10 Most Impressive Displays Of Power In The MCU's Avengers Movies

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Avengers

Hulk using Infinity Stones Iron Man custom image

The Avengers movies usually contain some of the most spectacular action setpieces in the MCU, leading to some jaw-dropping displays of power from its heroes and villains. Of all the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the ambitious Avengers crossovers have consistently featured the largest and most show-stopping battles. These fights and encounters make up the most incredible feats of strength, durability, and power expression in the entire series.

Admittedly, many of the most impressive displays of power shown off in the Avengers movies revolve around the Infinity Stones appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. This makes sense considering the grand cosmic implications of the magical stones, whose power allows many heroes and villains to flex their own via point of comparison. However, many of the other Avengers movies also feature opportunities for Marvel characters to show off what they can do.

10 Thanos' Snap

Avengers: Infinity War

By far the most memorable and impactful display of power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever, Thanos' snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War easily comes to mind as one of the series' biggest events. After finally collecting all six stones, Thanos is able to make good on his promise to erase half of all life in the universe with a mere snap of his fingers. As a result, half of the Avengers fade away into mere dust.

This event went on to have a lasting impact on the MCU, even after life was returned to those lost in what would come to be called "The Blip", the ideological divide that occurred as the result of the five-year gap created conflict like the formation of the Flag Smashers. Thus, the ramifications of The Snap owe to its strength as a feat of power. Even more impressively, Thanos was able to survive this activation of the stones with minimal scarring or injury, something that can't be said for its other users.

9 The Hulk's Snap

Avengers: Endgame

Arguably more impressive than Thanos' snap, Professor Hulk's own usage of the Infinity Stones is also quite the feat of power. Using Iron Man's homebrewed Infinity Gauntlet, The Hulk was able to channel the overwhelming energy of the stones, his affinity for Gamma radiation helping to roll with the punches. Snapping his own fingers, The Hulk is able to ultimately bring back to life everyone that Thanos hand turned to dust five years prior.

It's always more difficult to create something than to destroy it, which is what makes Hulk's snap perhaps the most powerful of the three. Not only was he able to return to life all the fallen heroes and populations of the universe as though they hadn't missed a beat, but he was even able to survive the ordeal, albeit with heavy injuries. Even if he was only undoing Thanos' damage, few beings have made as great an impact on the universe as The Hulk thanks to his second snap.

8 Iron Man's Snap

Avengers: Endgame

The last of the three Infinity Saga snaps is performed by none other than Iron Man himself, essentially the flagship character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for its first three phases. After sneakily stealing all six stones from Thanos, he's able to reform them on his hand, saying one of Robert Downey Jr.'s greatest Iron Man quotes before snapping his army out of existence. Thanos can only watch and quietly accept defeat as his army literally crumbles before him.

Even if this snap is on a much smaller scale than the other two, merely decimating Thanos and his invasion force rather than half of all life in the universe, the fact that Tony was able to accomplish it is no less impressive. Of course, the use of the Infinity Stones came with a cost Stark's normal human physiology couldn't accommodate, marking his exit from the series. Still, the act remains one of the most grand displays of power ever featured in the MCU.

7 Thor Withstands A Star

Avengers: Infinity War

Thor's adventures in space with Rocket Raccoon and Groot come to a head when they finally meet the ruined forge of the dwarves, decimated by Thanos. In an effort to create a weapon worthy of succeeding Mjölnir, Eitri bids Thor to jump-start the ancient fires quelled by the Black Order, but with one massive caveat. In order to do so, Thor will have to manually hold together Nidavellir's rings, enduring the searing wrath of a sun in the process.

Though it clearly causes great anguish to the thunder god, Thor is miraculously able to withstand the full unmitigated power of a blazing star. Not only that, but he's strong enough to keep Nidavellir's rings aligned in the process, demonstrating absurd strength and durability. Although it wasn't in the context of an actual fight, this act of bravery from Thor is perhaps his single most impressive feat in the entire franchise.

6 Hulk And Ant-Man Can Both Punch Down Leviathans

The Avengers, Avengers: Endgame

The Hulk punching a Leviathan in The Avengers

Among the units of the vile Chitauri warriors, the Leviathans are easily one of the most feared sights in their alien army. Despite being huge, floating space whales, the Leviathans are still able to be taken down in a single punch by both The Hulk and a giant-sized Ant-Man, as shown off in both The Avengers and Avengers: Endgame, respectively. To determine just how impressive these strikes are, one must examine the durability of the Leviathans' armor as determined by Iron Man's brachial lasers.

