Comics books have brought joy to millions and millions worldwide. Everyone has the personal favorite hero from comics, but they are all puny compared to the guys on here. This list has been a long time in the making. Thousands of characters had to be considered – but ultimately only ten were chosen. Be sure to mention your own favorites in the comments. Oh – and if you like comics and lists relating to them, be sure to check out the Top 10 Significant Moments in Comic History.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: X Factor vol 1. #5 (June 1986)
Origins: Cairo, Egypt
En Sabah Nur is reputed to be the first mutant on earth and also the most powerful. He scores an impressive 39 out of 42 on Marvel’s official powergrid. Apocalypse has control of his body on the atomic level to go along with tremendous energy absorption and energy projecting abilities. His powers are greatly enhanced due to his mastery of alien technology specifically genetics and biochemistry.
Publisher: DC Comics
Origins: Planet Apokolips
First Appearance: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen # 134 (November 1970)
Darkseid is worshipped as an “anti-god”. He is a supreme conqueror who is one of the greatest threats to the DC universe as he seeks to control all living beings. Darkseid is capable of unleashing unimaginable amounts of energy through his “Omega Effect” beam. He is also immortal and has displayed immeasureablee levels of strength, stamina, endurance, and mental abilities.
Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 (May 1985)
Origins: Qward
Very little has been revealed about this character. What is known is that A-M is the embodiment of all the anti-matter in existence. This makes him a threat to the entire omniverse through his near limitless cosmic powers. It has been alluded that his purpose was to eliminate all matter in the omniverse, leaving only anti-matter behind. This would essentially make him “God”. Anti-Monitor has shown the ability to absorb entire universes, manipulate matter and energy on a cosmic scale and transform the very essence of reality.
Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Superman #153 (February 2000)
Origins: Unknown
Imperiex is the DC Comics version of Galactus. A being whose plan was to hasten the end of the universe by collapsing galaxies into super black holes and create a new, perfect universe with the corresponding release of energy. Imperiex wields near omnipotent power derived from the big bang and has been described as an energy being requiring a material shell. It has shown the ability to project immensely powerful energy blasts and exert its will through a near infinite supply of “probes” which are capable of annihilating entire planets.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Iron Man #55 (February 1973)
Origins: Titan (Saturn Moon)
Sure, many a villain threatens to destroy the universe but Thanos is the only one who can actually do it. He possesses immeasurable levels of intelligence, strength, endurance, stamina, and durability. Thanos also has exhibited the ability to manipulate enormous amounts of cosmic energy. An obsession with the female embodiment of death, led him to gain control of the infinity gauntlet, ascending him to godhood. Thanos used his power to destroy half the life in our universe by simply snapping his fingers.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48 (1966)
Origins: Planet Taa (Pre- Big Bang)
The only survivor of the universe that existed before the Big Bang, Galactus consumes entire planets for nourishment. He has displayed god like abilities, including manipulation of molecules on a cosmic scale, conversion of matter to energy and vice versa, teleportation across great distances, erecting impenetrable force fields, etc…, all on levels beyond human comprehension. His intelligence, stamina, and endurance are also beyond any known method of calculation. Galactus is also able to scan the thoughts of virtually any known being.
Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: More Fun Comics # 52 (February 1940)
Origins: Silver City
The Presence is the DC comics version of the Judeo-Christian God. It is the highest being in their very complex religious cosmology which includes a second tier of “gods” such as the New Gods, Greek Gods, Hindu Gods, etc. Although it has been described as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; it has also been mentioned as having appeared at some point after the beginning of reality as we know it. This ambiguity lowers The Presence’s ranking as it is generally credited with the creation of only one universe (DC), thus it may or may not be the original creator.
More specifically: The Brothers, Eternity, Death, Infinity, Lord Chaos, Master Order etc.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Origins: N/A
First Appearance: N/A
They can be considered abstract concepts that have shown the ability to manifest themselves physically in order to reveal themselves or their motives to conscious beings in the omniverse. These entities have at one time or another exhibited “god like” power within their respective realms. It is not clear, however if these entities take action through their own will or if they are controlled by a higher power.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Strange Tales #157 June 1967
Origins: N/A
The Living Tribunal is a virtually omnipotent and omniscient entity whose purpose is to safeguard the omniverse from imbalance. Tribunal is perfectly impartial and has shown the ability to accomplish anything it sets its will to; including the willingness to sacrifice millions to save billions and sacrifice billions to save trillions. There is absolutely no limit to what The Living Tribunal can accomplish in order to maintain balance or eliminate threats. Nevertheless; Tribunal is second to one.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Origins: N/A
First Appearance: Doctor Strange Vol 2, #13 (April 1976)
Creator of all realities in all timelines in every single part of the omniverse. TOAA is essentially “God” and therefore nothing can possibly exist without him. This makes TOAA more powerful than all beings or entities combined. His true identity has been alluded to as being Stan Lee, the legendary comic book creator.
