It's no secret that the Avengers are Earth's mightiest heroes, but which member of the team is the most powerful has become the subject of no small debate. While Hulk may believe he is owed the title thanks to his brute strength, there are two Avengers who combine supernatural levels of power with intelligence and other strategically favorable characteristics to become serious contenders for the title of "strongest Avenger." Whether on the big screen in the MCU or within the panels of the 616, Scarlet Witch and Thor closely vie to be recognized as the strongest Avenger.
Wanda has a serious claim to the title, both on the comics page and the movie screen. In the 616, the effect of her reality-warping powers have been demonstrated time and again, including during the events of House of M, in which she erased mutants from the planet by uttering a single three-word sentence. On screen, the telekinetic and psychic power she wields is mysterious but evident, and she repeatedly demonstrates that she has abilities that outclass those fighting by her side. However, Thor is also a contender: in the MCU, he has shown he has incredible power, even when he is without Mjolnir. In the comics, he has more powers that lend additional credibility to his claim as the strongest member of the Avengers team. Here are ten reasons that Scarlet Witch is the most powerful Avenger, along with ten reasons that Thor is the member of the team who can lay claim to being the most powerful!
20 WANDA HAS TELEPATHIC POWERS (MCU)
In the opening moments of Captain America: Civil War, Wanda reminds Black Widow that she can move objects with her mind, and a few moments later, these telekinetic abilities are put on display as the Avengers thwart an attempt by Crossbones to steal a deadly biological weapon. When Crossbones attempts to denotate a bomb, Wanda is able to contain the blast with her mind.
While Wanda's lack of training with her abilities leads her to do an imperfect job of deflecting the bomb's blast, the fact that she could do it at all speaks to her power, and as the movies have progressed, so too has her ability to control her telekinetic skills.
19 THOR CAN TAKE A BEATING (MCU)
When it comes to the title of most powerful Avenger, one of the metrics that must be considered is the ability to survive an attack from the extremely powerful threats that come up against the super team.
In the MCU, there are few attacks more brutal than a barrage of beatings from the Hulk, but Thor has shown that he has the durability to survive such an onslaught. Like his brother Loki before him, Thor found himself at the mercy of the green fists of during Thor: Ragnarok, and lived to tell the tale (and argue with Hulk, who feels that he is the most deserving of the "Strongest Avenger" title).
18 WANDA WEILDS MULTIPLE TYPES OF MAGIC (616)
Over the course of her long history in the panels of the 616, Scarlet Witch has wielded a plethora of different types of magic. Her powers stem from her designation as a nexus being (one exists on each of the multiverse's parallel worlds and acts as a node for each world's mystic energy), and straddling the world of magic and science, her powers have been augmented by the work of the High Evolutionary and others.
This tradition of crossing the boundaries of magic was continued in the 2015 Scarlet Witch comic series. In these 15 issues, Wanda travels the globe and utilizes her ability to draw upon a variety of different types of magical tradition. In the event that one type of spell in ineffective in a particular situation, this allows Wanda to use an alternative spell for a solution.
17 THOR HAS POWERFUL ALLIES (616)
It's no secret that one of the best tools in any Avenger's toolbox is teamwork. An integral part of what allows the Avengers to stand against cosmic-level threats is their ability to work together, unifying their strengths and covering one another's weaknesses.
However, there are some characters allied with a specific member of the team, and so it is with Toothgnasher, who remains loyal to the Odinson even when he stripped of the mantle of Thor. This giant goat has the ability to travel through space and has helped rescue him from many dire situations. The might of this powerful ally should be considered in the ranking of the most powerful Avenger.
16 WANDA DESTROYED AN INFINITY STONE (MCU)
Many of the movies in the MCU have plots that are centered around an Infinity Stone, including Captain America: The First Avenger and Doctor Strange. However, while the Infinity Stones have appeared in a number of different movies, only one character has succeeded in destroying one of them: Scarlet Witch.
Unfortunately for half of the people in the universe, Thanos uses the Time Stone (thanks, Strange) to rewind her actions, thus restoring the Mind Stone after she destroyed it and allowing the Mad Titan to seize it for himself. Nevertheless, the feat -- which no other Avenger has been able to achieve -- was inarguably accomplished.
15 THOR IS THE LORD OF THUNDER (MCU)
When Thor claims to be the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok, Grandmaster laughs and gives him a patronizing nickname based on the claim. But during the battle against Grandmaster's champion, Thor begins to draw on the power of thunder, and Grandmaster is only able to assure Hulk's victory by knocking Thor unconscious.
