The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced dozens of powerful superheroes, but not all of them are that strong. Here are the MCU power rankings.

The cameos of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have fans looking back at the franchise. Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced several live-action versions of popular comic book characters. It started its venture by introducing Tony Stark in Iron Man, but since then it has introduced dozens of MCU heroes and villains. Some are known outside the comic book world, while others are more unusual characters that many people haven’t heard of.

With over 20 movies currently making up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are too many characters to count, but some heroes are stronger than others. Sometimes the movies make the heroes weaker than they appear in the comics, but this list ranks MCU heroes based on their skills in the movies and TV shows. Some of these characters are simply humans with fancy gadgets, others have actual superpowers, while others have powers equivalent to the gods.

Updated on May 8th, 2022, by Shawn S. Lealos: The MCU released an entire universe of characters by the time Thanos snapped his finger in Avengers: Endgame. However, since that time, things have grown even bigger. While some heroes have left the MCU, including Iron Man dying and Captain America retiring, many more have debuted in the movies and on the new Disney+ streaming shows.

The world will keep getting bigger, with MCU heroes like Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and many more coming in the near future. The MCU has introduced new heroes, saw a villain go to the side of good, and brought in yet another major team consisting of brand-new heroes protecting Earth for centuries. As time goes on, the MCU power rankings continue to change.

41 Mantis

Mantis, played by Pom Klementieff, first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. She was Ego’s servant but became a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy after Ego’s downfall. Unfortunately, Mantis just isn’t that strong of a player.

She has the ability to sense people’s feelings by touching them, but this is basically just a parlor trick as compared to other MCU heroes. She can sometimes alter people’s emotions and kept Thanos docile for a short period of time, but Mantis just doesn’t stack up compared to other heroes.

40 Sprite

Eternals introduced a new group of heroes that turned out to be the oldest heroes on Earth. Centuries before The Avengers began protecting Earth from aliens, a group of aliens landed on Earth and set up to help lead the planet into the future. However, they remained hidden and only revealed themselves when evil aliens known as Deviants showed up.

Of The Eternals, Sprite was the weakest member of the team and remains one of the weakest MCU heroes ranked. She was an adult trapped forever in a child's body and her primary power was like Loki, as she could cast illusions. By the end of the movie, she gave up her powers to live out her life as a human.

39 Kate Bishop

Kate Bishop is one of Marvel's newest heroes. She is the start of the young teenage MCU heroes that seem to be preparing to enter the universe at around the same time. Kate has the training, but not as a combat fighter. She has no superpowers, but she is skilled at martial arts and is almost as good of a shot as Hawkeye with the bow and arrow.

Kate also received a boost when she gained Hawkeye as a mentor, and this included him supplying her with her own trick arrows. She beat Kingpin by herself in Hawkeye and that is enough to list her as a viable threat.

38 Phastos

Phastos is another member of The Eternals, and he remains one of the smartest people on Earth. However, that is where his powers sit, and until he shows more, he is just an alien version of Tony Stark without the armor.

He had the ability to create any sort of technology he wants, but he is also a pacifist who doesn't want to do anything to hurt others. He is a skilled fighter, but outside of his inventions, he doesn't offer much more concerning powers.

37 Quicksilver

In the comic books, and even in Fox’s X-Men series, Quicksilver is an incredibly powerful hero, but in the MCU, he just isn’t all that great. Brother to the incredibly powerful Scarlet Witch, Pietro Maximoff made his one and only appearance in the MCU during Avengers: Age of Ultron (not including the mid-credits scene for Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

Like all versions of Quicksilver, the MCU version of the character has superhuman speed and reflexes. However, he never develops his powers. Quicksilver sacrifices himself to save Hawkeye in Age of Ultron and meets his demise when Ultron riddles him with bullets.

36 Ajak

It's hard to measure how powerful Ajak really is. She was the leader of the Eternals and she was powerful enough for the Celestials to trust her with this group of heroes on Earth. She was also the only one who knew the truth about their existence when they arrived on Earth.

Her power is regeneration and healing, and that is something that helps her teammates, and humans, more than anything. However, she never shows her skills as a warrior and she dies at the hands of one of her own teammates before she could show any powers she might have.

35 Star-Lord

Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, might be the most comedic member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but he can still pack a punch. Not only is Peter Quill talented in close-quarters combat, but he is also half-Celestial.

