Summary
TheMarvel Universepossesses an astonishing array of superpowers, but some heroes and villains are especially powerful compared to others. In the company’s history of comic books and movies, they’ve produced unique and intriguing characters, including some who can alter, change, and manipulate the course of history to break the laws of nature.
From Scarlet Witch’s reality-altering powers to Quicksilver’s superspeed, some abilities can break the boundaries of human imagination. With decades of abilities under its belt,Marvel’s most overpowered superpowersare regularly used to drive creative stories or fights, and the best ones tend to leave fans craving for more and anticipating what comes next.
Updated on July 25, 2025, by Blaise Santi: There are literally hundreds of powers throughout the Marvel Comics universe, but only a few are so powerful that they in turn make their users overpowered. Some of them are as simplistic as super-strength or super-speed, but there’s loads of other superpowers that aren’t just rare within the Marvel universe, but also incredibly niche. These additional powers may not encompass a lot of characters in the fictional comic book world, but the ones who do possess them are notably some of the strongest canonically. Plus, take a look at some of the other noteworthy heroes that possess each of these 20 overpowered super-abilities!
It’s Not Hard To See Why This Power’s Great
Description
Has the power to enter a state in which they can pass or “phase” through solid matter without harm.
Astral projection, levitation, invisibility
Heroes
Vision, Monica Rambeau/Spectrum, Kitty Pryde, Cassandra Nova, Marc Spector/Moon Knight, Tommy Maximoff/Speed, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman
Lots of the strongest powers in the Marvel universe feature heroes who can harness power at an atomic or molecular level. For some of them, this includes intangibility, which allows an individual to phase through solid matter as if it was nonexistent. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is most notably used byVision, as he can pass through walls with ease.
TheX-MencharacterKitty Prydeis also a prominent user of phasing as her primary mutation, which also allows her to create intangible clones of herself, as well as selectively choose with parts of her body are intangible at any given moment. For other heroes likeMonica Rambeau, intangibility allows her to harness power from light and energy, andshe can even turn invisible, too.
Can communicate with, manipulate, or reanimate the dead.
Chaos magic, witchcraft, sorcery, technomancy, voodoo
Thanos, T’Challa/Black Panther, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Vlad Dracula, Mephisto, Marc Spector/Moon Knight, Null the Living Darkness, Death, Erik Killmonger
There are few powers that are more fearsome to the Marvel universe than necromancy. This ancient form of magic allows users to harness so-called “death energy” from corpses. Aside from powering very harmful spells, necromancy can allow Marvel magicians tonot only speak with the dead, but resurrect or control them like puppets.
This was especially dangerous in the hands of characters likeThanos, who had a particularly tense relationship withLady Death. Thanos has used necromancy to summon armies of the dead to aid him in his conquests, while other characters likeMephistohave used it to manipulate and torture others. As King of the Dead,T’Challahimself has also been shown to have control over deceased spirits.
They Bring The Thunder… Literally
Has the power to manipulate and exert influence with all the natural forces responsible for weather, such as the wind, the rain, the temperature, the air pressure, etc.
Flight, light manipulation, gravity manipulation, matter manipulation, geokinesis
Ororo Munroe/Storm, Thor, Jane Foster, Bobby Drake/Iceman, Silver Surfer, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Beta Ray Bill, Vlad Dracula
Ororo Munroe, a.k.aStorm, is one of the most iconic characters from theX-Men, and she’s also one of the strongest Marvel characters canonically. Storm’s mutation allows her to control the weather, which can range from summoning lightning indoors all the way to creating massive earthquakes and infernos. However, she’s not the only Marvel character who can manipulate the weather.
Weather manipulation falls into a similar category as powers like geokinesis, which is control over Earth. Characters likeThorandJane Fosterare notable heroes who can summon lightning. Even theScarlet Witchhas been seen using spells that can suddenly change the surrounding weather. Simply put, you don’t want to mess with any of these heroes when they’re having a bad day.
A Superhero’s Greatest Nightmare Is Themselves
Has the ability to mimic and copy the powers of others around oneself.
Power absorption
Yelena Belova, Annie LeBeau/Rogue, Marc Spector/Moon Knight, Hope Summers, Venom, Calvin Rankin/Mimic, Super-Skrull
What’s more of an overpowered skill than stealing other people’s powers? There aren’t many in the Marvel Comics universe who are capable of power mimicry, the act of temporarily copying the abilities of others. Power mimicry is done in many ways, whether it’s by physically touching someone, as seen with the mutantRogue, or the Adaptoids, which can copy an opponent’s abilities by learning.
One such example of how powerful power mimicry can be isYelena Belova,who briefly in the comics joined the organization A.I.M.to become a Super-Adaptoid antagonist of the Avengers. In this form, Yelena was capable of utilizing any power that she had been previously attacked with. However, other characters likeSuper-Skrullcan only specific abilities, such as The Fantastic Four’s.
