The Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to introduce more powerful characters into the roster with each new phase. With all of these major characters working together to fight a cosmic evil or carry the rest of the franchise, the question of the strongest superhero is often debated.
Would someone with mystical powers like Doctor Strange be the most powerful Avenger in the universe, or would someone with nearly limitless brain power like Tony Stark take that title? And the ongoing fan debate between Thor and Captain Marvel has divided fans since her debut in the MCU. So today we will not only be exploring who the strongest Avenger is in the MCU, but we’ll be ranking all the main MCU characters from the weakest Avenger to the strongest Guardian of the Galaxy.
Updated on May 1, 2021 by Scoot Allan: As the MCU has continued to grow and develop past the close of the decade-long Infinity Saga that culminated with 2019's Avengers: Endgame, new characters have been added that have challenged the previously held rankings. So given some of the new movies and connected series on Disney+ that have continued to introduce new powerful characters, it's the right time to take another look at some of the most powerful MCU characters to see who comes out on top of the rankings.
30 Mantis Has Powerful Empathic Abilities That Rely On Touch
At the bottom of the list is Mantis. While she has a useful power where she can manipulate and feel the emotions of another (which proved extremely useful when trying to fight both Ego and Thanos), that only takes her so far. She can definitely set up a fight for her teammates if she gets close enough.
It also hurts Mantis a little that she doesn’t seem to know how to fight, with that role being taken by the majority of her comrades. If she were to go up against someone who knew how to fight, she would most likely lose.
29 Falcon Is Military-Trained And Wields Captain America's Shield
Falcon is one of Captain America’s closest friends. Like a few of the Marvel heroes, Sam Wilson is just a regular guy. What makes him special is his military training and the high-tech wings that he uses, as well as his outstanding character which has earned him the title of the new Captain America in the MCU, along with a Wakandan-tech suit.
He has mastered those wings well and even has a useful drone to fight at his side, but his lack of proper armor and superpowers makes him a bit underwhelming in the presence of the rest of the Avengers. He isn’t durable nor is he super strong. He has great maneuverability, but against someone from another planet, that isn’t going to do much.
28 Hawkeye Is A Skilled Marksman And S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent
Perhaps the black sheep of the Avengers, Hawkeye has had an interesting legacy. It doesn’t make sense that a guy would try to use a bow and arrow against an army of aliens or robots, but Hawkeye manages somehow.
Sure, he doesn’t have any powers, but he does know how to fight and is an excellent shot. With a host of trick arrows, he can pick just about anyone out of the sky. He also demonstrated skills with other weapons like a katana when he adopted the Ronin persona in Endgame, though he also has to rely on his cleverness and wit in order to win a battle.
27 Pepper Potts Wears Her Own Suit Of Armor As Rescue
While Pepper Potts has been a part of the MCU since the beginning in 2008's Iron Man, she never played a larger role in the superheroics until she was previously enhanced by the Extremis virus in 2013's Iron Man 3. While Stark cured her, he later built Pepper her own suit of armor that she wore in Avengers: Endgame to become Rescue.
Rescue doesn't have the same weapon enhancements as Iron Man and is primarily designed to aid in search and rescue efforts, she more than held her own in the final battle with Thanos and his armies in Endgame.
26 Star-Lord Has Advanced Alien Tech And Element Guns
Star-Lord is the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s not all that strong. The only reason he’s managed to survive so long in the cosmos is he uses all sorts of tricks to get out of situations and he spent his childhood learning how to survive among space pirates.
Equipped with jet boots, a blaster, and some other useful items, Star-Lord can think a few steps ahead of his opponents and knows how to win a fight. However, he does lack any sort of serious combat training and is a bit impulsive, not always thinking before he acts. Were he more calculated, he might’ve been higher up on this list.
25 Rocket Racoon Is A Brilliant Weaponsmith And Pilot
Rocket isn’t very strong, but if he proved anything in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it’s that his brains more than carry him the rest of the way. Being a genius when it comes to creating weaponry, Rocket knows his way around a gun better than anyone else in the MCU.
He can create weapons strong enough to destroy Ronan’s infinity Stone-powered hammer and even entire ships. Furthermore, he can take on an entire army of guys just by having the right equipment at his side. His intelligence also gets him out of sticky situations, with him breaking out of one of the most secure prisons in the galaxy.
24 Monica Rambeau Gained Untested New Abilities As Spectrum
Disney+ continued the storylines of a number of characters past Endgame on series like WandaVision, which also empowered Monica Rambeau. The younger version of Monica appeared in 2019's Captain Marvel, though the adult version joined S.W.O.R.D. and gained abilities due to exposure to Wanda's magical manipulation.
While the comic version of Monica Rambeau that eventually took the codename Spectrum has powerful abilities that make her one of the strongest Avengers, she has yet to demonstrate her full power set in the MCU.
23 Ant-Man Can Change His Size To Become Giant-Man
Scott Lang is agile and knows how to get around in order to steal things, but he wasn’t that impressive until he was given the Ant-Man suit by Hank Pym. Becoming the new Ant-Man, Scott combines his agility with the shrinking and growing abilities of the suit.
This allows him to constantly get the drop on his foes and take them down without even realizing it was him. Making use of size-based tech, Ant-Man has been able to take on several superheroes at once and defeat all sorts of villains just by using his quick thinking, and occasional towering strength as Giant-Man.
22 The Wasp Has Size-Changing Tech, Wings And Blasters
While Scott Lang has landed into the superhero role quite nicely, Hope Van Dyne seems almost born for it. Having better training and more precise actions as the Wasp, there are several times when she put even her partner to shame.
Part of the reason she’s higher than Ant-Man is that her suit comes fitted with wings and blasters, giving her more options when taking on bad guys. Like her partner, she also makes effective use of her sizing technology, throwing massive salt shakers and Pez dispensers at just the right times.
