James Gunn’s Superman introduced a strong but vulnerable Man of Steel, meaning that David Corenswet’s DCU hero wouldn’t be unbeatable in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Gunn’s Superman, David Corenswet’s Kal El battles Ultraman, a firebreathing kaiju, The Engineer’s nanobots, and Lex Luthor’s soldiers. He ultimately wins each of his battles, but he struggles all the way to the top.

Marvel’s power rankings have risen drastically in each phase of the MCU. Whereas the Avengers struggled to fend off the Chitauri in Phase 1, they put up a solid fight against Thanos’ Outriders and the Black Order in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. By Phase 6, the MCU has introduced dozens of characters capable of leveling whole worlds.

10

Sentry

The MCU’s Sentry is undeniably one of the most powerful live-action superheroes ever introduced in a superhero movie. As Sentry, Bob Reynolds is strong, fast, and durable enough to withstand attacks from entire superhero teams. If he wanted, Sentry could slice through entire squads of Avengers and Justice League members without breaking a sweat.

As suggested by his brief time in the suit, Lewis Pullman’s Sentry is twice as powerful as Corenswet’s Superman, at minimum. If Superman finds a creative way to fend off Sentry, Bob Reynolds’ Void alter ego could take over and trap Superman in his realm permanently. That said, if there’s a DC character clever enough to talk Bob out of the Void, it’s Superman.

9

Scarlet Witch

Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff has gone from fighting Ultron bots with simple orbs to annihilating alternate-universe superhero teams effortlessly. After learning the contents of the Darkhold, there’s little a fully-powered Scarlet Witch cannot do. The only reason Scarlet Witch was stopped in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is that she had a last-minute change of heart.

At her peak, Scarlet Witch could kill or permanently neutralize David Corenswet’s Superman using any of the methods she used to destroy Earth-838’s Illuminati. Wanda wouldn’t need to get close to Superman in order to change his body structure or use his own powers against him. Inspired by Black Bolt’s death, Wanda could shoot Superman’s heat vision into his own skull.

8

Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange isn’t the most powerful MCU hero, but he’s probably the most creative one. Despite not having the power to defeat villains like Dormammu, Scarlet Witch, Thanos, and even Kaecilius, Stephen Strange crafted brilliant plans to defeat each of them. Strange always thinks outside the box to save the world and all of reality.

If Doctor Strange needed to stop the DCU’s Superman, he’d probably match Superman’s might in a lengthy exchange of magical and Kryptonian powers. When cornered, Strange would likely come up with a plan to contain Superman’s abilities and hold him down long enough to defuse the situation. If he faced an evil Superman, Strange wouldn’t hesitate to use ᴅᴇᴀᴅly force.

7

Druig

Druig possesses the most powerful of the Eternals’ abilities. Druig doesn’t need to do anything other than engage his mental power in order to turn almost any fight in his favor. While he barely participates in battle and gets caught off-guard in Eternals, Druig can easily defeat characters as powerful as Superman simply by ordering them to stop.

Characters with mind-control abilities are difficult to handle, both in the comics and live-action. Eventually, heroes like Druig and villains like Kilgrave grow too cocky and get beaten up by super-strong opponents like Ikaris and Jessica Jones. While Superman would still have a chance against Druig, however, the Eternal would definitely have the upper hand.

6

Ikaris

Out of the ten godlike heroes introduced in Eternals, Ikaris is by far the most lethal. Richard Madden’s Ikaris outmatched Kro and his teammates, who only survived because Ikaris flew into the sun. Ikaris fought his team because they betrayed their original mission. Otherwise, a rage-fueled Ikaris would have been able to annihilate his whole team one by one.

Ikaris possesses very similar powers to Superman. Like the Man of Steel, Ikaris is able to catch up to a speedster, overpower a sword-wielding warrior, and outsmart an ultra-intelligent hero with high-tech devices, all at the same time. With his eye beams, flight, and super strength, Ikaris would be the equivalent of an intelligent Ultraman, who almost defeated David Corenswet’s hero in Superman.

5

Thor

Thor has been extremely strong since birth, and his pᴀssion for battle has only made him more powerful. After experiencing his life’s biggest tragedies, Thor had become powerful enough to withstand the energy of a star and slice through Thanos’ forces singlehandedly in Avengers: Infinity War. If it weren’t for his anger, Thor could have killed Thanos before the Snap.

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor didn’t take the conflict too seriously in Thor: Love and Thunder. Still, the God of Thunder is in the top tier of the MCU’s power rankings. Compounded by his millennia of experience, Thor’s strength and godly abilities would allow him to dominate the battle against David Corenswet’s Superman. Superman may only match Thor’s current powers a few years down the line.

4

Hulk

Hulk’s power has fluctuated throughout the years, with Smart Hulk representing his weakest point. Before that, Thor: Ragnarok‘s Gladiator Hulk marked the peak of the Gamma monster’s power. On Sakaar, Hulk defeated an unknown number of alien opponents from all over the universe to become the Grandmaster’s undefeated champion. Immediately after, Hulk was able to wrestle Fenrir and punch a full-sized Surtur.

While Thor came very close to defeating Hulk in the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions, Hulk was strong enough to wipe the floor with the God of Thunder. A fully-powered Gladiator Hulk, or Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s rampaging Hulk, is strong enough to withstand any of Superman’s abilities and possibly knock out the Man of Steel. Superman could only survive by flying away from Hulk.

3

Franklin Richards

Franklin Richards is at the very top of Marvel’s list of most powerful heroes in the comics, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps adds him to the same list in live-action. While he’s only a baby in his MCU debut, Franklin holds enough power to match Galactus. By The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene, a toddler Franklin must be even more powerful.

Now that he has grown up, Franklin Richards may be able to shape entire universes. Like Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch, there are hundreds of creative ways Franklin Richards could defeat Superman. Only in his case, Franklin wouldn’t be restrained by the boundaries of magic. If he wanted to, Franklin could modify reality itself to maim or kill the Man of Steel.

2

Vision

It may not seem like it, but Vision is one of the most powerful heroes in the entire MCU. Vision can phase through his opponents’ bodies and crush their insides within seconds. Unfortunately, Vision rarely had the chance to show off his full capabilities. The synthezoid restrained his powers in Captain America: Civil War, got gravely injured in Avengers: Infinity War, and was already ᴅᴇᴀᴅ by Avengers: Endgame.

At full capacity, Paul Bettany’s Vision would be able to avoid every single attack from David Corenswet’s Superman. While a battle between Vision and Superman would end rather quickly due to their pacifist philosophies, Vision could kill Superman if he really wanted to. At the very least, a well-placed phasing attack would easily incapacitate Superman.

1

Captain Marvel

Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel hasn’t had enough movie appearances to develop a gradual power climb like Thor’s or Hulk’s. In exchange, Carol Danvers has broken every boundary since her debut. Captain Marvel destroyed Thanos’ and Ronan’s ships simply by flying through them, and she restarted Hala’s star all by herself. To this day, little has made Captain Marvel bleed.

Captain Marvel wouldn’t need any fancy superpower to beat Superman. Using her strength, speed, and endurance alone, Carol Danvers could give Superman an even more brutal fight than Ultraman. If her base power doesn’t achieve it at first, Carol’s Binary form would probably do the job. A more experienced Superman could make the fight more even, but until then, Captain Marvel would likely overpower him.