His powers were developed a lot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when he met Ego, but unfortunately, after he destroyed his father, his powers faded. Since then, Star-Lord is still an expert thief, marksman, and pilot, but he often lets his emotions cloud his judgments.

34 Makkari

Makkari is very similar to Quicksilver. However, while Pietro is one of the fastest mortals on Earth, Makkari is far faster than Quicksilver and is one of the fastest beings in the entire Marvel Universe. After the Emergence in The Eternals, she ran across the entire Earth trying to find its location.

Not even Quicksilver can do something like that. However, while she is super fast, and that is likely enough to win a battle with most villains, she never showed her fighting skills to their full extent in the movie, and her full powers levels remain questionable.

33 Drax

Drax is no doubt a powerful fighter, but he, unfortunately, is the least powerful member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team. Each member of the team is powerful for their own reasons, but Drax mainly relies on his brute strength to get jobs done.

Even though he is used for comedic relief in the movies, Drax is often seen as oblivious. With that in mind, he has superhuman strength and durability, while also being skilled at hand-to-hand combat, so that counts for something.

32 Rocket

If this list were based upon sheer strength, Rocket would no doubt be below Drax, but Rocket has more to offer than just pure strength. Rocket might just be an experiment that went wrong, but his genetic enhancements made him the smartest member of the Guardians team.

While Rocket can hold his own in a fight, he is also a skilled marksman, engineer, and pilot. Not to mention Rocket is a master manipulator, so he convinces people to do things for him and to get himself out of sticky situations by using his head. 

31 War Machine

James Rhodes has been a part of the MCU since the very beginning of the franchise, although Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard after the first Iron Man. Rhodes may have not been an incredibly powerful character early in the series, but by Iron Man 2, the character had become War Machine.

Rhodey is lucky enough to battle alongside his best friend in one of his Iron Man suits, but Rhodey just isn’t as skilled with a suit as Tony is. He also dropped somewhat thanks to breaking his back in Civil War, but he can show his true power on his own in Armor Wars. 

30 Kingo

Kingo is another Eternals member. Much like Makkari and Phastos, he doesn't seem to care much about fighting. There are times when he gets excited and shows off his powers, but those are usually just energy blasts, and they never seemed that impressive in action.

Kingo's blasts seemed to slow down Deviants, but he seemed more like a front-line soldier who just set up bad guys for his more powerful teammates to take down. Kingo looks even worse when Captain Marvel uses similar powers on a much grander scale.

29 Hawkeye

Everybody always jokes that Hawkeye is the weakest member of the original Avengers team, and that is probably true. The MCU has since introduced weaker heroes, but Hawkeye is still just a human with a bow and arrow. That being said, Hawkeye has an array of specialty arrows at his disposal, and he is likely the greatest marksman in the fictional world of the MCU.

Hawkeye and Black Widow are pretty evenly tied in a fight, but Clint, unfortunately, has a soft spot for Natasha and even pulled his punches during his fight against her in Captain America: Civil War. Hawkeye could have dropped in the MCU power rankings when he lost his hearing, but in reality, it removed a distraction and he still held his own against a master assassin in Yelena Belova.

28 Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is an Eternal, but he is mostly just like Drax, but with much more in the way of intelligence. In the movie, he stood by Thena's side, always there to protect her. Thena was one of the most powerful members of the team, but Gilgamesh stood up to her and stopped her when needed.

His confidence made his powers stronger. What holds him down is that, despite his immense strength, it was his emotional connection to Thena that ended up as his downfall, and he ended up as one of the only Eternals to die in the big final battle.

27 Falcon/Captain America

Played by Anthony Mackie, Falcon has been in a handful of the MCU movies. First appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Samuel Thomas Wilson quickly became a trusted ally of Captain America.

He formally served in the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard, but his military training doesn’t add much when being compared to other MCU heroes ranked. Falcon got a massive upgrade in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He got Captain America's shield and even has his own tech guy who could become the new Falcon.

26 Yelena Belova

Yelena Belova is the new Black Widow in the MCU. She made her debut in the solo Black Widow movie as Natasha's little "sister," although that was just a cover, as they were Russian sleeper agents in the United States. As a young adult, she was a top assassin for the Red Room program.

She proved her power when she took Black Widow to the limit in that movie. She also backed it up when she battled both Hawkeye and Kate Bishop and neither of them could beat her decisively. Yelena has big shoes to step into but has proven more than capable of taking on the role.

