While Hulk may be the strongest Avenger, Thor comes in at a pretty close second, with Stan Lee even saying that creating a hero who was stronger than the strongest human was what inspired them to bring the Norse god out of myth and into comics: “How do you make someone stronger than the strongest person? It finally came to me: Don’t make him human—make him a god.” But there have been a lot of different versions of Thor over the years, with both the god himself and other heroes wielding his name and hammer. While every single one of them has been strong, inevitably some of them will have been stronger than others. Here, according to my own, totally objective (subjective) opinion, are the ten strongest iterations of Thor, from extremely to most strong.
10. Adam Aziz
An ordinary human from Oklahoma, during the period where Asgard rested there on earth, Adam picked up Thor’s hammer when it landed near his mechanic shop. One of those characters designed to show the complexities of real people, Adam is a former violent thief, now a kindly man who fixes up poor people’s cars for free. It’s unclear whether he was actually worthy to wield Mjollner or not as he picked it up during a time when the magic was broken and anyone could wield it. I’m placing him at the bottom of this list because while he presumably had all of Thor’s powers while wielding the hammer, he also didn’t hold it long enough to test it out, just going for a single flight before returning it to Thor.
9. A.I.venger Thor
Constructed by Dr. Pym to say nice things to him, literally “built to give him positive affirmation”, A.I. Thor, like the other A.I.vengers, had advanced technology that replicated the real Thor’s powers to a point. However, as it only took a combination of three different Ant Men to take out the entire A.I.venger team including A.I. Thor, his powers clearly don’t measure up to the other Thors higher up on this list. Still mega-powerful compared to baseline humans of course, but not in the tougher Thors’ leagues.
8. Eric Masterson
Eric Masterson started out as a baseline human working at an architect but got drawn into super business when supervillains attacked his jobsite and his friend and colleague Sigurd turned out to be Thor Odinson in disguise. Despite his lack of powers he still assisted and accompanied Thor on missions and in battling supervillains, something which quickly led to his death in battle. However, Eric had managed to lift Mjollner moments before he passed and so when Thor begged his father to save him Odin merged the two of them, putting them in a position where they shared a body but their consciousnesses still remained separate. Later Odin separated them again to banish Thor but left Eric with Thor’s abilities when he did so. However, according to the official Marvel site, Eric’s abilities don’t quite live up to the original Thor’s in terms of strength and power so he’s only ranking at number eight.
7. Jane Foster (earth-616)
Probably best known as Thor’s scientist girlfriend thanks to the MCU, Jane Foster from earth 616 is a medical doctor with a long-standing on-and-off relationship with Thor. After Thor lost the ability to wield the hammer during the Original Sin event Mjollner chose Jane as his successor, summoning her to the moon where it had been abandoned to take it up. Jane ranks just under Thor Odinson as, during her tenure as Thor, her fighting skills came in just under his while their other abilities come up the same. However, after she gives up the mantle of Thor to become Valkyrie, her fighting skills actually surpass his so depending on how you measure it, she may actually belong above him on this list.
6. Thor Odinson (earth-616)
The original Thor had to be on this list somewhere and he comes in as a solid middle in terms of the most powerful Thors to have held the title. An actual, mythological deity (not aliens like in the MCU), Thor is incredibly old and very powerful. Created to be stronger than any human character ever could be while Thor isn’t the strongest hero around anymore he’s still an extremely powerful hero.
5. Beta Ray Bill
This is going to be a contentious one but because he has defeated Thor in battle before I’m putting Beta Ray Bill one spot ahead of him. Looking like a carnivorous horse person Beta Ray Bill is a Korbinite, a species whose homeworld and various colonies were all destroyed through Asgardian conflict. To make sure their species survived they made an arc fleet, putting everyone into cryo sleep but Bill. Bill was made over into a powerful cybernetic being so he could act as their defender, and when he met Thor in battle was able to knock him out and take the hammer. Odin had the two of them face off in a fight to the death over custody of the hammer, and though Bill won again he refused to kill Thor. Even though it turned out that Odin fixed the second fight to teach Thor lessons in humility Bill still defeated him the first time which gets him the position just above.
4. Thor Odinson (earth-1610)
Ultimates Thor not only has the same base powers as 616 Thor, but those powers are also augmented by a suit that was created as part of that universe’s attempt to recreate the super soldier serum. This version of Thor was living in amnesiac exile under the name Thorlief Golmen on earth, but being involved in the project started giving him his memories back and eventually, Odin restored his powers. After the destruction of the multiverse, he joined God Emperor Doom’s Thor Corps, where he was renamed Thunderer Thorlief but called Ultimate Thor by his corp members because he was the most effective one of them—arresting 13 Hulks in one night.
3. Lila Rhodes (Earth-123111)
The niece of Technopolis’ original Thor, Grand Marshall James Rhodes, Lila has both the War Machine suit and the war Machine suit and the powers of Thor. It was a winning combination and she was able to help Kiri Oshiro take out the Stark brothers, being granted her late uncle’s position of Thor of Technopolis when the Thor Corps came in to clean things up. Adding the War Machine suit to the base Thor powers gives Lila a leg up over the other Thor’s lower down this list, making her a solid number three.
2. Sif (Earth-15513)
Another member of the Thor Corps, Sif brings all her own Asgardian abilities in addition to those of Thor that she gains by joining the Thor Corps and wielding one of the hammers. Sif’s powers take Thor’s powers up several notches, landing her in second place on this list. We don’t really know much about her beyond her service in the Thor Corps, but she’s a loyal and competent member, committed to defending her realm and its people.
1. Aldrif Doomsdottir
An alternate universe version of Thor’s sister Aldrif/Angela, this version of Aldrif is a member of the Thor Corps, giving her all the powers of Thor in addition to those all her own. This combination of powers lands her right at the top of the list, as even without the powers of Thor, Aldriff is a rival for her brother in terms of raw power. It’s unclear if God Emperor Doom is her father or if she’s taken his name as a matter of respect, as an orphan of unknown origins working to protect his realm. Aldriff is currently dead, having been surprised by Hala the Accuser who she thought was dead, but it’s Marvel so whether she’ll stay dead remains to be seen.
(images: Marvel)
