15 Of The Most Popular Female Marvel Superheroes Ranked By Strength

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are very familiar with the long-running rivalry between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) as to who is the strongest Avenger, a rivalry Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) delights in stoking. Of course, the events of "Avengers: Endgame" — and even "Infinity War" before that — clearly show the actual strongest Avenger is Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).

When Wanda became the Scarlet Witch, however, her status as a hero became questionable at best, as she literally eviscerated the Illuminati in her search for her sons during the events of "The Multiverse of Madness." Not to mention the fact that, when she realized her error, she collapsed an entire mountain on herself. Despite numerous fan theories speculating about her survival, Wanda is out of the picture (for now), and the MCU is about to get much bigger as it expands into Phases 5, 6, and beyond.

So instead of limiting ourselves to just the Avengers, we wanted to look at all female Marvel superheroes — because let's face it, they deserve more credit — and find out which of the most popular have the greatest strengths overall.

Only ever seen on film in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) is a mutant — a human born with the mutant "X" gene — and love interest of Logan (Hugh Jackman), aka Wolverine. In the film, she has been forced into spying on Logan by his nemesis Col. William Stryker (Danny Huston) after Stryker abducts Kayla's sister and holds her as collateral.

Kayla is meant to subdue Logan with her superpower, as she has the ability to take over control of someone's thoughts and emotions with a simple touch. It's an incredibly powerful gift to have, and her influence can remain long after her contact has ended, but the act of having to make physical contact with her target is a bit of a downside. Moreover, the powers of the Silverfox are weak against those who have rapidly advanced metabolism and healing, as Logan does, suggesting that her powers are based in physiology rather than telepathy.

Still, any other being who gets on her bad side could find himself in a world of hurt, as Stryker himself does.

In an alternate universe, it's Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) who's injected with the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). As expected, the serum manifests in her just as it does in Steve, giving her the same strengths and abilities as Captain Carter that he has as Captain America. She has unbelievable strength and stamina, incredible speed, and her body metabolizes at such a rate that she heals and replenishes her energy much faster than the average soldier. And as a soldier, she's highly skilled in both the art of hand-to-hand combat and tactical strategies.

Unfortunately, fans didn't get nearly enough of Captain Carter in "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness," but the alternate universe series "What If" on Disney+ showed her flipping tanks and flinging her vibranium shield with precision. Her origin story was so much like Cap's, in fact, that it wouldn't be surprising to find her preventing a helicopter from taking off with her bare hands, or even being worthy enough to lift Mjolnir.

Sadly, none of the various X-Men movies has properly featured the character of Jubilee. The role was cast in several of the films but only ever appeared as a small speaking cameo in "X-Men: Apocalypse" played by Lana Condor, which feels like a waste of such a fan favorite. It's possible Jubilee's character has heretofore been shunted to the sidelines because people think of her as one of the weaker mutants, but in actuality, Jubilee's pyrotechnic energy blasts are capable of detonation at a sub-atomic level. If this is truly the case, Jubilee could qualify as an Omega-level mutant, with the limit of her detonation prowess being incalculable.

Of course, Jubilee rarely uses her power at this heightened level, but the harnessing and absorption of all that energy without any harm to herself is a serious skill. Additionally, her mind naturally repels telepathic intrusion, making her an asset on secret missions.

She also trained as a gymnast and is therefore highly flexible, possessing great strength and stamina, and her training with the X-men has honed her hand-to-hand combat skills as well. All in all, Jubilee has a lot of potential as a possible addition to the MCU in the coming years, and, having worked alongside Wolverine for so long, she can handle even the gruffest of cohorts. Don't count her out.

Breaking records just like its predecessor, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is the highest-grossing female-led superhero movie in US history. In the film, because of the tragic, untimely death of King T'Challa and the actor who played him, Chadwick Boseman, Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) wrestles with her grief and anger, eventually taking up the mantle of Black Panther to protect her people.

Once someone has ingested the heart-shaped herb and become Black Panther, they are imbued with incredible strength, flexibility, and stamina, and they have advanced healing capabilities. Burns, stab wounds, and even falls from great heights aren't enough to beat her. Shuri's extremely high intelligence and scientific innovation also help her to develop many enhancements to her suit using the advanced technology of Wakandan vibranium. She wears panther blasters on her hands, and her vibranium-laced leotard both repels blows and absorbs the energy from them, which can then be deployed against an enemy.

Having members of the Dora Milaje as training partners isn't a bad way to ramp up her fighting skills, either.

Whether as Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) or her mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), the Wasp has always been a popular part of Marvel's Avengers comics series, and their film portrayals in the "Ant-Man" franchise as well as "Avengers: Endgame" have thus far lived up to expectations, even if Wasp herself hasn't yet had her abilities fully tested or realized.