In The Avengers, Tony's brachial lasers on the Mark VI aren't able to penetrate the hide of the Leviathans, despite the fact that each one of them carries a staggering 200-petawatts of energy, roughly equivalent to a nuclear bomb. This means that both The Hulk and giant Ant-Man's strikes are more damaging to the Leviathans than a literal directed nuclear blast would be. By the specifics laid out by earlier MCU statements, these blows are made all the more impressive.

5 Thanos Throws A Moon As An Attack

Avengers: Infinity War

Even when limited to a handful of Infinity Stones, Thanos was still capable of dishing out some tremendous damage. This is best described in the fight on Titan, in which Thanos utilizes the Power, Space, Reality and Soul Stones to their full potential on the battlefield, though the first two get the majority of the action. Just when it seems the heroes are about to come out on top, thanks to Star-Lord's emotional outburst, Thanos has his head back in the game, and quickly launches his most dramatic attack yet.

Harnessing the Power Stone and the Space Stone, Thanos manages to telekinetically grasp the broader side of one of Titan's moons. He then summons all his might to hurl it at his foes, breaking the atmosphere of the planet while raining down deadly meteors from the broken celestial body. It's rare that a Marvel character has had such an obvious demonstration of power as Thanos' attack here.

4 Scarlet Witch Holds Back 5 Infinity Stones

Avengers: Infinity War

It's no secret that The Infinity Stones have allowed for most of the MCU's most overt displays of power, owing to their immense importance as fundamental building blocks of the universe. But as powerful as the primordial MacGuffins are, Scarlet Witch's chaos magic is still able to give them a run for their money. This is proven in Avengers: Infinity War when Wanda Maximoff is able to hold back Thanos with five of the six stones.

Not only is the stream of magic bursting from only one of Scarlet Witch's hands strong enough to slow Thanos' advance to a crawl, but she's able to keep it up while tearing out the Mind Stone from Vision's head at the same time. That's not even to mention the emotional turmoil of being forced to kill her romantic partner, which could arguably be increasing or decreasing her power at the moment. Either way, few other beings could ever hope to hold off even a single stone, let alone five of the six.

3 Iron Man And Thor Blow Up A City

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ultron comes close to enacting one of the most devastating attacks in Marvel Cinematic Universe history when he raises an entire city from Sokovia, hoping to use it as a massive meteor that'll destroy the rest of the Earth. The Avengers are forced to work quickly to defeat his army of drones while evacuating as many Sokovian citizens as possible to the ground as the city of Novi Grad rises into the air. After Ultron's robots had been dealt with and as many innocent bystanders as possible had been saved, something had to be done about the falling landmass.

Amazingly, Iron Man and Thor were able to output enough energy to destroy Ultron's gravity drive lifting the city, causing a chain reaction explosion that reduced the extinction-level event to a manageable shower of meteors. With Iron Man firing directly from his Arc Reactor and Thor channeling as much divine lightning as he could muster, the two were able to output enough energy to get the job done. Destroying an entire city with two people is one of the most noteworthy feats of destruction the Avengers have ever achieved.

2 Captain Marvel One-Shots Thanos' Ship

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame had the difficult task of getting audiences to like and identify with a new character that had only retroactively joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe via prequel recently. It doesn't hurt that Carol Danvers is one of the strongest MCU heroes, getting an awesome entrance into the fray at the final Battle of Earth. Before the heroes are able to rally around Iron Man's Infinity Gauntlet, the overwhelming orbital bombardment from Thanos' ship, the Sanctuary II, seems to be too much.

That is, until Captain Marvel comes streaking across the sky to save the day. Using her own body as a projectile, Captain Marvel is able to single-handedly wipe out Thanos' biggest military asset, not to mention causing thousands of deaths in collateral damage at the same time. If it weren't for Carol's last-minute appearance, it's likely that the Battle of Earth would've gone much differently.

1 Doctor Strange Turns A Black Hole Into Butterflies

Avengers: Infinity War

Speaking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's strongest heroes, the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange has slowly made a case for himself as the most powerful active hero in the series. While he starts off shaky, only able to summon portals and use his flying cape as a distraction, Doctor Strange quickly becomes so adept with magic that he's able to keep up with Thanos wielding multiple Infinity Stone all by himself. This is demonstrated early on in the fight on Titan, in which Strange performs some of his most impressive and jaw-dropping spells yet.

His most impressive renders one of the most destructive forces in the universe into a harmless sensory effect. Using the Space Stone, Thanos flings a literal black hole at Doctor Strange, which would be impressive if it weren't for the fact that Strange uses his powerful magic to turn the gravitational surge into a harmless puff of butterflies. With the very forces of the cosmos at his beck and call, it's hard to understate Doctor Strange's strength as an Avenger in this brief counter.