These are the most powerful cosmic characters in Marvel Comics. This list will explore the most powerful cosmic entities based on their raw strength. Some characters exist in multiple universes. Only characters based in Earth-616 and that exist as a single entity across the multiverse are considered.

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This means Dormammu is out. As well as Zeus or Odin. Equipment like the Infinity Gauntlet won't factor into raw power. Sorry, Thanos. The cosmic entities represent the largest source of power in the Marvel Universe. Many of them are capable of erasing the universe as a whole. Who is it that takes first place?

Update July 7th, 2020, by Darby Harn: Like the actual universe, the Marvel universe is always expanding. With that in mind, it's a good time to take a look at other powerful characters from the cosmic side of things (and just maybe some who might show up sooner or later in the MCU). Some are new(er) and others are legends who never lose their currency. From the pages of the Empyre crossover to the Kree-Skrull War, the Marvel cosmic universe features its most powerful characters.

19 Hulkling

The Hulkling is the key figure at the heart of the epic Empyre event. The son of the original Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) and Skull Princess Anelle, Hulking has a prodigious pedigree that makes him a natural for the combined throne of the Kree and Skrull empires. His powers make it likely he'll be hard to depose. He benefits from his combined heritage by having many abilities, including shapeshifting, invulnerability, flight, healing, super-speed and strength, and a whole lot more.

18 Mar-Vell

Captain Marvel gets captured in the Skrull War.

The original Mar-Vell is a Kree warrior whose legacy lives on in multiple powerful characters in the Marvel universe. Though he died in one of the most unexpected (and permanent, wow) ways, he also remains one of the most powerful characters to ever grace the pages of a comic book. Among his myriad abilities were cosmic awareness (and he didn't take anything to get it), energy absorption, and energy manipulation, Sadly, he wasn't immortal, like some other characters on this list.

17 Captain Marvel

The current Captain Marvel is equally powerful. Thanks to the now-iconic relaunch of the character by Kelly Sue DeConnick and of course the hugely successful movie, Carol Danvers is at the forefront of everyone's minds when it comes to Marvel. She's also at the head of the pack when it comes to power. Captain Marvel possesses just about all of Mar-Vell's ridiculously long list of abilities including some - presumably - she's yet to truly indulge in, including time travel and teleportation.

16 Cosmic Ghost Rider

Cosmic Ghost Rider

The Cosmic Ghost Rider is an unlikely but intriguing mash-up of the Punisher, Ghost Rider, and unbridled cosmic power. And it doesn't end there - his origin involves Mephisto, Thanos, and ultimately Galactus. Cosmic Ghost Rider becomes the herald of Galactus and assumes a tremendous amount of power.

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He retains the combat skill and marksmanship of Frank Castle, the fire breath of Ghost Rider, and he gains immortality among many other things. His combined talents and powers make him one of the most powerful characters around.

15 Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock is more or less a god. And that was before he got a hold of the Soul Gem. Or Stone. It's complicated. Among his near-infinite array of powers is the pretty standard complement of superhuman strength, agility, and stamina, as well as common features like flight. But then things start to get truly insane. Adam Warlock has something called soul immunity, which protects him (and his soul, the important part) from any magic-based attack. And he's immortal. And he can manipulate matter. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

14 The Stranger

One of the most enigmatic cosmic entities in the Marvel Universe, Stranger's intentions have never been clear. With a largely disputable origin, the Living Tribunal once revealed his fourth face, that of a void, and said it had become the Stranger. The Stranger later denied this. The entity has proved to be an adversary of considerable cosmic strength. From capturing Omega Level mutant Magneto not once but twice to enslaving Abomination, and being responsible for creating Ego the Living Planet.

Historically, the Stranger has flip-flopped between hero and villain. At one point trying to conquer Earth with a manipulated Hulk, and at another time battling Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. Stranger is reputably more powerful than Mephisto, Dormammu, Odin, and Zeus.

13 Galactus

Galactus puts his power on display

Once Galan of Planet Taa, Galactus was created by the Big Crunch. In the safety of his escape ship, Galan soon gestated with the Sentience of the Universe for billions of years, transforming into the iconic god-like villain we all love today. "The Devourer of Worlds" lives up to his name, finding sustenance by ingesting entire planets. At one point, even this wasn't enough. Living, sentient beings had much more energy that he could harness.

