“Avengers…Assemble!“ a war cry that has made Marvel fans jump out of their seats in theaters, has been an integral part of our beloved Captain America’s arsenal of inspiring words for the Earth’s mightiest heroes, The Avengers. First appearing in the debut comic The Avengers Vol .1 in the year 1963, The Avengers quickly amassed a cult-level following around the world. And well, there’s a lot of commotion among fans regarding the strongest Avenger. Is it Captain America? or is it Iron Man? or maybe Thor? we will try to answer your question in this article, ranking the most powerful Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (from weakest to most powerful) below.
15. Hawkeye
Clint Barton, or Hawkeye is ranked the second lowest on this list making him one of the weakest Avengers. Hawkeye has been an integral part of the team since the very first Avengers movie. But still, Haweye’s lack of superpowers or any enhanced human ability, makes him an easy target, and we see him suffering severe injuries throughout every Avengers movie he has been a part of.
Even though Hawkeye is an absolute master of archery, a simple bow & arrow cannot stand against mystical and practically impenetrable aliens or machines, hence, making him one of the least powerful Avengers.
14. Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff, popularly known as the Black Widow, is an integral part of the Avengers and has extensively helped Nick Fury in tracking down and recruiting superheroes for his vision of the Avengers. She is a highly trained assassin, trained initially in the Soviet Union under the Black Widow initiative in a facility called the Red Room, making her highly efficient at every known martial arts form in the world.
Now, you must be wondering that if she’s that good and important, why is she ranked lower in our list of the most powerful Avengers? Well, her efficiency, even though it’s admirable, but she is efficient only when the opponent is capable of taking physical damage. For all practical reasons, you can’t possibly throw a punch at an entity that is able to levitate things with its mind or is made out of titanium. So yeah, she is important for the Avengers and dangerous as well, but her limited lethality lands her in lower ranks on this list.
13. The Falcon
Sam Wilson or The Falcon gained serious popularity after the Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series was released on Disney+ in 2019. Sam Wilson has a history of military service as a pararescueman for the United States Airforce and has been on multiple overseas missions as well. He was chosen to test a prototype wingsuit to infiltrate hostile territory, which was inaccessible to military choppers because of severe RPG fire.
Along with his friend named Riley, he successfully completed the task handed to him, but Riley was killed in action by an RPG. After losing his friend, he quit military service and started a support group for trauma-suffering military veterans, and later on, took the mantle of The Falcon.
Even after being one of the coolest heroes in The Avengers, his lower ranking is pretty much explained in his origin. A superhero whose sole power is limited to a wingsuit and who can be taken down by damaging his wings kind of makes him a little less, you know, super. Even after being an extremely useful asset to The Avengers in the sky, and a formidable force with a firearm strapped to him, his vulnerability pushes him down on this list.
12. The Winter Soldier
Making his debut in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the winter soldier took the audience by surprise when he grabbed Captain America’s Shield with his metal arm and threw it back at him. The Winter Soldier is none other than Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes, which came in as quite the shock. Barnes was captured and brainwashed by Arnim Zola of HYDRA to turn him into a cold-blooded assassin. That’s how the Winter Soldier was born. Barnes was later rehabilitated by Captain America and even became a member of the Avengers.
If we talk about heroes with no superpowers except strength and agility, The Winter Soldier tops the list because his lethality does not depend on a superpower or a suit of armor, but on his training and agility. He is equally lethal whether he is fighting with a sharp-edged branch or a Knife or automatic weapons. Even with his bare hands, he is a force to be feared.
11. Ant-Man
Scott Lang, a thief turned superhero, is known for his comic style of carrying out superhero tasks with the powers granted to him by Dr. Hank Pym’s Pym Particle. If we talk about his powers, he is undoubtedly a wielder of some of the coolest powers in the MCU but to be ranked highly in this list of Avengers, it takes more than just that.
The problem with Scott Lang’s character is his unwillingness to be lethal. We all have to admit that Ant-Man could have ended Thanos within a few minutes of his appearance only if he used his shrinking powers to shrink and well…you know where I am going with this. The point is, Ant-Man always shies away from hurting people with his powers and even if he does, we’ve seen him apologize to his victims. With his powers, he is capable of being one of the most powerful Avengers, but since he shies away from using the full potential of his powers, he is ranked tenth on this list.
