Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War!

When you’re the God of Thunder, there are very few things in the universe that can defy you. Thor is one of the linchpins within the Marvel universe, and he is probably one of the most powerful beings to exist. He is the Avengers’ mightiest member–he takes out foes that almost every other hero couldn’t even stand a chance against.

In the Cinematic Universe, they make Thor be more of an extraterrestrial than a mythical being. While there are a lot of sci-fi elements within the mythology of Thor in the comics, he is more of a mythical being in the comics than he is in the movies. The Asgardians come from an alternate universe, and they use sorcery and magic. Whereas it is hinted in the films that Thor is the influence of Thor in Norse mythology, in the comics Thor is literally the God that people once worshipped.

Since Thor is more like the God Thor from Norse legends in the comics, he is considerably more powerful in the comics than he is in the movies. Thor is, without a doubt, extremely strong in the movies as well; he just doesn’t reach the same heights of invincibility that comic Thor has. Of course, that all changes at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, where he nearly defeats Thanos, who possessed all six infinity stones at that time. Even Hulk was no match for Thanos, so it was shocking to witness Thor nearly end the life of the greatest threat in the Universe. With that said, Thor may be super powerful, but there are many stronger than him. Even in the comics, there are beings more powerful than the God of Thunder.

23 Galactus: Population Control

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Galactus is a cosmic entity; he is a giant being who consumes planets. He serves a specific function in the Marvel Universe. Like any living organism, he needs to eat nutrients to sustain himself. His only source of consumption is living planets. He sucks the energy out of habitant planets, leaving them huskless and occasionally completely destroyed. They oftentimes end up simply being floating debris in space.

Galactus isn’t evil; he, in fact, is nature’s way of preventing galactic overpopulation.

Similar to how all animals on Earth are vital in order to keep a stable ecosystem, Galactus is needed in order to keep the universe in balance. He has attempted to consume Earth several times, but the Fantastic Four have prevented him.

Even though he is a constant threat towards many planets, the heroes rarely actively face against him. He only does what’s in his nature, and despite all the tragedies he causes, he is actually very much needed in the Universe. With that said, if any Marvel superhero fought against him, they would surely be no match. Even Thor wouldn’t have a chance against Galactus. Galactus is a force of nature, and stopping him would be near impossible.

22 Vision: He Is Worthy

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The Vision may actually be more powerful than Thor in the cinematic universe. The Vision in the comics is certainly powerful, probably even more powerful than his cinematic incarnation. However, Thor is also much stronger in the comics than he is in the films (until very recently), so Vision was never really Thor’s equal in the comic books. With that said, the Vision in the Cinematic Universe may actually give Thor a lot of trouble if they met. That’s mostly because Vision can lift Mjølnir.

In the comics, it is established that whoever lifts Mjølnir would have the powers of Thor. Only those worthy can lift it. It is supposed to be the same the movies as well, except in the comics, there is more to it. Anyone lifting the hammer usually goes through a transformation and gains Thor’s godly powers outside of wielding the hammer. This includes Thor’s invulnerability and lighting powers.

In the Cinematic Universe, Vision was the only other person to lift Mjølnir, and he received no extra benefit outside wielding the hammer. That is not meant to demean Vision’s accomplishment. In fact, if Vision could masterfully wield Mjølnir, he may be able to surpass Thor in strength. Mjølnir, plus Vision’s other superpowers, may make him superior to Thor.

21 Dormammu: Another Realm

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In the Doctor Strange movie, the main villains are trying to bring Dormammu to Earth’s dimension. Dormammu is a being that lives in the Dark Dimension and withholds a great source of power. He is so powerful that if he would come to Earth he would bring nothing but destruction and chaos. He is seen at the end of the Doctor Strange movie, briefly showcasing how powerful he really is. If Stephen Strange didn’t lock him in a time loop, Dormammu would have successfully consumed the Earth with his Dark Dimension.

Since Dormammu is such a powerful being, oftentimes other heroes would need to outsmart him to prevent the destruction of Earth.

Usually they keep him locked away in the Dark Dimension; however, there have been many close calls. Thor may be super strong, yet he has never been “capable of destroying Earth” strong. There was a reason why the main conflict of the Doctor Strange film was trying to stop Dormammu from entering Earth’s reality. Once he arrives, it’s game over. There is almost nothing anyone can do once Dormammu has reached our plane of existence. Even Thor, who is a magical being in his own way, would be powerless to stop the coming of the Dark Lord.

