Marvel has a long and storied history, stretching all the way back to 1939. Along the way, characters we know and love have taken many different forms, with many different writers and artists leaving their mark on the character. As time goes on, characters are reimagined, rebooted, and rewritten, with new origins, new backstory, or sometimes more of the same.
Marvel: 20 Overpowered Superpowers
All sorts of fantastic superpowers have appeared in both Marvel movies and comics, but some are over-the-top powerful.
Many Marvel superheroes have powers that don’t often make it into new movies, comics, and video games, because they can throw off game balance, fix plot troubles too easily, or even just trivialise conflict, which is no way to tell a story. Here are some Marvel characters and their powers you won't see them use.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Wolverine
His Healing And Claws Often Take The Spotlight
Wolverine, known for his iconic Adamantium claws and ridiculously strong healing factor, is a compelling character without extravagant powers. His long history means there’s always a story to tell, and his close ties with the X-Men make him one of the all-time great comic characters.
But Logan’s powers were not always as simplified as we know them today. He has often had a much wider array of abilities at his disposal, including superhuman senses comparable to those of an animal. He has improved vision, both during the day and at night, and can track people by their scent. He is also extremely resistant to the weather, able to stand freezing temperatures with little issue.
Additionally, it’s likely we’ll even see a reduction of the iconic healing factor in the upcoming Wolverine from Insomniac Games, as it might prove difficult to balance a game where the main character is an unstoppable killing machine.
Hulk's
Hulk Communicates With The Dead Doesn’t Have The Same Ring To It…
Hulk is known for one thing, and that’s turning into a giant rage monster. The Hulk is actually a much more complex character than he’s often given credit for, but movie rights distribution issues mean that Hulk has shied away from the limelight in recent years, not showing the true range of powers he has to offer.
The Hulk’s powers are much more supernatural than many might think. On several occasions, the Hulk has been able to commune with the dead and even see Doctor Strange in his astral form. He also has super breath, much like Superman, and can breathe underwater, though it’s not likely we’ll see Hulk using these abilities anytime soon.
Thor
An Ability That Has (Rightly) Been Forgotten
Thor is one of the most powerful Marvel characters, and as both an Asgardian and a god, he has no shortage of abilities to back up that title. Known to carry his iconic hammer Mjolnir, Thor is usually depicted as having a pretty narrow electricity-based ability set, but earlier iterations of the character gave him much more far-reaching powers.
Marvel: The Most Iconic Female Villains In The Comics
There are dozens of amazing and sinister female Marvel villains that make being evil look awesome. These are best ones.
Everyone knows that Thor can fly by spinning Mjolnir, and “throwing it” in the direction he wants to fly. Thor used to be able to do this to travel in time. Given that this essentially would function as an automatic “we win” button for any heroes, this is not an ability that has made a return since it was written out following Thor’s encounter with Lord Immortus.
Magneto
Magnetic Fields Impact More Than Just Metal
Magneto’s name perfectly illustrates what he can do, which is manipulate metal. Of course, it’s a little more complex than that; what he can really do is manipulate electromagnetic fields. Marvel writers have had no issues finding new and creative ways to utilise this fact, and as a result, Magneto has had powers you may not have even considered possible.
Magneto, like other characters on this list, was at one point able to astral project himself. He was also able to communicate with others telepathically, though these abilities have not been used by Magneto in a very long time. Even with Ian McKellen’s upcoming return to the role in Avengers: Doomsday, it’s unlikely we’ll see any of these Silver Age powers making a return.
Hawkeye
A Mind To Rival Mr. Fantastic
Often depicted without powers, Hawkeye’s abilities (whilst canonically peak human) are just too impressive to attribute to skill. He has an uncanny ability to always hit his mark, and in most versions of the character, it’s treated as exactly that. But, for Hawkeye to pull off his feats of archery, he needs one power…
For Hawkeye to be able to hit all of the shots he does, he would need to be making complex, difficult calculations instantaneously. Now, most iterations of the character never really explore this side of Hawkeye, even though many continuities explain his superhuman marksmanship through some mutation or other power. In the ultimate universe, Hawkeye has hundreds of millions of extra rod cells in his retinas. However, it’s a lot easier to show him as just a really skilled archer, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any of these powers adapted anytime soon.
Mr. Fantastic
A Novel Use Of Mr. Fantastic’s Stretchiness
Mr. Fantastic has just one power, stretching. Of course, this has vast utility, especially when writers are looking for ways to prove how clever Reed Richards is. But his stretchiness has been used in a variety of ways over the decades, including allowing Reed to fully change his appearance, much like that of a shapeshifter.
In one comic, Reed Richards transformed his shape using his stretching ability to disguise himself as another man, living out a normal life with Sue Storm and their child, Franklin. In reality, though, this means less time with Pedro Pascal, or less time reading Reed Richards being his incomparable self in the comics, so it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which this comes up again.
Doorman
This Character Already Had His Heyday
After appearing in the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe TV Show, Wonder Man, it’s not likely we’ll be seeing Doorman, also known as DeMarr Davis, gracing our screens again anytime soon. His story serves as an example of why super-powered individuals are not permitted to work in Hollywood, after tragedy saw Josh Gad disappear into Davis’s hole, never to be seen again.
10 Wonder Man Easter Eggs & Hidden Details MCU Fans Missed
Wonder Man is filled with Easter Eggs and hidden details only the most astute MCU fans will catch on their first watch.
Given the character only exists in the show to explain the pressing nature of the conflict endured by the main character, Wonder Man (Simon Williams), it’s really not likely we’ll be seeing this character grace the screen anytime soon. Meanwhile, DeMarr Davis in the comics possesses extra abilities, including lightspeed flight and darkforce manipulation, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to flex those abilities before being recalled to the West Coast Avengers.
Mantis
Magical Abilities Often Left Unexplored
Mantis, portrayed by Pom Klementieff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is typically depicted with her most common powers, telepathy and empathy. Though some versions give Mantis a few more abilities, it’s not likely we’ll see them any time soon. That being said, a different take on her appears in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, where she possesses one of her lesser-used abilities.
She can astral project, just like Magneto, and can control plants around her, much like Groot can control his own growth. She can also control fire and has powers of precognition. Meanwhile, Mantis in the MCU, and even recently Mantis in Marvel Rivals, has been pared down to a few “core” powers.
Spider-Man
You Don’t Often See Spider-Man Chatting With Spiders
With Spider-Man firmly cemented as one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, it’s surprising to learn that some iterations depict him with powers more suiting his namesake. Spider-Man has been written by so many different writers over the years that it’s hard to keep track of what powers he has had.
In some iterations, he has organic webbing ala Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy, and in others, Peter Parker gains the ability to talk with spiders. In ‘The Other’ storyline that ran from 2005 to 2006, Peter Parker transformed into a web cocoon, gaining new powers, which were later removed in the One More Day storyline. There are some rumours swirling around that the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day will adapt some elements from these storylines, with Peter Parker reportedly donning the web-coccoon.
Killgrave
The Purple Man Would Be Too Strong With This Power
David Tennant portrayed Zebediah Killgrave in the ‘Jessica Jones’ series, and fully brought to life the horrors of pheromonal mind control, though certain attributes from the comics are often omitted with this character, not least because he might be an Avengers-level threat should he be too overpowered.
In the comics, Killgrave is much more durable than in the show, and appropriately, given he was portrayed by the actor most known for playing the time-hopping Time Lord, Killgrave can regenerate. We sadly never see any of this in the show, but here’s hoping that maybe MCU Killgrave does have this power, and we’ve yet to see the last of him.
