10 MCU Characters Way Weaker In The Movies (And 10 Way Too Strong)

When the MCU made its debut just over a decade ago, the franchise went to great lengths to try and ground their characters’ powers in reality. Its flagship hero, Iron Man, was nothing more than a mortal man with an armored suit, and even the Incredible Hulk was severely downgraded from his previous big screen incarnation — where he had been much closer in size to King Kong and thus, less believable.

In order to maintain this sense of realism, plenty of characters were stripped of powers they previously had in the comics. Granted, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as all-powerful characters often have the least interesting stories.

However, as the series has continued on, the filmmakers have delved deeper into the weirder parts of the comics, exploring more unusual characters and their unorthodox abilities. As a result, obscure beings who seemed as though they’d always be confined to the page — like Dormammu, Ego the Living Planet, and even Groot — have enjoyed their time up on the silver screen, and the MCU has continued to impress with how it has adapted these characters’ awesome powers for the movies.

While the films have continued to cut and refine the abilities of many characters, they’ve also done the exact opposite and made other characters far more powerful than they ever were in the comics. In certain instances, this has proven problematic, as the franchise has struggled to incorporate these seemingly unstoppable characters into their overarching story.

Here are 10 MCU Characters Way Weaker In The Movies (And 10 Way Too Strong).

20 Weaker: Drax

Of all the MCU characters who have an adjective in their name (Korath the Pursuer, Ronan the Accuser, Mad Titan Thanos, etc.), Drax seems to earn his epithet of “the Destroyer” the least of them all.

While the character certainly looks like a force to be reckoned with, Drax has been all bark and little bite since he first popped up as a prisoner of the Kyln. He’s since become a staple comic relief character thanks to his unusual handicap of taking everything literally.

He is starkly different from the imposing force that’s come out of the comics, where Drax was literally created to destroy Thanos.

Here, he has also held his own against some of the strongest Marvel characters as well as punched his way through entire planets just so he could let off a little steam.

19 Too Strong: Iron Man

Despite being one of the few mortal heroes in the MCU, Tony Stark has emerged from his fair share of crash landings with little more than a couple of bruises to show for it. But the character’s powers have really taken a jump into the realm of unbelievability with Stark’s latest suit of armor.

Drawing inspiration from the Bleeding Edge armor from the comics, The Mark L made its debut in Avengers: Infinity War. Through its utilization of nanotechnology there’s almost nothing it can’t do.

The suit seems to have a never-ending supply of nanites, which materialize to form everything from a giant foot cannon to back wings. Basically, any problem that Stark ran into, the Mark L could accommodate — which seemed more than a little convenient for the plot.

18 Weaker: Thanos

In The Infinity Gauntlet limited series, Thanos’s powers become so infinite that the only reason the Mad Titan is ever defeated is because he knows deep down he is unworthy of such greatness.

The fact that Thanos is a lot weaker in the MCU actually works to the movie’s advantage and helps ground the story in reality.

In the comics, the fully assembled gauntlet pretty much allows Thanos to do whatever he wants, to the point where he actually becomes one with the universe.

The limitations of these powers are a lot more firmly established in the film. This makes for a far more interesting matchup when the Avengers and Guardians square off with the Mad Titan, and some of the most nerve-wracking moments of the movie come when Thanos is teetering on the brink of defeat.

17 Too Strong: Celestial Star-Lord

With a villain as powerful as Ego the Living Planet, Star-Lord had to get some seriously enhanced powers to defeat him. Thankfully, the groundwork for Peter being half-Celestial had already been laid at the end of the first Guardians, making this turn of events not seem like a total deus ex machina.

Even still, with the ability to manipulate matter and energy on nothing but a whim, Celestial Star-Lord’s powers were nearly infinite. This would have created a massive problem for the rest of the MCU.

In order to ensure that the majority of heroes remained on the same playing field, Peter Quill was stripped of these powers almost as quickly as he had acquired them.

16 Weaker: Scarlet Witch

Thanks to the powers granted to her by the Mind Stone, Wanda Maximoff has one of the most intimidating power sets of any MCU character. Her wide range of telekinetic abilities allows Wanda to manipulate matter, psionic energy, and the minds of others.

Yet somehow the original Scarlet Witch from the comics continues to outshine the one we’ve gotten on the screen.

While her altered origin and abilities certainly play their part, the real reason that Wanda is weaker in the MCU is that her powers continue to go unexplored.

After three films, the only time Wanda seemed to fully tap into her potential was when she simultaneously fended off Thanos while destroying the Mind Stone. With this type of power, one has to wonder why the character allowed herself be babysat by Quicksilver and Vision for so long.

