Top 10 Most Powerful Superheroes of All Time

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Top 10 Most Powerful Superheroes of All Time

Written by Zeromage 5,116 Comments
Last Updated:: May 23, 2008

Here it is folks, the biggest debate on the whole interweb. Never has there been a more well thought out argument for a completely non-existent thing. Which superhero could beat up which other superhero. Never has a group of people spent more time drawing graphs, doing calculations, making charts, and writing computer programs to prove that the hero they love is in fact the toughest. These people do more literature searches than a graduate student writing their dissertation on literature. One can only imagine what world problems could be solved if comic book nerds would instead focus this same energy on say; poverty, healthcare, the climate, pollution, the economy, childhood obesity, cancer, sudden infant death syndrome, racism, genetic disorders, violence against women, the melting ice caps, sending a man to mars, depression, solving Goldbach’s conjecture, creating a unified field theory, un-raveling the mystery of DNA, figuring out what happened before the big bang, resolving religious tensions in the Middle East, finding peace on Earth, making cleaner cars, sustainable energy, nuclear fission, getting rid of hippies, and the million other things that would make this world a better place to live in.

So in order to finish this debate once and for all we here at OW have finally finished THE list of the most powerful superheros. This is it folks. As every faithful reader knows that we here at OW are always right, we have proved it in the past. There can no longer be any debate. No more argument required. This list has taken us years to complete, and has threatened to destroy all that is OW. While making this list there was lots arguing, name calling, some shouting, a little bit of snuggling, more shouting, lots of your momma’s, but we finally came up with the definitive list of the most powerful superheroes of all time. We can’t be more clear on that last point, this is it. None of what you are about to read is opinion, it is fact. Next time one of your nerd buddies starts to argue you need only refer to this list, kindly pat him the head a give him one of the problems listed above to argue about. Here’s how we did it. First we excluded all super villains, this is heroes only, next we eliminated all exorbitantly overpowered cosmic beings (Phoenix, Odin, or the Highfather). And finally we ignored all heroes that would be considered ‘normal’ but have similar powers as those listed below. Then we plugged in all the facts and figures into the OW super computer and waited. Exactly 137 days later the answer was spit out. It then took us one year to figure out what that answer meant. Finally its over, these are the most powerful superheroes. Fact.

10. The Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

Despite coming in at number 10, The Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) is one tough hombre. As a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he wields a power ring that can generate a variety of effects and energy constructs, sustained purely by the ring wearer’s strength of will. The greater the user’s willpower, the more effective the ring. The limits of the power ring’s abilities are never defined, but it has been referred to as “the most powerful weapon in the universe” on more than one occasion. It’s precious. Over the years, the ring has been shown capable of accomplishing almost anything within the imagination of the ring bearer. Often the rings are used to form solid-light constructs, the power and size of which are limited only by the ring-bearer’s willpower. And, if that wasn’t powerful enough, DC recently (in 2006) retconned the ring’s longtime lack of effect on yellow objects, stating that the ring-bearer need only feel fear and overcome it in order to affect yellow objects. With his protective bubbles and mean green energy bursts, the Green Lantern has fought with, and at varying times against, such heavyweights as Superman and Captain Marvel. But he’s still no match for number 9 on our list…

9. Doctor Strange

Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Steven Strange, has unparalleled sagicity of the mystic arts, and stands as humanity’s first and last line of defense against all magic-based menaces that threaten our dimension. I think Doc Strange is probably one of the more powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, and light years ahead of any of the crappy sorcerers from DC (although Zatanna is way hotter). Given that he can do pretty much anything that the person who is currently writing him can imagine, he could potentially beat any of the other characters in this list. In fact, he could probably beat some of them by simply wiggling his finger. Of course this assumes that he would enough time to do so. The problem is that most of the other heroes on this list won’t give him even that small amount of time. His lack of super speed, super reaction time, super senses and any sort of super human invulnerability, make Dr. Strange one of the easiest characters to defeat on this list. For this reason alone we put Dr. Strange at #5. If he had unlimited prep time before each fight, he could easily be number one on this list.

8. Black Bolt

Our seventh most powerful superhero of all time is Black Bolt, the king of the offshoot of humanity known as the inhumans. Black Bolt has often been described as one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel universe by other heroes, and for good reason. Through electron gathering and manipulation, Black Bolt can increase any aspect of his physical nature to superhuman levels, including his strength, speed, stamina and durability. In times of great need, he can channel this power into a single devastating punch called “The Master Blow”. He can also harness the electrons for matter transformation; the controlled projection of energy as concussive blasts or quasi-solid particle/electron fiends, broadcasting jamming frequencies, and flight. But Black Bolt’s most salient offensive weapon is his cacophonous voice, as a hypersonic shout that can level an entire city, and his merest whisper has been shown capable of stunning the Hulk. It’s even been suggested that his voice is capable of destroying an entire planet.

