The 16 Most Powerful Cosmic Characters In Marvel Comics, Ranked

The cosmic corner of the MCU continues to expand with Thor: Love And Thunder, which introduced Eternity, a powerful cosmic entity from the comics. Many more powerful cosmic characters from Marvel Comics are likely to appear in the MCU in the near future, including some teased in the movie.

The differences between many are slight, but all of them are beings of immense power and ability that can literally destroy worlds and in some cases, even universes. These powerful entities factor in many major Marvel Comics storylines that are already in production or likely will be soon as the MCU continues to expand.

Updated August 26th, 2022 by Darby Harn:With the MCU headed toward Avengers: Secret Wars, many powerful cosmic characters from Marvel Comics likely play a role in live-action. The Beyonders proved key to the 2015 storyline the movie looks to draw from, and so does God Emperor Doom, a powerful Doctor Doom variant who acquired their cosmic power. Other fascinating Marvel Comics cosmic characters could also potentially emerge during The Multiverse Saga as the MCU expands into different dimensions, realities, and planes of existence. Characters like Eternity who span both the cosmic and supernatural stand to gain more prominence in live-action in the next few years.

16 Hyperion

Hyperion leads The Squadron Supreme, the focus of the 2021 Heroes Reborn comic book event which imagines a world where the Avengers never formed. He possesses a vast range of standard superpowers like strength, speed, and stamina. He also has the ability to view the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

The Earth-712 version wielded even more power, able to harness cosmic energy to prolong his life. Hyperion owes his inspiration to Superman from DC Comics and as such, shares numerous similar powers with the Kryptonian icon.

15 Knull

The King In Black leads a massive invasion of Earth with his symbiote army, but alone, he’s still one of the most powerful Marvel cosmic characters. Immortal, impossibly strong, and possessing Supreme Umbrakinesis, which allows him to fashion weapons and objects from simple darkness, Knull presents a major challenge for the entire Marvel Universe.

He also creates creatures from the dark, which led to the origin of the alien symbiote that eventually spawned characters like Venom and Carnage. Knull also created All-Black The Necrosword, the powerful weapon that comic book fans know Gorr the God Butcher used to slay the gods.

14 Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel numbers among the strongest Avengers in Marvel Comics, and in many ways, she’s among the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Her powers include flying faster than the speed of light, absorbing and manipulating cosmic energy, and some cosmic awareness.

She generates energy blasts of varying scope, as well as absorbs energy attacks of terrific yield. Captain Marvel also possesses a general invulnerability to magic, and in the recent comics, is even exploring using magic herself, making her even more powerful.

13 Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau ranks among the most powerful versions of Captain Marvel. Monica held the title in the comics after the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, passed away. Monica transforms into any form of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum, such as light or X-Rays, and can also harness and use that energy in all its potential.

She flies through space at the speed of light, generates energy beams, becomes intangible, and much more. Her powers rival Carol Danvers in scale and likely will in the MCU as well.

12 Adam Warlock

A lot of speculation surrounds the appearance of Adam Warlock in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. Comic book fans know Adam Warlock is the keeper of the Soul Gem, which allows him to communicate and control the souls of the dead. He also passes back and forth into the Soul World contained within the gem.

Beyond the powers incumbent with that, Warlock possesses immortality and can manipulate matter and energy on a cosmic scale. He also formed the Infinity Watch, responsible for the safekeeping of the Infinity Stones, and he may play a similar role in the MCU if the powerful stones return.

11 Galactus

Galactus consumes planets and generally doesn’t care who happens to be on them. The energy he consumes gives him god-like powers, such as being able to transmute matter, change his size, generate powerful energy blasts, and much more. He poses a constant threat and easily numbers among the most powerful villains in Marvel Comics.

Galactus uses the Power Cosmic, a force with seemingly unlimited potential, giving him cosmic awareness of events through both time and space. He also imbues others with this power, creating powerful heralds like the Silver Surfer.

10 The Beyonder

The Beyonder exists beyond all reality and dimensions, with powers that defy any understanding. He wields reality-altering power, which he used to create Battleworld, a planet he transported all of Earth’s heroes and villains to in the 1984 Secret Wars crossover that introduced Spider-Man to the alien symbiote that would eventually become Venom.

Despite claiming power beyond all other cosmic beings, The Beyonder proved he had limitations. Doctor Doom stole his powers in the original crossover, and then he was later incapacitated by Rachel Summers as the Phoenix when she inflicted a powerful psychic attack on him.

