Marvel Producer Explains Which Current Avengers Could Take Down The Eternals
Long before Hulk smashed buildings and Thor wielded a magical hammer, the Eternals arrived on Earth as humanity's first superheroes. In less than a month, we'll not only get a glimpse at their origins but all they've done for the planet with their great and ancient power. So with that revelation looming on the horizon, the people need to know: who among them is the most powerful?
It's hard to get any straight answers about what the Eternals are actually capable of — the comics give us quite a few hints, but the movie specifics are hidden behind a million NDAs. Luckily, "Eternals" producer Nate Moore offered just a little hint at the power they wield.
Which Eternal Would Win In A Fight?
Source materials tell us the Celestial-created race are immortal beings, capable of wielding cosmic energy in a number of different ways. They come fit with their own specialities, like Sersi's (Gemma Chan) ability to change matter or Makkari's (Lauren Ridloff) super speed. When it comes down to it, the wide variety of their skills make them difficult to compare. In terms of the power hierarchy, Moore said:
"We don't necessarily have a ranking system. We do think they sort of occupy their own pocket, and I do think down the line, if and when they were to intersect with other characters, that's a fun thing to sort of investigate."
Moore made special mention of Angelina Jolie's Thena, who uses cosmic energy to manifest weapons. It's a pretty solid power and makes for plenty of CGI movie-magic trickery in the trailers, but how powerful does that make her? Moore turned to another powerful competitor to compare, weighing in on how Thena would do in a battle against Brie Larson's Captain Marvel:
"When Captain Marvel goes binary, that is tough. But [Thena] will be as if Captain America, who I would argue is probably the best physical fighter, was powered by cosmic weapons. She's going to be a problem, but again, Captain Marvel going binary, that's tough."
From the sounds of it, Thena could certainly hold her own but the yet-to-be-revealed extent of Carol Danvers' abilities make it a tough fight to win. Her binary form makes her an even greater powerhouse than she naturally is, doubling her power as she unleashes cosmic energy. Though she hasn't gone this far in the movies, we've gotten a glimpse of her signature glow in "Captain Marvel."
And so the age-old debate rages on: who wields the most power in the MCU?
Marvel's Most Powerful Heroes
As Moore's comments indicate, the case for Carol Danvers is strong. Captain Marvel's introduction into the MCU ended with a grand discovery on her part, as she explored her powerful abilities. Later, the tension of "Avengers: Endgame" relied on sidelining her until the battle came to a head. "She's one of the most powerful — and one of the most popular — characters in our comics," Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said back in 2019, "and will be the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
Carol was one of very few to go toe-to-toe with Thanos all on her own — and while our beloved Captain America and even the anger-charged Hulk ended up tossed aside, Carol fended him off. Throughout the Infinity saga, big bad Thanos served as a pretty reliable metric to measure the Avenger power levels: how well would they fare in a solo battle against the purple brute? Ultimately, most of them relied on teaming up with others and still lost their fights. Carole was an exception; Iron Man succeeded with some trickery and the only other competitors are Thor and Wanda Maximoff.
The incredible thing about these two is that they keep getting stronger. Thor spent most of his onscreen time relying on his famous hammer Mjolnir, before getting a blunt reminder that he isn't, in fact, "Thor, God of Hammers." Wielding that Norse god fuel to summon the elements, Thor is a greater threat than ever before, especially with Stormbreaker in tow. If not for hubris, he would have defeated Thanos all on his own. As for Wanda, she's proven herself as high up on the power rankings, and that was long before coming to understand and better use her abilities, following the aftermath of "WandaVision." It isn't just finger wiggling anymore, Wanda can alter reality and control minds. She too could've taken down Thanos, if not for the distraction of his army. And given all she can do now, who's to say that would be an issue?
Oh and of course, we can't forget the classic argument for Ant-Man: if Scott Lang shrinks down and gets himself in a precarious enough place, there's no one he can't defeat.
In the end, it's pretty hard to measure power levels unless these heroes actually face one another in battle. Best-case scenario, we never have to see our favorite heroes squaring off against each other again but ... weirder things have happened. For now, it's impossible to answer the question, especially when we have yet to see what the Eternals are capable of.
Marvel's "Eternals" hits theaters on November 5 2021, bringing us one step closer to finding the strongest Marvel hero.