The Wasp is actually a powerhouse of strength and agility; an expert at hand-to-hand combat in her full form, this skill becomes exponentially more powerful when she's shrunken to the size of an actual wasp. And like the insect she is named for, her suit gives her the ability of flight, super speed, and a nasty "sting" in the form of energy blasts. Her ability to shrink down to such a small size also makes her virtually unnoticeable, making her an ideal candidate for spycraft and stealth operations.

What's most exciting about the character, however, is that in "Ant-Man and the Wasp," when Janet is retrieved from the quantum realm, she acquires a new ability; she is able to heal the molecular structure of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). With both Janet and Hope spending time in that mysterious dimension in the upcoming "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," perhaps Janet won't be the only one with strange new abilities.

Emma Frost walks a tightrope between hero and villain. While her only film appearance to date was in "X-Men: First Class" (played by January Jones), where she aligned herself with the likes of Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and eventually Magneto (Michael Fassbender), the highly-anticipated introduction of mutants into the MCU in the near future could offer up an opportunity to see her in full superhero glory as The White Queen.

We don't yet know if Ms. Frost is part of Kevin Feige's master plan, but her powers are legion, and they can stand up against any number of the big-name players already in the mix.

Like Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who appeared in the MCU as part of the Illuminati in "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness," Emma is a telepath: She can read and control minds, induce hallucinations, speak telepathically, and know when other mutants are near. Additionally, she can transmute her form into pure diamond, protecting herself from attack as well as from the elements, and blocking off her own mind from being read by other telepathic mutants — no weird Magneto helmet needed.

As an Asgardian, Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is naturally stronger, faster, and fitter than any human. She possesses all the god-like qualities of the Asgardian in this respect, with durability above and beyond a human's, bordering on invulnerability.

While not possessed of Thor's ability to harness lightning or the trickster magic of Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Sif is nevertheless an elite swordswoman and warrior, on par with the Valkyrie, and even more skilled than the Warriors Three.

In "Thor: Love and Thunder," Sif suffers severe injuries in battle. Instead of heading into the halls of Valhalla, however, Sif merely loses her arm and goes right back to wielding her sword, this time training the youth of New Asgard. That's resilience.

Also, while it hasn't been explored in the MCU as yet, in the comics, Sif has the power to travel through time and space, a gift that could be extremely useful if she finds her way back into Loki's new world of the TVA — Time Variance Authority — perhaps as more than a looped memory.

Part machine, Nebula (Karen Gillan) has a leg up on a lot of other heroes because of her increased strength, durability, and bionic enhancements. Nebula is also a weapons specialist, master tactical strategist, and one of the galaxy's most lethal assassins. Thank goodness she switched over to the good guys.

Throughout her upbringing under Thanos (Josh Brolin), Nebula was always placed at odds with her sister Gamora (Zoe Saldana) — and she always lost. This created a resentment in her that led to some pretty epic showdowns between the two in both "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." It was at the end of the latter movie, however, that an understanding was reached between them, that all either of them ever wanted was their sister to be a companion.

With Gamora now dead at the hands of their adoptive father, Nebula has put her rage and sorrow to good use in joining the remaining members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, doing their level best to defend their home worlds with whatever they can cobble together. Given Nebula's makeup, it seems fitting.

Our first glimpse of Clea (Charlize Theron) in the MCU is in the mid-credits scene of "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness," when she asks the newly three-eyed Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to join her in fixing the incursion that he caused. We know she's coming in the next film of the franchise, and as she slices through the fabric of space and time with a blade made of mystical energy, we know her powers and abilities will pack a punch.

Niece of the infamous Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, Clea is an interdimensional mortal capable of not only communicating telepathically but implanting visions and memories in someone's mind. She can also conjure portals and travel between realms.

Having studied the mystic arts, Clea is also a powerful sorceress, capable of harnessing energy to attack or defend as needed, as well as casting spells and telekinesis. That's impressive enough for an earthly sorceress, but for a child of the Dark Dimension, there's really no telling what potential lies beyond the surface.

After absorbing the energy of the Tesseract from a light-speed engine explosion, Air Force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is taken to the planet Hala and given Kree blood. Now a Kree-human hybrid and humming with the power of an Infinity Stone, the hero known as Captain Marvel is a total girl boss.

Despite the Kree trying to hold her photon blasts in check, when she realizes her full power, her strength and stamina are unbeatable. Even more impressive, she's a binary being, harnessing the power of a star. In this state, her skin and hair glow, and her whole body becomes a photon blast, allowing to fly under her own power and topple entire Kree and Titan warships in their attempts to attack Earth. She can survive the void of space without the need for a space suit or rocket ship, and even Thanos, who knocked out Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America, couldn't budge her in "Avengers: Endgame" without the concentrated use of the Power Stone.

Captain Marvel is in possession of super speed as well, especially in flight, and a near invulnerability that will allow her to live much longer than other humans. Theoretically, there could be more adventures for Captain Marvel for years to come, but audiences will next get to see her in action in "The Marvels," released in Summer 2023.

Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) is the fastest being in the universe. Able to travel faster than light itself — she can dodge Ikaris's (Richard Madden) lasers with ease — she can circumnavigate the globe a hundred times over or read every volume in the Library of Congress in a matter of a few short minutes. She gathers all of Earth's artifacts and lost writings as keepsakes, because she can. And because she loves it.

Not only that, her deafness allows Makkari to create sonic booms without any ill effects. It also heightens her other senses, as she can feel the vibrations of movement around her. She can feel the steps of someone coming up behind her or the vocal cords of a person talking near her. The ways her body has already adapted, as well as its potential for future adaptability, should the need arise, is a formidable indicator of how capable Makkari's spirit is to survive and thrive.

All these gifts are wrapped up into Makkari's special talent, a different ability each Eternal has in addition to their shared Eternal powers of strength, stamina, and virtual invulnerability. Only the blow of a Deviant or another Eternal can cause real damage — as far as they know.

As Prime Eternal, Ajak (Salma Hayek) is given control of the sphere that allows her to communicate telepathically with the Celestials regarding their mission on Earth. She knows of the true origin of the Eternals and their true purpose. She also possesses, separate from the powers shared by all Eternals, the unique ability to heal her fellow Eternals — and herself — from any injuries sustained in battle against the Deviants.

In addition to this considerable talent, Ajak is possessed of super strength, speed, agility, and fighting skills against the Deviants she was sent to kill, and she led her team to many victories across the millennia to that end. They do such a good job, in fact, that they appear to have finished the task, though that thought turns out to be incorrect.

Her status as an Eternal also renders her nearly invulnerable, though not entirely immortal, as Ajak is led to her doom by her trusted ally, Ikaris. Fortunately, though, the Eternals are, well, eternal, and there's another version of Ajak just waiting to be put into rotation.

As Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) is master of the mystic arts. She can pull energy from other realms and dimensions and use it in the current one. In conjunction with various spells (some self-made) and magical relics, the Ancient One can use her powers to manipulate time, space, and matter.

She is also a masterful fighter, and while she carries no weapons, she can create them out of the energy in the air with the use of her sling ring. The sling ring is an important tool for all masters of the mystic arts, as it allows for the creation of portals anywhere in the world. Additionally, the Ancient One's enhanced durability, thanks to her use of energy from the Dark Dimension, keeps her from being affected by even the harshest elements. The Ancient One can travel in an astral state as well, traversing various dimensions or merely leaving her body to take a look at the falling snow. And she can project the astral forms of others through these dimensions as well.

One of her most unique gifts, however, is that she can see into the future — into many possible futures, in fact — and know what is coming before it gets there.

One of the Eternals, Sersi (Gemma Chan) is an otherworldly being — a creation of the Celestials designed to be nearly immortal warriors against the Deviants. As such, she has advanced strength, stamina, speed, agility, and durability, as well as fighting skills honed over thousands of years of human civilization.

Each Eternal also has a particular skill, and Sersi's is the exceptional ability to transmute matter. For example, she transforms a road into sand and a bus into flowers. Throughout the history of the Eternals, Sersi's transmutation powers have only ever extended to inanimate objects, but in the events of "Eternals," perhaps because of their extended time on Earth, Sersi is able to transform rocks into birds and a Deviant into a tree.

Moreover, when she succeeds Ajak as leader of the Eternals, she is given the ability to telepathically speak with the Celestials via the special sphere Ajak bestows upon her. Using this sphere in another capacity, Sersi is able to harness the ability of all the Eternals into one Uni-Mind, heightening her already substantial powers. With this, she is able to transmute the body of the rising Celestial into stone and turn Sprite from an Eternal into an actual human girl. Put together, these powers arguably make Sersi the strongest Eternal.

A certified Omega-mutant, Storm has power over all meteorological events. To some, this may not seem like much, but it is in fact an exceptionally far-reaching ability. Storm has been able to control the atmospheres of Earth and other planets. This is not just limited to rain, snow, fog, and lightning, as she's been shown to manipulate in various films. Storm can control the very forces that the weather comes from — the electromagnetism of the planet, for instance — and can channel those invisible magnetic and energy fields through her own body to create offensive blast strikes.

As large as her power can get, so too can it get infinitesimal. Storm is able to control not only the atmospheric pressure in an entire city, but she can also manipulate the atmospheric pressure of the inner ear. She can control the amount of air in a person's lungs. She can alter the amount of moisture or humidity in the air on a molecular level, and can even separate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen so that she can breathe in the ocean.

There is simply no limit to what Storm can do on with regard to atmospheric energy fields, and while the Halle Berry portrayals of the character focus more on her emotional connection with the weather, her most recent portrayal by Alexandra Shipp looks to delve more deeply into her far-reaching skills.