9 Rachel Summers

Comic book fans know Rachel Summers counts among the most powerful Marvel characters before she bonded to the Phoenix Force. With the powerful celestial force at her command, Rachel drew on latent cosmic energy to power energy blasts strong enough to defeat Galactus in a head-to-head battle.

Rachel’s power without the Phoenix Force remains equally impressive. She chronoskips, a form of time travel. She even displayed an ability to turn the Phoenix Force on and off at will in some Excalibur comics from the 1990s, a staggering ability Jean Grey never seemed to possess.

8 God Emperor Doom

Doctor Doom stole the power of The Beyonders in the 2015 Secret Wars crossover event, instantly transforming him into a powerful cosmic character. He gained the ability to alter reality and manipulate time and space, which he used to salvage the surviving multiverse in one single planet called Battleworld.

These powers only augmented his already considerable powers, which include vast knowledge and skill in magic that rank him among the most powerful magicians in Marvel Comics. He also possesses genius in politics, science, and engineering and has few peers in the Marvel Universe.

7 The Celestials

The mysterious, ancient Celestials existed before the universe itself in the First Firmament. They create and destroy universes at will, as well as planets, which they use to incubate nascent Celestials as seen in the comics and The Eternals movie. They draw power from Hyperspace, thought to be the source of all energy in the cosmos.

The Celestials created the Eternals, powerful beings who they elevated from early man in ancient Earth history. Their experiments also created The Deviants, supposedly defective genetic experiments who nevertheless possess as much power and potential.

6 The Watcher

The Watcher perceives other realities and dimensions through the multiverse, but with his avowed non-interference, severely limits their power. Nevertheless, The Watcher possesses remarkable powers, including the ability to manipulate energy on a cosmic scale. The Watcher also teleports vast distances through time and space.

Watchers like Uatu possess immortality and exist throughout time. Despite their refusal to intercede in events, they have acted in the past, including fighting an ancient war with the Celestials.

5 The Phoenix Force

The Phoenix Force consumes cosmic energy as well, often with devastating results. The Phoenix Force possesses omnipotence and is effectively immortal, rebirthing itself again and again throughout space and time. The Phoenix Force alters matter and reality and renders living or dead anything or anyone it wants, and as if that wasn’t enough, can manipulate time.

The Phoenix Force bonded to Rachel Summers, who defeated both The Beyonder and Galactus. The Phoenix also played an unexpected role in the origin of Thor in the ancient past.

4 Infinity

Infinity exists as the living embodiment of time and space in Marvel Comics, with god-like control over both. Eternity’s sister, she often appears in concert with him in the comics. She possesses omnipotence, able to perceive all reality throughout the multiverse, placing her far above most Marvel cosmic characters.

The Nega-Bands, among the most powerful weapons in the Marvel Universe, derive their extraordinary power from Infinity. Ms. Marvel’s bangle may be connected to the Nega-Bands, and Infinity appeared as a statue in Thor: Love and Thunder.

3 Eternity

Comic book fans know Eternity represents the living embodiment of the multiverse in Marvel Comics. Eternity possesses knowledge of the entire scope of existence and can alter time, space, and reality on unimaginable scales. Eternity exists as an abstract entity, appearing mostly as a silhouette throughout all creation.

Eternity does convey their power to avatars from time to time, as they appeared to do in Thor: Love and Thunder when the entity took on the form of Love, Thor’s adopted daughter.

2 The Living Tribunal

The Living Tribunal represents The One Above All in all matters and therefore exists as the ultimate authority in the multiverse. The Living Tribunal outranks the majority of the most powerful cosmic characters in the Marvel Universe, as they embody all elements of existence rather than singular ones like Eternity.

The Living Tribunal makes numerous appearances in the MCU, including as statues in Loki and Thor: Love and Thunder. The real entity appeared briefly in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the Sorcerer Supreme crashed through the multiverse.

1 The One Above All

Many other cosmic beings populate the upper echelons of the Marvel Universe, but the One Above All appears to be literally and figuratively above them all. This cosmic entity created the entire multiverse and everything and everyone within it. Omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, The One Above All controls power on a scale that is impossible to comprehend.

The only threat this entity ever seemed to endure was from Thanos, who created a severe imbalance in the multiverse by absorbing the energy of other cosmic beings.

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