They say that art is as old as humanity itself. Fiction, as an art form, is not as old as humanity, but it’s probably as old as writing. It has evolved from a written form (literature) in Antiquity to modern art forms such as movies, comic books, and video games. An incredible amount of characters have been created since fiction came to be, some of them memorable, some of them despised, some of them forgettable. But however they are perceived, fictional characters are an important part of most people’s lives and most of us have at least one fictional character we love. This article is going to be about the strongest fictional characters, as we are going to try and determine the 10 most powerful fictional characters in history.
The endeavor to find the 10 most powerful fictional characters from a list that is nigh endless is not an easy feat to accomplish. There are multiple criteria that can be used and just scrolling through the endless lists was a difficult, yet worthwhile – at least we think so – task. This is why we have given it our best to make this list both precise and inclusive, picking characters based on their proven (and sometimes perceived) powers.
The powers aren’t just related to sheer physical prowess, but the totality of all the abilities a character possesses, their importance within their fictional universe, and the influence they had (or could have) in shaping their universes. Comparing them was the most difficult task of all, but we have given it our best and we hope that you’ll have fun reading about the most powerful fictional characters ever.
10 Most Powerful Fictional Character (Ranked)
10. Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Creator: Akira Toriyama
Franchise: Dragon Ball
Debut: Dragon Ball #1 (1984)
Biography
Son Goku is the protagonist and main hero of the Dragon Ballfranchise. He is based onSun Wukong, the main character in the classic Chinese novelJourney to the West. Goku first made his debut inDragon Ballchapter #1, titledBulma and Son Goku(ブルマと孫悟空Buruma to Son Gokū) in 1984,as an eccentric, monkey-tailed boy who practicesmartial artsand possessessuperhuman strength. He meetsBulmaand joins her on a journey to find the wish-granting Dragon Balls, which are used to summon the legendary dragon Shenlong.
Along the way, he finds new friends who follow him on his journey. Initially believed to have been born on Earth, Goku later learns that he is a member of an extra-terrestrial warrior race called the Saiyans, which is also the reason for his superhuman strength, and that his birth name isKakarot. As he grows up, he becomes the Earth’s mightiest warrior and protects his adopted home planet from those who seek to destroy it (there is a similarity with Superman).
Goku is depicted as carefree and cheerful when at ease, but he quickly becomes serious and strategic-minded when in battle and is also very enthusiastic about fighting.
He is able to concentrate hisKiand use it for devastatingly powerful energy-based attacks; the most prominent being his signatureKamehameha, in which Goku launches a blue energy blast from his palms.
Also pure of heart, Goku has frequently granted mercy to his enemies, which has often earned him additional allies in the process (though has also resulted in others taking advantage of his kindness), and he is one of the few who can ride the magic cloud calledKinto’un(筋斗雲, lit. “Somersault Cloud”); this is also an element adapted from the Chinese novelJourney to the West.
Rationale
There is a good reason why we have decided to start our list of strongest fictional characters with Son Goku. Namely, the Saiyan warrior from Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise is quite often listed among the most powerful fictional characters ever. And that is completely correct.
Even as a child, Son Goku was a very powerful fighter, being able to defeat opponents much stronger than himself. Still, he worked harder and harder every time, fighting and defeating the strangest of opponents (e.g. the caravan of monsters living with Uranai Baba).
He has also trained with some of the greatest masters in the world, like Master Korin, who taught him a lot. It should not come as a surprise that the adult Son Goku is as strong as he actually is.
He is exceptionally fast, he can last for a long time in a fight, he has a great fighting spirit and will never give up, and he is also physically powerful. And that is just his basic form!
If we consider his Super Saiyan powers, Son Goku is practically invincible and is arguably the strongest person on Earth, but also one of the strongest people in the galaxy; he was, as we all know, able to defeat tons of powerful cosmic foes and save Earth from different kinds of threats.
What actually makes Goku so powerful and worthy of a place on our list is the fact that he constantly keeps growing and improving his powers. And while we don’t have any exact evidence to support it, there is a growing assumption that Goku’s full potential is actually limitless and that he can truly become the most powerful fighter in the universe.
So, why is he not higher on the list, you might ask? Well, here’s why!
Namely, Son Goku is not a god, nor any divine being. He’s a little bit like Superman – a superhuman alien who came to Earth and protected it as if it were his home.
In that aspect, he is not immortal and would not stand a chance against any truly godly character like the ones higher up our list. Also, his forte is hand-to-hand combat, meaning that he would also be a serious underdog against any powerful character that has psionic abilities and can defeat him while avoiding a direct physical confrontation.
Also, Goku doesn’t use weapons so he would, we assume, have a lot of problems against a weapon-wielding opponent who is a physical match for him.
Taking everything we’ve said into account, we thought it fitting for Goku to open our list, but when compared to some other names on our list, the above-mentioned weaknesses really put things into perspective and don’t allow us to place Goku higher up our list.
9. Kratos (God of War)
Creator: David Jaffe
Franchise: God of War
Debut: God of War (2005)
Biography
When the first God of War video game came out in 2005, Kratos became an instant fan favorite. Kratos is the protagonist/anti-hero of the God of War franchise and the only character that connects all the video games and comics into a single narrative. He was created by David Jaffe and was initially voiced by Terrence C. Carson, who was later replaced by Christopher Judge.