Galactus is famous as well for his Heralds, such as Silver Surfer and Cosmic Ghost Rider. Despite being powerful beings themselves, they don't hold a candle to Galactus. Galactus's primary weakness, hence his lower rank, is that his power-levels are dependent on how much energy he devours. A weakened Galactus has been killed before, but if the demigod eats four or more planets, he's known to defeat multiple Mad Celestials by himself.

12 Oblivion

oblivion marvel

This character is a sibling to Eternity, Infinity, and Death, for which the latter he is seen as the opposite aspect of. Oblivion is responsible for the creation of the Chaos King, has nearly omnipotent powers and infinite cosmic energy. Oblivion also has a bitter, long-lasting rivalry with its sibling Infinity. Seen as an abstract entity, Oblivion has a similar purpose as Death.

Where Death is responsible for watching over the actual dead, Oblivion oversees those who die by time paradoxes and other unnatural means. The entity has made attempts to collect the actual dead before and remains a formidable foe due to its incalculable cosmic energy and ability to manifest anything it wishes. Its position is lower on this list due to its strength being dependent upon avatars.

11 Thanos

Thanos remains a powerful cosmic villain even without the Infinity Stones and Infinity Gauntlet. The Mad Titan often attempts to impress Death by devastating the universe. Going as far as slaughtering his own offspring and captain during his days as a pirate, to eliminating half of all life in the universe.

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Even without equipment, Thanos has augmented his physical body in order to become stronger, faster, and more versatile. His intellect exceeds that of the majority of Marvel characters, and he is also an experienced master of hand-to-hand combat. Without the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos has defeated the likes of the Silver Surfer, Galactus, Adam Warlock, Kronos, the Beyonder, and many others.

10 Celestials

The Celestials appear on Asgard, greeting Thor in Marvel Comics

The Celestials by themselves can be defeated, but when together they are nearly unstoppable. Ancient, extraterrestrial beings, the Celestials are responsible for much of Earth's superheroes. They manufactured the X-Gene and even made it possible for humans to transform through Gamma Radiation. The Celestials created the multiverse itself to escape the Exterminators, their own turned creations.

Their armor is controlled by thought, and their very biology is designed as one massive offensive and defensive mechanism. The Celestials are strong enough to harness Infinity Gems, destroy planets, and are most dangerous when they turn "Mad." Lighter than air, 2,000 feet tall, capable of creating pocket universes, regenerating after any wound, these entities have been around since the beginning, and they remain a horrifying adversary for any super-powered foe.

9 Knull

Knull is a fairly new character to the Marvel canon. Responsible for creating races such as the Exolons and the Klyntar (symbiotes). Despite this, the little that we know is enough to rank him in a good spot on this list. Knull existed long before even the Celestials. When the space gods interfered with his universe, Knull decapitated one of them with his Necro-Sword. The severed Celestial head eventually became a place the Guardians of the Galaxy often traveled to: Knowhere.

Knull can manifest and control armies, which he calls his Living Abyss. The god was responsible for the fabled Grendel, which gave Thor a run for his money many centuries prior. Knull also shape-shifts, teleports, has immeasurable strength and cosmic energy. He has historically made a habit out of killing deities of all varieties.

8 Phoenix Force

Marvel Multiverse Phoenix Force

The Phoenix Force is an ancient, abstract entity forged from the very passion of creation. It wields unlimited power and is capable of demolishing the entire universe and rebuilding it. Embodying the nature of creation and destruction, the entity is considered as the culmination of all existing psionic energy. Phoenix can also tap into energy reserves designated for future generations, hence killing off billions of lives that haven't begun.

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The immortal entity can fold space-time by using its powers to create black holes. The Phoenix Force is possibly the most powerful entity in all the Marvel Universe. Its potentials are still often dependent upon its host. Thus far, the telepath mutant Jean Grey has proven to be the perfect match. If the Phoenix Force didn't rely on a host, it could easily be number one on this list.