21 Nick Fury Is Marvel's Super Spy And Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The MCU was first teased in Iron Man thanks to the inclusion of Nick Fury, who contacted Tony Stark about his plans for the Avenger Initiative. Fury was further explored over the course of the Infinity Saga which revealed his military history and work as a super-spy that earned him the title of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While he eventually was forced to go undercover when S.H.I.E.L.D. was corrupted by Hydra, Fury continued to prove how capable he is by taking on numerous government agents while injured in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
20 Black Widow Is Highly-Trained And Stark-Equipped
While Black Widow is another one of the Avengers who is severely lacking in the superpowers department, she has had more than enough formal training to make up for it. Essentially being trained from birth to be an assassin, Black Widow can fight better than just about anyone else on the team.
She can take down armies of foes, tackle creatures from other planets, and even stop other superheroes. She also wears a Stark-created costume and shocking Widow Bite gauntlets which make her even more of a potent threat and powerful leader of the Avengers.
19 Nebula Is A Powerful Cyborg Trained By Thanos
While Nebula was originally a loyal warrior for her adopted father Thanos, she eventually turned on him to join her sister Gamora alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy and even joined with the Avengers for Endgame's time heist, where she was forced to kill a past version of herself.
Not only is Nebula highly trained along with her sister to become the deadliest woman in the galaxy, but she is also a cyborg who is capable of self-repair and has enhanced strength and abilities to further increase her standing among her teammates on the Guardians.
18 Gamora Is Known As The Deadliest Woman In The Galaxy
Being the adopted daughter of Thanos, Gamora was raised from a young age to be the craziest weapon in the galaxy. Complete with several enhancements to her body, she was one of the most dangerous fighters in the entire MCU.
Becoming a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gamora has used her training and combat expertise to do a lot of damage to several bad guys. She has a lot of focus and knows her way around a sword, which makes her an invaluable member of the team. She was even capable of taking down an interdimensional beast almost by herself.
17 Drax Is Incredibly Strong And Better Known As The Destroyer
Drax made it his personal mission to destroy Thanos single-handedly, which shows how powerful he at least thinks he is. Having a similar level of combat training to Gamora, he ends up higher than her on the list just through his drive and his super-strength alone.
Drax can send people flying with a single kick and plow through enemies like they were made of paper. Drax’s determination in battle often sends him rushing into the belly of the beast, unafraid of what sort of dangers may await him. There was a reason he was nicknamed Drax the Destroyer.
16 Groot Can Grow And Manipulate His Powerful Alien Tree Body
While seemingly not the smartest member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot remains the innocent heart of the group. While going through varying levels of strength throughout his appearances, Groot remains a powerful member of the team.
Being able to use his tree powers to plow through a wave of foes, protect his friends from a ship crash, and even impale several evil aliens at once, Groot seems nearly invincible. However, his lack of focus and tendency to go his own way as Teen Groot prevent him from re-achieving his true potential.
15 Quicksilver's Super-Speed Should Have Overpowered Him
Pietro Maximoof was introduced alongside his sister Wanda in Avengers: Age of Ultron as political activists enhanced by Hydra, which resulted in Pietro's development of super-speed which made him an almost unstoppable threat.
He eventually joined the Avengers alongside his sister to save his home country where his powers showcased his potential, though his time with the team was cut short when he sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye and a small child from a hail of bullets.
14 U.S. Agent Is A Super-Soldier And Former Captain America
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was another series on Disney+ that further developed characters from the Captain America franchise like Bucky and Sam Wilson while also introducing a powerful new hero named John Walker, who was chosen by the government to take over as the new Captain America.
Walker was originally just military-trained, though he dosed himself with the Power Broker's super-soldier serum to increase his abilities shortly before he lost his title as Captain America. While he still has a long way to go for redemption, Walker is one of the few remaining super-soldiers and has adopted the identity of U.S. Agent.
13 War Machine's Armor Is A Walking Arsenal Of Stark Weapons
As the best friend of Tony Stark, it was only a matter of time before James Rhodes became War Machine and fought alongside the Avengers. The War Machine suit is impressive, having a host of overpowered weapons to get the job done. However, the War Machine armor doesn’t seem nearly as versatile as the Iron Man suit.
Rhodey utilizes the tech well, but it’s far from perfect. He can be beaten by other heroes and seems to get knocked down much more than Stark. Furthermore, his suit hasn’t had nearly as many upgrades, which puts a damper on his upper levels when compared to other armored heroes like Iron Man.
12 Winter Soldier Has Enhanced Strength And A Vibranium Arm
While Bucky was little more than a normal guy when we first met him in Captain America: The First Avenger, that all changed when he was turned into a super-soldier for Hydra. Complete with a metal arm, intense training with all sorts of weapons, and a no-holds-barred attitude, Bucky went from zero to hero in no time at all.
Winter Soldier’s expertise in all sorts of equipment, combat, and his metal arm make him a great asset to the Avengers. He has the skill to go against Black Panther, Iron Man, and even stop Captain America’s shield in midair thanks to the super-soldier serum that also flows in his blood.
11 Spider-Man Has The Potential To Be The Strongest Avenger
Spider-Man made his debut in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War and quickly proved that, despite being a kid, he had a lot of heart and some impressive powers. He had the strength to stop Winter Soldier and the agility to defeat both him and the Falcon at the same time.
Coupling that with his intelligence, he can quickly react to any situation and use his powers to save his friends. Spider-Man has taken on his own powerful villains while also helping the Avengers save the day in Avengers: Endgame. He has displayed enormous potential with his powerful abilities and his own self-designed high-tech suit, and he's still only a teenager.