Marvel Comics is no stranger to having morally gray heroes, but the Thunderbolts certainly take the cake. This team of anti-heroes and villains has undergone numerous iterations and has used its powers for good and evil. Although the original team was just the Masters of Evil in disguise as part of a plot to destroy the Avengers, the Thunderbolts’ name has since evolved into everything from a morally gray government strike force to an alliance of former villains seeking redemption. Many of Marvel’s strongest characters have joined the roster of the Thunderbolts, which has been bolstered over the years, making the team a terrifying force to be reckoned with.
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Across the many different iterations of the Thunderbolts, the main consistency is that they are more willing to cross lines that other heroes won’t for the sake of global security. And with their incredible abilities and ruthless problem solving, they have the ability to annihilate any threat that comes their way.
10) Abomination
The arch-nemesis of the Hulk, Emil Blonsky, aka Abomination, is just as strong and terrifying a gamma mutant as his rival. When Kingpin became the mayor of New York City, he made superheroes illegal and created his own Thunderbolts task force to enforce his laws. Abomination was a member of this incarnation and the team’s muscle. Abomination is routinely shown to be physically stronger than base-form Hulk and has nearly beaten the hero to death on several occasions. Abomination has also bested other Marvel powerhouses, such as She-Hulk and Namor. Unfortunately for Abomination, unlike the Hulk, he can’t increase his strength by getting angrier, leaving him with far less destructive potential than his green skinned rival.
9) Atlas
Initially the villain Power Man, Erik Josten, aka Atlas, joined Baron Zemo’s first Thunderbolts. Atlas stayed with the team after they turned on Zemo and became genuine heroes. Having been charged with ionic energy, Atlas can grow to be over a hundred feet tall, increasing his strength and durability as well. In his largest forms, Atlas beat a weakened Genis-Vell to death, smashed apart building-sized starships, and threw Iron Man over 200 miles away. And thanks to ionic energy, Atlas can transform his body into pure energy. In this state, Atlas gains additional abilities, such as flight, energy manipulation, and immortality.
8) Red Hulk
With a name like Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Red Hulk was practically made to be the founder and leader of his own Thunderbolts team. Not only does his military experience make him a tactical commander, but his gamma-infused strength makes him one of the strongest people ever to lead the Thunderbolts. Red Hulk has used his strength to nearly kill the Hulk and knock out gods like Thor and Kukulkan. He can also absorb energy to make himself stronger, as well as expel massive amounts of heat to destroy everything in his vicinity. Although Red Hulk isn’t as strong as his green counterpart, he’s still able to contend with powerhouses like the Heralds of Galactus.
7) Overmind
An Eternal from an alien world, Grom, aka Overmind, possesses telepathic abilities so great that even the Watcher considers him to be a universal threat. During Civil War, Overmind was one of many supervillains recruited into the Thunderbolts Army to fight for Iron Man’s pro-registration side. Not only is Overmind strong enough to knock out the superhero Power Princess with one punch, but his telepathy allows him to contend with cosmic beings like the Stranger. Overmind can drive a city’s population to madness, instantly make people experience brain death, and mind control every individual on a planet at once. However, Overmind has limitations. He can’t control the minds of intellectually and physically superior foes like Quasar and Hyperion.
6) Hyperion
There have been several incarnations of the Superman copycat Mark Milton, aka Hyperion, in Marvel Comics over the years, and the version from Earth-4023 is one of the strongest and most ruthless. A mad tyrant, Hyperion conquered his world and defeated every single one of its heroes, from the Avengers to the Fantastic Four. Even alternate versions of Thor and Hulk couldn’t withstand Hyperion’s incredible strength, speed, regeneration, and heat-vision. After making his way to Earth-616, he was recruited into the Thunderbolts under the guise that he was one of the good versions of Hyperion. Of course, Hyperion quickly betrayed the Thunderbolts and nearly wiped them all out. The Thunderbolts only won by activating the radioactive poison that had been implanted in Hyperion’s neck as a contingency.
5) Juggernaut
Powered by the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, Cain Marko, aka Juggernaut, is one of the X-Men’s most powerful enemies-turned-members. Juggernaut was recruited into Luke Cage’s Thunderbolts and acted as the roster’s powerhouse. When Juggernaut starts charging, there is literally nothing in the universe that can stop him. His infinite strength, stamina, and durability allow him to battle and outmatch the likes of Thor, World War Hulk, Cosmic Ghost Rider, and King Hyperion. His helmet also protects him from telepathic attacks. Juggernaut can overpower the entire X-Men roster single-handedly, walk through miles of bedrock, generate an earthquake with a punch, tear apart dimensions, and even kill Cyttorak, the all-powerful eldritch god who’s the source of Juggernaut’s power.
4) Ghost Rider
Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider, joined Red Hulk’s Thunderbolts and was the roster’s strongest member. As the host of the Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos, Ghost Rider is imbued with all manner of hellish powers that can tear sinners apart. He can destroy skyscrapers, move at faster-than-light speeds on his Hell Cycle, and create explosions capable of hurting World War Hulk. Many of Ghost Rider’s attacks ignore physical defenses and target a person’s very soul, including his Hellfire and Penance Stare. The latter ability can make people experience all the pain that they’ve ever caused others. Even Sorcerer Supreme Brother Voodoo couldn’t resist the Penance Stare’s effects. And if Johnny gives Zarathos complete control, he becomes even stronger because this demon can match the multiversal villain Mephisto.
3) Star
Ripley Ryan, aka Star, was an anti-superhero reporter who underwent an experiment that turned her into a Kree-human hybrid as strong as Carol Danvers. However, Star received an even greater upgrade after merging with the Reality Stone. With the power to warp reality, Star can give herself any ability, including superhuman strength, flight, energy projection, teleportation, heat vision, mind manipulation, shapeshifting, and energy constructs. Star was recruited into Kingpin’s Thunderbolts team to help battle Knull and his army of Symbiotes. With reality-warping capabilities and a practically unlimited supply of superpowers at her disposal, Star became a significant asset in fighting against Knull’s army.
2) Genis-Vell
The cloned son of the original Captain Marvel, Genis-Vell, was created to be his father’s superior. Armed with the Nega-bands, Genis-Vell is a cosmic hero who can tear through starships with ease, fly millions of times faster than light, and incinerate people with energy blasts. When he fought the equally powerful hero Sentry, their battle threatened to destroy entire planets as mere collateral damage. Upon gaining cosmic awareness and going insane, Genis-Vell used this raw power to help the villain Entropy successfully destroy and recreate the universe. After regaining his sanity, Genis-Vell joined the Thunderbolts to seek redemption. A cosmic powerhouse with a fractured mind, Genis-Vell is a danger to everyone around him.
1) Kobik
The Comic Cubes are some of the most powerful reality-warping artifacts in the universe, and Kobik is the product of shattered Cube fragments merging to become a little girl. When S.H.I.E.L.D. began using Kobik as a weapon, Winter Soldier rescued her and recruited her into the Thunderbolts. As a living Cosmic Cube, Kobik is basically a small child with the powers of an omnipotent god. All of time, space, reality, and minds are hers to command on a whim. Some of her most impressive feats include rewriting Graviton’s history, creating a star, resurrecting the dead, and trapping two Avengers teams inside tiny snow globes. And when she has a tantrum, the entire universe is at risk of being annihilated.
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