Civil War will be released in 11 days, effectively ending the Captain America franchise and kick starting the third Phase of the MCU. And everybody is invited - everybody except Thor and Hulk, who are away doing their own thing in Thor: Ragnarok. Essentially, this will continue Age of Ultron, with the Avengers split into two teams facing off against each other, as some villain works in the background.
But who among these superheroes (and a couple of villains) is the strongest of them all? Could it be Captain America, simply because this is, after all, his movie? We doubt it - even in the comics, he’s had his ass handed to him by other characters set to appear in Captain America: Civil War.
This list is all about that - ranking the MCU characters – rather than those from the comics – based on the movies in which they’ve appeared in and the powers they’ve displayed.
And, just to make it clear - even if he were set to appear in Civil War, the Hulk wouldn't have been at the top of the list. After all, a simple sucker punch from Iron Man was enough to send him to bed without dinner.
Agent 13
Known as Sharon Carter, Agent 13 is last on this list, because she hasn't proved herself just yet. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier she was assigned to protect Steve Rogers himself - she kind of failed at that, even if in the end she was the one to give the signal of the rebellion against the HYDRA agents.
Furthermore, even if she is supposed to be a top-notch agent (after all, she was assigned to protect the biggest soldier of all time), she doesn't seem too skilled with a gun (as seen by the fact that she missed her mark every time she shot at Crossbones).
Well, in the comics, she didn't miss, since she was brainwashed to kill Captain America. Will that happen in the MCU's Civil War? It isn't too likely - though we don't know whether she is team Iron Man or Team Captain America (with whom, apparently, she is involved in a romantic relationship).
Crossbones
Crossbones is one of two Civil War villains whose identities have been revealed, and he is, basically, just an enforcer. Like Sharon Carter, he has no superpowers - however, he proved himself against the Falcon, who only escaped because the building they were in collapsed.
After the events of Winter Soldier, Crossbones is back, and he could be the reason for the entire Civil War. So yes - he is dangerous. However, the fact that he has no superpowers and that he is beaten by even the Black Widow (as some of the official pics have shown) tells us that he doesn't deserve a higher place on this list.
However, he is infamously known by comic book readers for the role he played in Captain America's death - so he has that, at least.
Hawkeye
This is the guy with the arrows - and, as seen in the first Avengers, he does run out of arrows. What happens then?
Obviously, Hawkeye from the movies is pretty resourceful, and doesn't let that get in the way. However, just like Crossbones, he is still pretty much useless - at least the villain is packing quite a few guns, as well as some robotically-enhanced fists.
He is higher than Crossbones on this list, because he has proven himself against the Chitauri and he has sensed Scarlet Witch when the mut"¦miracle wreaked havoc among the Avengers (during the Age of Ultron events).
Still no superpowers just yet.
Black Widow
Is the MCU version of Black Widow a superhuman or just a normal human? We have no idea - Age of Ultron revealed that she had quite a rough childhood, while also hinting that several experiments were conducted on her. She grew up to be a killing machine and the perfect spy, having tricked even Loki into giving away his plan (or did she?).
She has mad fighting skills, she is very useful with a gun (with any kind of gun, for that matter), and she is a great strategist, among other things. She beat Hawkeye at one time, she held her own against the Chitauri, and so on.
And her outfit is jaw-dropping.
However, she is still not as useful on the battlefield as the next characters on the list.
One more thing: Is she the one to switch sides in the movie?
Baron Zemo
We have no idea what his end-game is (we have an idea, actually, but we are waiting to see more of him when Civil War arrives) and we have no idea how different he is from the comic book version. But he must add up to something - otherwise, he wouldn't be the big bad villain of the Civil War.
We don't have our hopes too high, though, since the first reviews of Civil War have said that this is yet another opportunity that Marvel has missed. However, those same reviews did say that he is an actual physical threat (with his sword) for both Captain America and Iron Man.
So he at least has that - oh, and we did see him, even if only in the TV spots.
Falcon
Falcon is yet another new addition to the MCU, having been introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So Civil War will be the second time when he is a supporting character for Steve Rogers.
And he, just like all the others, has received a fine upgrade for his costume - and, to make it clear, his costume is the only thing that places Falcon ahead of Black Widow or even Hawkeye.
Thus far we have seen him battling just some goons, while also helping Captain America and Black Widow against the Winter Soldier. However, from the trailers, we do see that he is quite skilled when it comes to hand to hand combat.
Add to that his ability to fly, as well as his drone, and he is a very reliable friend and ally to Steve Rogers.
Spider-Man
What do we know about the Civil War version of the Spider-Man, other than the fact that he is a teen? Pretty much nothing - apparently, his suit was upgraded by Tony Stark and it aids him with his wild and untrained senses. But, other than that"¦
Obviously, the comics version of the character would be ranked much higher than this. However, the kid from Civil War hasn't proved himself just yet. And, apparently, he has no idea what he is capable of.
