‘Avengers: Infinity War’: Who Is Stronger Than Thor?

Who is stronger than Thor?

That’s the question that fans of Avengers: Infinity War — and the Marvel Cinematic Universe more generally — have asked for a while, but the question has come up again thanks Joe and Anthony Russo. The directors participated in the Avengers: Infinity War Vudu Viewing Party as part of the digital release of the film, answering fan questions on Twitter. On fan specifically wanted to know who other than Thor could hold Stormbreaker, the weapon forged on Nidavellir specifically to defeat Thanos.

While the directors didn’t reveal specifically who was stronger, or as strong as Thor, they did hint that fans already knew who some of them were.

Fans soon began responding to the tweet with characters they thought were at least equal to Thor in strength. We even mentioned a few of them in our discussion of the Russo’s comments and found that there’s quite a bit of disagreement on who is truly the God of Thunder’s match. So, in the interest of exploring the options, we’ve compiled a list of most of the characters mentioned on Twitter as potentially being a strength match for Thor as well as noted why — or why not — the character might fit the bill. It’s worth noting that we did not include Thanos on this list. After all, he did survive Thor’s attempt to kill him before he could snap his fingers.

Who do Infinity War fans on Twitter think could be stronger than Thor? Read on to find out and be sure to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments below.

Groot

One choice fans came up with was Groot. Their argument was based on the fact that Groot was not just able to hand Thor Stormbreaker during a critical moment of Infinity War, but the beloved tree-like character even sacrificed one of his own limbs to serve as the hammer’s handle.

It’s important to note that Stormbreaker did not have the worthiness requirement that Mjolnir did so, presumably, the only thing preventing anyone other than Thor from being able to lift it would be strength alone. The fact that Groot did so is an impressive show of strength likely putting him at least close to Thor’s base strength. Considering that Groot in Infinity War was just a teen, it’s possible he would eventually reach a point where he was even stronger. Unfortunately, as Groot was a victim of Thanos’ snap we’ll probably never know if Groot’s display of strength was a one-time thing or something more.

Beta Ray Bill

Okay, so this character has yet to make an appearance in the MCU but fans included him on their list so we’re including him here as well and for good reason. In comics, Stormbreaker is Beta Ray Bill’s weapon which is probably why fans thought to consider him.

But Beta Ray Bill is also a very physically strong character and has fought alongside Thor as well over the years. He’s also been shown to be one of the rare beings worthy to lift Mjolnir so all of that together — the strength and worthiness — makes a reasonable argument for the fan-favorite Korbinite.

The fact that he hasn’t yet appeared in the MCU probably disqualifies him for the overall list, but we still have hope we’ll see him someday.

Vision

The Avenging Android, stronger than Thor? That’s what some fans seem to think, as Vision was a popular response. It’s not impossible. Vision is a pretty mighty character and has displayed significant strength, but most fans cite his ability to lift Mjolnir as why he’s in the same strength class as Thor. As we’ve mentioned, Mjolnir’s only requirement to lift it was worthiness. Vision was worthy. That doesn’t necessarily make him strong so we see him as a solid maybe.

Hulk

One choice that most agreed on was Hulk and there’s evidence of it in the MCU.

In Thor: Ragnarok, there’s the hilarious scene in which the Quinjet requires the strongest Avenger in order to operate and Thor, no matter how many times he tries, simply isn’t it. Ultimately, it’s Bruce Banner/Hulk who ends up being the key. While one could question the accuracy of the Quinjet’s computer, the battle the Grandmaster forces between Thor and Hulk on Sakaar at least confirms that the two are close to evenly matched.

Scarlet Witch

Another name that came up frequently was that of Scarlet Witch and she has proven her incredible strength a few times, perhaps most stunningly when she was able to hold off Thanos one-handed while destroying the Mind Stone to prevent him from collecting it. It was an act that showed not just great physical strength but emotional strength as well. She’s at least as strong as Thor, at least in the right circumstances.

Captain America

Captain America was the most controversial suggestion, but his name appeared multiple times in the Twitter thread and for good reason. Steve Rogers is an incredibly strong character. Fans have seen him pull of some amazing feats of strength — including him tearing logs in half with his bare hands in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

However, most fans erroneously cited his slight budging of Mjolnir as proof and as we’ve, noted, that hammer only required worthiness. Others pointed out that one of Cap’s great shows of strength — facing off with Thanos in Infinity War — required Steve to use all of his strength while Thanos didn’t appear to be exerting much energy at all. Given this, Captain America might not be quite equal to Thor’s strength, but he’s probably not terribly far off. All we know is that we wouldn’t want to challenge him to an arm wrestling match.

Captain Marvel

While most of the characters on the list are debatable, there is one character that is almost universally agreed upon to be stronger than Thor: Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, she’s the strongest hero the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen.

“What is one of the coolest things about it is she will be by far the most powerful character we’ve ever introduced in the movie. ‘How do you find those limitations? How do you find those vulnerabilities?’ is something that is sort of at the crux of the story that we’re putting together,” Feige told IGN back in 2016. “She has — as you know from the comics — an interesting story, and I think we have a very cool and unique way of telling that story. I don’t think it’s leaked yet exactly what we’re doing with her movie or how we’re doing it, but it will be cool. She will prove to be a very important character in our universe for all the movies.”

And we won’t have to wait too much longer to see just how strong she is. Captain Marvel is set to hit theaters on March 8, 2019.