10. The Hulk
Taking up the ninth position is our giant green friend, The Hulk. The Hulk has been a part of the Avengers since the first Avengers movie and is still an integral part of the team. He is the being that emerged out of severe gamma radiation to which Bruce Banner was exposed, turning him into the Hulk.
Hulk’s brute force has been a power to reckon with, making him a great asset to the Avengers in the first few movies. But then again, brute force becomes practically useless while facing an entity that can use its mind to uproot buildings. On the other hand, Bruce Banner is a genius holding 7 PhDs and had been of great help to solve a lot of problems for the Avengers.
Alongside Tony Stark, he bought Vision to life, and it seems that Marvel has also figured out that they will have to create a balance between Bruce Banner’s intellect and Hulk’s Brute force.
9. Black Panther
T’Challa, popularly known as Black Panther, served as an Avenger briefly but played a crucial role in the MCU. King T’Challa of Wakanda, a highly advanced civilization cut from the rest of the world, becomes the Black Panther after consuming a purple heart-shaped herb. This herb grants him some superhuman abilities and when paired with his suit made out of Vibranium, the same metal Captain America’s shield is made of, he becomes a powerful and lethal force.
The reason he has been kept in the eighth position is pretty simple, he is a character who might work alongside different people but never trusts anyone. Black Panther is always paranoid in his behavior which makes him pretty easy to manipulate. Even though Black Panther is extremely strong and has even given a tough fight to Captain America, this one flaw of his makes him lack the strength of character that’s expected from a superhero, hence, pushing him down on our ranking of the most powerful Avengers.
8. Spiderman
When we are talking about the strongest Avengers, how can we not talk about our friendly neighborhood Spiderman? Initially recruited by Tony Stark for his team of superheroes in Captain America: Civil War, Spiderman crawled up his rank from a temporary asset to Iron Man, to being an Avenger. With his enhanced human abilities, Spider powers, and Tony Stark’s tech, Spiderman becomes a lethal force against every kind of enemy Avengers can encounter.
Even though Spiderman is a really strong as well as a really brilliant superhero, as Tony Stark said, he lacks maturity in many aspects of his character. Being a teenager, he does not have the maturity needed to have a more practical thought process. Moreover, he also lacks the life experiences that can make him a better superhero.
7. Doctor Strange
Previously a neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange found his powers on his quest for a cure for his damaged hands after an accident. After becoming a master of the mystical arts, Stephen Strange, became Doctor Strange. After the death of The Ancient One, Strange took up the mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme. Armed with mystical powers, Stephen Strange is a hero who is capable of the unimaginable; even Thanos was baffled by the powers of Doctor Strange when he turned Thanos’ attacks into butterflies in Avengers: Infinity War.
Even though Doctor Strange is powerful, but with that, he is extremely arrogant as well. We have seen this behavior of his throughout the MCU from his very first appearance in his standalone movie to the latest installment of Spiderman, Spiderman: No Way Home. Doctor Strange’s arrogance has oftentimes led him to a path that has ultimately been of harm to him. On top of that, this flaw of his makes him a pain for the Avengers at times, hence, he has been placed sixth on this list.
6. Iron Man
Since his first appearance in the year 2008, Iron Man became a cult-level fan favorite, and even after the death of Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, people love him as much as they did when he first appeared on the big screen. Tony Stark, the owner of Stark Industries and a weapons manufacturer, was captured by a radical group. Seeing his weapons being used to cause mass destruction and innocent deaths, he decided to become a force against such things. To combat it, he created a suit of mechanical armor for himself, taking up the mantle of Iron Man.
Even after being a fan favorite, his only flaw is that he is too smart and too rich, two things that don’t go well together. Initially, he was portrayed as arrogant and full of himself but eventually went through a character development throughout his journey in the MCU.
The only reason I am putting Iron Man in the fifth rank is his vulnerability. Iron Man is undoubtedly one of the strongest Avengers but only till his Arc Reactor isn’t damaged. In Iron Man 2, we witnessed his near-death experience just because of his Arc Reactor. He is a brilliant human being as well but even after being one of the strongest, this sole vulnerability of Iron Man pushes him to the fifth position.