25 Black Widow

Many people debate over who is more powerful between Hawkeye and Black Widow, and they truly are pretty evenly matched. That being said, Natasha Romanoff was trained as a lethal assassin and talented spy from a very young age.

When introduced in Iron Man 2, the movie joked she was simply eye candy for characters like Tony Stark and Happy Hogan, but she quickly proved herself as an incredibly brutal fighter. Black Widow fights with no remorse and full force. While she died in Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow proved she was more than a regular human, fighting just as well as her genetically enhanced teammates. 

24 Ant-Man

Scott Lang may just be a regular human without his Ant-Man suit, but his most powerful ability with the suit is size manipulation. Using tech developed by Hank Pym, Scott can alter his size, which allows him to compress force and energy, redistributing it at his enemy. Lang can shrink down to the size of an ant, which allows him to sneak past guards and through small cracks, but can also grow up to 65 feet.

After being trained by Hope van Dyne, Scott became a formidable fighter, and can also control insects by using an EMP Communication Device. Ant-Man is no doubt powerful, but he can also be clumsy at times. 

23 The Winter Soldier

Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, is a childhood friend of Steve Rogers. Barnes became a prisoner of war during World War II, and as a result, was experimented on by Arnim Zola to recreate Cap’s super-soldier serum. This allowed Bucky to survive into the present day, where he continues to develop his skills.

In Captain America: Civil War, Bucky helped Captain America defeat Iron Man, and even battled Tony without the help of Cap. Bucky is an incredible fighter but became even more powerful when he received a Vibranium arm while recovering on Wakanda, proving his full potential in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

22 The Wasp

When comparing The Wasp to Ant-Man, their skills are pretty evenly matched, but Wasp has a slight advantage over her partner. One of the biggest advantages she has over Ant-Man is the fact that she is incredibly intelligent since Hank Pym raised her.

In combat, Wasp is also incredibly versatile since her Wasp suit has a set of wings. Her suit also has built-in blasters, while still having the same abilities as Ant-Man, such as size manipulation that improves her density and strength. 

21 Loki

Loki started off in the MCU as one of the most powerful villains. He was why the Avengers had to team up the first time to save the world. While he relied on an alien army to back him up, he was powerful enough to enchant Hawkeye and was a tough opponent for Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.

In Thor: The Dark World, he transformed into an antihero, which continued in Thor: Ragnarok and finally in Loki. His powers mostly saw him creating illusions, but he proved in Loki he had a lot more of his mother's magic in him, raising him dramatically in the MCU power rankings.

20 Nebula

Originally, Nebula was a villain, but in recent movies, she has grown to become a hero in her own way. If Nebula would have grown up with a normal childhood, she probably would have been lower on this list, but she became incredibly powerful since Thanos took her at a young age.

Thanos crafted her into the fighter she is today, while constantly upgrading her with cybernetic enhancements. Because of Nebula's bionic enhancements, she can repair herself if severely injured, and has a much higher physical capability than the average fighter. 

19 Gamora

Gamora and Nebula are almost on the same page when it comes to combat. Both Gamora and Nebula were trained by their adoptive father, Thanos, but Gamora would always win against her sister. Gamora can't heal herself like Nebula after a fight, but Gamora has proven time and time again to be the superior fighter over Nebula.

When compared to other MCU heroes ranked, Gamora has a big advantage in combat thanks to Thanos. Gamora’s hatred for Thanos allows her to fight harder and stronger, especially when she has a sword by her side. After Gamora's death, an alternate timeline version has arrived, and while she has the same skills, it is unclear if her lack of experience as a hero will weaken or strengthen her powers.

18 Spider-Man

Several versions of Spider-Man have appeared over the years, but the current version of the character is being played by Tom Holland. Spider-Man is a teenage superhero in the MCU but has already proven his strength as a superhero. He become a successful crime-fighter with a homemade Spidey-suit but become an even better fighter with the suits Tony Stark provided him.

Parker gained many superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider, including wall-crawling, a Spidey-sense, and a regenerative healing factor. As his character further developed, he became stronger, and his recent adventures with Spider-Men from other worlds took him to his limit. 

17 Druig

Druig is an Eternals member whose powers are very deceptive. He has mind control powers, and what makes him even more powerful and dangerous is that he is not afraid to use the powers. He can do what Scarlet Witch did in WandaVision, but he does it on purpose and at his own discretion.