7. The Flash

People who don’t know a lot about comic books often assume that the Flash can run really fast, but is otherwise a normal guy. He can turn his opponent into a statue, or phase his hand through his opponent’s head, causing it to explode. He is also impressively durable for a normal human, and most, though not all, of his impressive feats of durability have been while moving faster than normal. Many times he’s taken hits from Class-100 opponents, various energy blasts, ect. and ranged from quickly recovers to unfazed. Not only is Flash faster than Pre-CRISIS Kryptonians(and Silver Age Superman was so fast, not only count he travel through time and dimensions through speed, but he nearly broke the barrier between Life And Death and was about to crash into Heaven), but he’ll probably have a few examples of simply phasing through to avoid, as well. And Flash doesn’t need to cause the charge that causes matter to explode every time he vibrates through something.

6. The Martian Manhunter

The Martian Manhunter’s chief super power is super strength. Super strength and durability. His two powers are super strength, durability and flight. His three powers are super strength, durability, flight and shapeshifting. Amongst his many powers are super strength, durability, flight and shapeshifting… I’ll come in again. The Martian Manhunter is basically the Swiss army knife of Superheroes. Along with all those powers, he has super speed and “Martian” vision, both at levels close to those of Superman himself. He not only can turn invisible but also alter his density to become incredibly strong, tough and ultimately intangible. In addition to his physical powers, J’onn is also a very powerful telepath. He also possesses 9 different senses, though these are ill defined and often forgotten by comic book writers. And if superhuman physical strength and mental powers aren’t enough, J’onn also has the ability to regenerate. In the past he’s even regenerated his entire body from only his severed hand.

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5,116 Comments

#1 Osama says:
March 10th, 2010 at 5:19 pm

Umm… Phoneix anyone?

Over-all well written, but she is more powerful than anyone else on this list hands down.

#2 old-wizard.com says:
March 10th, 2010 at 5:24 pm

As we stated in the introduction, we decided not to consider Phoenix, as she was TOO powerful.

#3 Nick says:
March 10th, 2010 at 7:03 pm

This is a good lis, except the Surfer should be number 1, and Thor number 2. Also, I think Superman should be lower. Why is he higher than Doctor Strange when Doctor Strange is a magic user?

#4 scott says:
March 10th, 2010 at 5:06 pm

i consider this list to be bias, as the writers are obvioisly marvel fans. speaking of marvel wheres wolvie. you cantmake a list and leave out people for whatever reasons you explained. and where is batman, sure he has no superpowers but he is powerful for a human and can hold his own against any of them. and where is captain marvel, black adam, captain atom(monarch)spectre, kyle (green lantern) his the most powerful green lantern, and thats just to name a few.come on hulk and suprman should of been on top. and i dont even consider sentry a real hero its there answer to superman and they had to make him aretard that not a heroe.and im not a marvel hater either i love all comics where rouge. you know now that i tink of it this shouldve been more tan a top ten. i just heard of this site today and thought it was cool but becuase of this article i dont think im coming back.

#5 The REAL zeromage says:
March 10th, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Scott is an idiot…I agree with Nick

#6 old-wizard.com says:
March 10th, 2010 at 5:57 pm

Many thanks to our good friend over at Once Upon a Geek for linking to our article.

http://onceuponageek.livejournal.com/18402.html

#7 The Irredeemable Shag says:
March 10th, 2010 at 4:33 am

Hey guys – I’m glad to help promote your site. Keep up the great work!

Sincerely,
The Irredeemable Shag
http://onceuponageek.com

#8 klr says:
March 10th, 2010 at 3:36 pm

doesn’t the fact that Batman has beaten Superman twice means he should also be on this list? i agree with a part of scott’s comment

#9 old-wizard.com says:
March 10th, 2010 at 4:01 pm

“doesn’t the fact that Batman has beaten Superman twice means he should also be on this list? i agree with a part of scott’s comment”

I don’t believe I need to dignify this comment with a response.

