There are a lot of Avengers out there. Between all of the various Avengers squads, well over 100 of Marvel's mightiest heroes have joined the Avengers or one of its affiliate teams over the years. While the Avengers rarely have that many active members, that's still an incredibly deep roster that contains a decent chunk of the Marvel Universe. But even with that humongous roster, only a dozen or so Avengers have appeared on film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there are plenty of logical reasons for that, it still leaves a huge number of heroes still waiting for a chance to get into the MCU.
Now, CBR is counting down the most powerful Avengers who aren't in the MCU (yet.) In this list, we'll be looking at heroes who joined the Avengers in comics and haven't shown up in the MCU as of Ant-Man and the Wasp. While the power levels of these heroes have fluctuated massively over the years, we'll be ranking them based on their general overall power, but we'll take note of the heroic highs and lows too. We won't be including characters like Jane Foster's Thor or General Thunderbolts Ross' Red Hulk, since they've already appeared as civilians within the MCU. However, we will be including characters that have appeared in non-MCU Marvel movies and from upcoming MCU movies like Captain Marvel. Like the heroes of Captain Marvel, most of these characters will probably make their MCU debut sooner or later. But until that day, these heroes will have to prove why they're Earth's Mightiest Heroes in comics.
25 ROGUE
With the mutant ability to absorb the powers, skills, and memories of anyone she touches, Rogue is one of the X-Men's most tragic members. Depending on what powers she absorbs, she's also one of the most potentially powerful. Over the years, Rogue famously absorbed Captain Marvel's powers for extended lengths of time, and she currently has Wonder Man's formidable ionic abilities.
Although she proved that she was a solid leader with the X-Men and the Avengers Unity Squad, Rogue's powers are hampered by unpredictability. But on her best days, she can use a dozen heroes' powers in creative combinations.
24 CAPTAIN BRITAIN
Unlike his American counterpart, Captain Britain never really left a lasting impression as an Avenger. After leading the British X-team Excalibur for a while, Brian Braddock was only a supporting player on the Avengers and Secret Avengers. To be fair, the super-strong hero usually is pretty busy protecting the Omniverse with the Captain Britain Corps.
As the Protector of the Omniverse, Captain Britain has an array of confidence-based mystical superpowers from Merlin and his daughter. His suit also has a protective force field that was somehow able to hold the untamed Phoenix Force at bay for a few moments.
23 HUMAN TORCH
While most of the Fantastic Four joined the Avengers in the 1980s, Johnny Storm wasn't officially an Avenger until 2015. After the FF disbanded, the hot-headed Human Torch joined the Avengers Unity Squad for a few years.
Despite his perpetual immaturity, the Human Torch packs some serious (literal) firepower. At his hottest, Johnny can go "supernova" and produce flames that are hot enough to destroy a small moon. After making a valiant last stand against an endless Negative Zone bug warrior army, Johnny was strong enough to defeat the galaxy-conquering Annihilus with a rag-tag team.
22 SUNFIRE
While he's not as famous as Johnny Storm, Sunfire can burn just as hot as the Human Torch. In fact, the only thing that's hotter than his mutant solar flare is his fiery temper. While Shiro Yoshida has never really been a team player, he had a brief stint with the Avengers Unity Squad and a shorter stint with the X-Men.
Like the Torch, Sunfire can produce million-degree flames, although he has a little more control over his powers. In 2013's Uncanny Avengers #8, he saved Rio de Janeiro by incinerating a piece of debris that Thor couldn't handle.
21 JACK OF HEARTS
Thanks to his alien DNA and the mysterious Zero Fluid, Jack of Hearts is one of the Avengers' most explosive members, literally. While this Avenger's playing card-themed costume won't win any fashion awards, it helps Jack Hart manage his uncontrollable energy powers.
Before he joined the Avengers in the early 2000s, Jack mainly hung out with cosmic heroes in space, where his powers wouldn't harm anyone. When Jack had a better handle on his Zero energy powers, he was able to stabilize a sun with a massive outpouring of energy and took out a zombified version of the Squadron Supreme.