"His true identity has been alluded to as being Stan Lee, the legendary comic book creator."
god that is annoying..and i though the spiderman movies were annoying enough having him appear in them (the first time was amusing, but it got old fast)
It’s a rule, he plays a character in EVERY movie ever made with Marvel because otherwise he will be forgotten
I don't get it, how come Jean isn't here? Isn't the Pheonix supposed to beat everyone ass like in a nanosecond?
yea..where’s Phoenix!
she eats stars just like ole Galactus right?
this list is hogwash first of all darkseid is not immortal and i hate superman but… y couldnt darkseid kill him and y is superman stronger than him but not on the list this makes no sense
In multiple versions, he was immortal. He is many millenia old and was created as one of the “New Gods”
I'm not a big comics fan so maybe I'm way out of line here but…Dr. Manhattan? Superman? Where are they?
These beings, past the first 2, are the GODLIKE ENTITIES. They are so powerful that no superhero or villain is even comparable, because they can do things like instantaneously alter the entire universe
I see your point but look at Dr. Manhatten, he IS godlike, he IS everything. He can control time and space itself. Create life as easy as he can destroy it. I’m honestly suprised he isn’t on this list.
I am not a comic book reader, but it was interesting nonetheless. How do the traditional heroes like Superman even manage to defeat these characters. some of them must be villains.
The upper ones aren’t heroes or villains, they are the Gods of the universe. SO they don’t take sides
How about Mephisto? He is one of my favorite comic bad guys ever yo. Dude is a demon….effin sik
Sure he is a demon but the Richards kid was able to obliterate him with a simple (but heartfelt) “Bad man GO AWAY”
why did TOAA create these other evil bastards in the first place?
He created the celestials, and all the lower gods, who got bored
I prefer Joker or Kingpin or Green Goblin as villains. The ones on this list are not believable; cannot relate to them. However, Magneto I can understand why he is the way he is.
Most of them aren’t superheroes or villains, they are GODS. They’re not supposed to be believable
Bah- the "Endless" of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" graphic novel could pwn everyone in the list- without even batting an eyelid >:)
Yea you’re right.
The only one I've heard of is Galacticus, through having accidently stumbled on Fantastic Four II on tv recently.
Are these good guys or bad guys? If they are bad guys, then how come the sort-of human super-heroes can defeat them?
4 and above are neutral gods. Those below them, some of them are quite often at the other end of the universe, or in a different one all together. They don’t really fight heroes that much
i've only heard of 2 of them. but i don't read any DC comics and not many marvel ones.
way to keep it with only the big 2 companies.
–So wht are you replying??!
Don't know where he'd fit in among these 10, but Cosmic Spiderman was pretty powerful and badass.
He’d beat Apocalypse, but not really anyone else. If you want a list of superHEROS that doesn’t include character’s who are on level with the celestials or close to them, then go here- http://www.old-wizard.com/top-10-most-powerful-superheroes-of-all-time/comment-page-91#comment-228439
Also suprised the Beyonder isn't on there, He's Marvel, he's behind the Secret Wars, and Is another universe, displayed omni presence and omnipotency, and could definitely take Darkseid, thanos or Apocalypse [to quote bennett from Commando] "in the blink of an Eye"
Also notable exceptions, the Spectre (post crisis) and Onslaught, when he had reed richards son and X man's powers as well as his own.
They could also hit somewhere between place 8 and 10
Onslaught is not as powerful as any of the people on this list he is listed as a 12 on the superhero database where all of them are above 13
I totally agree, Beyonder needs to be here, and those other guys should definitely shove the last 2 off. But in this, it’s talking about Thanos when he had the Infinity Gauntlet and the powers of Death herself, so it would be hard for Beyonder to destroy him; before the gauntlet, he might have made it at the end, definitely better than Apocalypse.
