In the entirety of Elden Ring, no name strikes as much fear into the hearts of players as Malenia the Blade of Miquella. Often referred to as the hardest boss in the game, the mere thought of fighting this red-headed swordswoman is enough to make even the most hardcore of gamers tremble. Yes, Malenia is truly a terrifying opponent, but only in her home universe of Elden Ring.

Related: Elden Ring: Who Won The Fight Between Radahn And Malenia?

While Elden Ring is host to a wide variety of unique and powerful beings, the power-scaling for this universe is severely different compared to other gaming universes. Where a boss from Elden Ring may look like an unbeatable opponent in their game, they could be seen as little more than an angry kitten in another. Here are a few characters from other games that do just that to Malenia.

10 Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog Running in Sonic Frontiers

One of Malenia's biggest strengths is her speed. In her first phase, she overwhelms her enemies with a barrage of blade flourishes all while nimbly dodging whatever attacks you throw at her. Even in her second phase, her attacks are incredibly difficult to dodge, especially when avoiding the pools of Scarlet Rot she leaves everywhere. However, there's one being who wouldn't be affected by Malenia's speed at all.

Sonic the Hedgehog is speed personified. To him, Malenia's would be moving at a snail's pace. He could easily avoid her all while striking with his own attacks against the Blade of Miquella. This isn't even considering his Super Sonic form where he can move faster than light.

9 Sans

Undertale Close Up Of Sans

This may seem like an odd choice considering Sans' frailty, but the funny skeleton and Malenia share many similarities. Both rely on quick and nearly unavoidable attacks to overwhelm their opponent all while swiftly avoiding attacks themselves. However, the thing that gives Sans an edge in this fight is his versatility.

Related: Undertale: Things You Didn't Know About Sans

While Malenia relies on her sword, Sans has an entire arsenal of abilities to aid him in combat. From the various bones he can summon from anywhere to his Gaster Blasters, the sheer variety of attacks that Sans is capable of unleashing would be more than enough to overcome Malenia. On the off chance that it's not enough, he always has his 'Special Attack'.

8 Shovel Knight

Key art of Shovel Knight from Shovel Knight

You wouldn't expect a shovel to be a viable weapon against legions of monsters and knights, but Shovel Knight has proven this belief to be invalid. On his quest to rescue Shield Knight, Shovel Knight has faced countless enemies with far more diversity and attacks than Malenia. Through his travels, he has honed his skills with the shovel and gained numerous items that would make him more than a match for Malenia.

He can use the War Horn to block Malenia's incoming charges. He could deal significant damage from a range with his Chaos Sphere. He can even avoid all her attacks with the Phase Locket. With all of his abilities, coupled with his shovel, there would be nothing Malenia could do.

7 Sephiroth

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7 Remake

There are very few that can stand up to the One Winged Angel. Cloud Strife is one of them and so is Sora, ironically enough. However, Malenia is definitely not one of the people who could contend with Final Fantasy's most infamous character.

In a duel of pure swordsmanship, the battle would be fairly close as both are formidable warriors, but Sephiroth is far more than a simple swordsman. Sephiroth has access to world-breaking magic, elemental manipulation, and even a godly transformation that can reduce his enemies fighting capabilities and curse them to die in a given time. If these two were to fight, it wouldn't even be close.

6 Sora

Sora, Donald, and Goofy as Keyblade Hero 3 in Kingdom Hearts 3.

They say the most unsuspecting enemy is the deadliest. Well, there's nothing more unsuspecting than a teenager wielding an oversized key. Time and time again, Sora has proven why the keyblade is one of the most feared weapons of his world and why he's one of the strongest keyblade wielders.

Sora has fought against numerous opponents that are either comparable to or stronger than Malenia. He has been shown moving fast enough to dodge laser fire, strong enough to cleanly cut through entire buildings, and is capable of casting a wide array of magic including healing spells. This isn't even including the numerous abilities and forms he gains from his keyblade.

5 Kirby

Kirby Looking Surprised

Despite being an adorable pink puffball, Kirby is by far one of the strongest beings in existence. He can inhale objects and creatures far larger and heavier than himself and copy their powers. He has fought against countless foes, some of whom possessed godly abilities, and has always come up on top.

Kirby has fought against several skilled swordsmen in his time, several of whom could give Malenia a run for her money. While it's unclear if Kirby has resistance or immunity to poisons, he has shown an impressive healing ability, so Malenia's Scarlet Rot would do very little. In other words, it's only a matter of time before Malenia's nothing more than a hat for Kirby to wear.

4 Lucario

Lucario charges an Aura Sphere attack

In the Pokemon world, there are few Pokemon whose combat ability can compete with that of a Lucario's. Like all Fighting types, Lucario have an innate understanding of hand-to-hand combat as well as increased strength, speed, and stamina. This alone would be enough to allow a Lucario to contend with someone like Malenia, but this species has an ace up their sleeve. Aura.

Related: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Best Fighting-Types

With aura, Lucario can do a myriad of things. They can form weapons and shields, generate explosive orbs, and even heal themselves. They don't require their eyes to see and can read the intent of others, allowing them to predict and dodge their opponent's attacks. With these abilities, Malenia wouldn't even be able to touch a Lucario, and as a Steel type, her Scarlet Rot would do nothing.

3 Doom Slayer

Horde Doom Eternal Doom Slayer

Malenia is a fearsome warrior, no one can deny that. Her skill with a blade is unmatched by anyone in The Lands Between, but she isn't without her weaknesses. She relies heavily on her sword and thus needs to get close to be effective. While her speed limits this weakness, she suffers against opponents who rely on ranged combat. Opponents like Doom Slayer.

Related: Best Weapons In Doom Eternal

It would take far too long to go over every weapon that the Doom Slayer has in his arsenal. Just know that there's a good reason why the demons of hell fear this man. The diversity and power of Doom Slayer's weaponry are more than enough to keep Malenia at bay and strong enough to turn her into just another casualty in Doom Slayer's long history of violence.

2 Ness

Ness in Super Smash Bros Eldin Bridge Stage

As previously stated, Malenia's main weakness is fighting at a range and as Smash Brothers has shown us, Ness is one of the most notorious ranged characters. He can use PK Fire to stun and damage enemies, trap them with PK Freeze, absorb projectiles and energy-based attacks with Magnet, and strike from afar with PK Thunder. These abilities alone would be enough, but this is just what Ness can do in Smash Bros.

In the Earthbound universe, Ness has all the aforementioned abilities along with the power to teleport, heal himself, form barriers, and access an ability that can outright kill a target. With this impressive skill set, Malenia wouldn't even be able to get close to Ness.

1 Minecraft Steve

Minecraft promotional image steve and animals and a creeper in game best pc games of all time

With the strength to cut through trees and stone with a few punches, the fact that a single sword swipe from this blocky man isn't enough to one shot a zombie is more of a testament to the zombie's durability than anything else. Coupled with the fact Steve can easily move around with a suit made of pure diamond makes for a terrifyingly strong individual.

Steve may not be as fast as Malenia, but he's more than durable enough to contend with the Blade of Miquella. With the knowledge to craft and enchant various pieces of equipment, including shields strong enough to stand up against dragon fire, Steve can easily tank Malenia's strongest attacks. Not only that but considering milk counters the Wither effect, chances are it would have the same effect against Scarlet Rot.

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