If you put all the heroes and villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a room, who will come out victorious? That’s what we find out in this feature.

Okay, it would have to be a pretty big room since some of these characters transcend literal space and time, but their power is quantifiable nonetheless. From giant deities that defy comprehension to the big purple man, here are ten of the strongest characters we’ve seen in the MCU in our opinion.

Thor

Placing Thor in the top ten on the list of the most powerful characters in the MCU is controversial considering that he is the most powerful Avenger, but the universe is bigger than it was when the team first came together in 2012. Although he survived being blasted by a star in Avengers: Infinity War and defeated the Asgardian goddess of death in Hela by finding a deep reserve of strength within himself, Thor struggles with some of the later entries on this list.

Surtur

Based on a fire giant from Norse mythology, Surtur made his live-action MCU debut in Thor: Ragnarok. Hailing from the extradimensional plane of Muspelheim, he is essentially indestructible. Thor doesn’t even really try to stop it coming towards the end of the movie because he knows he can’t. Instead, he uses Surtur to kill his sister Hela, which also results in the complete annihilation of Asgard.

Doctor Strange

Just flesh and blood, Doctor Strange could be killed in a car crash, which he almost is in his first film of 2016. So it speaks volumes for his wizarding abilities that he is able to go up against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War using his array of master spells. Doctor Strange is also a master tactician. In fact, if he hadn’t used the time stone to see into the future later in the film, Thanos would have wiped out the entire universe.

captain marvel

Captain Marvel is a cosmic force so powerful that the writers have to come up with reasons to rule her. For example, in The Marvels, she switches places with Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeu every time she uses her powers. Previously, in Avengers: Endgame, she only appeared at the end of the climactic battle, as she was busy with help words. However, when he does appear, a fully powered Captain Marvel can handle most characters comfortably. He makes a dramatic entrance by flying right through Thanos’ spaceship and crashing it, then putting him on the back foot in a 1v1.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch is another rare character who can take on Thanos on her own. During her brief skirmish with the Mad Titan in a battle during Avengers: Endgame, she causes a flash of anguish to appear on his face when she uses her telekinetic powers to crush him with a pile of rocks. And that’s before he gains the ability to travel between universes and easily kill alternate versions of superheroes in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Dormammu

Dormammu makes his debut in 2016’s Doctor Strange and is a force to be reckoned with. As a villain that transcends time and space, it makes Mads Mikkelsen’s dark wizard Kaecilius look like a cheap magician. An interdimensional being rules the Dark Dimension with the goal of extinguishing all of reality. Doctor Strange only defeats Dormamma by trapping him in a time loop and forcing him to give up out of sheer frustration.

Thanos

Even without the Infinity Stones, Thanos is a force to be reckoned with. He skillfully handles the Hulk in a fist fight during the opening of Avengers: Infinity War, and later in Avengers: Endgame, he demonstrates the ability to defeat the three fully powered Avengers leaders in Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man, without the need for stones. However, once Thanos uses his unique genius to collect all five stones, he is virtually unstoppable, capable of rewinding time, altering reality, teleporting instantly, and throwing planets at people.

Infinity Ultron

What’s more powerful than Thanos with the Infinity Stones? Ultron with the Infinity Stones who kills Thanos by splitting him with a laser in the eighth episode of What If…?. When this advanced, self-replicating robot is uploaded into Vision’s body (who is already incredibly powerful himself) and gets his hand on the stones, he is able to actually achieve Thanos’ goal of destroying all life in the universe. At one point he bites into the galaxy. He then breaks out of his universe and enters the multiverse, stopped only by the Guardians of the Multiverse.

Eternity

Neither hero nor villain, Eternity is nonetheless one of the most powerful beings in the entire MCU. Eternity, introduced in Thor: Love and Thunder, has the power to grant any wish, making Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher at the end of the film. Luckily it’s a wish to resurrect Gorr’s daughter and not massacre all the gods or the MCU would be in trouble. Eternity is so powerful it has no moral compass – good and evil don’t exist when you can change reality at will.

Arish

Arishem the Judge is bigger than most planets, and that’s just the beginning. This first-class Celestial started the universe by creating the sun. Then, several billion years later, Arish created the Deviants to help create more Celestials. However, they were wanderers, so Arish created a super powerful race of beings called the Eternals to fight them. Arishem the Judge demonstrates incredible power, but his poor decision-making leaves the door open for other entries on this list in the future.