Why are these all villians? it says comic book CHARACTERS. They shoul have the Phoenix from X-Men, she owns all.
Okay, people need to get off the Pheonix fetish. Yes, she IS undeniably badass, but after Darkseid, she stands a chance against NOBODY on this list. She may be one of the most powerful (if not THE most powerful) MUTANTS, but these guys are far too powerful. I love X-men too, but she just isn’t enough.
Apocalypse no 10?! He should be no 3, or 1! He`s beaten all the X-men at once, has survived being impaled, one on one fighting, he`s nigh on unbeatable, can control every molecule in his body, he throttled the Hulk, he can`t die, he "hibernates," he has advanced technology, you can go on and on. And Darkseid?! Doomsday, nearly killed him, with a few punches. And where`s the Juggernaut, Absorbing Man, The Abomination and Optimus Prime and Megatron out of Transformers? Speaking of which, Unicron could defeat Galactus, easily.
dude you are thinking way to much oh and yea if you go to the superhero database it lists apocalypse as graded as a 13 where in darseid is a 16 galactus a 21.juggernat a 7 and hulk has deaftead the abomination many times where in the one above all is the creator of all times and realities
Okay, 4 and above can’t be defeated, PERIOD! They are Gods, and can alter the WHOLE *****ING UNIVERSE so I don’t understand why people keep claiming that a character like Apocalypse should be number 1. This is NOT a list of heros, this is NOT a list of villains, this is a list of CHARACTERS, some of whom are ethereal and completely immortal, impregnable SUPER ENTITIES!
i really thought tribunal would be 1
seee what im not understanding is where jon osterman/ dr manhattan on the list, then again i suppose he is the most powerful "realistic" super guy
speaking of number 1
Somehow I am not surprised that Casper didn’t make the list.
I though tribunal would be 1 also
i hate comics
Surprised Kitty Pryde of The X-Men didn’t make the list.
(What the hell did she do?!?!?)
Also, The Riddler and Ant-Man.
for how awesome ‘the presence’ looks damn lame, give it some horns
love this list!!!!
btw, anyone from The Philippines who you know selling a Thanos and Death action figures? thanks!
i think richard reeds son has a cool power
Not bad, but definitely better than the NFL one.
This makes me want to look up and see how our superheroes defeat these invincible villains, I’m assuming some are villains.
@simpsons – I think his daughter, Valeire, has awesome power too… both of his children are considered to Omega-level mutants…
that dr manhatten guy from watchmen didnt just control atoms on a molecular level, he was able to make life. is that not a neat trick?
What about the Beyonder?
Really interesting list – and nice to see characters from both DC and Marvel being equally considered. Was kinda expecting to see one of the Endless from Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’ series though…
i know death is supposed to be the most powerful being in the universe and anti-monitor is ranked as only a 13 on superhero database wehre indarkseid is a 16 how the hell did he rank anti-monitor before him
WHERE. THE. *****. IS GARFIELD?
I am pleased to be at Number 5 and I have no qualms with those ahead of me.
However, there is this being known as the Protege, a cosmic entity in the Marvel Universe. She may deserve to be at No. 3 or even No. 2, as he(she??) is the only known being to have defeated the Living Tribunal in actual combat (Thanos also managed to defeat the Living Tribunal, but needed the aid of the powerful Heart of the Universe to do so).
Thus Galactus now departs from Listverse and goes on to other worlds.
who cares about the Protege the protege was the leader of the church of truth who claimed to be the new one above all but in truth was not the new one above all just a claim the one above all is the ultimate power
“Here I come to save the day!!!” Mighty Mouse
you always talk about american comics…wat about indian comics?? where is Nagaraj and Super Commondo Dhruv??
Too bad these guys are all pretty boring.
Honorable mention should go to that pedophile monstrosity that defeated The Authority (and has 45762 super powers). I can’t remember his name, though.
11. Ryan Howard – anybody that saw the game last night knows what im talkin about
@max (26): I don’t know – you obviously haven’t sent in your list submission of Indian comics or it might have appeared here.
What about the Flash ?!?!? Seriously – he can run really fast! Of course, he CAN be defeated by a curb…. You know what? Never mind ….
actually the flash can run so fast he can walk through walls
I find it funny that, besides being omnipotent, they all find time to visite the gym…
Nice list, but you are missing Dr. Manhattan.