#10 scoot says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:59 am

because he knows hes wroonnggg

#11 jonze says:
March 10th, 2010 at 3:25 pm

I think the list is great!! To the people who think Batman should be on the list: well thats just silly What’s so powerful about him? He’s really smart. If Batman has time to prepare he can beat pretty much anyone, but he should not be on the list. Thor would smoosh Batman to pulp with that hammer without trying. Plus, his alter-ego is just a guy, totally vunerable to smooshing!! The list is a list of the most Powerful Heroes, not a list of who would beat who!
And The Flash, thats a joke yes??

In my opinion, you guys got it dead on, and comparing Surfer and Galactus to Ross and Rachael made me lol!

Thaaanks!!!

#12 GREGORY COLE says:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Sorry,but Superman is the hero by which ALL heroes are measured.HE sould be and is #1 thor #2 and so on.Superman defines the word hero. boyscott goody goody or whatever people may call him. If you had to put you life or loved one in any superheroes hands who would you more likely trust.none of the above, but SUPERMAN

#13 Iron Mike says:
March 10th, 2010 at 5:16 am

Don’t disrespect the Flash. He can do some crazy things with that speed force of his, that put’s him well above alot of guys on the list.

Also, Supes and Hulk should be much lower, Sentry, Martian and Hal should be much higher

#14 Edu AR says:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:32 pm

But of course number one will be SUPERMAN or nobody remembers when he fought against Galactus because no other superhero could. What if besides Thor Hammer and Captain America shield we also add Hal Jordan’s ring to the combo, that would turn Superman into The Neo of the DC-Marvel Matrix.

#15 Edu AR says:
March 10th, 2010 at 7:52 pm

You gotta be too fast to nail down superman with a tool. By the time Thor is reaching for his hammer Superman could kill everyone who worships Thor so a God with no followers is a dead god or spin around the earth fast enough to go to a time before Thor and avoid him to be born.

#16 Paul says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:49 am

I think the list is very good. I have characters that I like, hell, love who are not as powerful as any one of these characters but could hold their own at least for a while. Love Batman and Ironman because they aren`t super powered by radiation or magic or what have you. They use their minds and that`s why if the Batman or the Ironman want to beat you, no matter who you are they will find a way. But I digress. Saying that Superman is the one by which all others can be measured has merit. How long has Superman been around? Have we not seen him exhibit God like abilities? But he isn`t a God. Thor is and has bested the Surfer twice. This list is about the most inherently powerful, the greatest range of powers whether bestowed by a ring or the sun. I really dig all these characters and no one is best just different and anyone could put a beatdown on any other at anytime. Good job gentlemen.

#17 MikeK says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:34 pm

What is this trash…green lantern is by far the greatest superhero ever. The only ones of these punks who can come close to defeating him is Silver Surfer or maybe Thor. All GL would need to do to defeat superman is project some kryptonite radiation his way and he’s toast…GAME OVER!

#18 Edu AR says:
March 10th, 2010 at 8:25 am

And just because the beam is green does not mean is Krypto-Made.

#19 StyngerSmash says:
March 10th, 2010 at 3:40 pm

Agree with the composition of the list, but it will need slight tweaking of the order:

1) Superman is weak against magic, so he should be a notch lower than Dr. Strange.

2) The Hulk bitch-slapped Dr. Strange in WWH. And in an old DC-Marvel crossover has shown that he can break free of Superman’s hold and send him flying into space. Plus he’s not affected by anything; Superman still has kryptonite. Therefore, the Hulk should rank above Dr. Strange and Superman.

I wholeheartedly agree that Thor should be #1 especially since he has now inherited the mantle of his father, Odin. Can’t wait for him to kick Iron Man’s ass for the events of Civil War, hehe!

#20 Bo Steel says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:55 am

Although I agree that Magic, space vacuum and Kryptonite can affect the Man of Steel but mind you that this was a lame decision that was made by DC to make him less boring, but in reality when he first came out, the character was deemed too powerful and that in order to make him less invulnerable to everything and not only the green rocks, they have to create these ‘weaknesses’ to make him more marketable.

The Hulk had beaten Thor and Dr Strange time and time again based on pure brawn.

Dr Strange, well point taken, but really isnt he on par with Dr Fate? What abt the Phantom Stranger?

Thor, defnitely one of the Powerful but more of a 3rd at best.

Silver Surfer, I mean the GL may be more powerful than this dude.

Good list but very debatable. As long as you do not place Wolverine in the list then its all good (Mind you he did went to to toe with the Hulk a couple of times and won (i THINK).

Superman should still be no 1.

