When people talk about the strongest superheroes in comic books, names like Superman, The Hulk, and Thor rise to the top of the list. However, for some reason, people don't give as much credit to the female superheroes in comics even though some of them are strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with any male hero or villain in a fight. Marvel, DC and Image Comics have some mighty female heroes, and many of them are strong enough to toss a tank, knock down a building or move a planet. While very few heroines reach that upper level of super strength, they at least match up evenly with their male counterparts.
Updated on October 29th, 2021 by Scoot Allan: Strength in comics is often measured using a class system, where Class 10 means they are able to lift up to 10 tons and so on. However, Class 100 usually means the character can't be as easily quantified once they exceed the 100-ton mark. We'll be using this to take a further look at a few more powerful female heroes that can give most other characters a run for their money.
20 The Upper Limits Of Jessica Jones's Strength Hasn't Been Fully Determined (Class 20+)
Jessica Jones was exposed to radioactive chemicals as a teenager during an accident that also cost her family their lives. After coming out of a coma following the accident, she went into an adoptive home and then learned that the chemicals gave her superhuman strength and durability.
Jessica Jones has never shown her uppermost strength level, but she has lifted and thrown a police car, punched a hole in a metal hood, and knocked over a rooted tree. She is able to lift at least two tons. She is weaker on the Netflix series Jessica Jones but still much stronger than normal humans.
19 Molly Hayes Is A Young Mutant Known As Bruiser Who Will Grow Up To Become Even Stronger (Class 40)
A lesser-known character on this list is Molly Hayes, who should be recognizable to fans of Runaways. In the comics, her parents were telepaths and tested her at birth for the X-Gene, and the results were negative. Initially nicknamed Bruiser, Molly actually was a mutant, and her abilities were super strength and invulnerability.
There is no upper limit to her powers known yet. She has knocked down giant monsters as tall as buildings, punched through solid earth to create a tunnel, and thrown a car. She also hit Wolverine so hard that he flew across the street. Her peak strength in comics right now is up to 25 tons, although she can potentially lift more as she gets older.
18 Gamora Has Been Enhanced A Number Of Times Over The Years To Make Her Surprisingly Strong (Class 50+)
Gamora is known as one of the deadliest warriors in the Marvel universe, which is usually a testament to her enhanced fighting skills and mastery of various weapons, but she's also incredibly strong. Gamora's strength has surprised a number of her opponents, though it's a little hard to properly class due to the frequent enhancements and upgrades over the years.
Thanos increased her strength so she could do battle with the powerful Adam Warlock, who also increased her strength. Even Blue Marvel has given her a boost in strength, allowing her to take on other strong characters like Captain Marvel.
17 Hawkgirl Is A Thanagarian Warrior Whose Strength Is Enhanced Due To Her Connection To Nth Metal (Class 60)
A few different versions of Hawkgirl have appeared in the DC universe over the years, due to a constant cycle of death and rebirth that can lead to major differences in the character with each return.
One of the strongest versions was the Thanagarian police officer known as Shayera-Hol whose alien body already made her stronger than most baseline humans on Earth. She was also connected to the powerful Nth metal that made up her wings and weapons and further increased her strength and made her one of the strongest members of the Justice League.
16 Mera Is A Xebellian Warrior Whose Underwater Physiology Makes Her Incredibly Strong And Durable (Class 70)
Jumping over to DC, Mera is similar to Aquaman but might be a little stronger for one main reason. She lived underwater her entire life while he lived on the land as a child. That means she has had more years to develop her super-strength on the ocean floor, which applies over 1,000 pounds of water pressure per square inch.
As a result, Mera can lift at least 70 tons. Her strength is also enough to shatter the skull of a creature from the Trench with just one punch. Even on land, her strength is enough to snap a human's arm with little pressure and she can easily rip through metal doors.
15 Geiger Can Leech Strength From Other Gamma-Powered Characters Though Mostly Stands In League With Doc Samson (Class 75+)
The one character on this list that only hardcore Marvel fans know is Delilah Dearborn, also known as Geiger. If her appearance seems familiar, it's probably because of her connection to Doc Samson from The Incredible Hulk comic books.
Dearborn was struck by a Particle Accelerator, and it ended up giving her the ability to mimic the powers of any nearby gamma-powered being. She can retain their powers for hours, and if she is near Hulk, she can end up with his limitless strength. However, most of the time, she is a Class 75 because she carries some of Doc Samson's hair with her to keep his strength levels.