20 Scarlet Witch: Not To Be Overlooked

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For movie watchers, it may seem strange that I would list Scarlet Witch as being stronger than Thor. She is certainly very powerful in the cinematic universe; she was even able to hold off against Thanos for a little while at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Still, Thor was almost able to singlehandedly defeat Thanos at the very end of the movie, so he still came across superior towards Scarlet Witch in terms of strength.

With that said, what makes Scarlet Witch such a powerful figure is the fact in the comics she is capable of changing reality. Her power set has always been vague, more so in the movies than in the comics. Originally, her powers were hexes, meaning she brought about bad luck to whatever she pointed. In the comics, it has been expanded as being chaos magic, and reality manipulation.

Scarlet Witch went through a mental breakdown in the comics. She went full on bonkers. Not in a great state of mind, she used her reality manipulation powers to create chaos among the Avengers. This lead to the passing of several Avengers, including Vision and Ant-Man. She then used her powers to change all of reality completely, creating the House of M universe. Her reality warping powers make her a potential threat to the whole universe, Thor included.

19 Gorr, The God Butcher

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If you haven’t read the comics, you are probably thinking to yourself, “Who is The God Butcher?” Well, Gorr the God Butcher is a relatively new Thor enemy, first appearing in comics in 2013. Gorr was once a mortal alien, who lived every day of his life in complete agony. Believing the gods will one day have mercy on him and his loved ones, he kept on living trusting the gods. His faith in the gods vanishes when his last son finally passes away. When he discovers that gods do exist, he goes on a quest throughout time and space to slay every known god in existence.

While Gorr himself is a fairly weak mortal, he carries with him All-Black the Necrosword. The blade is capable of ending the life of any god, including Thor. It also gives him the strength equal, or possibly greater than that of a god. What is more shocking about All-Black is the fact that it can slay Galactus as well. It took the combined might of present, past, and future Thors to put a stop of Gorr and his ambitions.

Gorr may have been one of the most difficult foes that Thor came across, but his philosophy on gods is what truly hurt Thor the most.

There was a point in time when Thor wasn’t worthy to lift Mjolnir anymore, and that’s because Nick Fury whispered in his ears three simple truths, “Gorr was right.” It was at that moment that Thor lost his worthiness.

18 Sentry: Basically Superman

Another fairly obscure character that most movie fans wouldn’t recognize, Sentry was essentially one of the dozens of Superman copycats within the Marvel universe. Since Superman is one of the most powerful fictional characters in all of media, of course, Sentry would also be one of them. Sentry had a unique twist to him; he was a long lost Silver Age hero that the world at large forgotten. One day, plain old Robert Reynolds suddenly remembers he is the Sentry, and he eventually rejoins the world as one of the strongest heroes ever.

Sentry has the power of a million exploding suns, something even the mighty Thor can’t claim to have. However, Sentry has a dark side to him. It turns out Robert Reynolds was an addict who accidentally drank a serum that gave him his powers while ransacking a laboratory. He also has a split personality. Whereas the Sentry was benevolent and kind-hearted, the Void was Reynolds’ evil other half. Void is just as powerful, if not more so, than the Sentry. The Void was such a threat to the universe that Sentry had to make the world forget him so that he wouldn’t return.

Norman Osborn, AKA the Green Goblin, took advantage of Sentry’s fragile state of mind. He had the Sentry do his dirty work, which ultimately led to the Void being unleashed onto the world. Thor was able to end Sentry’s life, but that was after a helicarrier crashed on him.

17 Hela: The Sister

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The main villainess of Thor: Ragnarok, Hela is the Goddess of Death and ruler of the underworld. In the film, she is Odin’s oldest child, whom he sealed away. After his passing, she was free to unleash her revenge on Asgard. She destroyed Thor’s hammer and was able to end the entire Asgard army all by herself. She grew more powerful the longer she stayed on Asgard, so Thor decided to let Surtur destroy Asgard to finally beat Hela once and for all. Thor was able to take the surviving Asgardians away through a spaceship.

Hela is not the daughter of Odin in the comic books.

Her origins are more closely aligned with Hel from Norse Mythology. Hela is still the queen of the underworld, though it is suggested that she maybe Loki’s offspring from a different incarnation. She doesn’t show off her physical strength nearly as much as the film showed, but she is still someone you do not want to mess with. Since she is the goddess of Death, she has an army of zombies that do all her bidding. She has constantly tried to tempt Thor’s soul to cross over to her realm, most of the time failing.

16 Thanos: The Mad Titan

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It may seem weird to include Thanos on a list of characters more powerful than Thor, especially to those who have watched Avengers: Infinity War, but there is a reason for that. Thor almost ended Thanos' life at the end of Infinity War, even when the Mad Titan had all six of the Infinity Stones. Thanos was able to escape with his life, and accomplish his goal: wipe out half of every living being in the universe. Thanos briefly mocks Thor for not aiming at his head when he was striking him with Stormbreaker. It is that one fatal error that allowed Thanos to snap his fingers, and end half of all life.