7 TIE: Lord Chaos/Master Order

Master Chaos and Lord Order using their abilities

These two are the embodiments of Chaos and Order. Both were created during the birth of the universe. They enabled Peter Parker to become Spider-Man so he could battle Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. These characters have played a vital role in many multiverse events. Creating the In-Betweener to maintain balance between chaos and order, participating in the trial of Galactus. They even teamed up and killed the Living Tribunal.

When apart, they possess near-infinite cosmic power. When together, they are capable of defeating one of the most powerful entities in all the Marvel Universe. Their only weakness? They cannot exist without each other.

6 TIE: Eternity/Infinity/Abraxas

Infinity and Eternity are siblings. Their powers are nearly omnipotent in nature. Both entities have existed since the birth of the Marvel Universe itself and are only rivaled by the Living Tribunal. Abraxas was allegedly born after the universe split into the multiverse. Eternity used fail-safes to prevent Abraxas, the essence of destruction, from existing.

Eternity created Galactus to counter the existence of Abraxas. Abraxas escaped and unleashed terror across the galaxy when Galactus was killed. Even going so far as killing different versions of Galactus in separate universes. All three characters have unlimited power, capable of changing space-time, manipulating matter, and harnessing endless cosmic energy.

5 Living Tribunal

Stan Lee The Living Tribunal

Imagine a mediator of all cosmic happenings in the multiverse. That's what the Living Tribunal's purpose in existence is. It was the Living Tribunal who decided Adam Warlock couldn't harness the Infinity Gauntlet. It later created the Infinity Watch to prevent further instances of its abuse.

The entity's power far rivals that of the Infinity Gauntlet, and the Living Tribunal is considered to be the embodiment of the entire multiverse. It is also the spokesperson for the One-Above-All. While the Living Tribunal is boundless in its cosmic power, it isn't quite as powerful as the next character on this list.

4 The Beyonder

the-beyonder-marvel

The Beyonder is a singular entity with no duplicate versions of himself in other universes, similar to the Living Tribunal. It is responsible for pitting Earth's mightiest heroes and villains against each other in the Secret Wars.

It did this by destroying an entire system and creating Battleworld from the remains. The Beyonder was once absorbed by Doctor Doom. The Beyonder simply manifested itself in another character and manipulated Doctor Doom to its will afterward, easily regaining its powers. Beyonder's power surpasses that of Eternity and the Living Tribunal. It's capable of manipulating reality to its will and took over Earth with a single thought.

3 Death

Marvel Death

Death is an entity that has existed since the creation of the universe, considered the opposite aspect of Eternity. She is responsible for leading Thanos down his villainous path. It was Death who visited Thanos and convinced him to kill his pirate captain and offspring after years of reforming from murder.

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This chain of events led Thanos on his quest to destroy half of all life in the universe to appease Death. Death is invincible due to her nature and has unlimited cosmic power and is able to manipulate matter. The laws of the universe would have to change in order for Death to have any weakness at all.

2 One-Above-All

The One Above All glows with a golden hue in the likeness of Jack Kirby in Marvel Comics

The only superior to The Living Tribunal in the cosmic hierarchy, the One-Above-All is considered the God of the Marvel multiverse. It created all life in the multiverse. The One-Above-All is omnipotent in every sense and capable of rendering the universe's matter into whichever way it deems necessary.

It is the one entity that resides atop all others and even removed the power of the Infinity Gauntlet for some time. Until the Living Tribunal was killed by Master Order and Lord Chaos. The-One-Above-All has manifested itself in physical form before, taking on the appearance of a homeless man to counsel a grieving Peter Parker.

1 Protege

Protege from Marvel Comics

Protege asserts itself as the number one most powerful cosmic character in the Marvel Universe by raw potential alone. It is a child-like god and possesses the ability to mimic any other entity in existence. Even the One-Above-All and the Living Tribunal.

The latter couldn't defeat Protege, with the entity eventually claiming to have become the new One-Above-All. The Living Tribunal eventually absorbed Protege to prevent further destruction. Despite this, Eternity declared that in time Protege wouldn't have to mimic anymore and would gain One-Above-All omnipotence. The Living Tribunal has said in the past that all realities rest on the shoulders of Protege.

NEXT: Ranking The 15 Most Powerful DC Cosmic Characters