Kratos was born in Sparta. Around the time of his birth, an oracle told a prophecy about the demise of the Olympian gods not by the hand of the imprisoned Titans, but by a mortal described as “a marked warrior”.
Since Kratos’ younger brother, Deimos, had a strange birthmark, the gods kidnapped him and gave him to the God of Death, Thanatos, who tortured him for years.
Soon after, Kratos marked himself with a red tattoo to honor his sibling, whom he believed to be dead. Kratos would later find and rescue his brother, but he was killed by Thanatos, who was in turn killed by Kratos.
Kratos grew up to become a husband and the father of a daughter, but he was also known as a brutal and ruthless warrior. At one point, seeing that his army could lose, he offered himself to Ares, the God of War, in order to become even better.
Kratos slaughtered hundreds in Ares’ name, but then the evil God of War tricked Kratos into killing his own family, Kratos broke the tie he had with the god and swore to avenge his family. This is how God of War actually begins.
Facing unfathomable perils and creatures from Greek mythology, Kratos managed to kill Ares and become the new God of War. He was later tricked by Zeus but survived with the help of the Titans, who wanted to use him in their fight against Zeus.
Later, he would find himself betrayed by them, too. Fueled by rage and vengeance, Kratos embarks on a “journey” to kill the whole Olympian pantheon, including the Titans, which he eventually does in God of War III.
It was implied that he died at the end of that game, but a post-credits scene revealed that he had actually survived. Years later, Kratos resurfaced in the Nordic realm with his son, Atreus, where he was challenged by the Norse deities and now has to fight them in order to survive.
Rationale
Listing Kratos was a sure thing, right? I mean, we could only debate his position, but Kratos is without a doubt one of the most powerful and resilient fictional characters ever.
This guy single-handedly (okay, okay, he did have some help, but it was basically all him) survived being killed several times, survived fighting monsters and gods, and killed a whole effing pantheon of gods. Can anyone really boast about such an achievement? Hardly.
Kratos was initially perceived to be a human and even in that “state”, he was a great fighter and tactician. He was feared by his enemies and had the reputation of being one of Sparta’s best warriors.
It was later revealed that he is actually a demigod, which explains some of his powers. Later on, he got even more powerful when he aligned himself with Ares, but it was his desire to avenge his family that really ignited the flame inside him.
He eventually became a god and after killing the rest of the Greek pantheon, he became the only surviving Greek god, which is why the Norse gods wanted to eliminate him when he settled in their realm in 2018’s God of War.
There are two main reasons why Kratos is on this list and why he is above Son Goku. First of all, he is a god and he killed all the other gods (it is safe to assume that a similar fate awaits the Norse gods as well).
He wasn’t born a god, he doesn’t even have any intrinsic divine powers (like Zeus, for example), but rather – he became one using his strength and his weapons. He is unbelievably strong (well, you have to be to kill actual gods) and so resilient that even the Greek pantheon with all their special powers couldn’t stop him.
Secondly, he is a weapon-wielding character and we’ve already said that Goku would probably have a hard time fighting someone who uses weapons as well as Kratos does.
This is why we think that Kratos would eventually defeat Goku, but since he’s limited to physical confrontations and doesn’t have actual special powers, we don’t think he would stand a chance against some of the names higher up on our list.
8. Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Creator: J.K. Rowling
Franchise: Harry Potter
Debut: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)
Biography
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character from the Harry Potter franchise created by J.K. Rowling. For most of the main narrative, Albus Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the leader of the Order of the Phoenix.
He was born in 1881 into a wizarding family; he had a brother Aberforth and a sister Ariana, with who he was very close. While he was young, his father died in Azkaban, while his mother and sister were killed accidentally.
During his youth, he was very close with Gellert Grindelwald, who would grow up to become the most fearsome dark wizard of his age. Due to a Blood Pact between the two, Dumbledore was initially unable to confront Grindelwald but later confronted him in what was probably the most epic duel in the history of the Wizarding World.
Dumbledore eventually defeated his former friend, who was then imprisoned. There are some continuity errors related to Dumbledore’s youth caused by the subsequent changes Rowling made in the Fantastic Beasts film series but we’re not going to take them into consideration and are going to focus solely on the books.
Later on, Dumbledore was a founding member of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization that fought Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First, but also the Second Wizarding War.
At the same time, he taught Transfiguration at Hogwarts, ultimately becoming the school’s Headmaster; during his tenure, he even taught young Tom Riddle, who would eventually become Lord Voldemort.
Albus Dumbledore played a seminal role in the life of Harry Potter. After Voldemort had killed his parents, Dumbledore brought Harry to his relatives and later made sure that the child attended Hogwarts.
There, he provided him with constant aid and advice during his initial clashes with the soon-to-be resurrected Lord Voldemort. He would later fight the resurrected Dark Lord in the Ministry of Magic, proving that he was a highly skilled wizard and the only wizard Voldemort actually feared.
Later, he helped Harry destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes before eventually being killed by Severus Snape in The Half-Blood Prince. What was initially perceived as a treacherous move was actually a well-devised plan by Dumbledore to ultimately defeat Lord Voldemort.
Despite being dead, Dumbledore played a pivotal role in the downfall of Lord Voldemort, setting up several events that happened after his death.
He was considered to be the greatest wizard that ever lived and Harry Potter even honored him and Severus Snape by naming his son Albus Severus Potter. He was buried in Hogwarts, where a portrait of him still stands among the portraits of other former headmasters.