Later in the movie, when Thor is near defeat at Hela's hand, he receives a vision in which Odin reminds him that he is not the "God of Hammers." This results in his ability to summon exceptionally powerful lightning, and while this does not defeat Hela, it is still a feat that should be included among those in favor of Thor being the most powerful Avenger.
14 WANDA CAN WARP REALITY (616)
During the events of House of M, the full power of Wanda's abilities is put on display. Reeling from the realization that her children were figments of her imagination, she suffers a mental breakdown and begins to repeatedly shift reality. Unfortunately, according to Xavier, every time Wanda shifts the nature of reality, her mental health deteriorates further.
Xavier's concern is warranted, as Wanda soon alters the nature of the world simply by uttering a single sentence: No more mutants! While a more familiar reality is eventually reinstated, the ability to change life across the globe is an impressive argument toward Wanda being the most powerful Avenger.
13 THOR HAS ASGARDIAN STAMINA (616)
One of the benefits of being an Asgardian is stamina that far exceeds the abilities of a Midgardian. Unlike a normal human, the muscles of an Asgardian do not produce so many toxins during exertion, meaning they are able to stay active for a much longer period of time than the average human. On top of this, Asgardians are more adept at recovering from exertion thanks to their regenerative abilities.
As if this weren't enough, as the God of Thunder, Thor's physical condition is even more advanced than the average Asgardian, giving him a significant leg up in the "most powerful" competition as far as stamina is concerned.
12 WANDA CAN READ AURAS (MCU)
One of the most effective was to defeat an enemy is to know what they fear, and Wanda demonstrates how to use this powerful tool during the events of Age of Ultron. At first, she gives Tony a vision of what he fears -- the defeat of his friends and invasion of earth.
Later, when the Avengers attempt to intervene during a meeting between Klaw and Ultron, Wanda is able to disarm Thor and Captain America by sensing what they fear and sending them visions that drive them to distraction. In Infinity War, another facet of this ability is revealed, as Wanda uses her abilities to sense Vision's thoughts.
11 THOR SURVIVED MAKING STORMBREAKER (MCU)
During the events of Infinity War, Thor journeys to Nidavellir, a collapsing neutron star where the dwarves who served as the weapon makers to Asgard lived. When he arrives, he finds that Thanos had already arrived, demanding the creation of the Infinity Gauntlet, and then laid waste to the Realm, destroying most of the dwarves who lived there.
The dwarven king, Eitri, meets Thor and helps him forge a new weapon, but warns him that the process of finalizing the ax will be fatal. However, despite the extremely high risk, Thor survives the process of forging Stormbreaker, offering another argument toward his being the strongest Avenger.
10 WANDA CAN CREATE LIFE (616)
Wanda has demonstrated a number of fantastic powers, but one of the most impressive has to be the creation of her children. In the pages of West Coast Avengers, her children began vanishing when she was absent, perplexing the babysitter and leading to the revelation that the kids were actually being projected by Wanda's mind!
While these children faded away, it nevertheless came to pass that the souls of Wanda's children were reincarnated and born to other parents, leading to the existence of Wiccan and Speedball. Although they were not born to Wanda in the conventional sense, they nevertheless recognize her as their mother -- and creating life is an impressive argument toward Wanda's power.
9 THOR HAS SUPER-SPEED (616)
While Wanda's brother, Quicksilver, boasts the power of super-speed, Wanda herself has not shown any real ability in the speed category. The same cannot be said for Thor, however, who has come up against the speedster and proven himself to be worthy.
In Mighty Avengers #34, Thor was able to capture Quicksilver when he was traveling at super-speed, and also boasted that he had fought faster opponents than Pietro over the course of his long life. While the limitations of his speed have never been clearly defined, his ability to match Quicksilver is an impressive stride toward Thor being crowned the most powerful Avenger.
8 WANDA CAN MANIPULATE MINDS (MCU)
In addition to using her powers to determine what it was that her opponents feared and send them a vision of the same, Wanda also demonstrated her ability to manipulate minds during the events of Age of Ultron. The vast power available to someone with this ability is exemplified by the whammy Wanda puts on Bruce.