While that may make it seem as if Thor had the capabilities to usurp Thanos, it doesn’t necessarily mean Thor was stronger than Thanos with a full power Infinity Gauntlet. Remember, the Infinity Stones can allow Thanos to warp reality, control time, and travel from far distances in space. If he wants to, he could have erased Thor out of existence with his infamous snap. Thor may have gotten the upper hand in that one moment, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Thanos is weaker than him. Thanos still wins in the end, and Thor wasn’t able to stop him despite all his strength.

15 Celestials: Powerful Beings

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Celestials are ancient beings that existed for a very long time in the Marvel Universe. They are giants, and they share enormous power. In the comics, they first arrived on Earth to influence the inhabitants. They are the ones that led to the creation of the X-genes within mutants, and why certain superheroes were created. It was all part of a grand experiment. Generally, the Celestials are beings that the heroes generally try to avoid facing.

Thor, most of the time, is helpless against a Celestial.

It is revealed that centuries ago Thor blessed his ax, called Jarnbjorn, with the power to slice Celestial armor. He did this after being bested by the human mutant Apocalypse, who wore Celestial armor. Unfortunately, villains called the Apocalypse Twins used the ax to end a Celestial. In retaliation, the other Celestials destroyed the Earth. Don’t worry, though: the surviving Avengers travel back in time to prevent the Celestials from destroying the planet.

While Jarnbjorn gives Thor the power to slice through a Celestial armor, Thor was still completely incapable of stopping the other Celestials from destroying Earth. In fact, the whole reason why Thor blessed the ax was that he was unable to stop someone with Celestial powers.

14 The Beyonder: Needing To Call In Help

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Let me take you to the magical time of the 1980s. Marvel comics wanted to expand their superhero brands to toys, so they made a deal with toy manufacturer Mattel, who were known for their He-Man toys. The deal between Mattel and Marvel was simple. Mattel will create new toys based around the classic Marvel heroes. Marvel, in turn, will need to advertise these toys with a new, mega-event comic series. After hashing out several ideas, then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter came up with comic series called Secret Wars.

The basic premise of Secret Wars was that Earth’s mightiest heroes and villains were sent away to a deserted planet, where they fought for the amusement of their captor. It was essentially a story about a kid playing with his toys; in this case, the kid was an omnipotent being called the Beyonder, and the toys were superheroes and supervillains.

The Beyonder is actually part of a race called, well, the Beyonders. Beyonders are all omnipotent beings that exist in an alternate dimension. Thor was able to slay a single Beyonder, but that was with the help of fellow superheroes Hyperion and Starbrand. Alone, he was no match against the godly race. He soon perishes against an army of Beyonders.

13 Onslaught: The Proxy

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We always think of Professor X as the altruistic leader of the X-Men, and the proud father figure for all of mutantkind. This is not correct, at least not in the comics. While he is almost always on the side of the angels, he has done some despicable things. This includes, but not limited to, sending a new team of X-Men to save the original X-Men, only for them to perish. He then erases the memory of the original X-Men about the team that perished, so that they wouldn’t feel guilty about it.

During the Fatal Attractions storyline, Magneto returns and rips out the Adamantium from Wolverine, nearly ending him. In a rage, Professor X then does a complete mind wipe on Magneto, rendering him catatonic. It is at that moment that the darkest parts of Magneto’s mind survived, and merge with the dark aspects of Professor X’s mind. The two minds formed together to become a completely new being, using Professor X’s body as a proxy.

This being was Onslaught, and literally no one could stop it.

Not even the combined might of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four could hurt it. Avengers, including Thor, sacrifice themselves with the Fantastic Four to finish off Onslaught once and for all.

12 Franklin Richards: The Prodigal Son

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Thor, along with all of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, gallantly sacrifice themselves to stop Onslaught. At least that is what it appeared at the time. It is later revealed that all the brave heroes that seemingly lost their lives to Onslaught were actually saved by Franklin Richards. Franklin is the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four. He is an omega level mutant, meaning his potential is almost limitless. He has reality-warping powers and is capable of conjuring up anything he can imagine.

He was able to teleport the Avengers and Fantastic Four to a pocket dimension that he created. Everyone’s history is slightly altered–this was done in order to update certain characters’ backstories for more modern times. Eventually, all the heroes were able to return home, safe and sound.

