Who is the Least Powerful Avenger?

For over 60 years, Marvel’s Avengers have been one of the best known super-teams in comics. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have formed the backbone of the Marvel Universe since their debut in the early 1960s, and burst into the wider public consciousness with the 2012 premiere of The Avengers, the climax of the first phase off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The cinematic version of the team went on to carry the saga all the way through Avengers: Endgame.

While pretty much every MCU Avenger has been an interesting enough character to anchor their own film or Disney+ series, that doesn’t translate to their in-universe power levels. Some of the Avengers are strong enough to go to toe to toe with gods, while others are normal humans once their gear and technology is stripped away. So, who are the strongest — and weakest — Avengers?

*NOTE: Before we can definitively look at the team’s strength and weaknesses, we should clarify who counts as an Avenger and who doesn’t. For the purposes of this list, there’s no Masters of the Mystic Arts, Wakandan warriors or rulers, SHIELD Agents, Captain Marvel, or Guardians of the Galaxy. With that out of the way, let’s assemble (sorry, we couldn’t resist) the team!

The Original MCU Team

The first Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers team first came together in the team’s titular 2012 film, and featured four heroes who’d already starred in solo films at that point (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America) as well as two who’d debuted in supporting roles in some of those earlier films (Black Widow, who first appeared in Iron Man 2 and Hawkeye, who had cameos in Thor).

Iron Man

The MCU’s debut hero, Iron Man AKA “billionaire genius playboy philanthropist” Tony Stark wields armor that — powered by his artificial arc-reactor heart — allows him to fly, and arm himself with enough artillery to take on any threat. Over the course of his time in the MCU, Iron Man uses dozens of specific armor variants, many of which are specific to the antagonist the team is battling at any given time.

Hulk

When scientist Bruce Banner is exposed to gamma rays, he gains the (initially unwanted) ability to turn into a massive, incredibly strong “rage monster” who can decimate a whole city or invading alien army without breaking a sweat. By Endgame, Banner had been able to “master” the Hulk, the point that he was able to maintain his intellect and personality while transforming into the beast. Arguably this version, which maintains Banner’s brains while tapping into the Hulk’s massive brawn, is the strongest the Hulk could possibly become.

Thor

The son of Odin, the King of Asgard, and Frigga, Thor is one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Initially wielding the mythical hammer Mjolnir and later its successor Stormbreaker, Thor can fly, has strength beyond most beings, and can summon the thunder of the gods.

Captain America

Steve Rogers was initially a war and frail teenager in health so bad that the U.S. Army wouldn’t take him during World War II. However when a desperate Steve is recited into a secret Super Soldier program, he’s given a serum that turns him into the genetically-enhanced Captain America. Cap has heightened agility, strength, resiliency, and hyper-accurate reflexes that allow him to reflexively wield his iconic Vibrainium shield.

Hawkeye

Clint Barton is an incredibly skilled archer, who wields a bow and quiver of “trick” arrows that range from normal sharp-tipped archery arrows to those with bombs, listening devices, and other specialty options.

Black Widow

As reveled in the Black Widow solo film, Natasha Romanov had been trained to be an assassin and spy in the Red Room from childhood. Despite eventually finding herself on the side of the angels, Widow is still a formidable fighter, trained in all forms of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat.

The Post-Ultron Team

After the events of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron scattered most of the original team, an influx of new members joined the Avengers at the end of the film. Several more would join in later films.

War Machine

War Machine AKA Tony Stark’s best friend and former righthand man James “Rhodey” Rhodes wields a similar suit of armor to his buddy. However, where the various War Machine suits have a much heavier – no pun intended – focus on artillery including guns, bazookas, and rocket launchers.

Falcon

Air Force veteran Sam Wilsdon becomes fast friends with Captain America in the latter’s second solo film, helping Rogers acclimate to the 21st century. Late in the film, Wilson begins wielding an experimental winged jetpack that allows him to fly while wielding twin pistols. He quickly becomes a mainstay of the MCU Avengers team, which in-turn leads to him assuming the mantle of Captain America following the events of Endgame.

