Superman Already Confirmed The Real Reason DC's Heroes Will Always Be Stronger Than Marvel's

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Superman flies through Metropolis on a sunny day

Published Nov 9, 2026, 10:20 PM EST

Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows.

The heroes of the DC Universe are naturally more powerful than those of the Marvel Universe, regardless of how hard the Avengers try to keep up with the Justice League. The Justice League and the Avengers are both the ultimate gathering of their respective universes' greatest superheroes, assembled to save the world and the cosmos no matter what it takes. Both superhero teams have also expanded way beyond their original lineups to include characters whose abilities reach extraordinary levels, to the point that they occasionally become threats themselves.

The enormous popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced millions to some of Marvel Comics' most extraordinary power feats, although the movies have occasionally simplified or substantially altered the original stories. Thanos' infamous Snap from The Infinity Gauntlet became a pop culture staple thanks to Avengers: Infinity War, and Scarlet Witch is now famous for her reality-altering abilities thanks to WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which have echoed her actions from House of M. Thor has also become synonymous with extraordinary physical strength and divine weaponry, though the God of Thunder has accumulated even bigger feats of power in the Marvel Comics multiverse.

However, Marvel Comics' characters are inherently a few notches below DC's characters in terms of power, all thanks to the very nature of both realities.

Superman Explains The DC's Power Levels Are Dialed Up To Eleven

JLA/Avengers #2; Written By Kurt Busiek; Art By George Pérez And Tom Smith

Superman fights the Avengers alongside the JLA

In JLA/Avengers #2, when Thor unleashes Mjolnir against Superman, the Man of Steel catches the hammer, leading the God of Thunder to ask how it can be possible. Superman responds that "the dials go up to eleven" in his world and delivers a punch that knocks Thor unconscious. Although the Avengers of the time have Scarlet Witch, Vision, Quasar, Ms Marvel, Jack of Hearts, Hercules, and Thor in their ranks, the Justice League easily overshadow Marvel's mightiest heroes with Superman and Wonder Woman alone, not to mention Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Captain Atom, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Zatanna.

The DC multiverse also possesses an elaborate hierarchy of increasingly abstract realms, including the Sphere of the Gods, the Monitor Sphere, the Source Wall between realities, and the Overvoid, with entities that exist beyond ordinary space-time and perceive entire universes as comparatively insignificant concepts. Marvel certainly has its own equivalents, including the Living Tribunal, Eternity, the Beyonders, and the One-Above-All, but DC particularly emphasizes the idea of successive planes of existence that transcend everything beneath them. DC takes the concept even further with Darkseid, whose true form exists on a scale so immense that his fall into reality threatens every single timeline across the multiverse.

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The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?

AUltron BThanos CLoki DKang the Conqueror

✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.

In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?

A2006 B2008 C2010 D2012

✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.

Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?

ADestroyed the universe BSnapped away half of all life CBecame ruler of Earth DTraveled back in time

✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.

In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?

AStormbreaker BGungnir CMjolnir DJarnbjorn

✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.

Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?

AThe Red Room BHYDRA Academy CThe Winter Soldier Program DDepartment X

✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.

The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?

ACosmic Rays BPym Particles CGamma Radiation DTerrigen Mist

✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.

In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?

ABucky Barnes BSam Wilson CJohn Walker DIsaiah Bradley

✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.

Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?

ABruce Banner BHank Pym CTony Stark DVision

✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.

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Individual DC characters have reached absurdly elevated levels. Superman's Prime One Million and King Omega forms make him virtually invincible, and his Cosmic Armor fusion with Ultraman makes him the physical embodiment of superhero storytelling. The Flash has achieved similar feats, like running so fast he singlehandedly reboots the DC multiverse in Crisis on Infinite Earths, or being so fast he's basically everywhere at once in Kingdom Come and Ryan North and Gavin Guidry's 2026 The Flash run. Marvel has certainly produced comparable cosmic spectacles, particularly through the Beyonder, God Emperor Doom, and the Maker's manipulation of the multiverse, but the scale and effort of their actions is noticeably different.

Raising The Marvel And DC Universes' Power Levels Is A Recipe For Disaster

Power Bloat Is Increasingly Dangerous To Both Comic Universes

While competition inspires the DC and Marvel Universe to get creative with power levels, focusing too much on them introduces the risk of pushing away what makes each character compelling. For instance, the Flash often claims the title of the fastest speedster in fiction, but in doing so, he also renders every villain and threat inoffensive. If the Flash can solve every problem on Earth and still have time to spare, all the slower speedsters' adventures automatically become more interesting. Likewise, Batman's best feats of skill are unforgettable, but they affect his fame as a regular human hero standing shoulder to shoulder with gods.

Marvel could try to catch up to DC's power levels, but the problem remains the same. Storm has earned her place as the most powerful mutant and the most powerful of the thunder gods, even higher in the Marvel Universe's power rankings than Eternity and Infinity at one point. Yet, Ororo Munroe inevitably needs to lose that power in order to participate in the X-Men's conflicts without solving all their problems all by herself. Although the DC Universe is naturally stronger than the Marvel Universe, there's no need for Marvel's heroes to power up. After all, battles aren't always won through sheer force alone.

Which comic universe do you think is more powerful?

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