Franklin’s potential is one of the biggest x-factors in the Marvel Universe. He legitimately has no limits on his powers, and beings like Galactus are terrified of what he is capable of. Fortunately for the whole Universe, Franklin is still a child and is being raised by the two loving parents. Once Franklin has better control of his powers, he may be able to be the biggest force of good that the universe has ever seen.

11 Apocalypse: Too Powerful

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Apocalypse is often labeled as the first mutant. That’s because he predates almost every other early sightings of mutants by nearly centuries. Apocalypse is a powerful mutant with multiple powers. His power set includes immortality, super healing, super strength, and shapeshifting. Early in his life, he came across a crashed Celestial ship. He would then be able to use Celestial technology throughout the centuries. He was able to construct himself a Celestial armor, which he wears at all times.

Apocalypse also has the ability to gift others superpowers. He has demonstrated this several time, particularly on his horsemen. He gave the X-Man Angel metal wings after he lost his original wings. In an alternate universe called the Age of Apocalypse, he controlled the whole United States.

He is one of the biggest enemies of the X-Men, though he rarely faces against heroes that aren’t mutants.

He did come across a young Thor though in 1014 A.D. Thor did not have his Mjolnir yet, and only has his ax, Jarnbjorn. Thor lost to Apocalypse in a fight. The humiliation of the defeat made Thor bless Jarnbjorn to slice through Celestial armor. Thor and Apocalypse have yet to have a proper rematch. Apocalypse has gotten more powerful since their fateful encounter; however, Thor now has his trusted hammer. Who would come out on top now?

10 Dr. Doom: A Fantastic Foe

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Dr. Doom is one of the best fictional villains of all time, yet somehow the film versions have consistently failed to translate him properly on the big screen. Doom is the ruler of the fictional nation called Latveria. He wears full body armor, hiding a disfigurement on his face. Whatever disfigurement he has depends from story to story. Sometimes he is hiding severe burns all across his body. Other times he simply is hiding a small scar on his face.

Dr. Doom is an evil genius and egomaniac. He honestly believes he knows what’s best for everyone, yet his ego and pride get in his way to actually help the world. He also has a weird sense of what is right and wrong, making come into direct conflict with the Marvel heroes. He is also the ruler of a nation, giving him lots of resources.

Doom is mostly a normal man. He may be a super genius and has some sorcery skills, but he’s still a man nonetheless. Thor would easily overwhelm him on a one-on-one. With that said, Doom is super intelligent. He probably would figure out ways to outsmart him. There was also the time that Doom gains the power of the Beyonder race and becomes a god. As a god, Doom defeated Thanos and the Phoenix with ease. Thor would have no chance against god Doom.

9 Mephisto: How Do You Beat Him?

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That’s the question one is faced with when confronting Mephisto. Mephisto is a demon that is known to be making deals for people’s souls and ruling the underworld. So he is pretty much the devil in the Marvel universe. Though there are many rulers of the underworlds in the Marvel Universe, Mephisto probably has the biggest claim to be the devil. He is red, devious, and, most importantly, biblically evil. There’s always a price to be made when making a deal with Mephisto.

How can you beat the devil?

Mephisto was the one who made a deal with Johnny Blaze that made him the Ghost Rider. Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto in order to spare his father-figure from cancer. While Mephisto saves his father from cancer, he didn’t prevent his passing in a stunt show soon after. Another noticeable deal that Mephisto made was with none other than everyone’s favorite neighborhood Spider-Man. Spider-Man’s Aunt May was shot. He and Mary-Jane were happily married, though they both chose to sacrifice their marriage and memories of being married to Mephisto if he saved her.

Thor has faced against Mephisto many times, and often leaves his confrontation with his soul intact. With that said, the question of Mephisto is the same one posed in the real life. How can you beat the devil? The answer is that you can’t.

8 Magneto (In The Ultimate Universe)

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The supervillain Magneto has primarily been an X-Men villain, though he does occasionally face against the Avengers time to time. A mutant who survived the Holocaust, Magneto is an extremist who would do anything to prove the mutant race is superior. In recent years he has turned over a new leaf and has become an ally towards the X-Men. He is still very much on the grey spectrum of superhero-ing.

While Magneto is generally a major threat to the Earth populace, particularly towards normal humans, he is usually not someone that a god like Thor would have trouble beating. Magneto maybe cunning and a very powerful mutant, but he is still an old man. One swing from Mjolnir, and Magneto would be done.

That is until Magneto in the Ultimate Universe was able to magnetically control Mjolnir, and use the power of the hammer to control Earth's magnetic poles. He caused worldwide disasters, creating tsunamis in New York and freezing all of Latveria. Many heroes of the Ultimate Universe perished in the global catastrophe, including Ultimate Thor. Eventually, the surviving heroes band together and confronted Magneto in his sky temple. Many more heroes lost their lives, including Ultimate Wolverine. He is finally ended by Ultimate Cyclops after being shown the truth about mutants in the Ultimate Universe.