Rationale
While he may look like a fragile old man, in the case of Albus Dumbledore – looks can be pretty deceiving (there is another such character higher up our list, so keep reading!).
Albus Dumbledore was quite possibly the most powerful wizard in the Harry Potter universe to have ever lived. He defeated Gellert Grindelwald and could have defeated Lord Voldemort; he was also the only wizard Voldemort actually feared.
Why is all of this important? Namely, in the world of Harry Potter, Dark Magic is usually depicted as being the more powerful form of magic, although the forces of evil usually lose in the end.
Dark Wizards such as Grindelwald and Voldemort have been able to cause destruction on a massive scale, deriving their powers from the harnessed negative energy inside them and the forbidden skills they had learned.
Dumbledore was never a Dark Wizard and yet he was able to defeat both Grindelwald and Voldemort, which is an amazing feat. Not one wizard was able to do that. Despite being antagonists, Grindelwald and Voldemort were depicted as being astonishingly powerful, and yet neither of them could defeat Dumbledore.
The limits of Dumbledore’s magic are practically unknown. He was exceptionally wise, skilled, and knowledgeable, having mastered even the most complex forms of magic. He survived destroying Voldemort’s Horcruxes, which had some of the most powerful Dark Magic protecting them. He was equally skilled in practically all fields of magic, which was very rare among wizards. He was also a skilled tactician and probably the best duelist in history.
Someone might argue that Dumbledore died, but he died only because it was essential for him to die for his plans to come to fruition. He was not defeated, he was not even killed – Albus Dumbledore let himself get killed and that is a major difference.
Because of the incredible skills he had, we believe Albus Dumbledore deserves a spot on our list. As for his relation to Goku and Kratos, since neither of them had any magical abilities but were just great fighters, we are fairly certain that Dumbledore would find a way to stop them using his exceptional skills.
7. Reverse-Flash (DC Comics)
Creator: John Broome
Franchise: DC Comics Multiverse
Debut: The Flash #139 (1963)
Biography
The Reverse-Flash is, like the Flash, a superhero name used by several different characters in the DC Comics universe. At the time of writing this article, there has been a total of five Reverse-Flashes – Edward Clariss, Eobard Thawne, Hunter Zolomon, Thaddeus Thawne, and Daniel West. Since Eobard Thawne is by far the best-known and most important Reverse-Flash in the continuity, we are going to focus on him.
Eobard Thawne had an ever-changing origin story before his history was finally established in The Flash: Rebirth (2009), written by Geoff Johns. The character debuted in The Flash #139 (1963) and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. In this iteration, Thawne found a time capsule with the Flash suit in the 25th century. He then amplified the suit’s energy and turned himself into a Speedster, but reversed the colors of the suit, becoming Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash. Flash discovered this and confronted Thawne, eventually defeating him and destroying his suit. Blaming the Flash for his defeat, Thawne became obsessed with “replacing” Barry and traveled back in time to exact his revenge. He killed Iris West and tried to kill Fiona Webb, but Barry Allen snapped his neck in order to avoid losing another person he loved.
The post-Crisis story “The Return of Barry Allen”gave Thawne a new origin. He was depicted as a scientist obsessed with the Flash, so much in fact that he underwent plastic surgery to look like Barry Allen. He managed to gain Speedster powers by using an antique Cosmic Treadmill and went back into time, fighting Wally West in the process. He was ultimately sent back to the 25th century.
Thawne returns as a major DC villain in The Flash: Rebirth (2009), where his return foreshadows the major Final Crisis event. He played a major role in the Blackest Night storyline, where his pre-Crisis corpse was revived by Nekron as he became a Black Lantern and, subsequently, Black Flash. He died once again but was ultimately resurrected, after which event he escaped.
In one later story, Thawne traveled back in time to completely alter his personal history. During the Flashpoint storyline, he goes back in time to kill Barry Allen’s mother, which results in the creation of the “Flashpoint universe” after Barry Allen also goes back in time to stop Thawne from killing his mother. The “Flashpoint universe” was an alternative timeline Barry Allen ultimately fixed, but only after Thomas Wayne – that universe’s Batman – killed Thawne with a sword.
Thawne, of course, did not die and it was later revealed that he is practically immortal because of his connection to the Negative Speed Force. His origins slightly changed during the New 52 and Rebirth imprints, but the essence was kept. He played a major part in the events leading to and happening during the Doomsday Clock narrative, where he was killed by Dr. Manhattan. He survived even that, proving that even the omnipotent Dr. Manhattan could not kill or erase him.
Rationale
Despite losing to Flash on several occasions and even being killed repeatedly, Reverse-Flash is one of the most enduring characters in the DC Comics lore. He is immensely powerful and his knowledge of the Speed Force is truly breathtaking. He can travel in time with much more ease than Flash, which makes him a formidable foe. He is also extremely intelligent, a skilled inventor, and is great in hand-to-hand combat. The Flash would usually end up being beaten to a pulp by Thawne, before devising a plan to stop him.
The fact that Eobard Thawne has to lose because he is a supervillain doesn’t change his objective strength. Unlike Flash, who is connected to the Speed Force, Thawne is connected to the Negative Speed Force, which grants him powers such as superhuman speed, the ability to travel faster thanlight, rapid cellular regeneration, the ability of timeand dimensional travel, nigh intangibility, speed mirage creation, sonic shockwave projection, vortex generation, memory and speed absorption and even age alteration.