14 Rocket Uses An Alien Inertia Belt That She Can Use To Temporarily Increase Her Strength Levels (Class 80+)
Raquel Irvin is the superpowered hero known as Rocket who first appeared as the sidekick of the alien powerhouse known as Icon from DC's Milestone universe of comics. As Rocket, she wears a modified alien Inertia belt that allows her to create a kinetic energy field that she can then use to create a shield, to fly, or to redirect energy offensively.
The shield can absorb kinetic energy and redirect it in various ways, which has allowed her to briefly reach even Icon's extreme strength levels when needed, though doing so leaves her vulnerable as it weakens her force field.
13 Starfire Is A Powerful Tamaranean Warrior With Deadly Starbolts & Incredible Strength (Class 100)
Starfire is one of the most inconsistently written heroines in the DC Universe when it comes to her strength, as her other abilities like her powerful starbolts often take the focus in her battles alongside teams like the Titans, Outsiders and Outlaws.
Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was raised to be a battle-hardened warrior whose alien physiology was experimented on and enhanced to make her one of DC's strongest female heroes. Not only can Starfire easily lift at the 100-ton class, but she has also held her own against characters like Wonder Woman and Superman, though she had to drain the latter's solar energy to weaken him.
12 Caitlin Fairchild Is The Powerhouse Leader Of Gen¹³ Who Has Also Appeared In The DC Universe (Class 100)
While she originally appeared in the Wildstorm Universe as the leader of Gen¹³, Caitlin Fairchild made the jump to the DC Universe following the Flashpoint event, where she joined a number of powerful female heroes that were in a similar class.
Fairchild's abilities come with a transformative effect as she increases her mass as well as her strength, which allows her to lift well over 100 tons. This makes her one of DC's strongest when paired with her extreme durability and genius-level intelligence.
11 Wonder Girl Is The Granddaughter Of Zeus Whose Strength Was Further Enhanced By Her Uncle Ares (Class 100)
There are a few Wonder Girls who have appeared over the years, beginning with the original, Donna Troy. However, Cassandra Sandsmark is the focus of this entry. The Teen Titans member is the granddaughter of Zeus, the daughter of Lennox, and the niece of Wonder Woman.
Initially, she had her powers thanks to a link with Zeus. However, when Zeus left, and she temporarily lost her powers, Ares helped her regain them and even upped her levels. Thanks to his upgrades, Wonder Girl can slam through walls, bend steel, and more. Her upper levels are unknown, but she is at least a Class 100.
10 Lady Shazam Can Call On The Mystical Might Of Hercules That She Shares With Shazam (Class 100)
Mary Bromfield is a member of DC's Shazam Family, which means she is able to access the powers of seven gods by saying the magic word "shazam"— though that incredible power is shared between herself, Shazam, and Shazam Jr., while the rest of the family accesses individual limits of each ability.
As Lady Shazam, she possesses the strength of demigod Hercules, which puts her near the same power levels as characters like Supergirl. However, she gets an added edge due to her magical origins and additional abilities.
9 Maxima Is A Powerful Alien Who Has Matched Strength With Heroes Like Superman (Class 100)
There have been a couple of different versions of Maxima over the years, with the first appearing to take on Superman after she decided he would be the perfect mate to carry on her genetically-advanced Almerac lineage.
Her alien physiology gave her strength comparable to Superman's as well as additional abilities that she used as a member of the Justice League. A new version of Maxima appeared in the New 52 Universe. Her power levels were slightly reduced, though she was still nearly as strong as Supergirl.
8 Big Barda Is A Former Female Fury From Apocalypse Whose Strength Is Further Enhanced By Her Mega-Rod (Class 100)
While she was trained her entire life to become the leader of Apokolips' Female Furies, Big Barda found love with fellow New God Mister Miracle and escaped the dark planet to become a hero and eventually a powerful member of the Justice League.
As a New God, Big Barda's physiology naturally increases her strength well into the superhuman levels, though her enhanced size and years of training put her near the same level as Wonder Woman, especially when wielding her powerful Mega-Rod.
7 The Former Angel Of Heven Known As Angela Is One Of The Most Powerful Warriors In Asgard (Class 100)
While the character originally appeared in Image Comics' Spawn, Angela was eventually sold to Marvel by co-creator Neil Gaiman, which led to her altered origin. Angela was now the stolen daughter Of Odin who was raised in the exiled Tenth Realm known as Heven as one of their Angels.