5. Captain America
Captain America first appeared in his standalone movie Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, and is easily one of the most loved Marvel characters in the MCU. Steve Rogers was a regular everyday guy who was weak and stout but had a very strong moral character. He was often found being bullied in the alleys of New York, refusing to run away because he could “take it all day.” After being recruited in the US Army, he was injected with the Super Soldier Serum, enhancing his physical abilities and turning him into Captain America.
Steve Rogers is indeed one of the strongest Avengers in our rankings. You must be wondering, why our beloved Cap is not the first on this list, well, the simple answer to that question is, he’s human. Even though he possesses incredible strength and even stood toe to toe against Thanos, he is susceptible to physical damage and we’ve seen him being heavily injured in the movies as well.
On top of that, his emotional and moral standing sometimes becomes a barrier in making practical decisions, as we witnessed in Captain America: Civil War, hence, placing him in the top five most powerful Avengers in the MCU.
4. Vision
Initially created by Ultron using vibranium and given life by the Mind Stone, Vision was meant to be the perfect form for Ultron himself but The Avengers got their hands on the body of Vision. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner uploaded the remnants of Jarvis, Tony Stark’s personal AI assistant, giving life to Vision.
Vision after taking a stand against Ultron joined the Avengers and without a doubt was one of the most powerful among them since his powers were sourced out of the Mind Stone, an Infinity Stone. Plus, he kind of embarrassed Thor by picking Mjolnir up like a paperweight. We would have loved to see more of Vision but unfortunately, he was killed by Thanos during the events of Infinity War.
3. Captain Marvel
Armed with cosmic powers, Carol Denver aka Captain Marvel, is one of the most powerful Avengers. Gaining her powers after the explosion in a Tesseract-based engine, she has become a fan favorite after her debut in her standalone movie.
Even after being one of the physically strongest superheroes in Marvel, Carol Danvers shows a lack of mental strength. Captain Marvel is very much vulnerable to brainwashing, mind control, or even possession, making her vulnerable in front of anyone who is capable of getting into someone’s head. This vulnerability of hers lands her third in the list of most powerful Avengers.
Buckle up, for we will be seeing her alongside the other Marvels very soon.
2. Scarlet Witch (Wanda)
Wanda Maximoff, even though no longer an Avenger, is without a second thought one of the most powerful Avengers there has been. She possesses powers that are unmatched by almost every MCU superhero and villain alike. Her title of “Scarlet Witch” is pretty appropriate, keeping in mind the havoc she caused in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, which was essentially a disclaimer that no matter what happens, do not piss off the Scarlet Witch. We saw her being capable of manipulating time, realities, and even the physical form of anyone who stands in her way (RIP Black Bolt).
She has incredible powers and is a force to be feared, but why is she still second on this list? The answer is her lacking strength of character. Wanda has no visible control over her emotions, and she lets her emotions drive her most of the time instead of doing what’s right. Her emotional instability makes her rather a threat to the Avengers than an asset, which is evident in the events of Multiverse of Madness.
1. Thor
Physical Strength? Check. God-like Powers? Check. Strength of character? Check. Topping our list of the most powerful Avengers in the MCU, I present to you, The Mighty Thor. Some people might not agree with me, but hear me out. If we look at Thor, he is one of those superheroes who has always lost everything he loved or cared about. With powers like his, he could have gone down the path Wanda or Loki did, but he chose to not sway from the right path and stood by it. Hence, he proved to have a much greater strength of character compared to Wanda.
Other than his character, we have also seen how powerful he is in combat with or without the Mjölnir or the Stormbreaker. He possesses all the qualities of a perfect superhero. Strength of character, physical strength, mystical strength, you name it, and Thor has it. Hence, making him the strongest Avenger on this list.
So Far we have adored and loved all these marvel heroes and have been awestruck seeing them work together as a team although some of our beloved characters are dead. Now the question arises, when are we going to see them together on screen again? Don’t you worry, we’ve got you covered. Check out our article on the upcoming marvel movies to know when we might get to see the avengers back together again. Moreover, it can get pretty overwhelming if you are just starting off. To help you, here’s a proper Marvel Watch Order to keep you on the right track.
Ajith Kumar