This plethora of powers certainly makes him one of the most powerful characters ever and there is no doubt that he would win against all of the characters listed below him on this list. Again, he usually loses because he is a supervillain – a supervillain cannot win in the end, that would defeat the point of superhero comics – but the Reverse-Flash is definitely stronger than almost everyone else.
His abilities to survive seemingly make him completely immortal and he has even suggested the same thing himself; the Reverse-Flash suggests that he is immortal thanks to his connection to the Negative Speed Force. He can be killed, but never permanently. It is debatable whether even Black Flash could kill him. What we know is that even Dr. Manhattan, who is practically omnipotent, wasn’t able to permanently kill or erase Reverse-Flash, which is a fact that makes Thawne a truly menacing character.
6. Yoda (Star Wars)
Creator: George Lucas
Franchise: Star Wars
Debut: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Biography
Yoda is a Jedi from the Star Wars universe and one of the most recognizable characters of the whole franchise. He is a small, green creature of unknown origin; Yoda’s origin (his home planet and his race) are still one of the biggest mysteries in the Star Wars universe and Lucas never revealed any details that can be considered canon.
He is a Jedi Grand Master and the leader of the Jedi Council. Yoda is both exceptionally old and exceptionally powerful, so powerful – in fact – that he could easily be given the title of the most powerful Jedi in the movie franchise (we’re not counting the expanded universe because, for one, it is truly enormous for such a brief analysis and, likewise, it changed a lot in the recent years so it’s not always easy to determine what’s canon or not).
Although his forte is the Force – Yoda is by far the most powerful Force user in the series – Yoda is also an excellent Lightsaber user, as demonstrated on several occasions during the movies (specifically during his fights with Count Dooku and Darth Sidious). His Lightsaber skills are surpassed only by his friend and colleague, Mace Windu.
Aside from being powerful, Yoda has a lot of other qualities. He is a great tactician, as demonstrated during the Clone Wars, very knowledgeable (he can even manipulate the Force to see the future), and very wise, surpassing all other Jedi in those aspects.
Yoda was first introduced in the second movie, The Empire Strikes Back (actually Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back), as a “crazy old guy” living in the swamps of Dagobah. He eventually revealed himself to be the great Jedi Master and taught young Luke Skywalker, before eventually passing away at the age of 900 and becoming a Force Ghost, just like his former friends. His story is further expanded in the prequel trilogy and the expanded universe, while he makes a brief appearance as a Force Ghost in the sequel trilogy, talking to his former Padawan, Luke Skywalker.
Rationale
Okay, sure, Yoda’s not even the most powerful character in the Star Wars universe, but trying to deal with the deities of Lucas’ expanded universe would be a futile task since we would never come to an agreement. This is why we decided to list Yoda here, as he is without a doubt the most powerful character from the Star Wars movie franchise and we’ve only considered that part of the large universe while making our list.
So, Yoda was the most powerful Jedi ever. His in-depth knowledge of the force and his excellent skills with the Lightsaber make him a truly admirable character, especially since he has always been on the Light Side of the Force. Yoda was able to defeat anyone he fought and he was even able to counter every move Palpatine had during the famous battle. Remember – Palpatine is considered to be the most powerful Sith in the history of the Sith Order. And Yoda would have beaten him – a fact Palpatine was well aware of – had the fight been fair and under normal circumstances.
Another thing that makes Yoda so powerful is his wisdom. He combined his intelligence with the Force and has become somewhat of a philosophical interpreter of the Force but in the most practical way possible. He could see the past, the present, and the future and his advice was always quite useful. His connection to the Force is like a connection with nature itself, with existence itself.
This is why we think that Yoda would be able to defeat all the characters that came before him on this list. His knowledge of the very nature of life is so profound that he would find a way to deal with the two fighters, Dumbledore’s magic, and even Thawne’s Negative Speed Force. Luckily enough, he would probably have to fight only Thawne (and maybe Kratos).
Yoda is also the last non-godly character on the list (we don’t consider Kratos to be a real god). He is the last “normal” name on this list, with all of the remaining names either being deities or characters whose powers are identical to those of a deity.
5. Arceus (Pokémon)
Creator: Satoshi Tajiri
Franchise: Pokémon
Debut: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (2006)
Biography
Arceus is the god of the Pokémon world, the first Pokémon ever and quite possibly the last one that will ever exist. It inhabits a special world of its own (known as Arceus’ World) and is usually credited as the creator of the whole Pokémon universe, along with some other Legendary Pokémon; Arceus itself is a Mythical Pokémon and is known as “The Original One”.
It was first introduced in Generation IV and is a Sinnoh-based Pokémon.
Arceus is a Normal-type Pokémon with no known evolutions but with the ability to change shape and type when carrying a Plate or a specific Z-Stone. It is omnipotent and omniscient, although the full extent of its powers has never been revealed. It had a major role in the movie Arceus and the Jewel of Life, and another cameo appearance in another movie.
It is credited with creating both the Creation Trio and the Lake Guardians, two groups of Legendary Pokémon that had a strong influence on how the world of Pokémon evolved. This is why it is considered to be the Trio Master (a fan term for a Pokémon that can control various trios in the franchise) of both groups.
Rationale
The first five positions on our list belong to deities – well, sort of, but more on that later – and the first one of them is Arceus. This Mythical Pokémon, who was even mentioned in the famous TV show House, M.D., is the creator of all the Pokémon and the whole universe practically stems from him alone. Arceus is an essential part of the Pokémon mythos and we can even say that there would be no such mythos had it not been for Arceus.