7 Ultron: A Robotic Threat

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In 2015, the movie-watching audiences were introduced to the supervillain Ultron. In the film, Ultron was an AI created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner using one of the infinity stones. In a twisted view of how to protect the Earth, he believes he needs to eradicate the human race to save the planet. He nearly succeeds in his goal; however, he was stopped by the Avengers.

He has a different origin in the comics. In the comics, Ultron is created by Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. Pym is a lot more unhinged in the comics than he is in the movies, where he is played by Michael Douglas. He went through several superhero identities (including Giant-Man and Yellowjacket), tried to fabricate a disaster that only he would know how to stop, and, worst of all, slapped his wife. Creating Ultron is one of a long list of bad deeds that Pym has created, and still feels guilty.

Ultron’s brain pattern is identical to Pym’s, which may explain Ultron’s own erratic behavior.

Ultron is a robot with no remorse towards human life. He will stop at nothing to conquer the Earth, and destroy the Avengers. There’s an alternate timeline in which Ultron succeeded in defeating the Avengers and taking over the planet. Creating a hellish world, this alternate timeline was called the Age of Ultron. It took a time-traveling Wolverine and Invisible Woman, along with main timeline Hank Pym, to stop him.

6 Hyperion: Another Nod To Superman

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Remember when I said Marvel loved to make Superman rip-offs? Well, I brought up Sentry earlier, who had the power of a million exploding suns. Now it is Hyperion’s turn. Marcus Milton’s origin is almost exact to Superman’s, almost word for word. He is the last of his alien race and came to Earth as an infant. He was raised with good morals and became the planet’s greatest protector called Hyperion.

The interesting twist about Hyperion is that he is actually not from the same universe as Thor and others. There are actually have been several Hyperions from across the multiverse, including evil ones. There was one particular Hyperion, whose universe was completely dissolved into nothingness, who ended up joining the Avengers of the main universe. This Hyperion would fight along with Thor. Both men stood together as they faced against an army of Beyonders, omnipotent beings whose powers have no limit. They both perish, though were subsequently revived when the entire multiverse was rebuilt (long story).

Hyperion and Sentry aren’t the only Superman clones hanging out with the Avengers. They are just the most prominent. I don’t blame Marvel for having so many Superman clones, some of which are stronger than Thor. Interesting enough, Thor himself is short of a Superman clone. He was created to be specifically an all-powerful superhero, whose strength was meant to rival that of Superman.

5 Odin: The Father

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Thor’s father Odin may be past his prime, but even he can still bring a smackdown to his own son. Odin is the ruler of Asgard and the father of Thor and Loki. Seeing how Loki ended up, I don’t think Odin did a good job parenting. Odin, being the ruler of gods, is a very powerful deity. He created Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, and was even capable of wielding it at one point.

Odin is far more cruel and arrogant in the comics than he is in the films.

He has a low opinion of mortals and often chastises his own sons. He even beat up Thor within an inch of his life, just to carry him away from Earth. He also has a very low opinion of Loki, which explains why Loki ended up the way he is now. He is also has a lot of secrets that he doesn’t tell his family. This includes having a secret older brother, who can bring fear and destruction to the world. He also had a daughter named Angela that he didn’t tell Thor about. Odin also formed a team of superheroes in pre-historic Earth, essentially creating the proto-Avengers. Among his ranks was a Ghost Rider who rode a flaming woolly mammoth. It was a pretty rad time.

4 Mangog: A Product Of His Time

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The cool thing about the silver age of comics was how out-there some of the concepts and ideas were. The silver age of comics is generally seen as starting in the late 50s and ending in the early 70s. It was around this time that Stan Lee would help co-create some of the most popular Marvel superheroes ever, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Avengers, and many more. Lee, along with frequent collaborators Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, would come up with some of the craziest ideas in comics.

The stories at the time were very much aimed at little kids, yet the imagination on display was so evident and infectious that it is hard not to appreciate the handiwork of these creators. Even when the ideas are completely bonkers, like Galactus, devour of worlds, they are still a lot of fun to read.

Mangog is one of those crazy concepts that work well for the time it was created. Mangog is the last of his kind. His kind was apparently annihilated by the Asgardians, and he was locked up below the city. He is being of pure hate, and if he is ever released he will bring about the end of Asgard. He is a giant, monstrous alien, who can pummel Thor. The only downside of Mangog is that he looks incredibly silly which, again, is a product of the times.