Dr. Manhattan anybody?
Are these characters from Hentai? haha.What about mickey mouse?
Hey JFrater. You forgot to mention me as the contributor. : )
Correction. I believe that picture for number 1 is of “One above all” who is one of the celestials. He is different from “THE One Above All” whom I placed as number one on this list.
Don’t get me wrong though, fantastic well thought out list. one of the best of these type as a lot of these guys have very subjective powers.
What about The Beyonder, Silver Surfer and the “Brothers” from DC vs Marvel?
I agree with you Corinthian. They are the beginning and the end. They own all of them!
And TOAA can take any form he choses.
He took the form of a homeless man who consoled Peter Parker (Spider-Man) when his Aunt May was close to death.
the only way you would know that is if you were more powerful than TOAA!!!
Astraya [35], 10-6 are all bad guys, 5-1 are all too powerful to be classed as a bad guy, most of them have motives ‘beyond that of normal minds’ or some such hokum.
10-6 are generally beaten by a gangup of the good guys pounding on ‘em
5-1 are generally seen as badguys at the start, beaten on by a gang-up of the good guys, who loses the fight, then get talked around to not blowing up the earth/galaxy/universe/all reality, by someone else, who proves that there is an alterante option
This list is Ok. But when you start talking about “God Like” powers then most of the above all fall into the same bucket. I agree with some previous posters that the Beyonder should be on here if you’re including the real big shots.
Marvel also had a character that was a good guy with control over matter/anti-matter. I don’t remember his name but he dressed and looked like the classic version of Jesus Christ.
The AQUARIAN. i think…
What about V? From V for Vendetta, he may not be traditionally powerful with super powers etc., but he certainly has power enough to be included on this list.
Stan Lee appears in all the marvel movies that I know about. Playing Stan Lee not getting into the wedding in the Rise of the Silver Surfer was funny. Sure it is egotistical, but then he is Stan lee, he has contributed so much to Marvel, so I guess he has earned the privalidge to call himself a God in a comic at least. I had been hoping Dr Manhatten would be mentioned. After all he shares so many of the atributes atributed to the others mentione and had begun his journey to Godhood at the end of Watchmen.
AWESOMELY ENJOYABLE LIST!!! But… could you make it a top twenty… or even thirty? Love this sort of stuff.
If these people are so super bad ass, how come they all wear the same sort of costume?
Come on, if you saw someone with spandex tights, WWF trunks and/or some sort of helmet in real life you’d probably cross the street so that you wouldn’t have to make eye contact. The Presence’s tights even look a little saggy, and he has a hat on that makes him look like the grape guy in a Fruit of the Loom commercial, how dangerous can that dude really be? Secondly, it looks like these guys really spend a lot of time in the gym, pumping the iron and shooting the juice. Their body has to break down sometime with all that roid concoction swirling around their system, immortal or not.
And why do all the badasses have to have the same pose? Arms crossed and the angry Dad look slapped on their puss? At least the Joker had that bat ***** crazy look on his face. He went around town kidnapping and killing people, that’s something to be afraid of, and our superhero can do something about that. These guys want to destroy the Universe. ‘Scuse me, but you’re in the Universe, if you destroy it, won’t you destroy yourself? And even if you manage to survive sweeping away all that is, what the hell are you going to do next, sit quietly by yourself for the rest of eternity? That’s just sad man! No more witty banter when you’re fighting, no more superhero babes to kidnap to force our champion into action, and no place to purchase your tights. Just you floating in the ether void for a very long time.
I think I’ve convinced you to calm down and perhaps try bringing a little joy to your world.
first off all the people who want to destroy the universe also want to recreat it
CHUCK NORRIS IS #1!!!!
He could kick the crap out of all these other losers combined!!!!
are they all villains, if yes, how were they defeated,
if no, how did the comic book editor manage to put a twist if the hero was virtually unbeatable and stuff?
Also surprised not to see the Beyonder.
Mr. M would be a good one to add, if you've read x-men: the 198, he's *****ing awesome!
No Goku???? FAIL!
(mangas are comics too….)
@Max(26):
“you always talk about american comics…wat about indian comics?? where is Nagaraj and Super Commondo Dhruv??”
No one gives a damn about Indian comics coz their international market reception is nearly zilch..