MCU: The Strongest And Weakest Members Of The Avengers
The Avengers are commonly referred to as "Earth's mightiest heroes" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that has become increasingly more and more true as heroes get added to the constantly expanding roster with every movie.
The team has a healthy balance of characters with God-like abilities and those who are mere mortals. While the characters that are on the weaker side can sometimes be overlooked by fans, they have shown that they are just as capable as the others, even if they may not be as powerful.
Updated on October 26th, 2021 by Kevin Pantoja: Over the years, the MCU has only continued to expand. 2021 has seen several TV shows get added to the mix on Disney+, which have done a great job of both introducing new characters and exploring others with more depth. That has included some characters who have only developed their powers even more, arguably becoming more powerful than those who were in the spotlight before them. The members of the Avengers who were around when things first started have moved up and down in terms of strength when compared to those who joined in later years.
14 Hawkeye/Clint Barton
Although he is an extremely skilled marksman, Clint Barton is often considered to be the weakest member of the team seeing as he's just a regular guy with a bow and arrow. That certainly means that Hawkeye is the weakest Avenger.
The fact that he's on a much different level than the rest of the team is actually one of the best parts of the character and grounds him, especially since it's clear he has a lot more to lose than them. He also has a lot of experience in battle, which he has used to guide stronger characters like Wanda Maxmioff in the past.
13 Falcon/Captain America/Sam Wilson
Sam Wilson is an ex-soldier who uses an advanced winged jetpack to fly and utilize in combat. He was recently made the new Captain America, and people have raised concerns about the fact that he's just a regular guy in a jetpack, so if he loses it, he's basically out of a fight against any superpowered being. His wings do, however, work as both offensive and defensive weapons, which make him a worthy opponent for most villains.
The upgraded version of his suit that he uses in Captain America: Civil War also has a lot of bells and whistles that help him while on mission including his drone, Redwing. During The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he also showed an ability to more than hold his own in a fight against people who took the super-soldier serum.
12 Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff
Even though she is a master assassin, Black Widow, also known as Natasha Romanoff, is still also at the bottom of the list in terms of strength. Like Hawkeye, she has shown herself to be capable of competing against some of the Avengers' more challenging opponents like the Chitauri, the Ultron drones, and the Black Order.
She often has to rely on additional gadgets like her Black Widow's bite and her batons in addition to various firearms. It is those things and her long history as an assassin that give her a slight edge over her other mostly normal humans.
11 Winter Soldier/White Wolf/Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes is one of the many characters in the MCU to have taken a version of the super-soldier serum in his blood, although his was created by Zola. The fact that his new arm, which he was gifted by T'Challa, is completely made out of Vibranium, also gives him a newfound advantage.
However, as it was shown by Spider-Man in Civil War, that won't do much against some of the more powerful individuals. Bucky is very likely to win the majority of the fights he gets involved in but that simply wouldn't be the case if he took on some of the stronger members of the Avengers, putting him towards the bottom.
10 Captain America/Steve Rogers
Due to the super-soldier serum in his veins, it can be easy for fans to remember that while Steve Rogers is much stronger than the average human, he is still weaker when compared to the other members of his team.
While he can do things like keeping a helicopter from taking off with his bare hands and jumping from a plane without a parachute, he usually isn't a match for characters like Thanos or Loki. Of course, he does also command a deep level of respect from everyone and Cap has a never-say-die attitude in battle that makes him tough to defeat.
9 Iron Man/Tony Stark
Tony Stark is the final member of the Avengers who is not an enhanced human in some shape or form. Despite that, there's a clear reason why Iron Man is one of the leaders of the team. For starters, he's the first superhero to debut in the franchise and for another, Tony has a genius-level intellect that is almost unmatched among his fellow Avengers.
That brain is what really helps put Tony above the rest of his fellow humans as it helped him create his incredible suit of armor. Over the course of the MCU, Tony's suits have become so advanced that he's basically got an answer for any situation. Whether it be a fight against Hulk, fixing a broken ferry, or chasing down a spaceship, Tony can do it all.
