity has no fixed physical body. Instead, he’s a potent abstract entity and the embodiment of every living thing in the multiverse. He is the undisputed leader of all of the Cosmic Powers of the Marvel Universe and has featured in more than five decades of Marvel adventures.
As you might have already gathered from his name, Eternity is immortal and unaffected by the passages of time. He can manipulate matter to manifest almost anything, and if he chooses to, he can present himself as a physical embodiment to be perceived by lesser beings.
In the past, Eternity has possessed the bodies of many powerful mortal beings such as Thor, Doctor Strange, and Storm, and he’s conjured his own avatars into existence through the Dimension of Manifestations.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how powerful Eternity is, but let’s put it this way; he can control every plane of existence, and he’s the physical incarnation of time. He is every living thing, and every living thing is him.
8. Beyonder
The mysterious and powerful Beyonder was born into an ancient mystic race known as the Beyonders. He was later captured and brought to Earth by a tachyon beam sent from the supervillain group Intel, and he spent many years observing the inhabitants of the planet and their strange behaviors.
One of the most omnipotent and powerful entities ever to exist, Beyonder’s abilities are limitless. With a mere thought, he took over the entire Earth and caused multiversal-wide destruction. He can change states of matter, manipulate reality, and regenerate himself at any time.
And as you might expect from such a mighty force, Beyonder also has the powers of telepathy, teleportation, flight, and superhuman strength. In fact, since he can manifest almost anything out of nothing, Beyonder can simulate virtually any superpower you could dream up. He’s so almightly that he’s even taken down Death before, only to go on to reconjure her back into existence.
His only moments of weakness are when he becomes imprisoned inside human bodies, which sees his usually limitless powers, well, somewhat limited.
9. The Living Tribunal
Second, in command only to one, The Living Tribunal is another immensely powerful conceptual being. It might be controversial, but I’ve placed him in the number two spot, ahead of Beyonder, since his recent incarnations in the Marvel multiverse have proven him to be a superior power.
The Living Tribunal is an omnipotent cosmic humanoid entity that has been in existence since the birth of time. There’s nothing else like him; his purpose is to protect all of life from imbalance and keep things fair, ensuring that no one universe acquires more mystical power than another. He has the ability to punish essential concepts of existence, and he can prevent the Infinity Gems from being used by the likes of Thanos. He’s such an authority figure that even Death reports back to him. But he does have one boss….
10. The One-Above-All
As the name suggests, The One-Above-All is the supreme, all-knowing, and ever-present ruler of absolutely everything in the Marvel Omniverse. His powers are immeasurable and unlimited, and he can override anything else in existence by sheer will alone.
The first reference to The One-Above-All was is Doctor Strange #13, and he’s often drawn as a representation of the Marvel creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Aside from the fact that he’s the unsurpassable boss of everything, not much is known about his character, but I’ll leave you with this quote from the ultimate entity himself;
“I am the One Above All. I see through many eyes. I build with many hands. They are themselves, but they are also me. I am all-powerful. My only weapon is love. The mystery intrigues me.”
Conclusion
So there you have it, our HookedtoBooks rankings of the top ten most powerful Marvel characters in the entire omniverse. I’m sure that many of you disagree with my rankings; let me know what you think, and we can battle it out in the comments below!