20 THE THING
Ben Grimm, the Thing, is the Fantastic Four's most obvious powerhouse. Despite his invulnerable rocky exterior, the "ever-lovin' blue-eyed" Thing is one of Marvel's most human heroes. Outside of the FF, he's also had short stints with the West Coast Avengers and the New Avengers.
Between his impenetrable exterior and his super-strength, the Thing is one of the few heroes who goes toe-to-toe with powerhouse heroes like the Hulk, Namor or Silver Surfer and is able to walk away. Other than Wolverine's adamantium claws, nothing can really physically harm the Thing. Combined with his never-give-up attitude, the Thing can't be stopped by anything.
19 INVISIBLE WOMAN
The Invisible Woman isn't just the glue that holds the Fantastic Four together—she's also the team's most powerful member. While her ability to turn invisible is useful, Sue Storm's real strength lies in her ability to create invisible force fields that can withstand the strongest forces in the universe.
In Fantastic Four #400, the Invisible Woman cracked a Celestial's armor with one of her force fields. During a scuffle between two dozen of her fellow Avengers, she simultaneous trapped several major Marvel heroes, including the Hulk, in invisible boxes until they calmed down without breaking a sweat.
18 SERSI
As one of the Eternals, Sersi is an immortal alien hero with enough power to make an Asgardian blush. For the first half of the 1990s, Sersi was one of the Avengers' most prominent members. Despite that, she's spent most of the last 20 years living as a party-planner in Manhattan.
Since she can manipulate matter and cosmic energy on a molecular level, that career might not be the best use of Sersi's talents. She's easily one of the most powerful Eternals since she can teleport, communicate telepathically, cast illusions, heal almost any injury and is pretty much immortal.
17 HAVOK
When he's not worried about stepping out of his brother Cyclops' shadow, Alex Summers is one of the world's strongest mutants. After serving and leading various X-teams over the years, Havok was hand-picked by Captain America to be the first leader of the Avengers Unity Squad.
With the ability to absorb cosmic energy and release it through devastating plasma blasts, Havok can hold his own in any fight. He's one of the only heroes who's managed to knock the Hulk unconscious with his powers. At his strongest, he channeled a star's energy into taking down Vulcan, his ultra-powerful brother.
16 STORM
While some heroes wield the forces of nature, Storm is a force of nature. Given her comprehensive control over the weather and her regal aura, Ororo Munroe seems like ideal Avengers material. However, the longtime X-Men leader wasn't even invited to join the team until 2011.
With her incredibly strong Alpha-level mutant powers, Storm can manipulate weather on a planetary scale. In a few minutes, she can create severe storms that can cover an entire coastline with too much struggle. In addition to wielding whirlwinds, lightning bolts, and blizzards, Storm can even control off-world weather patterns like solar winds.
15 ARES
As the Greek God of War, Ares doesn't exactly seem like the kind of deity who would join the Avengers. While he started out as a villain, Ares' love for battle eventually led to a spot on the Avengers. He was on various Avengers teams throughout some of its darkest hours in the mid-2000s, including Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers squad.
Like the other Olympians, Ares has immense super-strength and is functionally immortal. While he can bench press about 70 tons, his real powers lie in his unparalleled fighting ability and the way he manipulates all types of battle.
14 SHE-HULK
While she's not quite as strong as her cousin Bruce Banner, She-Hulk is still one of Marvel's most physically strong heroes. After getting a blood transfusion from Banner, Jennifer Walters got most of the Hulk's strength but kept her intelligence. While her strength has been increasing with her anger lately, she's usually the calmest Hulk around.
She-Hulk's strength has varied drastically over the years. While she was initially only about half as strong as the Hulk, she's had intense weight training that's almost doubled her overall strength. She can easily hold her own against cosmic threats and beat up Thor.
13 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE
For years, Captain Universe was advertised as "the hero who could be you." Instead of having any single identity, anyone who wields the Uni-Power becomes Captain Universe and gets a host of cosmic abilities. Everyone from Spider-Man to X-23 has had Captain Universe's power, but Tamara Devoux is the only hero who joined the Avengers as Captain Universe.
