OK, I KNOW I am going to get arguments on this list. We all have our opinions on this topic, some very STRONG opinions (no pun intended, OK well maybe it was intended). I welcome any arguments you may have on this list:
Without further delay, here is The Comic Whisperer’s The 10 Most Powerful Superheroes Of All Time List:
10.) Wolverine: I agree, the argument could be made that this position could be occupied by someone else such as Silver Surfer or Green Lantern, but I disagree. Wolverine has a couple of things that make him a powerful character. First, he has no moral compass. This is the man that could put his claw through Jean Grey, a woman he loved, and a person who can do what needs to be done. Second, his skeleton is laced with Adamantium making him extremely tough to mangle. Third, he has a healing ability that allows him to recover from injuries gained in a fight during the fight! Last, and perhaps most important, is Wolverine’s berserker rages. The time when Wolverine gets lost in his own blinding anger and becomes nearly unstoppable. All of these things make him powerful. Not Hulk or Superman powerful, but still someone I would not save until last when picking sides against a bad guy. His weakness? As Magneto so readily pointed out, his bones are laced with metal. Anyone with the power over magnetism could make short work of him. Next, he’s human underneath it all. Mutant, but human. Strip away the healing power and what do you have? The Death of Wolverine comic series.
9.) The Incredible Hulk: It’s a simple idea; he’s super strong already and the madder he gets the stronger he gets. What else can be said? The flip side of that same coin is when he reverts back to Bruce Banner you have one of the most intelligent people in the Marvel Universe. It’s quite the combination. There are a couple of weaknesses to be noted, though. The first is you can just kill him when he’s Bruce Banner. The second is that he has to breath, so just hit him with a silent gas that knocks him out then kill Banner. The third is to freeze him. I can only assume his skin is impervious to heat. But nothing is impervious to cold. You can freeze anything (well, theoretically you can burn anything too, but let’s set that fact aside for the time being). Once frozen smash him into tiny Hulk pieces.
8.) Flash: I have said this before in a previous blog and I stand by it. I put him above the Hulk because the Hulk can’t hit what he can’t see or catch. Flash could run superfast circles around the Hulk creating a vacuum and suffocate him (he has to breath, right? where have I heard that before??) So, where do we begin? He can think and act superfast. He can phase through walls. He can travel through time. He can change the time stream. He can even gather knowledge at an increased rate. His weakness? Tough to say. Professor Zoom figured it out...kill the ones he loves or change the time stream so they didn’t even exist. The only other idea I had was to have him vibrate into wall, then have someone with super speed continue to build onto that wall until Flash tires out and can’t vibrate anymore solidifying in the wall. It’s outlandish I know, but so is a cosmic treadmill.
7.) Superman: Stronger than the Hulk? Better than the Flash? Yep. As a matter of fact, for those of us who’ve been around for awhile, there was a giant sized comic where Superman battled the Hulk and won. I don’t think it’s even a contest. Arguably, he could also keep up with Flash. Arguably. But add incredible strength with the ability to do things extremely quick and you have Superman. Let’s face it, he’s a super-powered Boy Scout. He can fly, is super strong, has x-ray vision (barring his issues with lead), heat vision, etc., etc., etc. His weaknesses, however, are numerous. A red sun, kryptonite, a strong moral compass, and even his genetics. If you watch the animated film All-Star Superman, you will see how Lex Luthor dispatches the Man of Steel via genetics. The way I would show Superman’s main weakness? I would have him married with Lois calling him for dinner. I can guarantee even with super speed he won’t be quick enough to keep her happy.
6.) Jean Grey: Known as the most powerful telepath on the planet and the host of the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey is one tough cookie. Not only is she a telepath (able to read other people’s minds) she is also telekinetic (which means she can move things with her mind). If she was able to fully control all of the forces at her command her power would be limitless. That leads to her weakness, her inability to fully control all the power at her disposal. Let’s face it we can barely control what goes on in our daily schedules let alone being able to focus power to which there is no limits. All that being said, I’d like her on my side if we ever formed a kickball team.
