18 Most Powerful Marvel Characters Of All Time

Have you ever wondered who the most powerful Marvel characters are? As an MCU fan, I am sure you do. But to be frank, it is a herculean task to answer. The list below ranks the most powerful comics characters based on their raw power and intellect.

18. Deadpool

Deadpool

Key Abilities: Regenerative healing, extended longevity, skilled marksman, and swordsman.

The big mouth Deadpool is known for his super-fast healing factor, speed, agility, and fighting skills. He is one of the few characters in the Marvel universe who can break the fourth wall.

Due to his healing powers, Deadpool is not only virtually immortal but can also neither be possessed nor telepathically attacked (in most cases).

17. Thor

Thor

Key Abilities: Superhuman strength, longevity, weather manipulation, and dimensional transportation.

Thor Odinson, the god of thunder, has more strength and physical abilities than most other Asgardians. With his hammer, Mjolnir, which can reignite a dying star, Thor can conjure powers that can easily overwhelm most of his foes.

The God Blast, the most powerful of Thor’s offenses, even forced a mighty entity like Galactus to flee. Thor also posses Megingjörð, a mythical belt that gives him more strength and endurance. He is known to survive attacks from the Celestials.

16. Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

Key Abilities: Superhuman strength, intangibility, invisibility, phasing, energy, and matter manipulation.

The Silver Surfer is a wielder of the Power Cosmic, an unlimited source of cosmic energy that allows him to time travel and navigate through hyperspace. He can survive in any environment and is able to produce force fields powerful enough to obliterate an entire planet.

The Surfer often finds himself serving Galactus. It was him who summoned the Devourer to the Earth. However, a change of heart led him to revolt against his master.

Furthermore, the Surfer is also known to possess psychic abilities with which he can read minds and influence sentient beings.

15. Zeus

Zeus

Key Abilities: Superhuman strength, super-speed, healing factor, electricity manipulation, and precognition.

The most powerful of Olympian gods, Zeus, can manipulate a vast amount of cosmic energies in order to gain super-strength and magical abilities that can stun even the mighty Galactus.

Zeus is known to have authority over other Olympian gods as he can stop or bestow their powers on his will. Although he is virtually immortal, Zeus can be defeated by older gods and cosmic entities.

14. Odin

Odin

Key Abilities: Superhuman strength, dimensional transportation, telepathy, weather manipulation, and astral projection.

The All-Father Odin is perhaps the most powerful of Asgardian gods. At a young age, Odin was able to defeat Surtur, the fire demon, with the help of his brothers. During the fight, both Vili and Ve transferred their powers to Odin before dying at the hands of Surtur.

Odin’s unparalleled wisdom and physical strength make him a formidable opponent. His prized possession, the Odinforce, can channel a vast amount of cosmic energy that can completely obliterate his foes. It can also create illusions and powerful force fields.

13. The Stranger

The stranger

Key Abilities: Immortality and power cosmic

The Stranger is a cosmic entity with power comparable to that of a slightly weakened Galactus. The almighty Living Tribunal himself once revealed that its fourth face could have represented the Stranger. The entity, however, denied this.

Stranger’s motives have not always been clear. He once manipulated Hulk to wipe the entire humanity off the Earth. On the other hand, he teamed up with Fantastic Four to defeat the evil Overmind. He is powerful enough to capture mutant Magneto and enslave the Abomination not once but twice.

12. Thanos

Thanos

Key Abilities: Superhuman strength, agility, stamina, skilled hand-to-hand combatant, plasma energy projection, and genius-level tactician.

Thanos is evil, bloodthirsty, and has powers that can overwhelm almost every superhero we know of. Even without the Infinity Gauntlet, the mad Titan possesses the intelligence and physical strength to gain a quick advantage over his foes.

At some point in time, Thanos fell in love with Mistress Death. In order to impress her, he took in on himself to destroy and annihilate the entire Universe.

He withstood attacks from the likes of Silver Surfer, an enraged Thor, and Odin on separate occasions and came out almost unscathed. Thanos was able to even survive the first few blows from the mighty Galactus.

11. The Celestials

The Celestials

Inherent Ability: Capable of virtually any effect

The Celestials are one of the ancient and most powerful cosmic entities in the Marvel Universe. They are responsible for the creation of superhumans or mutants (through X-gene inclusion), which also include the Deviants and Eternals.

As an immortal, a Celestial can never be killed, and in most cases, harmed. They can easily overpower mightiest of the Earth’s gods, and when mad, there are only a few cosmic beings who can stop a Celestial. The true extent of their powers is immeasurable.

Since Celestials lack any definite form, they appear in armors made of Vibranium.

10. Galactus

Galactus

Key Abilities: Mastery of the Power Cosmic

Galactus, the devourer of Worlds, is perhaps one of the most feared cosmic beings in the Marvel Universe. Originally born as a humanoid known as Galan of Planet Taa, Galactus is a result of the “Big Crunch.”

After his rebirth with the new big bang, Galactus fed on uninhabited planets for centuries. But when his hunger for power went out-of-bounds, he started devouring inhabited worlds. Driven by loneliness and near-immortality, the entity then created powerful beings who serve as his heralds. The Tyrant and Silver Surfer are few such beings.

The Galactus has proven himself powerful enough to hold against four mad Celestials, while completely destroying one. He was, however, defeated.

Even-though Galactus has the ability to overwhelm almost any cosmic entity, its powers depend on how much energy it consumes from planets. A weaken and starved Galactus has been killed quite easily.

9. Beyonders

The Beyonders

Inherent Ability: Reality warping

The Beyonders are extra-dimensional beings who possess the power and intellect to defeat every single abstract entity in the Marvel Universe. They were even able to kill the Living Tribunal. For centuries, the Beyonders lived in complete isolation. Even the all-wise Watchers didn’t know about their existence.

