An Omega-Level Threat in Marvel Comics is one that has the capacity to destroy or otherwise permanently alter the entire world – and potentially even the entire universe. These are the threats that not even the Avengers are guaranteed to be able to handle on their own, with extreme cases requiring the collaboration of practically every superhero team on the planet to take down.
What’s interesting about these threats is that, most of the time, their threat level remains dormant, or – thankfully – they are usually good-natured. Some of the strongest god-tier characters in Marvel Comics are good guys, who just want to do the right thing. However, that isn’t to say every Omega-Level Threat can be talked down with reasoning and moral reminders alone. Some truly have designs to destroy the world, and the strength to do so. While there are certainly more than just a few handfuls – with more popping up every day – here are 10 characters who are officially Omega-Level Threats in Marvel Comics.
Related
10 Most Brutal 1 vs 1 Fights in Avengers History
The Avengers aren’t known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for no reason, & their reputation extends to those around them. Here’s the 10 best 1v1 fights!
10 Bruce Banner’s Alter Ego, The Hulk, Is The Original Omega-Level Threat
Avengers: The Initiative #5 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli (World War Hulk tie-in)
World War Hulk proved without a shadow of a doubt that the Hulk – a founding Avenger himself – is an Omega-Level Threat. The chaos, death, and destruction he wrought in this crossover comic event alone earned him that designation, but it wasn’t made official until the events of this specific issue, when Henry Gyrich called the Hulk ‘the original Omega-Level Threat’.
Gyrich, like the rest of the world, was working to defeat the Hulk. While he knew that the Hulk was always a danger that needed to be neutralized (as made clear by his assessment of the Hulk’s threat level), it wasn’t until the Hulk nearly destroyed the planet that someone like Gyrich was proven right – that the Hulk is and always was the original Omega-Level Threat in Marvel Comics.
9 The Phoenix Is More Than Just An ‘Omega-Level Threat’, But An ‘Extinction-Level Threat’
Amazing Spider-Man #692 by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos
The original Dark Phoenix Saga made it pretty clear how cosmically dangerous the Phoenix Force truly is, as it not only showed it consuming a sun for mere sustenance, which led to the destruction of an entire solar system, but the comic also revealed that an entire intergalactic government was after the Phoenix Force for the sole purpose of destroying and/or containing it.
However, the official title of ‘Omega-Level Threat’ wasn’t attached to the Phoenix until this Amazing Spider-Man issue, when Reed Richards himself described it as such. There is some debate on the validity of the title, however, especially from Quicksilver, who would instead classify the Phoenix Force as an ‘Extinction-Level Threat’ – though the sentiment remains the same.
8 Doctor Doom Is An Omega-Level Threat Because Of A Multiversal Counterpart
New Avengers Vol. 3 #14 by Jonathan Hickman and Simone Bianchi
Doctor Doom’s strength, brilliance, and resiliency is well-charted in Marvel Comics (even without the universe-bending power of the Beyonders), but he wouldn’t be considered an Omega-Level Threat until the actions of an identical variant from Earth-2319 were observed by the Illuminati of Earth-616. That Doctor Doom was exactly like the original Victor in every way, which is why what he did was so terrifyingly impressive: Doctor Doom killed a Mapmaker.
Mapmakers are beings who travel the multiverse through incursions, stripping worlds of their resources before their ultimate destruction. They were given life by the Beyonders themselves, and held a fraction of their power. But even still, a fully-mortal Doctor Doom managed to kill one, earning this Doctor Doom and every variant like him the title of Omega-Level Threat.
7 Nathaniel Grey Is An Omega-Level Threat – But Not For The Heroes
Dark X-Men #2 by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk
Nate Grey originated in the Age of Apocalypse timeline as the successful creation of the world’s strongest mutant through the use of Cyclops and Jean Grey’s DNA by the mutant geneticist Mister Sinister. When he traveled to Earth-616 following the essential collapse of the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Nate Grey made a name for himself as X-Man, who some considered to be the mutant messiah. Grey even managed to use his near omnipotent powers to create a pocket dimension in which all of mutantkind could exist separate from the real world.
