On paper, the Avengers teams in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been lacking in the power department for a while. At the start, the Avengers are fairly balanced, featuring a god, a giant monster with anger issues, a super soldier, and a man in a high-tech suit who can do just about anything. The team that replaces that one at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron relies too much on two heroes, Vision and Scarlet Witch, to do the heavy lifting, which isn’t all that fair. However, it’s still better than the Secret Avengers, a group that lacks support and has to wear ragged clothes.
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The MCU appears to be continuing the downward trend by turning the Thunderbolts into the New Avengers. However, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are formidable in the grand scheme of things. Here are all seven Thunderbolts* team members, ranked by how powerful they are.
7) Yelena Belova
If sneaking into place and shooting people was the name of the game, Yelena Belova would take the top spot. Unfortunately, the MCU is full of dangerous threats that a gun can’t take care of, so Yelena drops to the bottom. What she lacks in strength, she makes up for with her brain, though. After all, Yelena appears to be the leader of the New Avengers during the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*.
6) Ghost
Like Yelena, Ava Starr, aka Ghost, has experience as an assassin. She works for S.H.I.E.L.D. after losing both of her parents in a laboratory accident at a young age, but that’s not her only claim to fame. Exposure to quantum energy allows her to phase through objects, which comes in handy on numerous occasions. Ghost also seems a bit stronger than a regular human, based on holding her own against super soldiers.
5) Taskmaster
An explosion leaves Antonia Dreykov looking worse for wear, but her father doesn’t give up on her, putting a chip in her brain that allows her to mimic any fighting technique she comes across. He also gives her a suit that provides her with enhanced strength and durability. Anyone who can go toe-to-toe with Black Widow deserves respect, even if the MCU wants to do her dirty and kill her off without letting her put up a real fight.
4) Red Guardian
Red Guardian may have the most mileage of any of the super soldiers on the New Avengers, since the Winter Soldier was constantly being frozen, but he’s the weakest of the bunch. Whatever the Soviet Union gave him made him plenty strong, allowing him to lift heavy objects and pack a punch. However, there’s not much more to him than that, meaning the other super soldiers have to step in when times get tough.
3) Bucky Barnes
HYDRA’s experiments on Bucky turn him into a killing machine. He spends decades taking out targets with precision, and the only reason he’s able to break free is that his old friend Steve Rogers learns that he’s alive and in need of help. Well, all these years later, Bucky is using his skills for good. He’s nearly as strong as his old friend, and his metal arm means anyone he hits is sure to have a serious bruise when they wake up.
2) John Walker
When John Walker starts to feel inadequate, he takes the super soldier serum that gives the Flag Smashers their abilities. The dose he takes is serious business because it makes him stronger than basically every other super soldier in the MCU. Thunderbolts* features Walker’s most impressive feat, when he really high into the air to scope out the situation in Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s facility.
1) Sentry
Of course, it’s hard to talk about super soldiers when Sentry is around. What O.X.E. gives Bob Reynolds turns him into someone more powerful than all of the original Avengers combined. When the other Thunderbolts try to teach him a lesson, they don’t do any damage. It takes appealing to Bob’s humanity while the Void is in control to calm him down. It’s a good thing he’s on the New Avengers because Sentry could destroy the world in the blink of an eye.
Thunderbolts* is streaming on Disney+.
Do you agree with these rankings of the Thunderbolts* team members? How would you switch things up? Let us know in the comments below!
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