The MCU is just his playground for the moment. And that is why second-tier characters can be found higher on this list than he is.
War Machine
Basically, War Machine is Iron Man with less charisma, less imagination, and even less money. However, he is a walking fortress with guns instead of arms and rockets in between. So he can certainly pack a punch - whether up close, in the air, or at a distance, War Machine can be considered one of the veterans of the MCU.
His main weakness, however, is his lack of imagination - compare him to Iron Man and see which one is sleeker and doesn't have to show off.
Obviously, he is also a technological wonder - and, in Civil War, we might actually see him do something worthy of its name. Unless"¦
Winter Soldier
The Civil War trailers are cut in such a way that the fans may believe that the Winter Soldier has shot War Machine - it isn't so, though. However, some rumors are true and we will see in the Civil War why Iron Man is bent on bringing Bucky in.
Leaving this aside, the Winter Soldier is the most celebrated (so to speak) HYDRA assassin, who can single-handedly take on Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow. So he is indeed a force to be reckoned with - whether he is using knives, guns, or just his giant metal arm, he can put any of the characters mentioned previously to sleep.
Yes - even War Machine. Unlike the hero, the Winter Soldier is a trained assassin who can use his imagination when it comes to defeating his enemies.
Ant-Man
He can turn sub-atomic and destroy everything from within his enemies - to great risk, but still…Ant-Man is great. And having Paul Rudd is even greater.
Ant-Man, even if just a normal person in a suit, is still one of the finest additions to the MCU. He possesses an ability which could help him disable any technology-based enemy. And, as we saw in the trailers and clips for Civil War, he might just do that.
Obviously, he isn't the smartest of the lot, just like he isn't the strongest - but this counts too little when he cannot be seen. Add to that his skills as a thief and you got yourself one of the strongest Civil War superheroes.
Also, the rumor is that he will become Giant Man in the movie - which is yet another great feat to catapult him up among the very best.
Black Panther
Yes, he is a newcomer - but did you see him running after the Winter Soldier, kicking cars out of his way as if they were nothing, and ready to deliver the finishing blow? Any character who can do that deserves one of the top places on this list.
We don't know too much about the Civil War version of the Black Panther. However, what we do know is that he can go toe to toe with Captain America, that he has a suit made of vibranium, and that he is (in some way) enhanced.
Most obviously, he is tricked into going against Bucky and siding with Iron Man. However, this counts for nothing, since he is still going to leave an impression.
Iron Man
Here he is - Iron Man, the big daddy of the MCU, the antagonist for the better part of Captain America: Civil War. He has everything except for superpowers - but when you are a genius billionaire playboy and philanthropist, do you need superpowers?
No, you don't.
He was able to defeat the Hulk, he stood his own against Thor, it can be said that he singlehandedly defeated the entire Chitauri armada, he has numerous tricks up his metal sleeves, and so on. If he unleashed all of his power, without caring for the loss of life, he would probably defeat everyone on Team Captain America all on his own.
However, as the Civil War trailers have shown, he isn't too good in close combat. That is why it appears as if Bucky and Steve Rogers own him. So, in the end, without superb fighting skills, his armor cannot really help him.
Captain America
Well, Civil War is his movie and he is the greatest soldier of all time (in the MCU, at least). So it was obvious that Captain America was going to rank among the top three.
He is, actually, the first true superhero on this list, being at the peak of human condition and possessing a strong sense of morality. And that is why he deserves to win any fight - and he would, in the MCU, against any of the previous mentioned characters.
In close quarters he can match anybody. At a distance his Frisbee is unmatched. But not even he can get close to the last two on this list.
Scarlet Witch
All by herself, she managed to instill fear in the entire Avengers team (including the Hulk and Thor). By the end of Age of Ultron, she shows that she is one of the heavy-hitters of the entire MCU, fully stopping a speeding train and even ripping Ultron's heart (?!?) out. She is a total badass.
And the best thing is that she is still evolving. In Age of Ultron, even if she displayed tremendous amounts of power, she was still a novice - in the Civil War trailers we saw her flying and even making Vision kneel in front of her.
And, by all definitions, Vision is a god among mortals.
Who knows what the full extent of her powers is? Hopefully, we will see after the Civil War, and well into the Infinity War after that.
Vision
As said, he is basically an indestructible god, powered by the strongest energy source in the universe. You cannot beat that. Thor cannot beat that - after all, much of Thor's power comes from the Mjolnir, the hammer lifted – to everybody's surprise – by Vision.
And, much like Scarlet Witch, Vision is still at the beginning of his superhero life, the Civil War being just the second movie in which he’s appeared. So who knows what other powers besides flight, intangibility, energy projection, super-strength, indestructibility, and so on, he will discover.
One thing is certain for us, though - when he’s at the full extent of his powers, Vision will demonstrate why the MCU has feared Thanos thus far.
