The incredible and vast Marvel comics are filled with some of the most powerful characters ever created, from gods to mutants and more. While the male characters are well-known, there are several powerful female characters that can more than hold their own against the toughest adversaries and heroes out there. Whether heroes or villains, the Marvel comics have provided a tough roster of unbelievably strong women with some of the most amazing abilities and skills.
Here’s our ranking of the top 10 Marvel female characters.
10. The Mighty Thor/Jane Foster
Starting off as a regular human, Jane Foster was a friend and love interest of Thor, spending much time with the god of thunder while he was on Earth. She became The Mighty Thor or Lady Thor after she developed breast cancer and — dying from the disease — took up the hammer Mjölnir.
Wielding the powerful weapon, Jane went on to defeat many villains and protected the 10 realms multiple times as the Mighty Thor. While Foster has also had her turn as Valkyrie, her powers as The Mighty Thor far outweigh the former and include: superhuman strength, speed, flight, dimensional teleportation using the Bifrost, and more when in possession of Mjölnir.
9. The White Queen/Emma Frost
When Emma was a young girl, she forged her way and joined the Hellfire Club as the White Queen, one of the X-Men’s greatest foes for years. Emma eventually changed her antagonistic ways and became a trusted ally of the mutant team, even serving as the headmistress of the Xavier School for some time.
She is an Omega-level telepath and her powers include mind and memory altering, creating and destroying mental shields, mind control, and more. Her secondary mutation grants her a Diamond Form where her entire body is encased in an indestructible diamond material.
8. Rogue/Anna Marie
Anna Marie, popularly known as Rogue, is a young mutant runaway who was adopted by Mystique and Destiny. After years of being unable to control her powers, she turned to Professor X who helped her hone her skills, making her one of the most powerful mutants on the X-Men team. Rogue can absorb the powers, skills, and life force of any person or sentient being she comes in contact with, and utilizes those powers for a limited time, leaving the person incapacitated.
7. Spectrum/Monica Rambeau
Monica was working as a Harbor Patrol lieutenant in New Orleans when she was blasted with a wave of extra-dimensional energy. She sought out help in controlling her new members from Reed Richards and the Avengers and soon became an invaluable member of the team as Spectrum. Monica can transform herself into different forms of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum and can manipulate her appearance, changing her shape and making herself intangible.
6. Crystal/Crystalia Amaquelin
Crystal is an Inhuman and was exposed to the Terrigen mist at a young age. She has worked with both the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, proving to be more powerful than most heroes as she single-handedly defeated the villain The Wizard. She can control the elements of water, air, fire, and Earth at an atomic level, manipulating and controlling anything made up of these elements. Crystal is rarely ever at a disadvantage in a fight, making her one of the most powerful women and heroes in the Marvel universe.
5. Storm/Ororo Munroe
Ororo is not only an Omega-level mutant, but also a descendant of a line of African priestesses, granting her access to powerful magic. Ororo was orphaned at a young age in Cairo, Egypt, and spent many years of her childhood as a pickpocket. She was later recruited by Professor X to join the X-Men and has remained one of the most powerful mutants on Earth, as well as one of the most popular superheroes of all time. Storm has absolute control over all weather elements and can manipulate air pressure, humidity, rain and snow, and more at an atomic level.
4. She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters
Jen Walters is the cousin of the Hulk, Bruce Banner. A blood transfusion from her cousin led to her becoming the She-Hulk, and though she initially rejected her powers — wanting to remain with her day job as a lawyer — she eventually accepted her responsibility as a hero. Jen can retain her intelligent thinking in her Hulk form and has super strength and speed, as well as accelerated healing capabilities. She is essentially unkillable, once taking a missile to the chest and surviving the impact.
3. Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers
Carol Danvers was an Air Force Major who got genetically altered with Kree genes due to a machine failure. She has teamed up with the Avengers, X-men, and Guardians of the Galaxy, protecting the Earth and other planets. Her main powers include energy absorption and manipulation, granting her the ability to shoot photonic blasts. Carol also has superhuman stamina and durability, being able to withstand hits of immense magnitude.
2. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff
Arguably the most powerful wielder of magic in the Marvel universe, Wanda has been both hero and villain as the majestic Scarlet Witch. Born with natural magical abilities, Wanda was disguised as a mutant and adopted by villain Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. She left the Brotherhood for the Avengers after Magneto betrayed her and continued to grapple with her powers, switching between protagonist and antagonist several times.
Wanda can alter reality using chaos magic and uses hexes to create energy blasts, force fields, and even fly. She can manipulate people’s minds, cast illusions, and control the life force and powers of people, making her one of the toughest foes the Avengers have dealt with.
1. Phoenix/Jean Grey
Jean’s telepathic powers were traumatically awakened at a young age when she watched her best friend die. Professor X took her under his wing, but Jean was so powerful even at such a young age that he had to erect a mental shield in her mind to keep out much of her power.
By bonding with the Phoenix force, Jean became the Dark Phoenix and served as an antagonist to her former teammates, the X-Men. Even without the Phoenix force, Jean’s telepathic and telekinetic powers far outweigh those of every other mutant in the universe, which earns her the top spot. She is capable of taking complete control of people’s minds, altering their realities, and even personalities. With the Phoenix force, her already insane powers are heavily magnified, and she can travel through space and time, rendering her almost indestructible.