8 Shang-Chi
The newest addition to the MCU is Shang-Chi, debuting early in 2021 in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Technically, he's not an official member of the team just yet but his post-credits scene interaction with Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers shows that he'll play a significant part going forward.
In terms of pure hand-to-hand combat skills, you won't be able to top Shang-Chi. He trained his entire life in that department and even defeated his father in that kind of fight. Shang-Chi also combines that with what he learned from his mother's side of the family and the Ten Rings themselves, making him even more impressive.
7 Spider-Man/Peter Parker
He might be the youngest Avenger but there's no denying just how powerful Peter Parker is. His abilities as Spider-Man have made him strong enough to stop Bucky Barnes' metal arm with ease, catch a moving vehicle, lift up a building that collapsed on him, and even go toe to toe with Thanos.
The main thing holding Spider-Man back from ranking higher is simply that other members of the Avengers are among the strongest beings to ever exist. It's next to impossible to top them. Plus, Parker's youth is another thing that he struggles with, causing him to do rash things, which would hurt him against stronger opponents.
6 Vision
Vision was created by Ultron and then brought to life through the combined efforts of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Thor. His body is made of a combination of organic tissue and vibranium, which makes him extremely durable.
His main power is derived from the Mind Stone in his forehead which allows him to emit a laser beam and control his other wide array of powers, including density manipulation. He also has the honor of being one of the few characters that were considered worthy by Mjolnir, along with Thor and Captain America. He was previously considered to be the most powerful character after his introduction, with Scarlet Witch, Corvus Glave, and Thanos being the only characters to overpower him on-screen.
5 Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange
Dr. Stephen Strange was trained by the Ancient One in Kamar-Taj and became the guardian of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum after the death of Daniel Drumm. With minimal training, Strange was able to take on Kaecilius and his group of zealots as well as create a time loop strong enough to trap Dormammu for an infinite amount of time.
By the time of Avengers: Endgame, he was skilled enough to take on Thanos, who was in possession of several Infinity Stones. His expansive knowledge of the mystic arts grants him a wide range of abilities including the power to see into the future, making him one of the MCU's best defenders. Maybe after he learns more, he can be at the top.
4 Hulk/Bruce Banner
There was a time when Hulk was considered the strongest of all of the Avengers. In the comic books, Hulk seems to be the most powerful of them all. That being said, he has had his ups and downs in the MCU over the years. First, Bruce Banner and Hulk had trouble communicating, which caused him to lose fights he shouldn't have.
Although the two have mended fences and now work cohesively, Hulk is always at his strongest when he's angry. That aspect of his persona has lacked a bit in recent MCU films though as he's not quite as mad as he has been in the past. That means he falls behind some of his partners.
3 Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers
Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has been the topic of discussion about who the strongest character in the MCU is thanks to her powers which she received. Despite only appearing in two films so far, her feats have already been on display and she's certainly among the strongest.
Not only was she able to singlehandedly destroy an entire fleet of Kree ships on their way to Earth in Captain Marvel, but she was also able to destroy Thanos' ship with one hit, go head to head with the Mad Titan himself, and take a hit from the Power Stone without a scratch.
2 Thor
Thor is by far the strongest member of the original team considering he is the literal God. He gained a major boost in power following the events of Thor: Ragnarok after losing Mjolnir and learning that his hammer wasn't the source of his strength.
Even without his iconic weapon, he was capable enough to take on Hela's army of the dead. He further demonstrated his strength and durability while taking the full force of a star in Avengers: Infinity War when forging his new weapon, Stormbreaker, and almost killing Thanos at the end of the film. He then went on to actually kill Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, which is no small feat.
1 Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff
Scarlet Witch has always been the Avenger with the most untapped potential. She was able to destroy an Infinity Stone in Infinity War which was while managing to hold Thanos back with the other hand. She was also moments away from killing Thanos in Endgame, resulting in him having to focus all of his ship's weapons on her.
That was enough to consider her near the top but Wanda Maximoff, known as Scarlet Witch, is the officially most powerful Avenger now. That was clear in WandaVision, where she dove deeper into her abilities, taking over an entire town and basically bringing Vision back to life in some shape or form. Her chaos magic has made her the Scarlet Witch and her power level is not even a question anymore.