Marvel and DC Comics have made the superhero game into the one of the richest fictional landscapes ever. While superhero soap operas have been a big part of the popularity of the medium, superpowered wars between heroes and villains are just as exciting. For years, there were things that you could only see in comics (gather round, whippersnappers, while I wax poetically on the past), and for a lot of us, superhero battles were a major part of what we went to comes for. Superpowered heroes and villains whomping on each other is awesome, as powerful and skilled heroes do their best to battle their enemies. Often times to make things more exciting, the villains are much more powerful and dangerous than the heroes. However, that’s not always the way things go.
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There are some heroes who are much more dangerous to their villains. Their powers and skills put them at levels that the villains have to cheat to match, and there are many fights where the villains can only compare to the powerful heroes they battle because they’ve stacked the deck to an unbelievable extent. These ten superheroes are much more dangerous than the villains they face, their powers and skills making them the most formidable heroes out there.
10) Captain Universe
Jonathan Hickman’s run writing the Avengers was an amazing saga, and it created the most powerful team of Avengers in history. Nicknamed the “Avengers Machine”, this roster included Captain Universe. Captain Universe was familiar to any Marvel fan; she wore the costume of the Enigma Force, an all-powerful energy that has been wielded by multiple heroes, including Spider-Man. However, she was very different from other hosts. Captain Universe was Tamara Devoux, a woman who was in a coma taken by the Enigma Force, who became the embodiment of the universe itself as the Incursions destroyed everything. Captain Universe could literally do anything, but only got involved when she wanted to. She often won battles for the Avengers just by showing up using a fraction of her power.
9) Hyperion
There have been multiple Hyperions in the Marvel Multiverse, a Superman pastiche character (instead of a Kryptonian, he was an Eternal) that leads the Squadron Supreme, a Justice League pastiche team. However, in Hickman’s run we got an all new Hyperion, from Earth-13034, and he became one of the most powerful members of the Avengers Machine team. Hyperion was powerful enough to move planets and tried to save his world from the Incursions by holding the two planets apart, which he almost succeeded in doing. Hyperion was more powerful than basically anyone the Avengers fought. He and Thor made friends and the two of them attacked a group of Beyonders. While they lost, the fact that Hyperion and Thor could defeat multiple Beyonders show you just how powerful he is.
8) Hercules
When most Marvel fans think of Hercules, they think of Thor’s understudy in the Avengers, a second rate divine character who is cool to read about but not as tough as the God of Thunder. However, this is ignoring the sheer power of Hercules. Hercules is a demigod, the son of Zeus, and is called the “Prince of Power” for a reason. Hercules has infinite strength; he is as strong as he wants to be. Basically, Hercules is the Hulk without needing the rage. That’s an amazing power level, and that’s what Hercules brings to every fight.
7) Phoenix
Marvel has many overpowered heroes, but few of them have the sheer power of Jean Grey as Phoenix. The Phoenix Force is one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Universe, a multiversal power that embodies the concepts of death and rebirth. Jean Grey is basically the personification of the Phoenix Force, and has godlike psionic powers. Phoenix can protect planets from supernovas. Her power is essentially infinite, and the only villain who ever approached her power was Essex, and that was only because he had become a Dominion, a godlike being that lived outside of time. On top of that, the Phoenix is known for tempting its bearers and transforming them into the Dark Phoenix, basically death personified. Phoenix is dangerous, and that’s all there is to it.
6) Invisible Woman
Sue Richards is one of the most powerful human beings on the planet. Invisible Woman gained her powers on the fateful trip that created the Fantastic Four, and for years she was basically the team spy/kidnapping bait. However, when it was revealed that her powers allowed her to control invisible energy, she basically became an Invisible Lantern. She could create nearly impregnable forcefields and create constructs of invisible energy. Sue could kill anyone she wanted at any time by creating a bubble of invisible energy in her opponents and just expanding it, tearing them apart from the inside. It’s insane how dangerous Invisible Woman is; she’s one of the scariest people on Earth when she’s angry.
5) Firestorm
Firestorm became one of DC’s stars in the late ’70s, but has fallen from grace. There have been several Firestorms over the decades, but they all share the same frankly insane powers. Firestorm is super strong and invulnerable, has atomic energy powers, density control, perfect memory recall, and the power to transmute matter. Firestorm can create pretty much anything. His most popular villain is Killer Frost, who had ice powers, so he’s vastly more powerful than just about everyone he fights. On top of that, Firestorm is a nuclear reactor, so if he’s pierced, he can explore in a massive nuclear reaction. Firestorm is ridiculously powerful, and has the potential to be the most powerful person on Earth.
4) The Hulk
The Hulk is possibly the most powerful human ever. The Hulk was empowered by the One Below All to become a primal monster of the universe. The Hulk is a fount of gamma energy, and that energy makes him into an unstoppable force. The Hulk has infinite strength, fantastic durability, and an amazing healing factor. The angrier he gets, the more powerful he gets. Thanos is actually afraid of the Hulk, because he knows that the Hulk can beat anyone given enough time. The Hulk has punched through dimensions and defeated gods. The Hulk is ridiculously scary, and can defeat anyone he fights, even before we take his anger induced powers into effect.
3) Lobo
Lobo is one of the most dangerous beings in the DC Multiverse. Lobo is strong enough to fight Superman, and killed basically every other Czarnian, his own super-powerful race, on his own. He’s indestructible, and when he bleeds, he can create copies of himself from the blood. Lobo is also one of the most brutal fighters in the multiverse, his titanic strength and invulnerability making him an unstoppable force in combat. On top of all of that, Lobo is no idiot. He’s a master of combat, lulling foes into thinking he’s just a brain dead bruiser, and can put down just about anyone he wants. Lobo doesn’t play well with eithers, so even if he’s teamed up with others, there’s always a chance he’s going to snap and beat up some of this allies. Lobo is the definition of dangerous.
2) Thor
Thor is the God of Thunder, giving him control over the storms. He’s also immeasurably strong and durable. If that was all Thor was, he’d still be formidable to everyone he fights. However, he has even more power than that. Mjolnir enhances his natural power, and also gives him access to energies that are powerful enough to destroy a planet and allow him to teleport through space and time. On top of that, he’s also the King of Asgard and has access to the Odinforce, a fount of cosmic power that makes him more powerful than most other gods. Thor is a powerhouse on another level, and there are very few villains out there who can match his power and ferocity.
1) Superman
Superman isn’t the most powerful being in the DC Multiverse when it comes to power level, but he’s the cornerstone of the multiverse’s entire existence and basically only wins. Superman’s power levels have yo yo-ed over the years; he used to be able to move planets and fly across the galaxy, then he could merely lift hundreds of thousands of tons, then he went back to moving planets. He’s closer to the old Superman power level than not nowadays and is as powerful as he needs to be for any given situation. Superman fights the greatest threats, and while there are some more powerful than him, they almost always lose to him. Superman is easily the most dangerous being around. Just look at all the time he’s been shown as evil; Superman can kill just about anything. He’s insanely dangerous and the only thing holding him back is himself.
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