As we draw inexorably closer to the release of Avengers: Endgame, what better time to rank the powers of the many Marvel superheroes who’ve made up the Avengers roster over the years?
We can’t make any guesses about Avenger-ness of some characters we know will be in the movie. Will Captain Marvel, Okoye, Rocket and Nebula end up as Avengers? Maybe, but we don’t know yet. So until the release of Endgame, let us take a look at the current Avengers, both alive and dusty, with the most interesting powers.
13. Hawkeye
Many accuse Hawkeye of being the worst Avenger due to not having any powers and a weapon that’s basically obsolete in the bow and arrow. We think that might be a bit harsh; Clint Barton‘s sharp eyes and excellent marksmanship makes him lethal at high vantage points(although not quite as much as some of his colleagues who can fly).
But at the same time, he’s just a guy, and that ranks pretty low compared to some of the others on this list. The fact that he was so easily corrupted in the first Avengers and was absent for Infinity War shows he’s kind of dispensable.
Hopefully, Hawkeye will have his moment to shine in Endgame.
12. Black Widow
A lot of people lobby the same criticisms Hawkeye gets at Black Widow too and, for the most part, she’s just a person who’s stupidly good at fighting and shooting.
But what she lacks in special powers she makes up for in skill. Black Widow is a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. What’s more, her training as a spy in Soviet Russia means that she’s superb at infiltration and social manipulation.
And while it’s not explicitly stated in the movies (although, it is hinted at in Age of Ultron), Black Widow has been enhanced with biotechnology to withstand more extreme dangers, giving her faster healing, slowed aging, and making her resistant to disease.
11. Falcon
Falcon also joins the ranks of ‘just a guy’, but he’s at least equipped with a sweet pair of military issue wings. The EXO-7 Falcon winged jet-pack lets him fly at supersonic speeds, but with more bird-like maneuverability than the likes of fellow flying buddies Iron Man or War Machine.
Made from a carbon fiber structure, Falcon’s wings are light yet incredibly hard and can wrap around each other to form a shield. The jetpack also holsters two machine pistols, main offensive weapons in the air.
The EXO-7’s fancy goggles give him an enhanced vision range enough to easily see something as tiny as Ant-Man. And he’s shown himself to be an excellent human heli-carrier in a pinch, airlifting the Cap’ and others to safety.
10. Captain America
Captain America often takes a back seat to some of the Avengers with more exciting powers, but the first Avenger shouldn’t be overlooked.
His experience being injected with the Super-Soldier Serum gave Steve Rogers a hell of a growth spurt, gaining enhanced reflexes, mental processes, and of course, super strength and speed. He has much denser bones and muscles than regular human and his hyper-fast metabolism means that he has an accelerated healing process.
On top of that, Cap’s vibranium alloy shield, which isn’t strictly a power, is a key point of his combat tactics. Being virtually indestructible, it enables him to fight defensively, as well as lob it at people boomerang-style.
9. War Machine
Made from early edition Iron Man armor, Rhody’s suit will never be quite as advanced as Tony’s. What it does have though is a crap ton of missiles crammed into it.
Thanks to suit modifications made by Justin Hammer, War Machine is a heavily armored one-man battalion, replete with particle beams, rocket launchers, and sonic cannon, with sub-machine gun arm braces. Oh, and a minigun strapped to his back in for good measure.
Like Iron Man, War Machine can fly, and Rody’s past as an Air Force pilot makes him adept in the air. But his bulk makes him way less agile than Iron Man, and as you can tell by the way the camera shakes when he lands, he’s basically a sky tank.
8. Spider-Man
Does Spider-Man count as an Avenger? He does in the comics, and we kind of have to count him after what happened in Infinity War.
The famous radioactive spider bite blessed Pete with the natural ability to climb walls and a spidey-sense that means he can sense danger almost before it happens. Because of this he has ridiculously fast reflexes, and he’s also equipped with the same strength, speed and agility that means he can keep up with the rest of the Avengers.
Spidey also uses synthetic webbing and the ridiculous tensile strength of Spideys webs mean that while he can’t fly, he can do the next best thing – swing.
In Infinity War, Tony Stark gifts him the Iron Spider Armor, which gives him four extra spidery legs and keeps him safe in space.