#21 tomwoosley says:
March 10th, 2010 at 5:18 am

at one time supergirl was a robot with all the powers of supergirl plus a mindblast that could destroy the universe.it was stated in the ish i was reading legion i think she was the most powerful hero in the universe.i think even the old supergirl would be more powerful than any marvel hero,but she does not even make the top 10.with all heros being standard (what they are known best for) MON_EL would have to be #1,followed by superman and supergirl.they are invulnerable.they can not die,and thats just for starters.can the hulk push a planet?only thor and blackbolt are worthy of a top 10 spot from marvel.

#22 InfernalDisaster says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:23 am

Even through I cannot personally decide who is the most powerful, I do like the list.

The problem I have is, powers seem to change overtime for many superheroes. From the lame, to the obscenly extreme.

In the Golden Age for example, Superman wouldn’t even be on this list. Yet, in the Silver Age Superman would probably be number 1. Since then he’s been de-powered and no longer number 1.

Writers of comics are always trying to find new ways to make heroes/villains ridiculously powerful in order to make a story and trying to compare different beings has become almost an act of futility.

#23 Shon says:
March 10th, 2010 at 8:36 pm

What ever happend to GoKu….Or for that matter Gohan or veggita…or dont DBZ count?

#24 Janet says:
March 10th, 2010 at 8:36 pm

I think the list is sexist and heavily biased toward Marvel.

#25 nolram says:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:43 pm

Where the hell is XMAN!!!! and didn’t hulk lose twice to ironman? thats the same damn thing as supes losing to batman and neither of them are on this list. XMAN didn’t have any weakness either, (ah, phoenix rule?)

#26 Degroot says:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:48 pm

Superman should be first on this list, if only because his writers actually had to depower him. Also: there’s no real limit to his power in many incarnations; it’s been suggested he’s put “mental blocks” in his mind to prevent himself from using his full power and damaging people near him. And of course there’s that bit about him always seeming to win. Oh, and being able to charge himself in the sun. The list goes on . . . .

#27 nolram says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:30 pm

X M A N ! ! ! ! ! ! !

#28 testbug says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:45 pm

i still say thor, hands down, coz, he’s simply immortal.. ^^

here’s why..

-supermans got krptonite

-batman is very vulnerable coz he’s not always batman..

-silver sufer got beaten by thor twice i think..

i just have 1 question..? where the fuck is phoenix..!?!?

#29 old-wizard.com says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:50 pm

Guys, please read the intro to the list. Phoenix and Living Tribunal don’t qualify for the list.

#30 nolram says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:53 pm

but old-wizard, what about xman? he was more powerful than xavier and wasn’t physically weak like him, not to mention to telepath or physical force could affect him. he was the man.

#31 brett says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:05 am

Hulk should be number one. His power is limitless. People forget that he held up a 100,000,000 ton mountain up by himself in Secret Wars. Superman has trouble with Boeing 757’s. Hulk would smash Thor with ease (As shown in the Ultimate Avengers movie where hen single-handedly took out the avengers, Thor included). No one can defeat Hulk point blank except MAYBE the Surfer. Not Sentry, not Thor, Not Capt. Marvel (Marvel or DC), and Definitely not SUPERMAN! Nuff Said!

#32 brett says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:06 am

Hulk should be number one. His power is limitless. People forget that he held up a 100,000,000 ton mountain up by himself in Secret Wars. Superman has trouble with Boeing 757’s. Hulk would smash Thor with ease (As shown in the Ultimate Avengers movie where hen single-handedly took out the avengers, Thor included). No one can defeat Hulk point blank except MAYBE the Surfer. Not Sentry, not Thor, Not Capt. Marvel (Marvel or DC), and Definitely not SUPERMAN! ‘Nuff Said!

#33 Carla says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:30 am

Wait a minute….!!!
Didnt you say that Green Lantern can do “anything”?
That his ring has not yet been dified if it has a power limit?
And didnt you say that whichever green lantern guy wears the ring, he can do anything by just really willing?
Then why the HE*L isnt he number 1?
Why cant he just really wish and will that all superheroes dropped dead?
Now that’s something to think about!

#34 kasim says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:31 am

Well i think because of supermans status he should always be in the middle of every list because he is who you would measure any superheroe against. Thor number 1 lol he can barely do anything without his hammer. Xman should def be on this and even though he is anime and not american bred i think goku should be on this list, im not saying number one but he should be high on this list. think of his powers.1 energy manipulation 2. Super speed 3. Super strength 4.Becomes twice as powerful when he recovers from near death battles o yeah he transforms into a giant gorilla and beat an immortal omega shenron

#35 kasim says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:32 am

does this site have a post for strongest anime heroes??

