The Marvel Cinematic Universe quickly established its four core Avengers in Phase One. They’re made up of the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and the mighty Asgardian prince, Thor himself. Each of them has taken turns being the strongest and most prominent Avenger of them all.
Thor’s strength comes from being an Asgardian – a superhuman entity who can live for centuries and perform astonishing feats no human is capable of. This includes using the Bifrost to call the hammer Mjolnir into battle. Thor has proven why he should be considered the most powerful Avenger many times, including during his recent exploits in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. He’ll never miss a chance to prove his might.
Spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.
10 When Thor Won A Battle Single-Handedly With The Guardians Watching
In the new movie, Thor: Love and Thunder, the mighty Thor took the center stage as the movie’s single most powerful character several times, including the time he intervened in a fierce battle on an unknown planet. The Guardians of the Galaxy were helping a religious order fight some punkish villains, but it was tough.
Thor took over the fight and single-handedly defeated the enemy force. He even toyed with them by not using the full extent of his powers. True, Thor caused some serious collateral damage along the way, but no other Avenger could have done all that – especially while playing around.
9 When Thor Slew Zeus In Omnipotence City
A handful of gods have already appeared in the MCU, but Thor: Love and Thunder is all about deities and Gorr the God Butcher’s war against them. So, when Thor and his allies arrive in the golden Omnipotence City, they met many gods from across the universe, including the Greek god Zeus himself.
Zeus rejected Thor’s appeal for aid, so the two gods came to blows. At one point, Thor did the impossible and used Zeus’s own trademark lightning bolt weapon against him. Thor gave that bolt a mighty throw and seemingly killed Zeus in one blow – an astonishing feat by any standards.
8 When Thor Helped Eitri Reopen The Nidavellir Forge
In 2018’s The Avengers: Infinity War, Thor and his new allies, Rocket Raccoon and Groot, visited the ring-shaped world of Nidavellir to have a new weapon forged, only to learn Eitri was the only dwarf who remained alive. Thanos massacred all the other dwarves, leaving the forge inoperable.
Thor soon changed all that. He volunteered to physically hold the Nidavellir forge open to admit intense starlight and thus reignite the forge. It was a dangerous job, even for a mighty Asgardian like him, and he nearly died in the process. However, his plan worked, meaning he achieved something no other MCU hero could have.
7 When Thor Massacred Thanos’ Monsters In Wakanda
With Eitri and Groot’s help, Thor made a brand-new weapon named Stormbreaker, which he was eager to put to good use. When he and his squad landed on the war-torn plains of Wakanda, Thor single-handedly turned the battle’s tide with his incredible firepower.
Thor wiped out dozens of Thanos’ monsters with each blow, giving the other Avengers a chance to help turn the tide even more. Thor racked up more kills than Wanda Maximoff or Bruce Banner, and he still wasn’t done. His goal was to confront Thanos.
6 When Thor Landed A Mortal Blow On Thanos With Stormbreaker
Thor returned with vengeance in mind when he arrived in Wakanda. Massacring Thanos’ monster soldiers was just the start. Determined to make Thanos pay the ultimate price for killing Loki earlier in the movie, it didn’t matter if Thanos had all six Infinity Stones on his gaunlet.
While Iron Man struggled to draw a single drop of blood from Thanos, Thor did far more. He threw Stormbreaker and dealt a mortal blow on the Mad Titan. He then pushed the ax’s head even deeper into Thanos’ chest, almost killing him. Of course, Thanos escaped in the end, but this incredible blow proved how immensely powerful Thor is, more so than any other Avenger.
5 When Thor Demolished Loki’s Destroyer In New Mexico
In 2011’s standalone adventure, Thor, the eponymous hero prevailed against some powerful foes other Avengers would have struggled against at the time. One example is the automated armor entity called The Destroyer, an invention of Odin’s that Loki used for his own purposes.
The Destroyer wreaked havoc against the Warriors Three, and without Mjolnir, Thor stood no chance against it. That was when Thor truly became a selfless warrior worthy of wielding Mjolnir. With it, he turned the Destroyers’ power against itself until the Destroyer was no more.
4 When Thor Beat Up The Frost Giants
Another battle in 2011’s Thor pitted the main hero against the sinister Frost Giants. The problem was that Thor didn’t have a good reason to fight the Frost Giants, and he was simply spoiling for a fight. Once King Laufrey provoked him, Thor went wild and began attacking every Frost Giant in sight.
Thor certainly beat up a lot of Frost Giants, which would have been tough for any other Avenger or hero to do, but it wasn’t actually something to be proud of. Thor made a mess of things, and when combined with his bad attitude, resulted in his banishment to Midgard, aka Earth.
3 When Thor Helped Defeat Malekith
Even if 2013’s Thor: The Dark World ranks lowly among MCU movies on IMDb because fans didn’t like it that much, the movie still gave Thor plenty of chances to prove his strength. For example, Thor and his allies were up against the dreaded Dark Elf named Makelith, who was a truly terrifying cosmic threat.
Malekith seemed downright unstoppable, especially with the Aether backing him up. However, Thor used his strength, tenacity, and some portal devices to not just survive Malekith’s onslaught but actually gain the advantage and defeat him. Malekith was ultimately teleported away and crushed.
2 When Thor Fought Gladiator Hulk On Sakaar
In 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, the Asgardian hero Thor was teleported to the remote world of Sakaar, and to his pleasant surprise, met the Incredible Hulk there too. But Gladiator Hulk wasn’t friendly at first, and the two wayward Avengers had to fight one another in the Sakaar arena.
Thor was in for the fight of his life, but he didn’t dare back down. He used all his strength to battle the Hulk, and if it weren’t for the Grandmaster’s interference, Thor would’ve won. Few, if any, other MCU heroes could survive this arena fight, let alone win it. But Thor did.
1 When Thor Temporarily Killed Surtur
In the first scene of Thor: Ragnarok, Thor was bound in chains and suspended from the ceiling in Surtur’s underground realm, but that wasn’t a problem. After teasing Surtur, Thor easily broke free, called Mjolnir, and slaughtered Surtur’s powerful minions. Already, he’s a one-man army no other Avenger can match.
If that weren’t enough, Thor had the power to decapitate Surtur himself and thus temporarily kill him. Thor even attached Surtur’s head to his back and wandered back to Asgard with it as a battle trophy. It’s impossible to imagine Iron Man, Captain America, or Doctor Stephen Strange doing such a thing. This is Thor’s game.