If you’ve just played the game, you probably won’t experience Arceus’ full story. Namely, the games do tell of Arceus and its importance, but in there – he’s just another Pokémon you need to collect, despite being obtainable only through an event. In the anime and the movie, Arceus’ importance for the whole mythos is really explained.
Arceus is a Pokémon that hatched from the primordial Egg that was created in a vortex of chaos and nothingness. It is described as a being of unfathomable power – being omnipotent and omniscient – and seeing that it is responsible for the creation of the whole world of Pokémon, it is pretty much clear why Arceus is so powerful. It is credited as the creator of the Lake Trio and the Creation Trio, through which it is related to practically all the Pokémon (including Mew, who is responsible for the creation of the individual Pokémon species) and the whole universe.
Since the dawn of humanity, Arceus has protected the planet from different threats, although it appears only when truly necessary, preferring to keep out of regular problems. This is why it demands admiration and devotion from the humans and Pokémon it created and is known to hold a grudge and become extremely violent when betrayed. It is the only Pokémon that can learn the potentially destructive move Judgement, through which it releases countless shots of light that look like meteors and have enormous, destructive potential. What Arceus created, can also easily be destroyed. It is even more powerful than Rayquaza, which is thought to be the most powerful Pokémon aside from Arceus.
Still, despite its divine abilities and its role in the creation of the universe, as well as the known fact that he is practically omniscient and omnipotent, the true extent of Arceus’ powers has never been revealed and we can only speculate as to what other powers the creator of the universe has. But, regardless of that, we know that he certainly deserves a spot on this list as one of the most powerful fictional characters ever.
4. ZeedMillenniummon (Digimon)
Creator: Akiyoshi Hongo
Franchise: Digimon
Debut: Digimon Tamers: Brave Tamer (2001)
Biography
ZeedMillenniummonis a Mega-level Evil God Digimon that appeared as a foe in the Digimon Adventure and Digimon Xros Wars tie-in materials. He is the final form of Moon=Millenniummon. Flying freely between space and time, he is an entity of evil that is still trying to destroy all eras and worlds, the destruction being his only real goal.
Although a Digimon will become aDigi-Eggif defeated in battle, there are very rare occasions when it has instead been reborn from within the corpse of its data. According to one theory, whenMillenniummondied in a furious battle, the dark soul he possessed was reborn as ZeedMillenniummon, the ultimate evil of the Digital World. Also, as for the bands that wrap around ZeedMillenniummon, it is said that they are like chains that suppress his abilities, but it is unknown who could cast such a spell on ZeedMillenniummon since there is no known Digimon stronger than him. However, it is foretold that if it is released from this spell, it will rain unfathomable destruction upon theDigital World and every known reality.
As for his basic story, it is a Digimon that appeared when the crystal Moon=Millenniummon was kept in broke, thus creating ZeedMillenniummon. ZeedMillenniummon was actually a Millenniummon that was defeated by Ryo Akiyama and Ken Ichijouji, and it was this encounter that connected both Digimon Adventure 02 (as it explained how Ken became the Digimon Emperor in the Dark Ocean) and Digimon Tamers (where Ryo appears) to the original Digimon Adventure series.
ZeedMillenniummon had a strong desire to be Ryo’s partner, but Ryo already had a partner; that angered ZeedMillenniummon so much that it wanted to destroy everything. It was ultimately defeated thanks to Ryo because Ryo’s presence weakened it. Ryo’s partner, Monodramon, forced a DNA Digivolution between the two of them that eventually destroyed ZeedMillenniummon and enabled Monodramon to Digivolve further.
In the Xros Wars manga, was created by fusing Millenniummon and AxeKnightmon (Laylamon). It is shown without its protective bands, but it was obviously a weaker version of the actual Digimon since the disappearance of the bands didn’t lead to the immediate destruction of the world. This ZeedMillenniummon was eventually defeated when DigiDestined rewrote its original code.
Rationale
ZeedMillenniummon is technically not a deity, but its sheer destructive power is enough for us to put it so high up on our list. Most people don’t know about it – it’s even a mythical presence among Digimon fans – but ZeedMillenniummon is so powerful that it is stronger than any other Digimon, even those considered to be gods. But that might not mean much to you, so we are going to elaborate on why ZeedMillenniummon deserves this spot.
As you’ve seen above, ZeedMillenniummon is focused on destroying life and existence as we know it. It is a digital abomination that was created in the most unnatural way – instead of dying, its soul was resurrected as a monstrous Digimon bent on complete destruction. ZeedMillenniummon is so powerful that its mere presence can destroy everything; this is why it is bound with special digital bonds that restrict its powers. Were the bonds to break, ZeedMillenniummon’s mere unbound presence would destroy absolutely everything. The big mystery is how it actually got those bonds since there is no known Digimon stronger than ZeedMillenniummon, but it is a good thing that they exist.
Every attack this Digimon can execute results in the complete obliteration of its opponents. There is absolutely no outcome of a fight with it where you don’t… well, you don’t just die, you get completely annihilated! This is more than just sheer death, this is a wiping-your-opponent-out-of-existence level of power. In that aspect, ZeedMillenniummon has all the powers of a god, except that he is not one. Unlike some other Digimon with destructive tendencies, but who want to create their own world (Apocalymon, MaloMyotismon, Lucemon) or Digimon who can destroy and create simultaneously with their attacks (Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, Omnimon X), ZeedMillenniummon just wants to destroy, without any will to create. As it seems, it cannot even be created, which makes it weaker than the top three, but the fact that it can destroy everything anyone creates makes it stronger than all the names that preceded it.
