Every Major Super Soldier in the MCU, Ranked by Strength

Nick Fury is onto something in The Avengers when he explains that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been making weapons out of the Tesseract because of Thor. Earth doesn’t grow incredibly powerful gods on trees like they do in Asgard, and the Norse deities are only the tip of the iceberg. Every corner of the galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is home to unstoppable beings that can wipe out a planet without a second thought. One of the few ways for humans to level the playing field is by taking the Super Soldier Serum, initially created by Dr. Abraham Erskine in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Being injected with the formula grants its user incredible durability and strength, as well as enhanced reflexes. However, not every version of the serum is as potent as the original. Here’s every major super soldier in the MCU, ranked by how strong they are.

7) Johann Schmidt

During World War II, Johann Schmidt discovers Erskine’s work and believes it will help him become a superior being. What Schmidt doesn’t understand, though, is that the serum isn’t ready when he takes it, leading to unintended side effects. Rather than gaining great strength, Schmidt’s face becomes disfigured, forcing him to adopt the Red Skull persona. The serum allows Red Skull to stay alive a few extra years and look after the Soul Stone, but it doesn’t give him the power he desires.

6) Alexei Shostakov

The Soviet Union can’t let the Americans have all the fun, so it begins working on its own version of the serum. The goal is to create its version of Captain America, and it arrives in the form of Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian. Unfortunately, Red Guardian isn’t anywhere near as strong as Captain America. He even lets the Winter Soldier show him up when the two cross paths.

5) Bucky Barnes

HYDRA never gives up its pursuit of creating the perfect human, experimenting on American soldiers it captures. Bucky Barnes finds himself on the wrong end of a needle, and after being captured by Armin Zola, he becomes the dangerous assassin, the Winter Soldier. Bucky’s strength isn’t on the level of some of his colleagues’, but when he gets a full head of steam, he can do plenty of damage.

4) Isaiah Bradley

Losing Erskine’s formula is a major blow to the United States government, and the powers that be can’t leave well enough alone. Isaiah Bradley becomes one of the soldiers to get a new version of the serum, and while it works pretty well, letting a Black man be Captain America isn’t in the cards. Years later, after getting out of prison, Bradley gets to show up his former captors by letting loose in the White House after being mind-controlled by The Leader.

3) Karli Morgenthau

Feeling abandoned by the governments of the world, Karli Morgenthau seeks a way to strike back by working with Sharon Carter, aka the Power Broker. Sharon gives her new recruit a modern version of the Super Soldier Serum, which gives her incredible strength. Even Bucky struggles to hold his own against Karli in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While she dies at the end of the show, that says more about her lack of training than raw power.

2) John Walker

John Walker learns quickly that becoming the new Captain America isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. He loses fights constantly, pushing him to take the same serum that Karli does. After becoming his best self, Walker pulls off some pretty impressive feats, including dragging an armored vehicle and jumping higher than any super soldier has before. The serum isn’t enough to make Walker a match for Sentry, but he’s stronger than he appears.

1) Steve Rogers

The man that every government across the world is chasing is Steve Rogers, who is the first one to get Erskine’s finished formula. The strength that Captain America receives is no joke, allowing him to hold helicopters in place and make Thanos work a little harder than usual. While Rogers’ pure heart is the most important aspect of his character, his strength is nothing to scoff at, even in a universe full of gods and monsters.

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