The Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) has focused on certain characters more than others, since they're supposed to be the main heroes. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Guardians, and more have all been the focal points of the franchise, and people have undoubtedly been led to believe that these main characters are the most powerful.

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But that’s just not the case, as a cast of supporting characters outnumber many of the main ones in the power arena – this is your chance to find out just which ones are up the ladder. For this list, we’ve eliminated similar level characters for those who are more prominent, since then this list would’ve been endless. This means some characters you’re thinking of might not be here, but you should understand a similar character has been chosen in their place.

Updated June 26, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: With the Marvel cinematic universe always expanding, we figured this article was due for a refresh! How did your favourite character place?

30 Hawkeye

Hawkeye aiming his bow and arrow in the MCU

Hawkeye would lose in a fight against Black Widow if it was in close quarters, but he’s way ahead of her in terms of archery skill. Hawkeye negates the need to fight up close since he can hit any target from any place.

He’s more dangerous than the best sniper in the world and is trained enough in combat that he’ll contend with the best fighters – he did fight Black Panther without outright losing. You could hand Hawkeye anything, and he’ll make sure it hits the right target. This makes Hawkeye more deadly than any strong fighter as he doesn’t even need to be in your vicinity to take you out.

29 Daredevil

Daredevil

Daredevil’s hearing is unparalleled. He’s mastered this sense to the point where he can perceive a thousand times more than anyone with sight can. His acrobatic skills are on par with Spider-Man, which only contributes to his level of perception.

It’s Daredevil’s lack of strength that makes him fall down the ladder of the most powerful superheroes; if he had that, he wouldn’t have had any problems taking down the biggest characters there are. You need a certain level of trickery to take down Daredevil.

28 Captain America

captain america marvels avengers
via Crystal Dynamics

Captain America has all the capabilities of a human... times several thousand. He can do just about anything humanely possible to imagine, but his main power comes from his will. While the super serum allows him to be a superhero in power, his will enables him to live up to this potential.

Captain America was a superhero even before he got his abilities thanks to his never-give-up attitude, and it is this quality that has seen him make the best out of his enhanced attributes. He proves that true power comes from true will (making him an excellent video game character).

27 Groot

Groot featured in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Being an organism that is both a tree and a humanoid, Groot is ageless, and functionally immortal (since, upon demise, its sapling can create another Groot). Since Groot can regenerate its limbs and other parts of himself, you can’t really end him.

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Groot can use its tree-like functions to extend his limbs and use them for attacks; his strength is such that he can pick enormous things with ease. The only way you can truly beat Groot is with a huge explosion, which is easier said than done.

26 Drax The Destroyer

Guardians Of The Galaxy Main Character Origins 5 drax the destoryer

The Guardians of the Galaxy films like to paint him as a joke, but Drax is actually physically the strongest Guardians member. His strength is ferociously high; so much that even Groot can’t hold him with his branches.

Drax’s durability is such that he can be hit with projectiles that could destroy buildings, and he’ll still walk away. Since he’s trained himself to end Thanos, Drax is skilled enough to defeat all the mid-level beings.

25 The Thing

Fantastic Four - the Thing

The Thing's power level is such that Doctor Doom always looks to avoid battling him. Since he’s made of rock, it also means The Thing doesn’t really have much of a weaknesses as he can be resistant to fire, water, and can easily knock back cold attacks.

For a being who’s extremely heavy, the Thing is remarkably quick, and running away from him is like outrunning the perfect storm – you’re just not going to win. With his extremely hard-hitting offense and invulnerability, the Thing is almost completely unbeatable. The only problem is that smarter foes can plan against him.

24 War Machine

War Machine firing his weapons in the MCU

Your mind will always go first to Iron Man when thinking of an armored superhero, but War Machine is no joke. He’s got almost all of Iron Man’s abilities in his armory and is more dangerous than a majority of superheroes.

He can use flight, can shoot lasers, beams, projectiles, bullets, and explosives all at the same time. War Machine has an added advantage in that he’s an army man, which means you have no hope of beating him even in close quarter combat.

23 The Amazing Spider-Man

Spiderman PS4 Spiderman Posing For The Photo Mode

This wall-crawler has the power level of a spider that has been brought to scale with humans. This means his strength is such that he can lift wholes buses, stop bullet trains and hold together an entire cruise ship.

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Spider-Man’s spider-senses allow him to perceive threats before they can take place, giving him an edge before combat. His genius intellect has enabled him to make webbing specific to his cause, while his speed means his strength is bolstered with quickness. Spidey’s got it all, and he’s still very young.

22 Deadpool

Another character who is known mainly as a joke, Deadpool might be easy to beat for some, but in the long-run it’ll be Deadpool who’s the victor. His healing ability is such that the universe might implode, but Deadpool would still be around.

Deadpool also has his trusted weaponry to make use of whenever it comes time to harm his enemies, and his complete ruthlessness means he won’t ever take mercy. You can cut him into pieces, and he’ll still reform himself to fight you.

21 Wolverine

Hugh Jackman Wolverine

Like Deadpool, Wolverine has a healing factor that has ensured he’s lived for centuries. Wolverine has more than just healing factor in his arsenal as his strength is in the levels of the Hulk, who he’s battled on many occasions.