Wanda Maximoff

The MCU’s version of Wanda Maximoff is first introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the Mind Stone “amplifies her natural telekinetic and energy manipulation abilities known as Chaos Magic” as a villain, before joining the team at the end of the film. Over the next several films Wanda’s powers develop further, culminating in the events of WandaVison and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, which see the full extent of reality-warping powers on display as Wanda channels her grief over Vision’s death into creating her own fantasy-world in the former and seeing her nearly destroy the Multiverse and tear apart the complete fabric of reality in the latter.

Vision

Originally created in Age of Ultron by the titular villain to serve as his body, Vision is a super-powered synthetic being with a body made of super-strong Vibranium and brought to life by the Mind Stone. The character can fly, phased through solid objects, and blast energy beams from the aforementioned stone embedded in his forehead.

Ant-Man

Criminal with a heart-of-gold Scott Lang gains the ability to shrink himself to the size of an ant and grow himself to the size of building thanks to Pym Particles, the invention of genius scientist and original Ant-Man Hank Pym.

Spider-Man

Okay, this one ism a slight cheat: In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the web-slinging Peter Parker is offered the membership in the Avengers that he’d coveted… only to refuse, wanting to remain a “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” However, given the fact that he spends most of Avengers: Infinity War as well as the finale of Endgame as essentially a full-fledged member of the team, we’re going to count him here.

For those who’ve been living under rock as 10 films starring versions of the character have been released over the last 21 years, a quick refresher: Spider-Man can climb walls, has super strength, uses “spider-sense” to warn him of danger, and can swing through the skies on webbing he designed.

Young Avengers

The Young Avengers moniker has been used by several youthful teams in the Marvel Universe, sometimes more officially than others. While there hasn’t been an official Young Avengers in the MCU thus-far, numerous chatters associated with versions of the team have appeared, making it likely they’ll assemble (last one, we promise) sometime in the near future.

Kate Bishop

The arrow-slinging protege of Hawkeye, Kate Bishop first debuted in live action on the character’s Disney+ series, and by the end of that show she had taken on the moniker. Due to Bishop’s intensive training and younger age, it’s arguable that she’s an even better archer than Clint Barton himself.

America Chavez

America Chavez makes her live action debut in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, in which she has the ability to travel across the multiverse.

Cassie Lang

In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie begins wearing a similar suit and using similar Pym Particle-produced powers to her father, including growing to giant size. Over the course of her comic book lifespan, Cassie has used the names Stature, Stinger, and Ant-Girl, however none have been used in the MCU so far.

Ms. Marvel

The live action version of Kamala Khan AKA the titular star of the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series has a different – and arguably much stronger – power set than her comic book counterpart. Through the use of a special bangle, Kamala is able to “unlock the ability to harness cosmic energy” within her (caused by a mutation) and use that energy to create hard light projections that take on solid forms.

Eli Bradley

In the Marvel Comics Universe, Eli Bradley is a young man imbued with similar powers to Captain America thanks to excitements conducted on Bradley’s grandfather, who goes by the name Patriot. The character appeared in The Falcon and Winder Soldier Disney+ series, though he’s yet to appear in his super heroic alter-ego.

There are also several members of the Young Avengers and other similar teams that have yet to appear in the MCU. These include Miles Morales, an alternate universe version of Spider-Man best known to film viewers for his starring role in the Spider-Verse films,  and Nathanial Richards AKA Iron Lad, an adolescent version of Kang the Conqueror, armed with a bio-metal suit.

The Strongest Avenger

While many of the Avengers characters could arguably lay claim to being the strongest in the MCU, there are some more obvious than others. Hulk is arguably the victor in a competition of pure physical strength, while Thor’s wielding of the thunder of the Asgardian “gods” arguably makes him just as formidable. However, strength isn’t only defined by physical power, and it’s hard to discount the reality-warping abilities of Wanda Maximoff. Meanwhile, Ms.Marvel’s powers are on-par with any of the strongest Avengers already, and she’s barely scratched the surface of what they can do.

The Weakest Avenger

On the other side of the spectrum, we have Ant-Man, his daughter Cassie Lang, and the two Hawkeyes: Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. While all of these characters are presented as incredibly brave (and from a viewer standpoint are quite interesting) in-universe their strength is driven from Pym Particles and bows, trick arrows, and projectiles, meaning without them they’re simply normal humans.

What do you think go our take on the strangth and weaknesses of the MCU Avengers? Let us know in the comments below. Keep following All Ears for the latest Disney entertainment news!

 

Comments (2)