Marvel Comics introduces hundreds of new characters every year as writers embrace and expand the growing lexicon of powers available within the Marvel Universe. However, in the previous decade alone, writers such as Al Ewing, Dan Slott, and Donny Cates have introduced multiple new characters that have completely redefined Marvel’s power scaling. Most of the strongest additions have specifically served to define Marvel’s greater cosmology.
From eldritch gods to cosmic embodiments of concepts to lone mortals destined for terrifying greatness, the days of men in metal suits are long gone. In its place, magic reigns supreme and the actively present primordial powers of the multiverse make old threats like Thanos pale in comparison. While the previous ten years have introduced so many notably powerful heroes and villains, here are the fifteen most powerful Marvel characters introduced in the last decade.
15 The One Above All & The One Below All
Debuted in Fantastic Four #511 by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo; Also Debuted in Immortal Hulk #4 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett
Marvel has a deep and complicated cosmology of eldritch gods and cosmic embodiments. However, no deity reigns higher than the One Above All and the One Below All. While the two beings operate somewhat independently, they are technically one god.
When the One Above All first debuted, it took on the form of Jack Kirby!
The One Above All represents creation itself and, more specifically, the actual writers who create the comics. However, the opposite of creation is destruction. The One Below All is the cosmic balance to the One Above All’s endless cycle of creation, embodying elements of chaos and collapse. Revealed in Al Ewing and Joe Bennet’s Immortal Hulk series, the One Below All is the cosmic power source whose energy fuels gamma-beings like the Hulk and the Leader.
14 The Lost One
Debuted in All-Out Avengers #4 by Derek Landy and Greg Land
Before the Marvel Multiverse existed a singular cosmically aware universe called the First Firmament or the First Cosmos. Within the First Cosmos, its creations, the Celestials, created their own sentient creation, Cal-Horra aka “The Lost One.” Imbued with the raw cosmic power of creation, gifted from the first hands made by the first universe, the Lost One is an unfathomably formidable being who holds the power to create and destroy as simply as a human being breathes.
Marvel has recently introduced many of its heroes to levels of power beyond mortal comprehension, but this cosmic pseudo-villain is part of the catalyst that has slowly bridged the gap between the mortal heroes and the primordial powers behind existence itself. Amid the Avengers’ war with the Beyonders, the Lost One devastated the heroes’ sense of reality after simultaneously obliterating every major cosmic entity across all realities, including the likes of Eternity and Infinity. Fortunately for the Avengers and the multiverse, the Lost One’s only true enemy is its own creations, the Beyonders.
13 Enigma
Fully Debuted in Rise of Powers of X #1 by Kieron Gillen and R.B. Silva
Enigma is the ultimate embodiment of the evolution of intellectual organic life. Long before the pseudo-god’s birth, it was once the machine-hating mad scientist Nathaniel Essex. Essex is a human supremacist who has spent his entire life, and near-infinite lives after, building a master plan to create a cosmic being that would supposedly control the fate of humanity and protect the species from a future of machine domination.
Comprised of Essex’s four clone selves, Mister Sinister, Doctor Stasis, Mother Righteous, and Orbis Stellaris, Enigma is the combination of these four versions of Nathaniel Essex who dedicated themselves to one form of intellectual mastery each; Mutant DNA, Superhuman Science, Magical Mastery, and Spacefaring Domination. As Enigma, Essex easily overpowers most cosmic beings and was the driving force behind the creation of Orchis, the organization behind the collapse of Krakoa. At the height of its power, Enigma’s metaphysical crown could be seen across the previous iterations of the Multiverse.
12 Knull
Fully Debuted in Venom #3 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman
The eldritch god of the Multiverse’s primordial void and the father of all symbiotes, Knull, aka the King in Black, is the ultimate embodiment of decay and destruction. Like Galactus, Knull existed in Marvel’s previous Cosmos but had been reborn alongside the Cosmos into a multiversal-level deity. As the god of the Abyss, Knull’s only goal is to see the Multiverse cast back into the infinite void and to have the light of the Celestials snuffed out for good.
Of course, Knull is most well-known for having created the symbiote species that Venom and Carnage both belong to. Through the symbiotes, Knull has immediate access to any place and time across the multiverse where one of his creations exists. Due to this, the Klyntar Demiurge possesses cosmic-level awareness and, ironically, the ability to create and manipulate life at will.
11 Moridun / Omnimax
Debuted in New Avengers #2 by Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval
The first Sorcerer Supreme and the first Devourer of Worlds, Moridun originally existed in the Fifth Cosmos before surviving the death of his multiverse and being subsequently reborn into each following one. During his reign as the Sorcerer Supreme of the Fifth Cosmos, Moridun was essentially the mortal embodiment of the Multiverse’s first primordial magic. When the cosmic cycle came to end the Fifth Cosmos and give birth to the Sixth, Moridun survived the change and was reborn as Omnimax, the Devourer of Worlds.