Unable to resist the mental manipulation of the Scarlet Witch, Bruce transforms into Hulk and begins laying waste to a nearby urban area, making it necessary for Tony to call the specialized Hulkbuster armor to deal with the fallout. While Hulk is eventually subdued, he is able to destroy several skyscrapers and earn some very bad press for the Avengers first.
7 THOR HAS PROVEN HIMSELF IN BATTLE (MCU)
Even before undertaking the hero's journey told in Thor, the first movie in the MCU in which the character appears, Thor has proven to be an impressive force in battle. Alongside the Warriors Three -- the Asgardians Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun -- Thor fought valiantly in many battles across the Nine Realms before he became a member of the Avengers.
This experience proves invaluable to Thor as he joins the ranks of the Avengers (in the Avengers), and his ability to fight alongside his fellow warriors makes him one of the most powerful members of the team, leading to impressive co-operative moves, such as the effect created when Thor brings Mjolnir crashing down on Cap's shield.
6 WANDA CAN MANIPULATE PROBABILITY (616)
One of the most impressive abilities in Wanda's arsenal is her ability to manipulate probability. This power is explored in Scarlet Witch #3 (1994) when a foe launches a magic spell toward Wanda, but she manipulates the fields of probability to ensure that it is impossible for the spell to affect her. By affecting the likelihood that an undesirable outcome will occur, Wanda can prevent it from coming to pass.
As if that weren't a sufficiently impressive demonstration of power, Wanda also manipulates probability to cause a tree to be planted in the past, thus creating an obstacle for her opponent in the present.
5 THOR'S GOD-BLAST (616)
The reason that Thor rarely utilizes the ability known as the God-Blast is due to the immense power which it propels upon his unfortunate target. The God-Blast was a power that Thor acquired when Doctor Strange bound his life-force to Mjolnir, making the power of the God of Thunder and the power contained within the legendary weapon one and the same. While this might make Thor vulnerable to injury through Mjolnir, it also consolidates two extremely potent sources of power!
The immense power that is expressed by this ability is demonstrated by the fact that it can even be used to dispatch immortals who are able to survive any other fatal blow!
4 WANDA OWNS THE BATTLE OF WAKANDA (MCU)
Even Okoye, one of the most skilled warriors in the Wakandan forces, has to remark on the impressive ability of Wanda when she arrives at the Battle of Wakanda during the climactic scene in Avengers: Infinity War. While the bizarre alien tanks that rise out of the fields might have been too much for most humans, Wanda can use her telekinetic powers to toss them aside with ease.
At the climax of the battle, Wanda stands her ground as the Mad Titan storms toward her and Vision, and she follows through with destroying the Mind Stone despite the intimidation projected by Thanos.
3 THOR SURVIVED HIS FAMILY (MCU)
One of the most impressive feats that can be claimed by Thor is that he has weathered the myriad challenges thrown in his path by his family. Loki, of course, served as an antagonist in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Avengers Assemble, and had to be defeated each time. While Odin was never an outright antagonist, he did send Thor to Midgard in the original Thor movie. And the antagonist of Thor: Ragnarok was Thor's sister, Hela.
Thor has overcome the myriad challenges thrown in his path by his family, which is no small feat, and his ability to weather these trials speaks to his power.
2 EVERYONE WANTS WANDA'S POWER (616)
When looking at the aggregate of stories about Wanda Maximoff, one thing soon becomes clear: many of the antagonists are eager to control the power she possesses. In The Children's Crusade, Doctor Doom attempts to control Wanda's power in the wake of the events of House of M. In Secret Empire, Hydra Cap knows well enough to ensure Wanda is possessed by a demon and therefore unable to thwart his takeover of the country. And during her time on the West Coast Avengers team, Magneto attempts to control Wanda by sabotaging her mental health.
While each of these attempts to exert control over Wanda eventually fails, the fact that so many serious villains attempt to control Wanda's power demonstrates just how powerful she really is.
1 THOR HAS A BRAINY ALTER-EGO (616)
In the early days of the Thor comics, the God of Thunder would spend his time on Midgard as his alter ego -- Donald Blake -- and transform into Thor when the circumstance demanded it. While wearing the guise of Blake, Thor was a doctor, and in Journey Into Mystery #95, he even built a super-intelligent android.
Furthermore, in Journey Into Mystery #111, it is revealed that Thor retains the medical knowledge of Dr. Blake even when he has returned to his Asgardian form. While Thor's strength is unquestionable, this extreme intelligence also provides a compelling argument for Thor claiming the title of strongest Avenger.