Top 10 Most Powerful Superheroes


DanMan

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This is something I came across a long time ago looking through a friend's comic books, and I found it again recently online here (from Wizard Magazine #70). This guy copied the article out seemingly word for word, even including the same pictures. If you don't want to read through the whole thing, the list is as follows:

10. The Hulk

9. Firestorm

8. Professor X (pre-Onslaught)

7. Spawn

6. Doctor Strange

5. The Flash

4. Wonder Woman

3. Superman

2. Thor

1. Silver Surfer

Obviously, supervillains and all-powerful beings like Galactus are not included. If they were, most of these heros wouldn't be listed at all.

Thoughts?

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10. Gladiator

09. Cannonball

08. Professor X and Magneto (tie)

07. Ultron

06. Thor

05. Hulk

04. Superman

03. Wonder Woman

02. Green Lantern

01. Silver Surfer

Let me briefly explain why I ranked the mutant Cannonball one notch better than Gladiator. During his short stint on the X-Men, Cannonball had a run-in with Gladiator and actually beat him. It would seem that Gladiator's powers stem from his confidence/ego -- should it be broken, he weakens.

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10. Gladiator

09. Cannonball

08. Professor X and Magneto (tie)

07. Ultron

06. Thor

05. Hulk

04. Superman

03. Wonder Woman

02. Green Lantern

01. Silver Surfer

Let me briefly explain why I ranked the mutant Cannonball one notice better than Gladiator. During his short stint on the X-Men, Cannonball had a run-in with Gladiator and actually beat him. It would seem that Gladiator's powers stem from his confidence/ego -- should it be broken, he weakens.

I actually have that issue.

I'm not gonna try and rank my top ten right now, but Yoda, why'd you put Wonder Woman ahead of Superman?

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I'm not gonna try and rank my top ten right now, but Yoda, why'd you put Wonder Woman ahead of Superman?

She's a goddess. I truly believe DC keeps her down/makes her look weaker than she is so that Superman can remain at the top. Imagine if all of a sudden someone else in the DCU were physically stronger than Superman -- it would make him look bad. (Start the comparisons to HHH now.)

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I'm not gonna try and rank my top ten right now, but Yoda, why'd you put Wonder Woman ahead of Superman?

She's a goddess. I truly believe DC keeps her down/makes her look weaker than she is so that Superman can remain at the top. Imagine if all of a sudden someone else in the DCU were physically stronger than Superman -- it would make him look bad. (Start the comparisons to HHH now.)

Wonder Woman is immortal anyway. She was formed from the clay of Themiscyra and granted the attributes of the Olympian gods--wisdom, speed, strength, endurance, hunting prowess, sisterhood to the hearth, beauty and love.

She should be ranked above Superman any day of the week.

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Wonder Woman is immortal anyway.  She was formed from the clay of Themiscyra and granted the attributes of the Olympian gods--wisdom, speed, strength, endurance, hunting prowess, sisterhood to the hearth, beauty and love.

She should be ranked above Superman any day of the week.

Exactly. And the only reason I rank her below Green Lantern is because that ring can do anything the bearer desires -- save resurrecting and creating real life. If an evil bastard got 'hold of the ring they could literally rip a planet in half or collapse a sun.

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If you don't want to read through the whole thing, the list is as follows:

10. The Hulk

9.  Firestorm

8.  Professor X (pre-Onslaught)

7.  Spawn

6.  Doctor Strange

5.  The Flash

4.  Wonder Woman

3.  Superman

2.  Thor

1.  Silver Surfer

Hulk only ranks 10th? For a creature that can't ever be killed (see Hulk: the end for the full length of his regenerative power) and has near boundless strength and endurance, that magazine certainly didn't give him any credit.

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Hulk only ranks 10th? For a creature that can't ever be killed (see Hulk: the end for the full length of his regenerative power) and has near boundless strength and endurance, that magazine certainly didn't give him any credit.

True, but I wouldn't worry much about what the magazine said. They have a spot explaining why one particular hero isn't higher up. For Doctor Strange:

While he's beaten cosmic menaces to save the universe countless times, Doc Strange is only human with limited stamina, speed and reflexes.

It's about the same thing for the Flash too. It must be a padded list, not for quality's sake but to get some better-known names out there, with Firestorm (who I barely even know of) present to try to discount this. I won't argue with you about the Hulk's regeneration abilities or his strength. It's a given he should at least be on here. But why so many heros just barely above the "normal human" mark? Xavier is/was the most powerful telepath on earth, but he's also a paraphlegic. Why not switch him with Psi-Lord (Franklin Richards), who was shown to have even greater psionic powers, including precognition. And if Superman is there, why not Gladiator? He's basically Superman with different vulnerabilities.

I agree with Yoda's list up from #1-6, then I'd change it up as follows:

7. Magneto

8. Adam Warlock (not sure if he counts here)

9. Gladiator

10. Wolverine

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I agree with Yoda's list up from #1-6, then I'd change it up as follows:

7. Magneto

8. Adam Warlock (not sure if he counts here)

9. Gladiator

10. Wolverine

Wolverine?! HA HA HA!!! He's tough and hard to kill, but not powerful. I love Wolverine fanboys, 'cause they think he should be on every comic book-related list -- much like Nirvana fanboys and musical lists.

Logan might be an awesome character, but there's no way he qualifies as powerful. Strong. Not powerful.

And Psi-Lord/Franklin Richards isn't on there for two reasons:

01. He's currently a child and not a hero.

02. His stint in the Fantastic Four and then Fantastic Force (remember that?) was short-lived.

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What about Flash? No love? The guy can move at lightspeed... I think that'd give him the edge over a lot of heroes... can't hit what you can't see.

Fast does not equal powerful. In truth, however, if the Flash punched you while running at top speed he'd cause a nuclear explosion -- so I guess that is powerful, but DC doesn't write him that way.

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Whoa, but are we going by potential, or by how they're written? Because you rank Wonder Woman over Superman, but DC writes Superman as more powerful. So if you're going by how they're written, Wonder Woman shouldn't be above Superman. I think in terms of potential power, Flash is way up there.

You are right; there was a major flaw in my argument. But I still don't see Flash as being powerful, even if he theoretically can cause a nuclear explosion -- he's just fast.

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