He stopped an entire war despite his commanding officer ordering him not to. He then went into hiding and created his own community, many of which were serving his entire whim. His power could stop an entire superhero team in the blink of an eye.

16 Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe ten years ago when Iron Man hit theaters in 2008. Tony Stark has been a crucial character in all of the Avengers movies to date and seemingly got more powerful with each movie. The source of Tony’s strength is no doubt his Iron Man armors.

Without his suit, Tony is an average fighter, but his armors give him protection, allow him to fly, and give him an array of weapons with incredible strength. Iron Man took down many enemies throughout the last ten years and even put up a fair fight against Captain America. Even in his death, Iron Man beat the most powerful villain in the universe in Thanos with his brains, cunning, and the snap of a finger.

15 Sersi

It was often hard to see how powerful Sersi was in Eternals. That is because she mostly remained calm and collected and didn't need to show off her powers at the drop of a hat. However, when the chips were down, Sersi fought harder than almost anyone on her team.

Her power is manipulating matter. Sersi turned a Deviant into a tree to stop any more destruction. She turned a bus into rose petals to save lives. She turned the great Celestial Tiamut into marble and saved the entire planet Earth. MCU heroes rarely get more powerful than that.

14 Groot

In the MCU power rankings, the most powerful member of the Guardians of the Galaxy is without a doubt, Groot. This Flora Colossus might not say anything besides “Groot,” but his vocabulary doesn’t affect his strength. Groot can grow parts of his body to attack enemies, make himself taller, and even create a shield to protect himself.

Groot’s healing factor is also a big bonus for the character, since Groot can grow back amputated body parts within hours, and can even regenerate if someone ends his life. 

13 Black Panther

One of the newer characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is T’Challa, aka Black Panther. T’Challa is a skilled fighter even without his Black Panther suit, but the advanced technology of Wakanda gives him a tremendous advantage over his enemies and other MCU heroes on this list.

The Black Panther suit is made out of Vibranium, which can absorb kinetic energy and store it in order to attack enemies later on. Besides the clear advantage Black Panther has with technology, he is also skilled at creating strategies and tactics for battle. 

12 Captain America

Another one of the original Avengers who comes higher on the list is Captain America. He has many advantages over his opponents, but among his greatest source of strength is the super-soldier serum that was developed by scientist Abraham Erskine. Captain America’s shield is made out of Vibranium, which allows him to protect himself while also using his shield as a weapon.

As if his enhanced speed, stamina, and agility weren’t enough, Steve Rogers is incredibly loyal and determined. While that may not make him physically stronger, never giving up helped him battle Thanos in Avengers: Endgame hand-to-hand. Captain America also ended his career as a hero his way. 

11 Thena

Thena is the one member of the Eternals that seemed like a warrior no one would want to battle. She is fierce, and she showed more than once that she had the strength and power to take down, and possibly kill any member of the Eternals.

She didn't want to do this, but she had Mahd Wy’ry, which caused her subconscious to know there was something wrong with her memories, and this drove her to moments of pure uncontrolled rage. She was strong enough to kill Deviants by herself and had the strength to stand up to Ikarus when he betrayed the team.

10 Vision

The Vision started out as Tony Stark’s personal A.I. named J.A.R.V.I.S. but received a synthetic Vibranium body in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Vision has superhuman strength and durability, but he has so many more powers that set him apart from his fellow MCU heroes.

Vision can manipulate his density, phase through objects, fly, and has a genius-level intellect since he is a form of A.I. Vision has proven to be invaluable during a fight and was one of the few characters with the ability to lift Thor’s hammer. The Mind Stone powered Vision, which meant Thanos ripping it out of his head killed him instantly. There is a new Vision in the MCU after WandaVision, but his power levels are unknown.

9 Shang-Chi

In the MCU power rankings, Shang-Chi is one of the most powerful martial artists in the universe. However, in the movies, he received even more powers. Shang-Chi didn't have full access to the Chi powers the comics gave him in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but in the end, he got something more powerful.

Shang-Chi got the legendary Ten Rings. He might never get the Chi powers from the comics, but as long as he possesses the rings, he has immense, and almost unmeasurable powers. The rings kept Mandarin in power for a very long time and should make Shang-Chi very hard to beat.