Like Galactus, originally a resident of the Sixth Cosmos, Omnimax wandered the Cosmos, endlessly trying to satiate his infinite hunger. Currently, Moridun resides within the current Eighth Cosmos after the Maker pulled the spirit of his original form into the modern time. Now reveling in the potency of magic that has developed since his first reality, Moridun keeps an obsessively close eye on the Scarlet Witch and Wiccan to hopefully possess and consume their immeasurable magical powers.
10 Maystorm
Debuted in Ultimate Universe #1 by Peach Momoko
Mei Igarashi is a mutant and a resident of the new Ultimate Marvel Universe. Only having recently developed her mutant abilities, Maystorm’s powers are nearly identical to those of Ororo Munroe’s, the mutant hero known as Wind-Rider in her reality. Capable of controlling the weather at will, Mei has already demonstrated a quick grasp of her powers.
While she is still young and undertrained, as with most of Earth-1610’s new surge of heroes, if Mei possesses even an inkling of power to that of Earth-616’s Storm, then she will surely become a force to be reckoned with for the Maker or any other of Ultimate Marvel’s twisted villains. The young mutant has already been called into a battle of cosmic proportions to assist the Phoenix’s astral battle against Enigma. She may be untrained, but she is brimming with the powers of a goddess.
9 Griever at the End of All Things
Debuted in Fantastic Four #2 by Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli
A recently developed cosmic devil, the Griever at the End of All Things is the ultimate embodiment of entropy and decay and serves as the destructive counterpart to the Queen of Nevers, the physical embodiment of the Fourth Cosmos. As opposed to the Queen of Nevers’ dominion over infinite possibility, the Griever represents a singular end. While she is certainly portrayed as a villain, the Griever is more of an inevitability.
When the Eighth Cosmos eventually falls and the Ninth is next to be born, the Griever will be there to watch reality die and to grieve every being and story that was and no longer can be. In addition to her own powers, the Griever controls a horde of endlessly hungry cosmic demons called Endlings, a counterbalance to the Queen of Nevers’ nexus beings. Much like Eternity, the Living Tribunal, or Death, the Griever is an “abstract entity,” meaning that she can never truly die because she doesn’t possess any tangible physical form, instead existing as a living concept.
8 Meridius
Fully Debuted in Venom #1 by Al Ewing, Ram V, & Bryan Hitch
Meridius is a temporal eventuality and the inevitable future form of Eddie Brock before transcending into the Eventuality. Fearful of losing his sense of self to become the Eventuality, Meridius maliciously broke free from his destined timeline to stake his claim as an independent entity and the ultimate King in Black. Like Knull, Meridius has near-perfect control over every symbiote across space, time, and the multiverse.
However, Meridius’s understanding of the infinite multiversal nature of his power far transcends anything Knull had been capable of before. The defiant King in Black excels at understanding time and the enigmatic nature of the multiverse, easily traversing the two as a mortal can walk forward and back on the ground. What makes this temporal offshoot of Eddie Brock truly dangerous is his manipulative and vindictive personality; he holds a grudge against almost everybody and is willing to do whatever is needed to break free from his destiny.
7 Anti-All and the Lifebringer One
Debuted in Defenders #4 by Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez
The Lifebringer One and the Anti-All are simple cosmic entities that were created within the Third Cosmos, which introduced the concept of “narrative” to existence. The Lifebringer One is the embodiment of life, order, and creation, whereas its cosmic counterpart embodies non-existence, chaos, and destruction. While the pair’s conceptual primordial forms “died” alongside the Third Cosmos, their essences have been reborn within each subsequent Multiverse that has followed.
Currently, the Anti-All is now the power behind the Kings in Black and the infinite cosmic void they draw power from. Concurrently, writer Al Ewing has teased that the Lifebringer One may exist as the cosmic wellspring that empowers the Sentry. As with many of the Multiverse’s cosmic entities, the Anti-All and the Lifebringer One will always remain in some capacity throughout each iteration of the Multiverse.
6 Neith
Debuted in Edge of the Spider-Verse #2 by Dan Slott and Paco Medina
Before genetically engineered spiders turn fifteen-year-olds into superheroes, there was the Spider-Verse. Before the multiversal organization that gathers those infinite variants of spider-themed people, there was the Web of Destiny. Before the Great Web which ties all of those instances and lives together, there exists Neith.
Neith is the Goddess of Spiders, the creator of the Great Web, and the mother of the Multiverse’s Spider-Totems. Neith was charged with organizing the eventuality of the multiverse, carefully building the web that connects all possibilities to a defined form of reality. Despite her divine brilliance, Neith is also a child whose negligence in maintaining her creation led to the multiple Spider-Verse events that almost saw the destruction of the Multiverse itself.