Doctor Doom refer them as “linear beings,” since they are unable to time travel despite being extremely powerful.

8. Oblivion

Oblivion

Key Abilities: Infinite cosmic powers, virtually omniscient, and omnipresent.

Oblivion is one of the four cornerstones of the Universe along with Death, Eternity, and Infinity. A virtually omnipotent entity, Oblivion’s dominion extends over creatures who ceased to exist due to supernatural causes, while Death is responsible for overseeing the actual dead.

Oblivion has a rivalry with Infinity (just like Death and eternity). Every now and then, Oblivion would send a champion or avatar to destroy the Universe. Once it revealed that Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi) is just a small portion of his power.

7. Phoenix Force

phoenix force

Key Abilities: Telepathy, telekinesis, cosmic awareness, and prescience.

The Phoenix Force is a creation of the Universe, molded by the power of life and passion. It has the power to destroy any part of the Universe by manipulating cosmic energies. The sole purpose of its existence is to burn away the obsolete.

The entity has appeared in different avatars or hosts over time. So far, only the mutant Jean Grey has proven to be the ideal owner.

Interesting Fact: During its battle with the Fallen, a powerful Celestial, Phoenix Force, had an intimate relationship with Odin.

The extent of the Phoenix Force’s abilities has not been completely clarified, but if it wasn’t dependent on the abilities of its hosts, it could have been the most powerful entity in Marvel Universe.

6. Lord Chaos/Master Order

Lord Chaos and Master Order

Key Abilities: Nigh-omniscience, tremendous cosmic power

Lord Chaos and its opposing force Master Order are eternal “brothers.” As cosmic entities, they ensure the well-being of the Universe by maintaining the balance between chaos and order.

While Lord Chaos and Master Order cannot exist without each other, both remain at constant bickering. Tired of this, they created the In-Betweener, who represents duality.

It was these two who, one way or the other, manipulated the lives of Peter Parker and other Marvel characters leading to the demise of Thanos of Titan. Together they possess the power to defeat even the all-mighty Living Tribunal and were involved in various other plots throughout the Universe.

Read: 15 Best Sci-Fi Books To Read This Year

5. Eternity/Infinity

Eternity

Key Abilities: Cosmic awareness, reality-warping, nigh-omniscience

Eternity and Infinity are siblings, and together as abstract entities, they represent all the living forces inhabiting the Universe. Both remain in constant despair with their sibling counterparts Oblivion and Death.

Both abstract entities are immortal and possess the power to manipulate reality. It can also form or possess the body of powerful transient beings to enforce its will. The first mortal to come in contact with the Eternity was Doctor Strange, who was able to defeat his nemesis Dormammu with its help.

Each Universe has its own Eternity and Infinity overseen by the one and only The Living Tribunal.

4. The Beyonder (Pre-Retcon)

the Beyonder

Key Abilities: Omnipresence, and near omnipotence and omniscience

The Beyonder was created by the same reality-altering energy, which mutated Owen Reece into the powerful Molecule Man. This mysterious energy is one of the many that were released into the Universe by the Beyonders.

A near omnipotent being, the Beyonder is the one who abducted heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe and forced them to fight each other on the planet Battleworld.

During the course of the time, the Beyonder and the Molecule Man combined to become the cosmic entity called Kosmos. It later took a mortal form and became the Maker.

Before assuming the mortal form, the Beyonder was perhaps the most powerful entity in the Marvel universe. It is said that his powers once eclipsed the entire multi-universe.

Read: 18 Best Batman Games Ever Created

3. Death

Death

Key Abilities: Nigh-omnipotence and nigh-omniscience

Death is perhaps the most powerful abstract entity in the Marvel Universe. It embodies mortality and has existed since the beginning of time. Death often takes the shape of a cloaked skeleton, but it can manifest itself in any form or size.

To gain dominance over Eternity, Death seems to manipulate other conceptual beings time-to-time to do its bidding. One such victim of Death’s deception was Thanos, who fell in love after meeting the abstract entity in the form of a woman. From thereon, Thanos’ every evil act was done to please her.

2. Living Tribunal

Living Tribunal

Key Abilities: Reality warping and near omniscience

The Living Tribunal is the keeper of the cosmic balance. As old as the time itself, the sole purpose of the existence of this cosmic entity is to prevent any conceptual being from becoming all-powerful.

The might of Living Tribunal is such that abstract entities such as Infinity, Death, and others come under its dominion, serving as deputies more or less.

It was the cosmic Living Tribunal who forbid Adam Warlock from keeping the Infinity Gauntlet and ordered the gems to be divided among other conceptual beings.

1. One-Above-ALL

One above all

Key Abilities: God-like being who possesses incalculable levels of strength, speed, durability, and energy projection.

As the master of the Living Tribunal and apparently the creator of humanity itself, there is no entity more powerful than the One-Above-All. It is capable of altering the entire Universe. The One-Above-All’s powers are immeasurable and has no weakness at all.

Read: 14 Richest Superheroes Of Marvel and DC Comics

The entity has taken a physical form on a couple of occasions. It appeared to the Fantastic Four at the time of Thing’s death and eventually reviving him back to life. One-Above-All once manifested himself as a homeless man to console a grieving Peter Parker

“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”. — One-Above-All

Written by
Bipro Das

I am a content writer and researcher with over seven years of experience covering all gaming and anime topics. I also have a keen interest in the retail sector and often write about the business models/strategies of popular brands.

I started content writing after completing my graduation. After writing tech-related things and other long-form content for 2-3 years, I found my calling with games and anime. Now, I get to find new games and write features and previews.

When not writing for RankRed, I usually prefer reading investing books or immersing myself in Europa Universalis 4. But I am currently interested in some new JRPGs as well.

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