If we stop thinking about it, it seems pointless to argue about who is the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With such a vast universe featuring hundreds of writers and directors, the MCU’s villain and hero power scale has changed a lot over the years, and different movies and TV shows may upgrade or downgrade certain characters so they can better serve the story. However, something keeps pushing us MCU fans to spend hours on the internet debating which fictional character will win in a fight. It’s too much fun to scour the MCU looking for clues and arguing for ThorChris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thanos (Josh Brolin), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) or Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). You are all wrong, however. The most powerful character in the MCU is Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and it’s not even fair competition.
Wanda Maximoff is the most powerful character in the MCU
Since its inception, the MCU has often presented heroes and villains as weaker than their comic book counterparts. It’s an understandable creative choice, as it’s easier to play your stories big when the world-saving heroes are vulnerable. And because the MCU was designed to please everyone, not just comic book readers, downgrading most characters’ abilities helped keep the movies alive until people got hooked on Marvel Studios’ colorful universe. The same fate befell Wanda Maximoff. Her Avengers: Age of Ultron the introduction gave her mind control, flight, and the ability to fire normal energy beams from her hands. Wanda was still a formidable foe, capable of tipping the scales in Ultron’s favor (James Spader) or the Avengers, depending on who she helped. However, without her Chaos Magic from the Marvel comics, Wanda was no stronger than Thor or the Hulk. She just had other strengths.
Captain America: Civil War began to bridge the gap between MCU Wanda and her comic book counterpart by increasing her powers. Wanda is noticeably stronger in Civil Warquickly subduing Vision (Paul Bettany) to escape the Avengers compound before fighting for Captain America (Chris Evans) during the fight at the airport. Russo Brothers continued to expand Wanda’s capabilities in Avengers: Infinity Warwhen the Sokovo hero became an absolute powerhouse.
Infinity War It’s all about Thanos’ quest to collect the Infinity Stones. During his journey, Thanos defeats Thor and the Hulk while holding the only Infinity Stone in his hands. Later, when he already has four Infinity Stones, he single-handedly defeats the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Spiderman (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange. However, at the end of the third arc, when Thanos arrives in Wakanda to retrieve the Mind Stone, Wanda manages to split her focus on destroying the artifact and holding onto Thanos and his five Infinity Stones. So with her abilities at the time, Wanda could destroy the Infinity Stone and take on the super-powerful Thanos at the same time. Looks like that’s all we need to crown Wanda as the most powerful character in the MCU. However, in Phase 4, Marvel Studios gave Wanda another major upgrade.
Scarlet Witch’s power is unmatched in the MCU
After Avengers: Endgame, Wanda is consumed with grief after losing Vision forever. Her inner turmoil leads to an explosion of power that transports Wanda and all the residents of Westview into a sitcom fabricated by the former hero’s mind. Although she didn’t fully realize what she was doing, Wanda altered reality throughout the city, trapping hundreds of people in a nightmarish dimension where they operate to keep the fantasy alive. The incident in Westview during WandaVision The series highlights how powerful Wanda is. Wanda can do more than just move objects with her mind; she can create life. Wanda resurrects the Vision and gives birth to two children, and she does so without even controlling her powers.
WandaVision vital to understanding just how powerful Wanda really is. In the series, we learn that Wanda’s powers don’t come from experimenting with the Hydra. In fact, she was born as the Scarlet Witch, the wielder of Chaos Magic. Although Wanda was unaware of her powers, she could always change reality by causing the world to change shape to suit her will. Here’s how she manages to turn Westview into her own personal paradise, where she leads a fulfilling life next to her dead husband. In the years before WandaVision, Wanda was unaware of her skills. However, after the series, she knows that Scarlet Witch is capable of destroying space-time. That’s why Scarlet Witch becomes unstoppable when she turns into a villainess. Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness.
IN WandaVision, Wanda gets her hands on the Darkhold, a cursed magical book created by Chthon, the Elder God from whom Chaos Magic is derived. Chthon wants to rule the Multiverse, and the Scarlet Witch is his main tool. So, once Wanda starts reading the Darkhold, the Elder God warps her mind and she is determined to conquer the Multiverse to protect her children. IN Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madnesswe see Wanda kill several Variants of Doctor Strange, destroy Kamar-Taj, and disembowel Earth-383’s Illuminati.
While every opponent that stands in Wanda’s path represents one of the most powerful characters in the MCU, Scarlet Witch doesn’t even break a sweat scything down her enemies. She is so powerful that viewers wonder who can stop her and save the universe. And in the end Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness, the only thing stopping Scarlet Witch is herself. Wanda realizes her mistakes, realizes how the Darkhold is twisting her thoughts, and decides to destroy the Temple of Chthon and every version of the Darkhold that exists in every timeline. Yes, that is how Wanda reaches every corner of the Multiverse and changes its history so that Chthon can no longer threaten any timeline.
Wanda may not have started out as the most powerful character in the MCU. However, as we enter Phase 5 of the MCU, there is still no other character to showcase this much brute strength. Without the help of any magical item such as the Infinity Stone, Scarlet Witch can still bend reality to her will. And when someone can change the laws of physics just by thinking about it, there’s no competition when it comes to choosing the strongest MCU character.
WandaVision And Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness available on Disney+.
Source: Collider
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