Marvel Comics has always been sold as the more grounded of the two big superhero multiverses, with characters who were more human in every way. This included their power levels. While there were always some superlatively powerful Marvel characters, for the most part their heroes and villains were less powerful than those of their distinguished competition. However, when the characters of the House of Ideas do reach those rarefied levels of power, they are truly forces to be reckoned with. They’ve been involved in battles that shook the very fabric of reality and wield energies that have made them into some of the most powerful fictional characters ever.
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These heroes and villains battle against the greatest foes out there, but they also get involved in more mundane situations. Many of them hold back their full power, saving it for only the most dangerous battles. These seven strong Marvel characters rarely use their full power, holding back their full potency til they need it most.
7) Magneto
Magneto has been fighting for mutants for decades, using his magnetic powers both as a hero and villain. As far as it goes, he has one of the most useful powers in battle out there. He can fly and create powerful force fields for defensive purposes, making him very hard to beat. His offensive power is off the charts; he’s in a world surrounded by ferrous metals. He can transform everything around him into a weapon. His greatest power, the one that he uses the least, is his control over electromagnetic energy. He can create massive EMPs that could wipe out the power grid, flip the magnetic poles of the planet, and control the electromagnetic spectrum. He’s basically power given flesh, only using his maximum powers when he truly needs them.
6) Jean Grey
The X-Men have gotten much more powerful over the years, with more and more Omega-class mutants with amazing powers joining the team. However, even among its most formidable members, Jean Grey is the most powerful X-Man. She’s an Omega-level telepath and one of the most powerful telekinetics ever, but what really takes her to the next level is the Phoenix Force. Jean is a cosmic being, with power to do things like hold back the fury of a star going supernova, empower every mutant alive to battle a god outside time and space, and end diseased timelines from the White Hot Room. She’s on a whole other level compared to most Marvel heroes and one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, rarely tapping into the full extent of her abilities.
5) Galactus
Galactus witnessed the end of one universe and was bathed in the energies of creation. He was inundated with the Power Cosmic and became something greater than a god. His power is basically absolute; he has full control over matter and energy and can tap into the cosmic consciousness, allowing him to experience anything that has ever happened to anyone at any time. He’s a force of nature, and yet we basically only see him use energy blasts and his great size to battle his enemies. He can do much more than that, having access to the limitless energies of space, and only uses his full power against the most dangerous threats to the universe that is his buffet.
4) Silver Surfer
Speaking of Galactus and the Power Cosmic, the Silver Surfer is another character who rarely taps into his full power. While he isn’t able to tap into the Power Cosmic at the same level as his former master, he can use it to control matter and energy, move many, many times faster than the speed of light, and has strength and durability at levels that are frankly insane. Surfer rarely meets an enemy that he needs to go all out against. He honestly doesn’t really understand just what he can do with his full power and doesn’t really face anyone who needs him to cut completely loose.
3) Hulk
The Hulk is the strongest one there is. Bruce Banner’s gamma bomb opened the Green Door and the One Below All made him into his ultimate creation, the living embodiment of entropy. The Jade Giant has potential infinite power, only limited by his rage. The highest levels of his power are rarely reached, but he’s proven able to do seemingly impossible things many times. There’s a reason why he is one of the scariest beings in the Marvel Universe; his powers keeps rising exponentially the longer any fight goes on and he can reach levels where things like punching through the fabric of the universe itself is a just something that he can casually do.
2) Thanos
Thanos is Marvel’s most formidable cosmic villain. He’s not the most powerful, but he is certainly the most dangerous, as he is smarter than almost everyone he goes up against. However, even though he’s most the most powerful, he’s also just mind-numbingly potent in general. He’s an Eternal of Titan, meaning that he is basically indestructible, superlatively strong, has limited but useful mental powers, is a roiling cauldron of cosmic energies, and can somewhat manipulate matter. Over the years, he’s found ways to enhance his already prolific might and the best way to illustrate is to talk about the story “Blood and Thunder”. Not to be confused with the movie, this story saw Thor afflicted with Warrior Madness, tripling his power, using that might to steal the Power Gem from Drax the Destroyer, becoming even more unstoppable than he already was. He ran through Adam Warlock, Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, and every hero in front of him. Then Thanos showed up and took him down. That’s the full power of the Mad Titan and he rarely has to use it to win.
1) Thor
Thor is the God of Thunder, with power over the storm. These powers are extremely potent; then you have to add Mjolnir to the mix. The hammer enhances and focuses his other powers, while also allowing him to fly, transport himself through time and space, and access planet-shattering energies. Since Odin’s death, he’s been gifted with the omnipotent Odinforce, giving him vast power over the world around him. He’s been at his most powerful for a while, but most of the time, he never has to tap into his powers at their greatest level. He rarely faces any enemies that need his full might, but when he does he teaches them why he’s Asgard’s most feared warrior.
What powerful Marvel characters to you think hold back the most? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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Image Courtesy of Paramount
