Ranking the Strongest Marvel Superheroines of the MCU
10. The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly)
Ant-Man and The Wasp introduced us to one of the biggest badasses we’ve seen so far in the MCU, The Wasp. Hope Van Dyne proved that she had the skills to pay the bills in Ant-Man. The addition of a super-suit that allows her to alter her size, fly, and shoot energy blasts though made her one of the toughest Marvel superheroines. Even Scott Lang seems like a joke compared to her and he managed to hold off a slew of Avengers in a brawl. She’s managed to seamlessly blend her combat skills with the abilities that her suit grants her making The Wasp more than a force to be reckoned with. To top it off, she makes it all look effortless which is all the more impressive.
9. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh)
Black Widow was a bit of a swan song as audiences got the chance to say goodbye to yet another Avenger who’d been sent to avenge on a farm up-state. Despite Natasha Romanoff making the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of humanity, fans didn’t have to wait long for someone to step into the void she left in the MCU. That someone just so happens to be another Black Widow and Romanoff’s foster sister, Yelena Belova. While Romanoff was one of the best espionage agents ever created by the Cold War Red Room program, Yelena was its top assassin. When Romanoff broke free to join S.H.I.E.L.D., Yelena was left a mindless drone stacking bodies for the nefarious program. Now she’s free of their control with a certain set of skills that are bound to make her a nightmare for bad guys in the future. Personally, I can’t wait to see more of her deadpan snark in the future.
8. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)
Some guys think Black Widow was only an OG Avenger because HR told Nick Fury he was legally required to have a woman on the team. Those guys would end up a bloody heap on the floor once Natasha Romanoff was done with them. Trained from childhood in the art of war, Romanoff was sculpted behind the Iron Curtain of the Cold War into the ultimate female asset, a Black Widow. There have been many Widows over the years, but Natasha was so damn good that Nick Fury sent his best guy (Clint Barton) to Budapest to ensure that she could be recruited into his “group of remarkable people.” Since then, she’s held her own in battles between gods, alien invaders, and super-soldiers. Despite not being the strongest when it comes to Marvel superheroines, Natasha Romanoff might be the most dangerous. Besides, was there when the band first got together and that earns her respect in my book.
7. Nebula (Karen Gillan)
When she first exploded onto the scene in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 1, there was no way that Nebula would have qualified for a list of superheroines. She was a daddy’s girl and her daddy wanted to wipe half the universe from existence. Thanos wasn’t an easy dad to get along with and the tension was exacerbated by him constantly pitting Nebula against her sister Gamora to prove which of them was worthy of his acceptance. That rage and need for validation turned Nebula into a major villain, but that changed when she realized she hated her father and not her sister. That’s when she set her eyes on undoing everything her father stood for. Oh, and she saved the universe too. As a trained intergalactic assassin who worked for the greatest warlord in the universe, might not sound like a heroine, but it’s a good thing she’s on our side now. Nebula might not be much of a team player, but she’s always got her partners back even when she’s grumbling about it.
6. Xu Xialing (Meng’er Zhang)
Sure, Shang-Chi was the hero of his movie, but the star was his incredibly badass sister. While Shang-Chi was training to be the ultimate Master of Kung-Fu, Xialing was watching and teaching herself everything she saw. Years later, she escaped her father and set out to build her own empire. Her journey led her into the underground superhuman fight rings in Macau, where she quickly dominated the ring before taking over the whole operation. In a world dominated by men, Xialing inspires loyalty and fear in those around her. So, when the fate of the world fell into her wayward brother’s lap, he turned to her for back up. She stood strong next to Shang-Chi, and together they managed to fight back the forces of evil. Xialing is not only an incredible fighter and a born leader, but she now has the resources and iron will to make her either one of the great superheroines or a hell of a villain. We’ll have to wait and see.