His adamantium claws can’t be broken, and his rage only amplifies his animalistic instincts. Wolverine knows no mercy when it comes to fighting, and he’ll easily behead even the most durable of enemies. If you’re an opponent with mainly physical based attacks, then you’re not going to be beating Wolverine.

20 Black Panther

black panther avengers

As Black Panther is the richest man in the whole universe, he has access to every kind of technology you can think of – and a little known substance known as vibranium. His suit is indestructible, and every type of offense against it is futile, unless you’re some next level villain like Thanos.

His suit is equipped with vibranium based weaponry, which makes them impossible to parry since vibranium is impossible to destroy. Black Panther is also a master combatant and his suit can even become invisible.

19 Storm

X-Men - Storm

Storm can control the very weather around which you stand. This means you’re never safe when around her. It doesn’t matter much how big or strong her enemies are when she can just take off in flight and cast a tornado on said enemy.

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She also doesn’t need to come close to attack, since she has the help of lightning bolts at her disposal. Her weakness is that her body is as frail as any human’s, but for that to come into effect the enemy has to figure out a way to come close to her – not easy considering she can just create a cyclone on them.

18 Quicksilver

Quicksilver
via cbr.com

Quicksilver can be considered on God level if he gets away with it. Just go and watch his scene from X-Men: Apocalypse, and you’ll see him rescuing everyone from certain disaster in a single second. He was also able to beat down Apocalypse, of all beings.

With the benefit of time, no one can catch Quicksilver as he’ll always be too fast for his enemies. The only way he won’t win is when the person he’s fighting is too invulnerable to harm. Even then, Quicksilver has all the time in the world to figure something out.

17 Invisible Woman

Fantastic Four - the Invisible Woman

How do you fight someone you can’t see? And even if you do manage to see her, how can you catch her when there’s a force field ready to tear you apart?

The Invisible Woman is, power-wise, the strongest Fantastic Four member if her powers are used creatively. She can go unseen provided she doesn’t come across water or leaves footprints, and her force fields are so powerful they can control the fire of the Human Torch. Her force fields can both trap someone, or destroy them thanks to their explosive capabilities.

16 Vision

Marvel - Vision

When he’s not incapacitated, Vision has the power to be among the most powerful Avengers. Vision can fly with ease, can’t ever tire, he doesn’t need to eat or sleep, and he can lift Mjolnir.

Vision’s ability to make himself corporeal means he can’t ever lose against heroes who rely on physical strength alone. The Mind Stone grants him projectile abilities that can harm someone from miles away. This is one android you don’t want to cross.

15 Ant-Man

Giant-Man punching a Leviathan in the MCU

You must be picturing Giant-Man when thinking of Ant-Man at his strongest, but that’s not where we’re getting. Instead, it is the smaller size of the superhero which is the most dangerous.

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Ant-Man can shrink so small that he can enter your blood stream and destroy your brain. He could shrink inside you and then become Giant-Man to implode you. There are several hundreds of options like this for Ant-Man to end his opponents, making him truly powerful. The disadvantage for him is that his strength or shrinking abilities won’t work on supremely powerful beings.

14 The Human Torch

Fantastic Four - the Human Torch

When you’ve got the powers to go Supernova hot, then you can just cash in your victory check right then and there. The Human Torch mainly relies on flying and shooting fireballs, but his true potential is such that even the Earth could get permanently battered.

His heat is so immense that the weather of the planet can be damaged; if he remains in supernova mode, then who knows what could become of the world. The only ways to really beat him is by using the powers of space, or negating his powers somehow.

13 Mr. Fantastic

Fantastic Four - Mr. Fantastic

Wait, what? What’s a guy whose power is to stretch out doing here? Well, that would be because Mr. Fantastic’s main power is actually his sheer intellect. His mind is so advanced that he doesn’t even need his super abilities to get the job done.

Mr. Fantastic’s mental capacity is off the charts; he can create any sort of device to make any superhero vulnerable. You trap him in a bad situation; he’ll conjure up a way to trap you in the worst situation. His powers are nothing to scoff at as well, as he can stretch far and beyond to incredible lengths which makes him immune to physical threats.

12 The Incredible Hulk

Hulk in Marvel's Avengers

The Hulk doesn’t have any limits to his strength. His anger is connected to his power level, which means the more you fight and anger him, the stronger he’ll get. There was a point where World Breaker Hulk only needed to stomp on a planet to destroy it completely.

The Hulk’s powers may be strength based, but when it’s strength that is limitless and can destroy worlds, then what good could any telekinesis or projectiles do on him? The only way to fight him would be by unconventional means.

11 Iron Man

avengers iron man
Iron Man as depicted in Square Enix's Avengers

This dude is so smart, he came up with a way to “program” the Infinity gauntlet to not work for Thanos in an animated iteration of Marvel. Iron Man’s armors are versatile to the point where they have reached nanotechnology and can now become whatever he desires.

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Tony’s expert inventing skills have meant he’s built things most of us couldn’t even dream of. Of course, his Iron Man suit is also filed with gadgets that are to the point of wizardry. In the MCU, he was so powerful that he was the only one who made Thanos bleed.