8 Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau made her MCU introduction in Captain Marvel when she was a little girl. She returned years later in WandaVision. Monica was part of the Blip and when she arrived, S.W.O.R.D. benched her from the government task force her mother helped build.

When she tried to infiltrate Westview to find out what was wrong there, she ended up getting some amazing powers. These allowed her to do some impressive things, and they can even get more dangerous because in the comics she can control all forms of energy and is one of the most powerful characters in comics when powered up fully.

7 Hulk

Hulk is one of the strongest MCU heroes in existence, and people aren’t wrong. The biggest advantage Hulk has is his absolute brute strength. Hulk is by far one of the strongest Avengers, and his alter ego, Bruce Banner, is also incredibly powerful.

When Bruce Banner returns to his human form, he has a genius-level intellect and is one of the smartest human beings in the world. In Avengers: Endgame, the two sides combined. While this weakens Hulk in the comics, the movies have not shown Hulk to be that de-powered since he became Professor Hulk.

6 Ikaris

In the MCU power rankings, Ikaris is the most powerful member of the Eternals by a long shot. The closest comparison to his power levels is that he is Marvel's version of Superman. He can fly and has super strength. He can also shoot beams from his eyes and he even killed his own leader, Ajak.

In the final battle in Eternals, he battled most of his teammates by himself while the Celestial he swore to protect attempted to rise and destroy the Earth. Phastos used his inventions to hold him at bay and Makkari struck several blows thanks to her speed. However, no one on his team could beat him. When Sersi took out the Celestial, Ikaris took his own life.

5 Doctor Strange

Stephen Strange started out as an arrogant neurosurgeon but has since grown to become an incredibly powerful sorcerer and a member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Strange can create weapons and shields out of energy using magic, use his Sling Ring to travel between dimensions, and can fly using the Cloak of Levitation.

Strange manipulated time with the use of the Eye of Agamotto (which held the Time Stone). Doctor Strange has proven himself to not only be a master of the Mystic Arts but was even able to outwit Dormammu and battle Thanos one on one. Strange even used his powers to open a portal to the multiverse, which will lead to several problems down the line. In the MCU power rankings, Strange is the second most powerful magic user.

4 Scarlet Witch

Unlike her brother Pietro, Wanda Maximoff is by far one of the most powerful MCU heroes in rankings. Scarlet Witch has an array of superpowers, all of which are incredibly strong. Wanda can project energy in blasts and waves, she has telekinesis, and can also form a psionic force field.

She is also skilled in telepathy, can manipulate people’s minds, and can also use her powers to levitate. Wanda proved to be so powerful that only she could stop her reign of terror when she forced an entire town under her control and never let go until she realized the damage she had done. Scarlet Witch could become the most powerful villain in MCU history if she continues down the wrong path. 

3 Thor

Thor was one of the six original Avengers and is by far one of the strongest MCU heroes alive. As an Asgardian, Thor is naturally strong and an adequate fighter, but his powers have only grown since his first appearance. In Thor: Ragnarok, he learned Mjolnir isn’t the source of his power and that he can manipulate weather and electricity at will.

In Avengers: Infinity War, he survived the full blast of a star to form Stormbreaker, which he used to almost defeat Thanos. Thanos is often considered one of the most powerful beings in the entire MCU, and Thor decapitated him with one strike in Avengers: Endgame.

2 Captain Marvel

Carol Danvers was trained by the Kree as a warrior and she received powers from that alien race early on. However, she gained a huge power boost in Captain Marvel that made her more powerful than even the strongest Kree warriors.

When she arrived back on Earth in Avengers: Endgame, she presented a turning point in the war with Thanos. Captain Marvel was easily the most powerful person in the battle, more than even Iron Man and Thor, and she helped turn the tide. The MCU has kept her away from Earth to help level the playing field, but when she is in the game, Carol is at the top of the MCU power rankings.

1 Honorable Mention: Stan Lee

No list ranking powerful MCU heroes could be complete without Stan Lee. There is a popular fan theory that Lee is actually playing one of the Watchers; an ancient race that simply watches over the events that unfold across the universe.

While he has appeared in every MCU movie to date, Lee is more than just a powerful hero in the movies. Stan Lee was a real-life hero for many of his fans around the world and his work in the comic book industry was a crucial part of the development of the MCU. Needless to say, Lee will never be forgotten and will always be considered a true superhero.

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