And this is why we decided to put ZeedMillenniummon on spot number four. Oh, also, it’s completely invulnerable to all forms of attack, with the only way of defeating it being a complete rewrite of its source code, for which one has to either penetrate its body or force it to fuse with another Digimon.
3. Presence (DC Comics)
Creator: Jerry Siegel
Franchise: DC Comics Multiverse
Debut: More Fun Comics #52 (1940)
Biography
The Presence is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. It debuted in More Fun Comics #52 (1940), written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Bernard Baily. The Presence debuted as The Voice (of The Presence), just one of its many forms, and was responsible for empowering Jim Corrigan as the Spectre.
The Presence is a very complex and interesting character in the mythos of the DC Universe. Although the DC Universe is filled with various deities, author Greg Rucka confirmed that God (in the Abrahamian sense) is above all of these deities. Although God was a very mysterious character in the lore of DC Comics, it was later revealed that the famous Presence is actually the Abrahamian god overseeing the whole Universe.
The Presence has taken a lot of shapes and forms throughout the history of the DC Universe, thereby showing one of its many powers. It appeared, initially, as The Voice and then as The Hand, playing an important role in the Green Lantern series. It also appeared as The Source, a godly manifestation named “Wally” and as the human-looking Presence. This form looks a lot like Doyle’s Dr. Watson to us, but maybe you’ll have a different association.
The Presence is an omnipresent entity that, despite that, appears only occasionally, but he is considered to be the ultimate creator of the DC Universe and one of its strongest beings.
Rationale
The Presence’s presence (pun intended) so high on this list should not come as a surprise, since it is the literal god of the DC Universe, responsible for its creation and its control.
The Presence is an omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient being. It has been present since the dawn of time, it is responsible for the creation of the universe, it knows everything, it can create anything, gives special powers to anyone, and generally does whatever it wants. Such beings are always outside the usual comic book character framework, but they are certainly both powerful enough and important enough to be a part of this list. The Presence can also change shapes and can appear in any form it wants.
The thing with such characters is that they are really so powerful that it is quite difficult to objectively evaluate their powers. We know that they are extremely strong and that they are stronger than any non-god character (although, Kratos might be able to find a way to kill all of them), but the true extent of their powers is rarely shown, just like the moment of creation, which would be a great way to illustrate their immense powers.
So, a lot of these remarks are more or less plausible deductions and/or speculations that are based on the limited number of information we actually have.
So, why is The Presence our third most powerful fictional character, and not the second or first?
Well, we have based our first three positions based on the weaknesses these characters have and whether they can be hurt or not. Although The Presence is both eternal and immortal, it can be seriously injured and/or killed (temporarily, as he will come back); this happened in one comic book (an issue of Lucifer), where The Presence was injured/killed by a sword it designed. Since the remaining two deities cannot be harmed or killed (or, if they can, we don’t know how), it makes sense that we listed The Presence before them.
2. The One Above All (Marvel Comics)
Creator: Mark Waid,Mike Wieringo
Franchise: Marvel Comics Multiverse
Debut: Fantastic Four #511 (2004)
Biography
The One Above All (alternatively One-Above-All) is a fictional deity from the Marvel Universe that is depicted as the creator of the whole Multiverse. Although his presence was part of the Marvel mythos early on, he did not appear until 2004’s Fantastic Four #511, where he appeared in the form of Jack Kirby; Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo are credited as his creators. The One Above All’s design changed and today, a lot of people suspect that he is not Jack Kirby (anymore?), but rather Stan Lee, although that has never been officially confirmed.
Apparently responsible for the existence of all life in theMultiverseand possibly beyond, The One Above All is the master and sole superior of the cosmic overseer and arbitrator known as theLiving Tribunal, whose faces, embodying equity, vengeance, and necessity respectively, are in perfect alignment with one another as it passes judgment.
Although he has appeared in various stories, The One Above All is most closely associated with the Fantastic Four, as they were the first characters to actually see him in his debut appearance; he credited them for their heroics and promised them new adventures while reviving the Thing. He also appeared to Spider-Man, disguised as a homeless man, and had an encounter with Thanos and Adam Warlock.
An interesting thing about The One Above All is that, although he has all the attributes of an Abrahamian deity, he is far more benevolent than an actual Abrahamian god or the seemingly objective Presence from the DC Universe. Namely, as it was revealed, The One Above All’s primary driving force – and the primary driving force of the universe – is Love, which is a very interesting twist that you would not expect from such an omnipotent being.
This is why The One Above All is so special and this is why he is always cited as one of the most intriguing comic book characters ever.
Rationale
Like with The Presence, there should be no doubt about The One Above All’s inclusion on this list. A lot of what has been said about The Presence can be said about The One Above All, as they are two very similar characters.
The One Above All is, as the creator of the universe, of course omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, with the ability to change his shape and do miraculous things. He is driven by Love and that emotion has thus become the driving force of himself and the universe he created. He is simultaneously present in all locations and all timelines, the latter being important for the explanation of his weakness and why he is not the first on our list.
One of his notable powers is that he can revive characters and also revert things to as they were before a certain event like he did (via the Living Tribunal, who was, for a long time, thought to be the god) when he undid Adam Warlock’s destruction in the post-Infinity Gauntlet stories.