However, he wouldn’t be classified as an Omega-Level Threat until this issue of Dark X-Men, and it wasn’t a hero who designated him this, either – it was a villain. Norman Osborn didn’t like that X-Man was a mutant who wielded god-like power that Osborn, himself, couldn’t control, and when making efforts to neutralize him, Norman accurately described X-Man as an Omega-Level Threat.
6 Franklin Richards In His Prime Is Beyond Omega-Level
History of the Marvel Universe Vol. 2 #3 by Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez
This issue of History of the Marvel Universe described Franklin Richards as a reality-warper who was one of the most powerful beings in the entire universe – and he never failed to prove as much. When Marvel’s heroes went up against Onslaught, Franklin created a pocket dimension that became the Heroes Reborn reality to save them all from certain death – he was five years old. Then, after the events of 2015’s Secret Wars, Franklin uses his powers to help reshape the multiverse.
While it may not have been explicitly stated that Franklin is an Omega-Level Threat, Richards more than proved himself to be beyond Omega-Level throughout his Marvel Comics career.
5 Emma Frost Is A Self-Proclaimed Omega Class Telepath (& She’s Right)
Uncanny X-Men #513 by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson
This Uncanny X-Men issue might be the first time it’s stated that Emma Frost is an Omega Class Telepath (something that’s later confirmed and reinforced in the Krakoan era classifications), and it’s a designation Emma has more than proven true through her many impressive exhibitions of power. Frost can alter minds seamlessly (which she did to world leaders at the start of the Krakoan Age), and she can overcome the mental strength of other Omega-Level mutants like Nate Grey.
Plus, Emma is more skilled at creating Psi-Shields than Professor X himself, and even telepathically defeated Charles in X-Men: Legacy, which only cemented her Omega-Level status.
4 Orka Single-Handedly Created An Omega-Level Emergency
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4 #13 by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli
Orka is an Atlantean whose strength rivals that of Namor the Submariner himself. While not as well known as some of the other Omega-Level Threats in Marvel Comics – and with a fairly laughable costume, to boot – there’s nothing funny about the level of damage Orka can achieve single-handedly.
Orka creates an Omega-Level Emergency during his attack on New York City with a Roxxon oil ship, and even though he was defeated soon afterward, that’s still a pretty incredible feat that not too many supervillains can boast.
3 Augustus Roman AKA Regent Is An Omega-Level Threat Even Captain America Regards
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1 by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert
Regent has the ability to steal the powers of any superhuman and store them in his suit to use whenever he pleases. Regent gained organic steel form from Colossus, optic blasts from Cyclops, and weather manipulation from Storm, just to name a few.
When he made his sinister presence known in this Spider-Man comic, even Captain America couldn’t ignore the danger he posed, specifically calling Regent an Omega-Level Threat.
2 Sentry Is An Omega-Level Threat – Even By Proxy
Sentry Vol. 4 #1 by Jason Loo and Luigi Zagaria
Sentry’s strength is something that almost no one in the Marvel Universe can compete with – even literal gods. Indeed, Sentry once ripped Ares, the God of War, in half with his bare hands, and even fought World-Breaker Hulk to a standstill during World War Hulk. Not only that, but Sentry is so strong that even a mere piece of his essence is enough to make anyone who possesses it an Omega-Level Threat themselves.
After Knull killed Bob Reynolds during the King In Black event, the power of the Sentry somehow passed to another human, imbuing them with the strength of a million exploding suns. In Sentry #1, Misty Knight and Jessica Jones are investigating this ‘new Sentry’, who is immediately classified as an ‘Omega-Level Threat’.
1 The Unspoken Is The Living Embodiment Of Terrigenesis, Making Him An Inhuman God
Mighty Avengers #29 by Dan Slott, Christos N. Gage, and Khoi Pham
The Unspoken has the power to reshape his own mutation with his mind, allowing him to possess any power he can think of. While he is more or less dependent on the Terrigen Mist – as he can’t maintain this god-tier power indefinitely without its assistance – the Unspoken is still absurdly powerful, and incredibly terrifying.
In this issue, he’s classified as an Omega-Level Threat by Quicksilver (for obvious reasons), which forever cemented the Unspoken as just one of these 10 characters who are officially ‘Omega-Level Threats’ in Marvel Comics canon.
