Who Is the Strongest Villain in the MCU?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has now been going strong for well over a decade, and while the heroes were the driving force behind it, the villains may have been what stole the show. From Jeff Bridges’ portrayal of Iron Monger to Jake Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of Mysterio, fans have been treated to a wide variety of villains.
With so many villains, however, there can only be one who is stronger than the rest. Fans on Reddit took to debate this.
Who is the strongest villain in the MCU?
Reddit User u/MANAWAKES asked users whether Cate Blanchett’s Hela, who terrorized the characters in Thor: Ragnarok, was the strongest villain inside the MCU. This kicked off a discussion about who could take the throne for the most powerful Marvel villain. Everyone had their own criteria, from comic book sources to only what we see on screen.
Many people chimed in with their insights, but one name ruled supreme over the rest. Hela, Thor’s goddess sister who destroyed Asgard in Ragnarok, was the overwhelming choice after other names were thrown out. Many users gave their reasoning behind it, but few put it better than u/FrameworkisDigimon
“To the first point… Hela was barely temporarily incapacitated by vastly more powerful lightning and we’ve seen Kurse bat Mjolnir around like it was a fly whilst Hela actually caught it, stopped it from flying away and crushed it with one hand.
Thanos probably isn’t even a top-five power level bad guy… he’s behind Kurse, Hela, Dormammu, Ego and Surtur. Of course, you could argue that Surtur’s most powerful form isn’t really a bad guy situation, in which case Thanos should get the benefit of the doubt over Ronan (although I, for one, am sceptical [sic]), Abomination and maybe a couple of others.”
With all of this in mind, it warrants a discussion over whether Hela reigns supreme.
Who is Hela?
Hela is a megalomaniacal goddess daughter of Odin. While Thor and Loki were the only Odin children who were seen through the first decade of the MCU, Hela was the most powerful. While Thor was a force for good and Loki was a force for chaos, Hela is a force of pure evil. As such, she was spent to Hel by Odin, where she remained for many centuries.
Throughout Ragnarok’s runtime, Hela effortlessly disposes of Thor and his famed hammer Mjolnir with ease. Afterward, she assembles an army that is hellbent on retaking Asgard and giving her the ultimate throne after Odin passed away early on in the movie. While Hela is eventually defeated, it takes a monster the size of a planet to plunge a fiery sword into her and destroy her once and for all. This might give her an advantage over the rest, although a few other names still have a shot.
Who comes out on top?
As of now, we haven’t seen too many villains go head-to-head across the many sub-franchises within the MCU. Now, all we have is speculation. While many Reddit users brought up Thanos, he fell under far weaker conditions and did so. Like Kaecilius, other villains had the power of the gods and needed outside help to take on the hero and eventually lose.
Loki falls to Hela quickly and gets defeated by mere mortals every time, while Ego, the planet god played by Kurt Russell, falls when an equal power finally faces him. However, Hela may have fallen like the rest, but it took a massive being that most would crumble other.
While many villains came and went throughout the MCU, none have reigned as supreme as Hela, and for that, she’s a safe vote for the most powerful villain in the franchise.