This is all standard stuff if you think about it, really. All creationist deities have these abilities so it should not come as a surprise that The One Above All is on our list. Why is he above The Presence? Well, for the simple reason that we don’t know if he can be killed; it seems that he cannot, but you never know what the authors might think of it (we’re not counting the time when Deadpool killed everyone, it’s not canon). The Presence, despite being eternal and immortal, can be killed (or fatally injured) and although it will come back again, there is a proven way of stopping it. When The One Above All is concerned, there doesn’t seem to be a way of killing him, which is why he is actually above The Presence on our list.
Still, he is not unbeatable and that is why there he is not the first. Namely, when Thanos, controlled byhis future self, began using theAstral Regulatorto absorb the majority of the cosmic beings, putting the entire multiverse into chaos,the Above-All-Others and the Living Tribunal tried to stop him but failed as Thanos was able to absorb both of them, with his future self becoming the god and the manifestation of the entire multiverse.
Thankfully, Adam Warlock, Kang the Conqueror, Starfox, and Pip the Troll, were able to allow present Thanos to take control of his future’s powers and revert everything back prior to his future’s machinations, seemingly restoring Above-All-Others back to normal. Despite being reverted back to normal, The One Above All showed that he can be beaten and that there is a force more powerful than even him. How could he not predict this? How could he just not destroy the future timeline?
These are the questions that still require answers, but that also show limits to The One Above All’s powers. In addition to that, he was also unable to fix the imbalance created by the future Thanos during that incident. He is strong, incredibly strong at that, but he does have a weakness and he can be defeated, which is why we have decided to be a bit controversial and put him on spot number two, rather than on spot number one.
So, who’s the most powerful fictional character?
1. Dr. Manhattan (DC Comics)
Creator: Alan Moore
Franchise: DC Comics Multiverse
Debut: Watchmen (1986)
Biography
Dr. Manhattan is the pseudonym of Jonathan “Jon” Osterman, a fictional character from the DC Comics fictional universe. He debuted in Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel, Watchmen (1986), and has played an enormous role in shaping the DC Multiverse, even bigger than The Presence.
The creation of Dr. Manhattan was actually an unfortunate incident that happened to physicist Jon Osterman, as he returned to get a watch from his lab coat. The lab coat was left in a test chamber, so Osterman went inside, but the door closed. The other researchers are unable to open the door or override the countdown to the next activation, and Jon’s body is torn to pieces from the force of the generator. In the months that followed, Osterman managed to rebuild himself gradually, until he finally reappeared as a tall, hairless, naked, and blue-skinned man, glowing with a “flare of ultraviolet.”
Becoming an actual superhero, Osterman became known as Doctor Manhattan — in honor of the Manhattan Project — and became a pawn of the U.S. Government and the leader of the Watchmen. At one point, he realized the banality of his situation and disappeared off to Mars, abandoning both the Watchmen and the Earth.
Still, at one point he became disillusioned with his role on Earth and teleported himself to Mars, where he spent most of the time, pondering complex metaphysical questions and discovering the secrets of life and creation. He played a prominent role in enabling Ozymandias’ plot to prevent World War III, even destroying Rorschach in the process.
Later on, he played a pivotal role in the creation of theFlashpointand New 52 timelines and was the center of the mystery explored by Batman and The Flash during “The Button” storyline. He played another major role inDoomsday Clock, where he – once again – became a true superhero, ultimately wiping himself out of existence.
Rationale
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, according to our research – Dr. Manhattan is by far the most powerful fictional character ever created. Okay, sure – a lot of you out there won’t agree with us, but we urge you to read what we have to say because our conclusion is based on canon evidence and not just our opinion or hypothetical situations. Everything you’re about to read is a canon fact and when compared to both The Presence and The One Above All, Dr. Manhattan really seems to exhibit something – more.
We’ll start off with a list of his powers: nigh-omnipotence, nigh-omniscience, omnipresence, omnificence, reality alteration, genius-level intellect, subatomic perception and control, disintegration, chronokinesis, time travel, cosmic awareness, limitedshapeshifting, flight andlevitation, invulnerability, self-regeneration, self-sustenance, intangibility, size alteration, telekinesis, teleportation, dimensional travel, precognition, clairvoyance, self-duplication, superhuman strength and senses, immortality, energy projection, matter and energy manipulation.
This is a pretty impressive list of powers, but this doesn’t reveal much save for the fact that Dr. Manhattan has god-like powers despite not being a god. He is not a god, unlike The Presence and The One Above All, but he has managed to obtain all the powers and abilities of a god and is therefore insanely powerful (some might even say that he is ridiculously overpowered).
So, what did this guy do, exactly? Well, a lot of people would say – Dr. Manhattan is overrated, he is not as powerful as people think, he is not a god, he would be useless in a direct fight, etc. But the truth is – Dr. Manhattan really is not all that powerful and while his powers might not exceed those of The Presence or The One Above All, they are certainly on par with theirs.
This is, we have to admit, a new thing to the DC Universe. The pre-Doomsday ClockDr. Manhattan, albeit overpowered, was limited by the laws of physics, determinism, and his own omniscience. With the merger of theWatchmenuniverse and the DC Universe, Dr. Manhattan’s powers grew exponentially and he was able to surpass his limits by being able to use reality-bending powers, having free will, and being able to intervene. This is the Dr. Manhattan we are talking about, not the passive pre-Doomsday Clockversion that was also adapted in HBO’sWatchmen, but that version of Dr. Manhattan is such a disgrace that we cannot even consider it as being canon.