15 Too Strong: Doctor Strange

Since his debut, Doctor Strange has been the most powerful Earth-bound characters in the MCU. While he may not be much of a physical threat, Strange’s mastery over the Mystic Arts — along with the aid of his Sling Ring, Cloak of Levitation, and Eye of Agamotto — make the sorcerer one of the trickiest foes to defeat. Not even Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension, was a match for Strange’s time manipulation.

However, these impressive powers proved to be a bit problematic in Infinity War, with Strange seemingly not tapping into his full potential while facing off against Thanos. Many have wondered why Strange didn’t create another time loop, or use a portal to cut the gauntlet from Thanos’s hand.

The unfortunate answer may simply be that Strange was too powerful for the franchise’s own good.

14 Weaker: Gamora

Despite being dubbed “The Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy”, Gamora is yet another female character whose powers have been massively nerfed in the movies.

In both mediums, Gamora’s powers are granted to her through bionic enhancement courtesy of Thanos.

She is supposed to be capable of everything from superhuman strength to regenerative healing.

Not to mention that she has extensive training as an assassin. In other words, Gamora should be no match for a human adversary.

Yet, the adoptive daughter of Thanos has lost nearly every fight she’s been a party to. She’s been taken down by everyone from Star-Lord to Nebula, to Rocket Raccoon — yet we’re still supposed to believe she’s a force to be reckoned with.

13 Too Strong: Captain America

Captain America is meant to represent the peak of human physicality. In other words, he could keep up with any world-class athlete, whether their area of expertise be sprinting, or swimming, or pumping some serious iron.

What he shouldn’t be able to do, however, is prevent a helicopter from taking flight. Or lift a motorcycle seating three people over his head. Or hold his own against Thanos for any amount of time.

His powers aren’t supposed to be superhuman – just as strong as a human could ever be capable of.

To be sure, the comics have also stretched Cap’s capabilities on a number of occasions. It’s just a lot more obvious when it happens on the screen.

12 Weaker: Thor

If there was any debate over who was the mightiest Avenger prior to Infinity War, those uncertainties were quickly put to res, with Thor emerging the victor.

Within the last year of the MCU alone, we’ve watched the God of Thunder learn to channel his powers without Mjolnir, survive the void of space, and withstand the blast of a star. Thor was also the only hero to land a near-fatal blow against Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda.

Impressive as his feats may be, Thor has accomplished equally arduous tasks dozens of times over in the comics — often without breaking a sweat.

That being said, if Thor’s powers were any stronger in the films, the climactic battles would be far less interesting.

11 Too Strong: Black Panther

When it comes to characters like Cap and Iron, we’ve gotten the chance to watch how their capabilities have gradually increased over the course of many films. After only one solo-outing, Black Panther’s powers already seem as great as they could possibly be for any mortal man.

The advanced strength and durability granted to T’Challa through the Heart-Shaped Herb already put the King of Wakanda on the same playing field as Cap and Bucky – two characters who often go into battle with little to no armor. Then add to the mix his latest Panther habit — which is made of Vibranium and has the ability to absorb and release energy — and T’Challa is already near-indestructible on the battlefield.

10 Weaker: Grandmaster

In Thor: Ragnarok, Jeff Goldblum brought his eccentric charm to play the Grandmaster — the ruler of Sakaar who takes pleasure in pitting warriors against each other in the Contest of Champions. He is one of the oldest beings in the universe alongside his brother, the Collector. Although his powers must be great, the Grandmaster seems to largely rely on his servants and advanced weaponry to get anything done.

In the comics, however, the Grandmasters awesome powers have been a lot more explicit, where he is capable of everything from teleportation to matter manipulation.

The Grandmaster has even been able to will people out of existence.

If this had been the case in the MCU, the Grandmaster would have had no use for his favorite weapon: the Melt Stick.

9 Too Strong: Ego the Living Planet

One of the few Celestials to actually make an appearance in the MCU, Ego the Living Planet is without a doubt one of the most powerful villains we’ve seen to date. His existence is almost as old as the universe itself, and once he became sentient, Ego learned to manipulate matter and energy on a cosmic scale.

His Celestial-status and the fact that he can transform himself into human form already makes the movie version of Ego stronger than his comic book counterpart.

Of course, this is a character who truly deserves his awesome powers. However, because he is nearly invincible, the only way he could be defeated was for Quill’s powers to be massively boosted.

8 Weaker: Black Widow

Although she is one of the few heroes in the MCU without any superpowers, Black Widow has proven herself as more than a worthy addition to the Avengers on a number of occasions.

She’s considered to be one of the world’s best assassins thanks to her expertise in martial arts, marksmanship, and espionage. While it may be easier to dismiss the character due to her lack of supernatural abilities, Black Widow is one of the few heroes who doesn’t need enhancements in order to succeed on the battlefield.

In the comics, Black Widow is yet another hero who’s been bionically enhanced.

Regenerative healing and prolonged age are just a few of her additional attributes.Even though this technically makes Black Widow stronger on the page, it also makes her abilities a lot less impressive.