These Heroes Do Whatever A Spider Can
Has the traits and abilities of a spider, including proportionate strength, wall-climbing, organic webbing, and heightened senses
Poison generation, Symbiote biology, appendage generation, camouflage
Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Miles Morales/Spider-Man, Julia Carpenter/Spider-Woman, Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider, Cindy Moon/Silk, Gwen Stacy/Ghost Spider, Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099
It’s surprising just how many characters in the Marvel universe happen to have the abilities of one specific animal. Leave it one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes,Spider-Man, to popularize spider physiology in the comic book universe. Peter Parker isn’t the only character in the multiverse to have found himself empowered by a radioactive spider-bite.
Among these heroes' more common superpowers include wall-climbing, web creation, and super-strength proportionate to a spider. Some versions of Spider-Man can also create poisonous venom, possess enhanced claws and fangs, and are able to grow an additional number of limbs, which can make them absolute threats in combat.
It Helps To Not Need A Lunch Break
Does not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep to survive
Immunity, self-sanitization, healing factor, perpetual nourishment
Nebula, Marc Spector/Moon Knight, The Beyonder, Colossus, Silver Surfer, Jane Foster/Thor, Thanos
This rare ability is often possessed by heroes who aren’tquiteliving, whether it’s because their bodies are primarily made of a non-flesh material, or because they possess powers that are godlike in nature. Self-sustenance essentially means that these heroes can survive all on their own, without the necessities most living beings need to live day-to-day.
In the case ofMoon Knight, he’s really the avatar for the Egyptian god Khonshu, meaning that he has all the abilities and powers of the omnipotent moon deity.Nebula, on the other hand, was granted god-like qualities akin to her adoptive father, Thanos, after overcoming a trial given to her by the Witches of Infinity.
These Characters Have Thick Skin, Literally
Can physically absorb any kind of energy (kinetic, electromagnetic, psychic, etc.) to manipulate or re-distribute it
Energy conversion, energy propulsion, power charging, force field projection
Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Victor von Doom, Danny Rand/Iron Fist, Namor, Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Black Bolt, Vision
Energy absorption is a little different from energy projection, in which beings can create their own energy to attack or defend themselves with. Energy absorption allows beings to take in energy from the outside world, whether it’s used against them or just there, and re-distribute it offensively or defensively. One popular example of this is Sue Storm, theInvisible Woman.
Because the cells of Sue Storm’s body were altered in outer space, she’s able to manifest the energy inside of her to create force fields and turn herself invisible. Other heroes, likeCarol Danvers, can absorb light and kinetic energy to sustain herself or to power-up photon blasts, making her one of the biggest cosmic threats in the Marvel universe.
Has the ability to travel between parallel universes
Teleportation, time travel, fourth wall breaking, portal creation
Characters
America Chavez, Loki, Illyana Rasputin/Magik, Franklin Richards, Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange, Shatterstar, Wiccan, Kang the Conqueror, Deadpool, She-Hulk
Despite the simplistic name, dimensional travel is one of the more complicated superpowers in the Marvel universe. The ability involves an individual leaving their own reality for another universe, which can be done through teleportation or the creation of portals. One example of this in Marvel Comics isAmerica Chavez,a teenager who creates star portals.
Other characters, likeKang the Conqueror, acquire the ability to traverse dimensions through technology, with Kang relying on his Time Chair. A different version of dimensional travel is breaking the fourth wall, which characters likeDeadpoolandShe-Hulkare capable of in both their comic iterations, as well as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Magic Is Real In The Marvel Universe
Accessing powers beyond the laws of science through the use of spells, energy manipulation, and magical objects
Reality warping, mind control, witchcraft, Chi manipulation, necromancy
Loki, Wanda Maximoff, Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange, Agatha Harkness, Victor von Doom, Wiccan, Illyana Rapustin/Magik, Thor, Clea, Mephisto
Sorcery comes in many shapes and sizes in the Marvel world. Different types of magic can be used by characters like theScarlet Witch,Stephen Strange, andLoki. In the case of Wanda Maximoff, she’s capable of both witchcraft and Chaos Magic, whichshe learned from her mentorAgatha Harkness, to grow stronger and more formidable as a magic user.
Stephen Strange possesses abilities of more typical sorcery, though he is even more powerful after being named the Sorcerer Supreme. Other forms of magic within the Marvel universe include Chi, wielded by characters likeIron FistandPower Man, and god-like sorcery, which is often abused for nefarious purposes by characters like Loki.
No Pain, No Gain
Can recover from injuries at an accelerated rate, which often includes decelerated aging, immunity to disease, and immortality.
Appendage regeneration, wound transferring, biological manipulation, pain tolerance
James Howlett/Wolverine, Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, Eric Brooks/Blade, Raven Darkholme/Mystique, Wade Wilson/Deadpool, Angel, X-23, Spider-Man, Bruce Banner, Ghost Rider
The healing factor is a unique yet incredibly powerful superpower possessed by many in the Marvel universe. Characters with a healing factor are able to heal from wounds at an accelerated rate, sometimes including regeneration, resurrection, even immortality, and slow aging.It’s particularly a trait of many mutants, fromWolverinetoAngel, and evenDeadpool.
Other characters make use of the healing factor through other means, such asBladeandMorbiustaking advantage of their vampiric qualities to drain others of their life force. While these characters are able to live longer and are generally harder to kill, the blessing can also sometimes be a curse.