So, when taking into account these recent developments, there should be no doubt about Dr. Manhattan being the most powerful being out there. Why? Well, for one, The Presence can be killed (it will come back again, but it can still be killed, if only temporarily), and for the other, The One Above All can also be eradicated (as per Thanos) and there are also very realistic limits to his powers (in the canon storyline ofThanos: The Infinity Conflict, he was not able to fix the imbalance created by Thanos). What about Manhattan?
What we know of him is that he does not have any weaknesses. There is literally nothing that is known out there that could harm him or kill him. He is intangible and his regeneration skills are so impressive – probably because he is a being of energy, and the basic law of nature is that energy never disappears, it only changes form – that he cannot be destroyed. Even if you would wipe him out of existence, he would still be able to come back because he’s a being of energy. On top of all that, he has the ability to manipulate time and space, so it’s quite difficult to imagine that even a god would be able to eliminate him.
The often-quoted argument that Dr. Mahattan is too passive and wouldn’t even put up a fight, meaning that anyone could defeat him is so ridiculously hypothetical and logically wrong that it just makes absolutely no sense. Who says Dr. Manhattan wouldn’t fight back? This is a presumption based on his deterministic, pre-Doomsday Clocknature, but he has proven – on several occasions – that he is very active when needed (the interventions in the DC Comics timeline, the killing of Pandora) and to assume that he would stand by knowing that he could be permanently killed (although we still think that it’s impossible) is just ludicrous.
This is just a silly theory that is not based on any real fact, but rather a journalist’s interpretation of Dr. Manhattan that is not supported by any canon material. Plus, the fact that Dr. Manhattan – perhaps(!) – wouldn’t put up a fight doesn’t mean that he couldn’t do it and we argue that – based on his powers – he could eliminate anyone if he wished so. Therefore, this argument just doesn’t make sense.
What puts him above the others, then? Well, for one, The One Above All has proven himself unable to reshape an error (albeit just one) in the universe; he couldn’t remedy it. Dr. Manhattan, on the other hand, has single-handedly created a whole canon timeline (New 52) and later, when he decided it was inappropriate, just wiped 10 years from time. Yes, the guy literally destroyed 10 years of time as if they had never happened.
No one could do that, not The Presence, not The One Above All, and seeing how time is perceived and how it could be perceived (that’s some A-level relativity physics, there), it would take a truly powerful being to do such a thing. And Dr. Manhattan did it; his perception of time is so unique and so powerful that he can destroy it. Again, this is not simple time travel or rewind of the clock – this is the actual destruction of time itself.
This alone is good enough for us to put him in the first place because, in a situation where three entities are equally powerful, the one who can do the most and has the smallest number of weaknesses is the best. And afterthe Doomsday Clock, that is Doctor Manhattan.
We could also speak about his fights, about creation (yes, the human who is not a god has mastered creation, something only gods can do), about his perception of reality, his temporal and spatial omnipresence, and his knowledge, but that would be completely unnecessary at this point, since we have proven that Dr. Manhattan has something none of them have.
He cannot be killed (The Presence was killed, while The One Above All was absorbed by Thanos, who also ultimately lost, so even he himself wasn’t the most powerful being) and there are very few things he cannot do (neither of the two gods was able to literally destroy time – alter it, change it? Yes, but destroy it? No.). A known fact is that he could not destroy Eobard Thawne (something we’ve already talked about), but this is probably because Thawne has also become somewhat of a being of energy due to his connection with the Speed Force.
Can Dr. Manhattan change the basic laws of the universe? He cannot, but neither The Presence (we actually don’t know this since he has never been involved in such a situation), nor The One Above All (we know this for sure because he was unable to fix a small anomaly and stop Thanos from absorbing him) are able to change the basic laws of nature. And between the three, Dr. Manhattan has proven that he is able to do more than the other two.
Can Dr. Manhattan even be destroyed? Well, due to the basic law of nature, we think that Dr. Manhattan cannot be destroyed – he is a being of energy and would just revert to some other form of energy and then rebuild himself. The Presence can be killed and The One Above All can be absorbed and removed from existence. How permanent is that? Probably not at all (in The Presence’s case, it’s proven to be temporary), but the same goes for Dr. Manhattan as well. But,Doomsday Clockhas also answered this question as well.
Namely, Dr. Manhattan, upon seeing Superman’s humanism, decided to once again become a true superhero and reconnect with his human side, so he went back in time and changed the timeline so that he was never even created (thereby triggering the famous grandfather paradox, but even if DC says that Manhattan is “dead”, we don’t believe it to be that easy). So, Dr. Manhattan is so powerful that the only being capable of killing him is Dr. Manhattan himself; this was the result of Manhattan’s own free will, and had someone else tried that, Dr. Manhattan would probably have stopped it.
This is also a very interesting resolution of the omnipotence paradox (Can God create a stone so heavy that even He could not lift it?), since neither The Presence nor The One Above All have shown any signs of being able to create something stronger than themselves, while Dr. Manhattan has shown that he can “create” something more powerful than him – and that is himself.
That is why we think Dr. Manhattan is the most powerful fictional character ever, and we think that we have elaborated our stance quite well and with enough canon evidence to support our thesis.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
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