7 Too Strong: Hela

The issue with having all-powerful characters like Thor is that you need an even stronger villain for them to go up against. In most cases, the more powerful the villain, the less interesting they are.

When it comes to Hela, the franchise managed to secure the highly-talented Cate Blanchett to play the former Executioner of Asgard.  With little effort, Hela destroyed Thor’s hammer and seizes control of Asgard.

Because of her impressive strength, the only way Hela was going to be defeated was if Thor also had his powers buffed. This is an all too common trope in superhero movies, which can also lead to an unsavory trend of one-upmanship where every character seems to get increasingly powerful with each film.

6 Weaker: Falcon

While his winged jetpack and vision-enhancing goggles give Falcon a leg up against many foes, Sam Wilson is still one of the most vulnerable heroes on the battlefield. Even in a one-on-one fight against Scott Lang, Wilson can’t compete with the advanced technology of the Ant-Man suit, ranking him amongst the weakest of the Avengers.

The hero has a distinct advantage in the comics, where Falcon is actually able to tap into the minds of any living bird.

He’s able to see through their eyes, control their movements to a certain degree, and even access their memories — making him a vital asset when it comes to tracking down enemies.

This supernatural power came to Wilson courtesy of Professor X, which helps explain why they never made it into the MCU.

5 Too Strong: Vision

Much like Doctor Strange, Vision was a hero whose powers seemed purposefully stifled in Infinity War so as to even out the scale between good and evil.

Upon his introduction, Vision was easily the most powerful being the Avengers had ever encountered. He was made of Vibranium, wielded an Infinity Stone in his forehead, and was able to go intangible — rending any physical attack against him utterly useless. Not to mention, he’s the only Earth-bound character who’s been worthy enough to wield Mjolnir.

With these capabilities and a lot more, Vision could have ended most conflicts with little difficulty, which explains why the character relegated himself to the sidelines throughout his time in the MCU. Or why his internal systems conveniently start malfunctioning in Infinity War.

4 Weaker: Malekith

Malekith the Accursed made his comic book debut in 1984, appearing in Thor #344, where the Dark Elf quickly proved himself to be a formidable opponent to the God of Thunder.

On top of his superhuman strength, the villain demonstrated a wide range of magical powers, including teleportation, energy projection, and shapeshifting.

Therefore, many fantasy fans were excited when Doctor Who alum Christopher Eccleston was cast in the role. But thanks to a lackluster story, the villain massively underwhelmed on the big screen.

On top of his undeveloped personality, the MCU seemed to strip Malekith of many of his more interesting powers. The Dark Elf also seemed totally clueless when it came to harnessing the power of the Aether (AKA Reality Stone) — the very weapon he was said to have forged.

3 Too Strong: Odin

Though we never really got to see Odin in his prime up on the big screen, we know that the former King of Asgard accomplished some mighty impressive feats in his day.

Odin invaded other worlds, laid waste to tyrannical leaders and their armies, and slew great demons, monsters, and beasts.

He did his questing alongside his firstborn, Hela, until she grew increasingly sinister and Odin was forced to draw on his own life force to keep her imprisoned. The Allfather was also responsible for bringing down Surtur when the fire demon was said to be at full force — a task that none one else could accomplish in Ragnarok.

It’s these victories and many others that actually make Thor’s powers seem rather weak in comparison to his father’s.

2 Weaker: Helmut Zemo

It’s hard to scrutinize a villain who fully realizes his master plan, as is the case with Helmut Zero when he succeeds in splitting up the Avengers in Civil War.

Though the character has undergone considerable changes from his jump to the screen, in both instances, Zemo is an adversary of the Avengers who is seeking revenge after the loss of his family.

In the comics, Zemo has a number of superhuman abilities, many of which are granted to him through his possession of moonstones.

These supernatural gems are used by Zemo to manipulate time and space.

While more fantastical villains are often more memorable, by keeping Zemo as nothing more than a mortal man, the MCU actually makes his victory over the Avengers that much more impressive.

1 Too Strong: Surtur

When Surtur made his debut, he was swiftly dealt with by Thor — making him one of the easier foes that the God of Thunder has ever faced off against.

Surtur’s crown was eventually locked away in Odin’s vault for safe keeping. When Thor and Loki were unable to remove Hela from Asgard, they decided to resurrect Surtur by casting his crown into the Eternal Flame, turning him into one of the most powerful creatures in the MCU to date.

Not only does the fire demon tower over the entire realm, he’s able to bring about its destruction with a single thrust of his sword, destroying Hela in the process.

We think it’s safe to say that if the MCU makes a habit of introducing beings as powerful as Surtur, we can quickly kiss the other eight realms goodbye.

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Which MCU characters do you think are too strong or too weak? Let us know!

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