The Marvel Cinematic Universe has plenty of powerful heroes, but only a rare few of them are genuinely super strong in a physical sense. The most powerful Avengers level a variety of impressive weaponry, magical spells, skills, and powers against their foes, making them versatile threats on the battlefield. But in terms of physical strength, there are only a handful of Avengers truly worth mentioning.
When it comes to physical strength, the Marvel Cinematic Universe admittedly lags behind the comics, with the MCU’s most impressive feats of power vastly being outscaled by the source material. However, that doesn’t mean that the series hasn’t unleashed some impressive moments of raw physical prowess over the years, creating a clear hierarchy of muscle within the ranks of the Avengers. Some heroes might be closer to one another than others, but only one can be the physically strongest.
10
Bucky Barnes
Harnesses two sources of strength
The gatekeeper of true strength in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is arguably Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. The Winter Soldier. After being captured by HYDRA, Bucky became one of many super soldier serum users in the MCU to copy the success of Dr. Erskine’s original formula. On top of that, the addition of a cybernetic arm enhanced his strength even further, now able to work his superhuman physiology in tandem with his prosthesis for dramatic results.
Bucky has performed some outrageous feats over his long MCU career, punching Captain America through closed elevator doors and flipping entire cars over his head in the trailer for the upcoming Thunderbolts*. His physical power is unbelievable, especially weapon taking advantage of the metal or even Vibranium construction of his robotic arm. However, he falls barely short due to having no feats of strength on the same level as some of his peers.
9
Captain America
The original super soldier
It says a lot that Dr. Erskine’s original super soldier formula has yet to be outclassed by most of the imitators attempting to copy its success. Steve Rogers was once a scrawny, sickly boy from Queens, only to be hand-selected for a top-secret super soldier program due to his pure heart. Thanks to a combination of Dr. Erskine’s serum and his patented “Vita-rays”, Steve Rogers gained physical stats far surpᴀssing those of any regular human.
Captain America just barely edges out his lifelong pal Bucky in terms of physical strength. While the two mostly fight on even footing, Steve has gotten away with some staggering displays of power that Bucky can only aspire to, such as punching through the windows of a pressurized Nazi submarine while underwater or his infamous hold of a turboprop helicopter. When pushed to his limits, Steve goes beyond peak human and well into absurd levels of strength, though he’s only scratching the surface of the MCU’s iceberg of power.
8
Drax
More than just comic relief
For the most part, Drax is better known as one of the best MCU comic relief characters, with Dave Bautista’s expert comedic timing always landing within the oafish warrior’s lines. But make no mistake, the Guardians of the Galaxy keep Drax around for more than his sense of humor, as he’s more than earned his тιтle of “The Destroyer”. Drax’s strength comes from his alien physiology, not to mention years of honed experience as a vengeful warrior.
While Bucky and Steve might be able to dismantle objects on Earth, Drax can make mincemeat out of alien technology undoubtedly made of stronger materials, such as prison drones on Kyln. His most underrated feat is easily throwing one of his knives hard enough to penetrate one of Doctor Strange’s Tao Mandalas, hearty magical shields impervious to most attacks. Drax may not get the most spotlight compared to most Marvel heroes, but he’s undoubtedly one of the strongest.
7
Iron Man (Hulkbuster Suit)
Pure mechanical muscle
Admittedly, calling Iron Man one of the physically strongest heroes while being reliant on a piece of specific equipment to claim such a тιтle might not sit well with every fan. But there’s no mistaking that in many of his high-tech suits of armor, Tony is one of the physically strongest beings on the planet. Even in his baseline nanotech suit, Iron Man was strong enough to get Thanos to bleed with his blows, a seemingly small but incredibly impressive victory given the Mad тιтan’s own strength.
In particular, the Hulkbuster suit is one of Tony’s most incredible creations. True to its name, the suit was designed to go up against The Hulk in battle, and manages to put up a shocking fight in a physical brawl with the rampaging green giant. Granted, the Hulkbuster might not have won their duel in Avengers: Age of Ultron if it wasn’t for a cheap sucker punch, but Bruce Banner is later able to pilot the suit to great effect against the Chitauri outriders. The Hulkbuster’s might is not to be underestimated.
6
Spider-Man
Easily one of Earth’s strongest despite only being a teenager
One hero who has arguably inherited the strength of his comic self in the MCU is Spider-Man, who is no joke when it comes to physical stats. On top of Spider-Man’s unique suite of powers like wall-crawling and Spider-Sense, Peter Parker’s mutation also blessed him with immense physical strength, similar to the proportional lifting power of an arachnid. Spider-Man’s overwhelming strength is shown off many times throughout the series.
