I know, this old argument of one character being stronger than the other is kind of an old one by now, but it’s still just as important since it’s been one of the ways the MCU has been shaped since Phase One. We were given four main heroes to focus on in Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor. Pepper Potts is a strong-willed woman (she kind of had to be to deal with Tony), Peggy Carter proved that she has the type of attitude and ability to be a valuable asset, and other women that have come along in the MCU have done just as well. To be certain, the ladies of the MCU have done quite well as the years have gone by, as several of them have earned their spot and a few have been placed in positions that allow them to show off, but also allow the fans to get to know them a little better to be inspired. There is however a concern when it comes to messing with the levels of power that each character is allowed to possess, even if the main idea is to show how the heroes work together, not who is the strongest.
It shouldn’t matter, but to a lot of fans, it does.
Determining who the strongest Avenger is and in which form and with what circumstances and blah, blah, blah, is something that many people have felt is a worthwhile discussion. It’s interesting to be certain since it would appear that at least a couple of characters have been given their powers and a very limited backstory to justify or claim that they earned them. But when it comes to determining who’s the toughest character there is still a continual debate going on concerning who would be able to beat who if the moment called for it. It’s very easy to say that this debate might not have come about if there would have been an understanding behind the scenes of the history between the various characters.
It’s very true that some characters have evolved over time.
Even the comics aren’t as consistent as they should be since the various power levels of certain characters have changed quite a bit since their initial appearances. For instance, the Scarlet Witch has always been a dangerous character, but being able to nearly kill Thanos and take down Kamar Taj on her own are feats that the comics might not have ever deigned to show. For instance, during the Infinity Gauntlet series, Wanda was killed quite easily by Thanos. But there are other heroes, men and women alike, whose power levels have been tampered with and altered throughout the franchise, much to the irritation of the fans. Some might think that it started with Captain Marvel’s arrival to the MCU and the apparent idea that she had suddenly become the strongest character by simply showing up, but there were signs of this happening before she made her appearance. There was also discontent concerning how women had been represented in the MCU at this point, which could have been why the trend to make female heroes more powerful than the men, in some cases, was first started.
Altering the power levels has had an effect.
It was bound to have an effect of some sort since the dynamics between men and women in any movie are going to be looked at and scrutinized by a lot of people given that their roles tend to be set in stone at times and malleable enough to be switched now and then. In other words, men and women have been given different roles over the years when it comes to the movie, and the role of the strongest and most capable has been changing in the MCU for a while now. The different power levels that have been revealed and the revelation that some characters who weren’t that tough in the comics are being given a greater role is becoming kind of a hindrance at times. All in all, the MCU is still a lot of fun and the adaptations and evolutions that have been witnessed have been interesting. But mucking about with the characters and their various strengths is like walking a tightrope in the best of situations.
Dominance isn’t the name of the game, but equality in the MCU is under constant scrutiny.
Whether we’re ever going to see true equality in this franchise is hard to say, but the effort to reach that point is there to be certain. There are so many different characters in the MCU at this point that trying to determine who’s the strongest and who has the most power is hard to figure out. Some might still think that Captain Marvel is the strongest, but it’s easy to think that this has been debunked, and will be again before the MCU is over with.