7. Black Panther
Black Panther’s introduction in Captain America: Civil War set him up as a force to reckoned with even before he got his own movie.
Aside from the general physical enhancements and regenerative healing granted by the Heart-Shaped Herb, Black Panther is much more flexible than your average superhero and uses a unique fighting style made up of a blend of acrobatics and martial arts.
Not to mention that Black Panther’s suit is also packed with a bunch of nifty gadgets, including sound-absorbent shoes, his infinitely useful kimoyo beads, and vibranium claws that can slash through pretty much anything that isn’t also made of vibranium.
6. Ant-Man
You probably wouldn’t expect Ant-Man to rank as high up as he is, but we’ve got to give him props for having one of the more unique superpowers.
The ability to drastically shrink(and grow absolutely massive sometimes) is something no other Avenger can do. In the Ant-Man suit, Scott has the strength of a full-sized person packed behind a pinpoint size –that kind of pressure and momentum means that he can hit about as hard as a bullet.
He also has maybe one of MCU‘s quirkiest abilities: he can talk to ants. Through an EMP device in his helmet he can send signals to ants and control them in a basic way, using them as steeds or making them form together to make bridges or tools.
5. The Hulk
So Bruce Banner only really has one power, but boy does he. Getting angry is all he needs to do – the rest is pretty much automatic.
In his massive green form, Banner is gargantuan and fueled only by rage, although the events of Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame may lead you to believe otherwise. The fact that S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers themselves have taken so many measures to protect themselves from this guy tells you all you need to know.
Thanks to his enormous strength and surprising speed, the Hulk is an unstoppable juggernaut once he gets going and the ace in the hole for the Avengers in almost every movie. But we have to take points away for his lack of ability to control it.
4. Iron Man
While the man inside might not have any special powers –aside from being a genius– in the suit Iron Man he has a ton of varied abilities, made more special by the fact that he whipped them up himself in a lab.
The Iron Man armored suit gives Tony enhanced power behind his punches, as well as encasing him in a steely protective layer. The arc reactor in his chest shoots a powerful particle beam, something that the thrusters on his hands and feet can also do. And thanks to those thrusters, he also gets props for being one of the few Avengers that can fly.
Tony has a whole gallery of suits for different needs, which are constantly being upgraded. He pulls in front of the Hulk just slightly because of his giant Hulk-busting Mark XLIV armor, which does the job pretty nicely.
3. Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch’s powers may be confusing at first, but that’s just a testament to how varied they are. Undergoing experiments by HYDRA left her with quite the array. Her telepathy lets her read minds, experience other people’s memories, and even implant thoughts into others.
Her ability to manipulate energy lets her use telekinesis, which anyone who’s played “which superpower would you rather have?” knows is just flying by proxy. It’s also responsible for her crimson energy beams and forcefields she can project, giving her intense offensive and defensive capabilities.
All we’re saying is there’s a reason she had to be quarantined in Civil War.
2. Vision
Vision was basically made to be the ultimate Avenger. The android was created to be the perfect form of Ultron and thanks to his vibranium body, he possesses superhuman strength and durability.
Oh, and let’s not ignore the fact that he has a whole infinity stone in his head. The mind stone that kept Vision alive granted him genius-level intelligence as well as being able to shoot an extremely powerful energy beam.
He also has a whole host of weird abilities, such as changing density, phasing through objects, growing his own armor and even giving himself a human-like appearance. Him basically saving the day in Age of Ultron is all the proof we need that Vision is one of the most powerful Avengers.
1. Thor
Thor is a literal god. That’s enough to make him one of the strongest Avengers ever. Wielding Mjolnir, the legendary dwarven hammer of Asgard (and later the newly made Stormbreaker), Thor has complete power over thunder and lightning. And being the God of Thunder, he also naturally has superhuman strength and durability, being impervious to all but the most grievous damage.
Being a god, he’s essentially invulnerable unless pitted against another god-like being, like Hela or Thanos. And the inter-dimensional travel granted by Mjolnir and Stormbreaker is pretty nifty too.
With all of Norse mythology to back up his abilities, Thor is unquestionably the most powerful of the Marvel heroes. At least until Captain Marvel came along. The jury’s still out on who’s better there, though they seem pretty easily matched in the latest Endgame trailer. It looks like we’ll have to wait until the release of the film to make a decision.
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