5 Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider
Debuted in All-New Ghost Rider #1 by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore
Originally a young man who struggled to work while raising his younger brother, Robbie Reyes was transformed into a Ghost Rider after he was shot and killed, caught in the crossfire of a drug-related gang war. After being imbued with the spirit of his deceased satanic serial killer uncle, Reyes was revived as a Spirit of Vengeance and has gone on to become one of the Avengers’ most important modern members. Like all Ghost Riders, Robbie possesses a near-infinite wellspring of divine power that is only held back by the young Ghost Rider’s will.
Recently, during the Omni-Avengers’ war with the First Firmament, Robbie’s powers evolved in the cosmic battleground, transforming him into the All-Rider. As the All-Rider, Robbie can impart his Ghost Rider powers to any object just as Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch do to their motorcycles. Using this newly gained cosmic ability, Robbie “rode” Doom the Living Planet into the God Quarry, trapping both him and the First Firmament from returning to the Multiverse.
4 Dylan Brock
Debuted in Venom #7 by Donny Cates and Iban Coello
Dylan Brock is the hybrid child of Eddie Brock, Anne Weying, and Venom. Due to both of his parents having been closely bonded with the Venom symbiote, which left a portion of its DNA Codex within each parent, Dylan was born with a direct connection to the Symbiote Hive. Dylan Brock is essentially a mortal embodiment of the Symbiote Hive and, given enough time and training, is destined to become a King in Black unlike Knull or Eddie Brock could fully achieve.
In Earth-1051, this variant, and potential future version, of Dylan fell under the sway of Knull. Driven against his father, Dylan was transformed into a violent totalitarian demi-god called Codex. While Earth-616 Dylan Brock hasn’t fallen that far yet, he has assumed his Codex form a few times and is currently leading a war against his father, the current reigning King in Black.
3 The-Powers-That-Be
Fully Debuted in G.O.D.S. #8 by Jonathan Hickman and Valeria Schiti
Another of Marvel’s many “abstract entities,” The-Powers-That-Be is the cosmic embodiment of magic and weirdness. Opposed to The-Natural Order-of-Things, the embodiment of science, The-Powers-That-Be possess similar qualities to Scarlet Witches and whose powers are similar to chaos magic. This abstract cosmic entity is possibility and potential, only held back by an armistice agreement with its other half.
Currently, The-Powers-That-Be’s powers exist in its Avatar, Reddwyn. Due to the primordial and undefined nature of his goddess’s powers, Reddwyn has complete mastery over all forms of magic and has stood as an equal, if not better, to Doctor Strange. The-Powers-That-Be are an unpredictable force of chaotic potential who exists through thoughtless expression without the constraints of rules and structure. While this cosmic entity is still relatively new to the comics, it does sit at the same level of power as the other principal abstracts such as the Living Tribunal and Eternity.
2 Cosmic Ghost Rider
Debuted in Thanos #13 by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw
Originally debuting is a somewhat comedic “What If” concept, the Cosmic Ghost Rider gained quick notoriety as a seriously powerful and seriously terrifying force of cosmic vengeance. In his original reality, Frank Castle is both a Ghost Rider and a Herald of Galactus, giving the ruthless killer mastery over the Spirit of Vengeance and the Power Cosmic. An immortal with the ability to possess hundreds of souls at once and cremate sinners with his Cosmic Penance Stare, the Cosmic Ghost Rider patrols the universe on his interstellar Hell Cycle, looking to deal vengeance to the sinful souls of the stars.
Beyond his cosmic powers, Frank is most known for having unintentionally inspired Thanos’s bloodlust as a baby. Originally sent back in time to kill baby Thanos, Frank instead raised the Mad Titan as his own, thus creating a perverted future reality of authoritarian control under Thanos and Frank’s names. To correct his wrongdoings, Frank returned baby Thanos to his crib, but Death had made it clear that by doing so, Thanos had been changed for the worse.
1 Wiccan
Debuted in Avengers #1 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
The spiritual child of the Scarlet Witch and Vision, Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan, is destined to become the godly embodiment of life on Earth, the Demiurge. Like the Scarlet Witch and the Primordial Demiurge before him, Wiccan’s primary power comes in the form of reality manipulation. To Wiccan, what is reality is what he chooses to let it be.
However, as of now, Billy is still young and still training, yet painfully aware of the destiny that is before him. Even so, Wiccan does have access to his Demiurge powers, amplifying his natural magical abilities to limitless proportions, allowing him to manipulate the laws of reality on a multiversal level scale. The only major drawback to his immeasurable power is that Wiccan’s spells can only work if he can hear them, otherwise he is practically powerless.