While the Uni-Power affects its hosts differently, Tamara had a kind of cosmic awareness and could effortlessly manipulate all types of matter. With a fraction of her power, she disintegrated a powerful robot and made the fallout from a nuclear blast harmless.
12 CAPTAIN MARVEL (CAROL DANVERS)
According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Carol Danvers will be the strongest Avenger in the MCU after she makes her cinematic debut. Carol Danvers developed superpowers after getting caught in a blast from some Kree alien technology. While her superhero identity and powers have changed plenty of times, Carol now stands as one of Marvel's most prominent heroes.
While she's physically strong enough to carry a Celestial's body, Carol also has several energy-based abilities. After being transformed by more alien technology, she developed her even stronger Binary powers, which were fueled by a white hole's vast cosmic energy.
11 WONDER MAN
Wonder Man has had a lot of ups and downs. After getting zapped with an ionic ray, Simon Williams got a host of superpowers, joined the Avengers and eventually became a movie star. However, Simon seemingly perished several times, which strained his mental stability.
While his powers tend to fluctuate some, Wonder Man has been one of the Avengers' strongest members. With raw strength that rivals Thor or the Sentry, Simon has knocked out Thor and the Hulk on one or two occasions. However, he's become a militant pacifist, so he's not really doing much punching these days.
10 QUENTIN QUIRE
When he debuted, Quentin Quire was the resident troublemaker at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Even though he started out as the villainous Kid Omega, the powerful young telepath mellowed out fairly quickly and became one of the X-Men's most promising young members. After leaving Xavier's school, he joined several other young heroes in the current incarnation of the West Coast Avengers.
Next to Xavier and Jean Grey, Quire might be the most powerful telepath on Earth, and he can even rearrange sub-atomic particles with his telekinesis. Like Jean, Quire was also briefly the host of the all-powerful Phoenix Force.
9 NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER
Namor the Sub-Mariner is the reason it's dangerous to go into the water in the Marvel Universe. With a history that stretches back to the beginning of the Marvel Universe, Namor has been everything from an Avenger to a villain to an X-Man to the ruler of Atlantis.
Thanks to a mysterious recent power upgrade, Namor was able to single-handedly take down an ultra-powerful Avengers team. Even before that, Namor was already strong enough to knock the Hulk unconscious. While he never quite got a handle on the cosmic energy of the Phoenix Force, Namor is unstoppable underwater.
8 HERCULES
While Thor needs a hammer to channel his Asgardian abilities, Hercules just needs his bare hands to showcase his Olympian strength. Like his mythological counterpart, Hercules is the Greek God of Strength and possesses a virtually unlimited amount of raw power that he once used to hold up the entire sky.
Even though Hercules has been more of a comedic character in the Marvel Universe, he still has a jaw-dropping list of feats. He moved the island of Manhattan, tossed Godzilla around like a toy and held his own against powerhouses like Thor, Hulk, and the Sentry.
7 SPECTRUM (MONICA RAMBEAU)
Monica Rambeau wasn't the first Marvel hero to be called Captain Marvel, but this former Avengers leader might be the most powerful. After getting exposed to some extra-dimensional energy, Monica gained the abilities to control, absorb and transform into any form of energy.
With a cosmic awareness and the ability to travel at light speed, Spectrum is the Marvel Universe's most underrated powerhouse. She's transformed into waves of radiation, almost blew up an alternate world and helped tame Galactus. With creative uses of her powers, there's really no limit to what Monica can do.
6 NOVA (RICHARD RIDER)
Back when he was just a regular Nova in the Nova Corps, Richard Rider had some impressive abilities, but not enough to get near the top of this list. But after the Corps was wiped out in the 2006 crossover "Annihilation," the rest of, Rider absorbed the Nova Force that usually powers an intergalactic army.
With some help staying sane from the Worldmind artificial intelligence, Nova has wielded these immense powers fairly well. With a punch that's strong enough to take out everything in a three-mile radius, Nova has survived going toe-to-toe with Silver Surfer, Thanos, Ego, and Galactus.