Fights with other characters quickly reveal just how overpowered Spider-Man is, catching a punch from Bucky’s cybernetic arm like it’s nothing and even stopping the swing of Obsidian Cull’s axe, which even the Hulkbuster suit couldn’t stop. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he miraculously holds together a mᴀssive pᴀssenger ferry that’s been sliced in half, and Avengers: Infinity War sees him hang on to a spaceship exiting Earth’s atmosphere. There’s a reason Spider-Man is called amazing in the MCU.
5
Valkyrie
Still one of the mightiest Asgardians
It isn’t just gods like Thor that enjoy a mythical proportion of strength compared to most beings, with all Asgardians enjoying some degree of superhuman power. No trained warrior in the culture exemplifies this better than Valkyrie, whose name is indicative of her former тιтle in Odin’s army. Valkyrie might not be the first name many fans think of when naming the MCU’s strongest, but a quick look at her accomplishments disproves any doubt quite quickly.
Valkyrie was able to slice through the hide of a Chitauri Leviathan with her spear and strength alone, a feat that gets incredibly impressive once one realizes that Iron Man’s 200 petawatt wrist lasers, putting out force equivalent to 47.8 megatons of TNT per second, couldn’t penetrate their armor. Valkyrie might not have as many combat scenes too look at, but this example alone speaks volumes to her strength. If that’s not convincing enough, the fact that she was able to even momentarily stagger a villain as powerful as Hela should be.
4
Ant-Man (Giant)
Another unᴀssuming powerhouse of a hero
Being able to stab through a Leviathan with a weapon is impressive enough, but knocking one into submission with a single punch is even more unbelievable. Enter Scott Lang, one of the most unᴀssuming heroes one might think to see ranked among the MCU’s physically strongest. It’s true that in his regular and tiny sizes, Ant-Man only has the strength of a relatively in-shape adult human man. But this law of proportional strength with Pym Particles apparently goes out the window when he grows to colossal stature.
As Giant Man, Ant-Man is a slow, unwieldy, but unmistakably immense power house. He’s able to tear through solid concrete buildings like they’re made of paper mache, and is only mildly annoyed by ballistic missiles from War Machine. Giant Man can tear through a plane like a candy wrapper, and kills Cull Obsidian by literally stepping on him. A veritable kaiju of an Avenger, it’s no wonder going so large wears on Ant-Man so heavily.
3
The Hulk
Sadly, not the strongest there is in the MCU
As utterly sad as it is to admit, The Incredible Hulk is not the strongest hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite overwhelming strength being the character’s entire powerset. At least, in the current state of the MCU, The Hulk has gotten tragically outclassed by other heroes with displays of raw physical power. After all, Hulk is easily dismantled by Thanos, causing him to crumble into embarrᴀssment and shame before dissolving into Professor Hulk.
Granted, Hulk is still an absolute monster in the grander scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and has a case for being the most physically durable Avenger if not the physically strongest. He is still immensely strong, taking down Leviathans in one strike, leaving dents in Vibranium walls, and throwing huge boulders out of the Earth’s orbit. But at the end of the day, two Avengers have still managed to outclass him in terms of physical strength.
2
Captain Marvel
Still barely scratching the surface of her potential
It says a lot that as a new character, Captain Marvel was called a Mary Sue due to just how strong she was (and still is). Like other powerful beings such as Wanda Maximoff, Carol Danvers was subjected to the harsh energies of an Infinity Stone, coming out the other side as one of the Avengers’ biggest ᴀssets in battle. Captain Marvel’s MCU powers include energy projection, flight, and, of course, vastly enhanced strength and durability.
To say that Captain Marvel is an overpowered hero would be and understatement, famously turning the tide of the Battle for Earth in Avengers: Endgame single-handedly when she brought down Thanos’ mᴀssive alien flagship by throwing herself through it like a bullet. She’s powerful enough to take on and even embarrᴀss Thanos in single combat, and thinks nothing of chucking intergalactic Kree missiles back into space with her bare hands. She may prove to be even stronger as she gets more appearances, possibly supplanting the current strongest Avenger.
1
Thor
Still the Avengers’ ultimate trump card
Though a big joke was made out of Hulk’s codename being “Strongest Avenger” in Thor: Ragnarok, in truth, the true son of Odin himself is the most powerful good guy in the MCU. An ancient Asgardian warrior, Thor’s might surpᴀsses even the most ferocious fighters in his own warrior race, ascending to literal godhood due to his innate royal bloodline. His lightning might be the most famously powerful tool in his arsenal, but his physical strength easily outclasses that of any other Avenger.
During their one-on-one duel, Thor was actually winning against The Hulk before the fight was rigged with an embedded neural paralyzer. But it’s almost not worth discussing any other examples of Thor’s strength beyond pulling together the rings of a mᴀssive space station forge while actively tanking the searing heat of a literal star. One of the strongest displays of power in the MCU in general, let alone in the category of physical might, Thor’s unparalleled strength makes gods of even mere mortals who can tap into when wielding his hammer.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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