#36 nolram says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:01 am

No, please leave and take your anime with you, thanks.

#37 Edu A R says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:01 am

One Above All is ABOVE Living Tribunal, just to mention him, I know it does not qualify.

And to those who say Krytonite and Magic make superman be weaker than Thor I say two names: Superman Prime and Kingdom Come Superman.

#38 nolram says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:02 am

I got it I got it!!!!!! Thanos with the infinity gauntlet? he could kill phoenix.

#39 old-wizard.com says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:36 am

I’d say Thanos w/ infinity gauntlet owns anyone outside Living Tribunal and the OAA.

#40 Edu A R says:
March 10th, 2010 at 10:03 am

Also take into consideration that a qualifying factor for this list is that the superhero must be better known than others so with this in mind, combining popularity and power a simple equation “pops up”:
POP + Power = The Last Son of Krypton a.k.a. SUPERMAN

#41 MM says:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:51 pm

Molecule Man would own every single one of these feebs. The guy can do ANYTHING with ANYTHING.

Look him up. He’s scary. He could like, turn any one of these people into Jell-O and feed them to his kids. Good news, he’s a pretty average guy and just wants to be left alone to live a normal life with his super-powered sweetheart, the big-boned, and incredibly voluptuous Volcana.

#42 brett says:
March 10th, 2010 at 10:13 pm

But Molecule Man And Mister M (a similar character from District X) are in the outrageously powerful category so they dont count.

#43 Behemoth says:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:45 pm

I think it always depends on the writer… Hulk beat the Avengers including Thor and Herkules too because it was just part of the storyline.

If you are objective about it Superman should not be 1st. He has a weakness that is quite commonly known at this time (at least by 4 of his adversaries) and is vulnerable to magic.
Dr. Strange should be around 1 or 2… he has shown to be able to withstand the infinity gaunlet, there is literally near to no limit to his powers. Just his regulations keep him from interferring too much in the meddlings of mortals.
As is the case with the Sentry, though his limitations are more part of his nature so I guess a number 6 fits for him.
I heavily disagree with the Green Lantern though… his energy projection makes him weak against, literally, every other superhero that is near the speed of Flash or Superman…

I also agree that Batman and the like should not be included, though they could beat other members of the list they are not ‘powerful’. An unknown threat that suprisingly shows up would kill Batman right away with a good aimed bullet, while said bullet would just bounce off, say, Superman
Putting Batman in the ring would mean putting characters like Spiderman, Deadpool and DareDevil there too as they too beat strong opponents at some point and usually go out of the ring as the winner.

#44 Ffej says:
March 10th, 2010 at 7:42 am

umm wheres invisible girl with this being so much marvel and all she could wipe and kill anyone she wants to she is by hands down the most powerful super hero in the hero universe she could take out galactica just putting a bubble around his puny head and squeezing the life out of him or anyone she comes across plus green lantern should be on here talking about destroying worlds and all cmon the protector of the inverse not even on there…. think about this phantom the phantom cmon……

#45 Ben says:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:54 am

ummm…you guys are forgetting that Thor is a GOD…theres no killing and beating a GOD. Some mutated freak will not defeat a GOD. Superman would get leveled. Thor controls everything.

#46 Garry says:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:58 am

I think Thor should be excluded along side Phoenix and Odin

#47 Schemilix says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:24 pm

Everybody stop throwing a hissy fit and degrading the article because it doesn’t agree with your opinion. Honestly.

#48 Helequin says:
March 10th, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Nicely made list, well done for not putting superman top of it like every other list like this seems to like to! And come on.. the phantom? the defenders of the warth? Flash freakin gordon? you gotta be kidding. Silver surfer has the power cosmic… but look out here comes the phantom.. with the strength of ten tigers. wow. scared of you. And careful, flash Gordon might stun you with his boyish smile.
Also, Goku would die a horrible death with less than a word from Black Bolt. his power is way over nine thousand
Loved the bit where you said Prof X’s kryptonite was stairs lol

#49 brett says:
March 10th, 2010 at 8:25 pm

Yeah John U should read up on your comics. Because not only can Hulk breathe underwater. He can breathe in the vacuum of space as well. So Ol’ GL would do nuthin but make Hulk madder by delaying the inevitable. Hulk is number one, hands down!!