5.) Doctor Strange: This is almost like Jean Grey but with a Black Belt. Yes, if you look at Doctor Strange’s history he does have extensive martial arts training. So, in review, nearly unlimited power with the ability to defend himself without the power. He’s virtually a God. I think it’s fair to say that we have yet to see what the former Sorcerer Supreme’s true limits are. His weakness is simply that he is still a human with human weaknesses. He can be assassinated, come down with a deadly illness (which has been seen already in comics past) and, even though he is a skilled martial artist, he’s no Superman or Hulk. Worse comes to worse he could close up shop and move to Vegas and earn some easy dough.
4.) Nova: Simply stated he can go anywhere in the universe, has a power set that can destroy planets, he can absorb any type of energy thrown at him, and has access to the most intelligent computer ever devised. Hmmm, could you want anything more than that? I can’t think of anything. His main weakness is the one suffered by most superheroes he has a moral compass. He is restricted by laws that allow villains to continue to get second chances. Second is his helmet. Remove the helmet, remove the power. All that power contained in a hat. Wow.
3.) Thor: Even the Avengers agree that he is probably the most powerful of them all. I have heard him called a God and I have heard him called a Demi-God, either way that’s power beyond mere mortal understanding. To have all that strength and invulnerability and then have lighting bow to your command (why is he the God of Thunder anyway? thunder never hurt anyone. shouldn’t he be the God of Lightning?) and, on top of all that, have that huge freakin’ hammer? Yikes. His weakness? It depends on the time of the writing. At one time he reverted back to human form in the way of Donald Blake and could have been killed that way. He does, however, seem to be sensitive to the magics of his brother Loki which may mean he has a weakness to magic. He may also be killable by his colleagues in Asgard. Can a God kill a God? I dunno. I always wondered if he was the class clown when he was a Godling. He could say, “I am Thor!” and when everyone turns to look at him he can say, “Well, It hurth.” Get it? He’s ‘sore’ then says, ‘well, it hurts’...but he pretends he has a lisp? Never mind.
2.) Martian Manhunter: It actually hurts to write this one. It is always stated in stories of the Justice League that he is a long standing member and probably the strongest, even stronger than Superman. Further, in Injustice: Gods Among Us, he seems to be on the verge of snuffing out Wonder Woman when Superman came to her rescue. But why is he so easily defeated in all the other stories? Surround him with fire. Burn him with fire. Threaten him with fire. Show him a picture of fire. It seems like he is the easiest to dispose of. So then why is he the highest on the list? Because if the writers ever let it all hang out he would be unstoppable. His weakness? Can you guess? Yes, strike a match and you win. Even though he supposedly found out that it is only a mental thing, not a physical one, fire remains his biggest foe. He would even have an advantage in the newer cars because they don’t come with cigarette lighters anymore.
1.) Sentry: Touted as the strongest hero in the universe and able to go head-to-head with the Hulk, and smile about it, the Sentry is the most powerful superhero in the Universe. Let me clarify, I am talking about the more recent, long blond flowing hair Sentry. Not the one from yesteryear in the blue and yellow costume with his hair all tucked in. You know, the Sentry who TORE ARES IN HALF during Siege. THAT Sentry. No hero is more powerful or, as Norman Osborn easily showed, more manipulatable (is that a word? spell check didn’t correct me so I’m going to assume it is) than the Sentry. He, undoubtedly, would be my first pick when choosing sides in a Rugby game. His weakness? He is, as the creators put it, is an “over the hill guy, also an addict, who has an unnatural connection to his dog”. Further, he was most recently a resident of the “Raft” for supposedly murdering his wife Linda Lee. There is also his questionable bouts with The Void which may, or may not, be himself. All that being said, Sentry is, without a doubt, THE most powerful being in the universe and voted “Most likely to fight himself to the death”.
I’ve loved comics since I was a child. I loved them for the ability to stoke the imagination and to allow me to believe in the unbelievable, even if just for a moment. Knowing the answer to who is the most powerful in the universe would be like knowing the answer to a magic trick. Sure, you know how it’s done, but you don’t go to a magic show to figure out how it’s done. You go to believe in the unbelievable. To let go of reality for just a little while. So, tell me who is the most powerful in your reality, I’d like to visit there for awhile.
