10 Most Impressive Marvel Superpowers The MCU Heroes Never Used

The heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are undeniably powerful, but even their strongest showings pale in comparison to their comics counterparts. The Avengers roster and affiliated heroes in the MCU timeline have had their backs to the wall time and time again, most recently having to pull out every stop in their superpowered arsenals to defeat Thanos in the Earth-shattering Infinity Saga. However, the comic incarnations of the MCU’s most iconic heroes still have a lot left in the tank compared to their live-action depictions, holding back some devastating powers that never made it to film.

There are many justifiable reasons why the Marvel Cinematic Universe would want to hold back on depicting some of their characters’ most overpowered abilities from the comics. For one, the suspension of disbelief for Marvel’s live-action movies will always be a tighter balancing act than the lassez-faire world of the comics, in which entirely new power systems and upgrades can be accepted without too much hesitation. But more importantly, the MCU needs to more carefully balance the strength of its major players, ensuring the audience never feels like victory is too easily assured.

10
Thor’s Warrior Madness

The Asgardian God has a berserker state worthy of his Viking heritage.

One of the most versatile and well-rounded Marvel heroes, Thor is a Swiss Army Knife of new abilities in the comics, not the least significant of which being his Warrior’s Madness. More of a curse than a blessing, The Warrior’s Madness grants Thor a dramatic increase in his physical strength, stamina, and speed, turning him into an absolute demon on the battlefield. The downside of the ability is the insatiable bloodlust that comes in tandem with it, making it difficult to distinguish friend from foe in the heated violence of the affliction.

9
The Soul Stone’s Resurrection Abilities

The comic counterpart of the yellow Infinity Stone has far greater potential.

Despite the stones’ most impressive displays of power in the MCU ranking among the more amazing feats in the franchise, the Soul Stone has always been regarded as the weakest Infinity Stone. More of a quest for the seeker of the stones to go on than a reward in its own right, the Soul Stone is mostly responsible for permanently killing beloved Marvel characters. Meanwhile, the Soul Stone of the source material is capable of incredible feats of resurrection, bringing back slain souls stored within its “Soul World” and even creating entire planets worth of flora and fauna.

8
Star-Lord’s Element Gun

Peter Quill’s blasters do so much more than basic energy bolts.

Star-Lord’s iconic blasters in the MCU are a signature, if not particularly powerful, piece of equipment used by the character throughout his tenure in the franchise. While the MCU’s version of the weapons hold more emotional significance as a gift from Yondu, in the comics, Peter’s original gun is capable of wielding the very elements themselves, harnessing the power of water, earth, fire and air to various effects. Quill was capable of combining these elemental affinities to produce all sorts of potent combinations, eventually modifying the gun and even building a matching second pistol.

7
Ant-Man And Vision’s Deadly Displacement

Two of the MCU’s most peaceful heroes harbor a brutal power.

Around the release of Avengers: Endgame, fans jokingly speculated how Ant-Man could single-handedly slay the Mad Titan by entering his body at a microscopic scale before re-forming to his normal size, instantly killing Thanos by displacing his mass. This was an actual ability Ant-Man was capable of in the comics, albeit not used as much by Scott Lang, but The Punisher once he got his hands on Pym’s technology. Vision could also achieve a similar effect by phasing into an opponent and materializing again. Vision or Ant-Man could use this instant kill on Kang in the near future.

6
Quicksilver’s Time Travel

Marvel’s silver speedster could channel DC’s The Flash

While running fast enough to circumvent the very forces of time itself is more of a phenomenon associated with DC’s famous scarlet speedster, The Flash, Quicksilver was capable of a similar feat in certain Marvel Comics. Once his powers were removed by Scarlet Witch’s meddling reality-erasure, Pietro Maximoff gained back his speed and then some by using the Inhumans’ Terrigen Mist. With the new unfathomable speed granted to him by this power source, Quicksilver could outrun time itself and travel into the future, even duplicating himself into multiple temporal clones.

5
Hulk’s Ability To See The Astral Plane

The Hulk is far more than mere brute strength.

Of all the MCU’s heroes, The Hulk is perhaps the most nerfed in his on-screen depiction compared to the comics, going from a world-ending threat to Thanos’ punching bag. More than just a super-strong brute, The Hulk’s powers in the comics even extend to the meta-physical, being able to innately see and interact with extra-planar beings like ghosts or astral projections. The MCU missed a ripe opportunity to have a seemingly dead version of Doctor Strange communicate with the Hulk after being killed in Avengers: Infinity War using this power, an interesting interaction the power could’ve facilitated.

4
Thor’s Earth Control

Controlling thunder and lightning isn’t enough for the comics’ Thor.

As if having godly domain over the very forces of the atmosphere itself wasn’t enough, in the comics, Thor is able to expand his repertoire to the ground as well. Accepting his heritage as an Elder God, Thor ends up becoming one of the all-time strongest Marvel heroes ever, adding geokinesis and seismic earthquake control to his incredible suite of powers. Thor’s ability to work with rock and stone in the comics was strong enough to create a new foundation for Asgard after its destruction, something Chris Hemsworth’s Thor could only dream of.

3
Black Panther’s Necromancy

From King of Wakanda to King of the Deceased

Compared to most historical powers the MCU has missed out on, Black Panther’s newfound abilities as the “King of the Deceased” is a more recent development. Thanks to the panther goddess Baast, T’Challa in the comics gained the ability to raise and control the dead with his willpower alone, commanding entire armies of zombified soldiers. As cool as it would be to see in live-action, this particular power is likely to forever remain another of Black Panther’s powers from the comics the MCU could never include.

2
Falcon’s Avian Telepathy

The Sam Wilson of the source material has legitimate powers.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam Wilson is just one of many superheroes whose strengths come from the ability to effectively pilot or wield rare technology, having no inherent powers of his own. However, the Falcon from the original comics lived up to his name far more literally, with a telepathic link to his pet bird, Redwing, thanks to Red Skull’s use of the Cosmic Cube. Not only that, but Falcon later admits he can expand this telepathic network to include any avian creature, increasing his network of scouts to an impressive degree.

1
Iron Man’s Technopathy

The MCU’s Iron Man is close, but not a true technopath.

There’s no debate that Iron Man is one of the smartest characters in the MCU, creating technology light-years ahead of the majority of the planet. As impressive as his thought-controlled nanotech is, Tony Stark in the source material was able to take his affinity for technology one step further. By injecting himself with nanomachines, Iron Man managed to grant himself complete control over nearby electronics with the touch of a hand. It’s a shame the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s flagship character never got to reach the same heights as his comic counterpart.