For every hero who saves the day, there’s a villain plotting in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s a whole army of them. Not only do they threaten the lives of everyone across universes, but they also pose a tremendous challenge for superheroes. And sometimes they are so strong, they almost outshine their superhero counterpart.
Ranking the strongest Marvel villain is like asking which version of Spider-Man is the best. The selection criteria include not only personal favorites but also the raw power, the amount of destruction caused, the scope of abilities (including boosts from Infinity Stones), and the threat they pose to heroes and entire universes, all without judging their motives. While others may have their own rankings (which is totally fine), these villains personally stand out as the most powerful, terrifying, and unforgettable in the Marvel Universe.
Note that every power boost from the infinity stone is considered, and even characters who eventually repented or were motivated by a significant tragedy were included.
Let’s go through a list of the top 7 strongest Marvel villains, from the wickedly powerful to the absolutely unstoppable, and the number one on the list isn’t a person to expect.
Wanda Maximoff has always walked the fine line between good and evil. From birth, she became a channel of chaotic magic, granting her tremendous power as a sorceress. Her life has been a rollercoaster. She began as one of Magneto’s apparent children, fighting with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before ultimately joining the Avengers.
There she met and fell in love with Vision and had two boys. But all hell let loose when she lost it all. Her grief consumed her, and with the cursed Darkhold in her hands, Wanda fell deeper into darkness, ultimately becoming the major villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Her mind-bending manipulations, telekinesis, and vast magical abilities are difficult to counter on the best of days. Now, imagine the effects rage has on her power levels.
Wanda has an extensive amount of power outside of her ability to wield and manipulate chaos magic. With the ability to change reality, Scarlet Witch is the strongest mortal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a major threat to anyone who stands in her way, no matter the universe.
If you’ve only seen The Avengers, you might wonder why Loki is on this list. But taking a deeper dive into his solo series will quickly reveal why he earned his place among the most powerful Marvel villains. First appearing in Journey Into Mystery #85 (1962), Loki has proven that brains often trump brute force. Thor’s adopted brother is the entire reason for the Avengers’ existence, after his plan to take over Earth led to their formation.
As both a Frost Giant and a god, Loki possesses superhuman strength, durability, longevity, and mastery of sorcery. He’s a shapeshifter, illusionist, and trickster. He has also acquired centuries of knowledge of advanced physics, meaning he could literally reshape the entire MCU if he wanted to.
There’s no power like immortality, and the goddess Hela can never be destroyed. The secret eldest child of Odin and the firstborn heir to Asgard, Hela once stood beside her father as his greatest weapon, conquering realms and expanding his empire across the cosmos. But when her hunger for domination grew beyond even Odin’s control, he imprisoned her, and when she returned, she was more furious and more powerful than ever.
In her very first encounter with Thor, Hela effortlessly shatters the Mjolnir, the divine hammer that was thought to be indestructible. She also swats away Loki like he is nothing. Then she goes on to conquer Asgard, killing nearly all of its defenders and forcing Heimdall to go into hiding. That’s how powerful she is.
To finish off her massive list of powers and abilities, Hela is a master combatant and swordsman. She is so powerful that Thor stops her only by resurrecting Surtur, the demon destined to destroy Asgard, the source of Hela’s power. All of Asgard had to be destroyed by Surtur in order to finally put her down.
Ultron was an ever-improving machine who altered his form throughout the story. He was designed by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in an attempt to protect the Earth after they meddled with an Infinity Stone. But Ultron decided the best way to reach their goal was to erase the world. In his mind, the Avengers were hypocrites, self-proclaimed saviors too afraid to change the world they claimed to defend. So, Ultron decided to do it for them.
His strength lies in his ability to adapt; every time the Avengers destroy him, he upgrades, evolves, and comes back stronger. If there was any doubt about his power, the fact that he was born from one of the universe’s ancient cosmic powers should state the obvious: he is a powerful, unmatched villain.
He endlessly redesigned himself, chasing perfection, eventually building Vision as the “better” version of himself. Over time, he’s gained super strength, energy manipulation, technopathy, and even the ability to exist across digital planes.
Victor von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom, is one of the strongest and most feared villains in the Marvel universe. He was the main villain of The Fantastic Four and possessed abilities that made him a terrifying being. He then became an antagonist to the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man, and just about the whole of the Marvel Universe.
Not only is Doom one of the most brilliant minds on earth, but he is also a mighty sorcerer, making him a potential candidate for the title of Sorcerer Supreme, able to go against even Doctor Strange. He has invented some of the most advanced technologies in the Marvel Universe, including his time platform, suit, and Doombots. On top of that, his knowledge of dark magic is vast, unknown to even the Sorcerer Supreme. He genuinely believes he can rule the world better than anyone else, that through his iron rule, he could bring order where others have failed.
Dormammu is among the most powerful Marvel villains, with capabilities that remain largely unknown. The ruler of the Dark Dimension wields the power to consume worlds and threaten universes, absorbing them into his realm. Earth narrowly escaped his grasp if it weren’t for Doctor Strange. Dormammu lacks morals and demonstrates no compassion, even for other demons.
Dormammu possesses many powerful abilities. He can travel freely between dimensions and manipulate souls, making Dormammu a multiversal threat. He was also able to grant Kaecilius and his followers immense power, making for a thrilling villain. On top of his vast array of abilities, Dormammu possesses immortality. So he may be defeated, but cannot be killed permanently.
The Sorcerer Supreme wasn’t actually able to truly defeat Dormammu. Instead, Strange stopped Dormammu’s invasion of Earth by using the Time Stone to trap him in a time loop. During it, he killed the durable doctor repeatedly until he grew tired of doing so. So technically, he wasn’t defeated. He just got bored.
Thanos needs little introduction as one of the most frightening Marvel villains. He watched his home world collapse under the weight of its own population. From that tragedy, he formed his twisted ideology that the universe needed balance, even if it meant mass extinction. To achieve it, he sought the six Infinity Stones; together, they would give him absolute control over existence itself.
Without the infinity stone, he might find it a little tricky to defeat the Hulk, but powered up by all six stones, he is unmatched. This Thanos is who we are placing as number one on the list. He has been looming in the background for quite a while, and when the spotlight was cast on him in Avengers: Infinity War, he showed everyone exactly why he’d been so feared until that moment. It is only through time travel that Thanos’ actions were undone, and even then, his younger self very nearly enacts an even more terrifying future for the MCU.
He’s cunning, thinking ten steps ahead of wherever he is, always prepared. Thanos is not to be underestimated in the slightest; after all, it took the entire MCU to defeat him.
Making his first appearance in Avengers #8 (1964), Kang has conquered centuries, realities, and timelines. He’s an army of one, multiplied by infinite versions of himself across the multiverse, even if his full power was sadly never explored.
Magneto has powers that rival those of the gods. He possesses Magnetokinesis, a type of telekinesis that allows him to manipulate metal and even a planet’s electromagnetic field. His powers have no measurable limitations.
The Marvel universe never falls short in terms of heroes that will risk it all to save the day, but at the heart of every great Marvel story lies a villain who challenges everything the heroes stand for.
Heroes might save the day, but villains? The special ingredient, because drama is the spice of life.