Angela has the enhanced strength of an Asgardian like Thor which has been tempered by years of training as an angelic warrior. She is also further enhanced by mystical runes and banners and has proven her strength many times in battle alongside her brothers Thor and Loki, among others.
6 Rogue's Strength Was Stolen From Ms. Marvel And Can Be Increased Through Her Power-Absorption Abilities (Class 100+)
The X-Men member Rogue has the power to touch anyone and gain their superpowers as well as their memories and psyche. The longer she touches someone, the more of their powers she absorbs and the longer she keeps them. On two occasions, she kept their strength permanently: Captain Marvel and Wonder Man.
From Captain Marvel, she gained the permanent ability to fly as well as part of her strength. As for her top-level strength, she stole that from Wonder Man. She kept his strength level, and that means she is a Class 100 when it comes to her might, although her max levels are unknown.
5 America Chavez Can Augment Her Incredible Strength By Harnessing Her Other-Dimensional Powers (Class 100+)
Miss America Chavez comes from an alternate dimension where she was raised by superheroic parents who nurtured the development of her powers and trained her to follow in their footsteps. She has incredible strength, the ability to fly, move at super-speed and even open star-shaped portals across the multiverse, even accessing other timelines with enough concentration.
While the upper limits of her powers haven't really been tested, she has been able to hold her own alongside other powerful characters like Captain Marvel and Blue Marvel when they worked together on the Ultimates. Her powers have fluctuated due to the reemergence of a genetic disorder from her childhood, but she is still an incredibly powerful character.
4 Carol Danvers Strength As Captain Marvel Can Be Increased With Her Energy Absorption Ability (Class 100+ Powered Up)
One of the complaints about the Captain Marvel film was that Carol Danvers was almost too powerful with very little in the way of weakness. She was so strong that Avengers: Endgame had to keep her off Earth for most of the film to make the fight with Thanos fair. She is just as powerful in the comics.
Just looking at Carol from a strength standpoint, she is superhumanly strong, but the levels of her strength vary. When she was Binary, she was a Class 100 strength level, but her classic strength level is Class 50. She can still temporarily tap into her Binary powers and pump up to Class 100+ for a short time. In Avengers Vol. 7 #2, she supported the weight of a dead Celestial.
3 She-Hulk's Gamma-Irradiated Strength Can Fluctuate Based On Her Levels Of Anger (Class 100+)
The Hulk is one of the most powerful and strongest superheroes, and while She-Hulk is a step below him, she is still stronger than most other male or female heroes. Jennifer Walters got her powers when she received a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner, but she can control her anger and keep her personality.
As for the upper levels of her strength, that has raised over the years. Originally, she was a Class 50 hero, but after the original Secret Wars, she proved to be at least Class 75. Marvel now lists her as Class 100, which is the same level as a hero like Thor, and she gets stronger as she gets angrier, like Hulk.
2 Supergirl Is A Kryptonian Who Spent Years Soaking Up Yellow Sunlight To Become Almost Stronger Than Superman (Class 100+)
Superman is one of the strongest superheroes in existence, although theoretically, Hulk is stronger since he has no upper limit with his rage immeasurable. However, on the TV series Supergirl, she seems stronger than her cousin, which could make her stronger than almost anyone in DC's continuity.
However, in the comics, she isn't as strong as her cousin because of her relative youth. The idea is that she can lift as much as 100,000 tons or more, but it can fluctuate over time. She has more potential than Superman but is still a small step below. Karen Starr/Power Girl is an older and stronger version of Supergirl from the multiverse, though their strength levels are inconsistent.
1 Wonder Woman Can Draw Power From Her Connection To The Earth To Further Increase Her Incredible Strength (Class 100/Limitless)
Diana of Themyscira is the strongest female superhero in comic books. Wonder Woman is a Class 100+ when it comes to pure strength, but her full strength level is limitless because she was granted superhuman strength by Demeter, the Goddess of the Earth.
The Amazonian is literally as strong as the Earth itself due to her link with it. She is stronger than Hercules, who considered himself one of the strongest of the Greek gods. She also has been able to fight Superman on even ground, showing that she is as strong, or maybe stronger than the Man of Steel, making her the strongest superhero in DC Comics.