The Marvel Cinematic Universe's humble beginnings are firmly grounded in science. Even with giant green men, powerful blue cubes, and beings from other planets, the concept of magic still seemed outlandish. It wasn't really until Thanos' first teaser that the concept of something much more primordial began to bubble up.
Fast forward to today, and we now know what's been driving Thanos' quest. He has been searching for the all-powerful Infinity Stones. Like in the comics, when all six stones are combined they give the wielder unimaginable power. For someone like the Mad Titan, this spells trouble.
But the Infinity Stones aren't the only powerful items bouncing around in the MCU. We've seen some other very old, very powerful artifacts pop up. It was bound to happen. Ancient villains like The Hand and old masters like The Ancient One have to get their power from somewhere, after all.
Some of these artifacts are trinkets; doodads to give you a little advantage in a fight, but nothing to write home about. Others rival the power of the Infinity Stones themselves.
Here, we're looking at the 17 Most Powerful Artifacts (That Aren't Infinity Stones), Ranked.
Vaulting Boots of Valtorr - Doctor Strange
These boots are definitely nifty to have in a fight. They belong to Karl Mordo in the film Doctor Strange. With the boots on, Mordo is able to leap great distances and easily land most falls. If someone less skilled than Mordo were to use them, they probably wouldn't serve a great purpose in combat.
The boots don't exist in the comics, but Valtorr does. His is a name Doctor Strange often uses when invoking spells. He also happens to be a dragon wind god.
It remains to be seen whether the boots possess any greater powers.
Judging by the MCU's tendency to stay grounded, it's not likely. If Valtorr ever does show up, he'll probably just be a sorcerer. Maybe a sorcerer who likes wind, but a human nonetheless.
The Cloak of Levitation - Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange's trusty animated cloak comes in next. As explained by Mordo, the magical item chooses the - much like the wands in Harry Potter. The cape is shown to be sentient and very feisty. It's capable of keeping Strange afloat in mid air. It also comes to his aid when he needs help and can form a protective shield around him.
Again, definitely a very nifty tool, but not something that's necessarily going to clinch every fight.
It also seems to have a rather tempestuous personality, and could end up serving as a disadvantage in some scenarios.
In the comics, the red cloak is the second one Doctor Strange obtains. The first one was blue. Both cloaks share the same power set as the one shown in the film, though neither of them display the same cognizant traits as the film version.
The Water of Sights - Age of Ultron
Think back to the most confusing part of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Dr Selvig brings Thor to a small body of water inside a cave. He tells Thor that the legends about men entering the water don't end well.
It's not implicitly stated, but the Water of Sights is the MCU's version of the Infinity Well.
In the comics, Thanos uses the well to find the Infinity Stones, much like Thor uses it to learn about them in the movie.
Not much information is given about the water. We know that it's ancient, that it's reflected in all nine realms, and that it is home to powerful spirits. Though it may not be a weapon in and of itself, its connection to the ancient power of the Infinity Stones as well as the far reaches of outer space cannot be ignored.
The Berserker Staff - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Here's one from the television side of the MCU, and yet another artifact that comes from Asgard. The staff serves as an important plot element in the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It has a long story dating back to the 12th century.
The staff grants the a temporary boost in strength and speed by tapping into their inner rage. This causes a mental drain similar to PTSD. In humans, the effect can take years and years to wear off. Because of its power, it's been sought after by both H.Y.D.R.A. and S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as other interested parties over the years.
It's definitely a powerful weapon, though its effects make it ill-suited for continual use.
For that reason, we had to rank it lower on the list.
The Staff of One - Runaways
The Staff of One on Hulu's Runaways is pretty impressive. With a prick of blood, it turns on, then you can essentially use it to make things happen. Picture something, and the neurons firing off from your brain send a signal to the staff and it happens. Pretty cool, right?
Of course, only like two people on the planet can use the thing. Tina Minoru designed the staff to respond to her blood, which means her daughter Nico's blood works as well. This also means that any kids Nico may have could use it too. Anyone else gets burned and drops it.
In the comics, The Staff of One is a lot weirder.
When Nico bleeds, it comes out of her chest. She can then use it to use any spell in the world. The catch is, she can only use each spell once.
Staff of the Living Tribunal - Doctor Strange
The Staff of the Living Tribunal is the second magical item wielded by Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange. It's shown to be able to deflect magical attacks as well as to actually hit things. Mordo also uses it in the Doctor Strange prequel comic to fight off a crew of magic ninjas.
The staff does appear to be a capable weapon, though not over-powered in any real way.
Like the boots and the cape, it seems to rely more on its than its own strength.
There is no comic book equivalent to the staff, though the Living Tribunal is a comics character. It's an ancient, cosmic being that can exist in multiple realities at once and blow up planets. The staff has not been shown to possess this level of power.
Captain America's Shield
The list of blows Captain America's shield has taken on screen is pretty impressive. Bullets and artillery slide off of this thing like water. It's taken up close blasts from Iron Man's repulsor guns as well as a direct blow from Thor's hammer Mjolnir. It's even taken a blast from Loki's scepter, which housed an Infinity Stone.
The shield is made of pure vibranium. Cap also has magnetic s on the shield and his gloves in order for him to obtain it more easily.
At the time of its creation, Howard Stark thought it was the last of the world's vibranium. Since then, Ultron made a meteor out of the stuff. We also know that a lot of it currently still exists in Wakanda, making the shield a little bit less unique today.
Hofund - Thor
Here's a great two for one deal. Hofund can get you from point A to point B, easily. Also, it's a sword, so can also use it to hurt people. Heimdall, Asgard's gatekeeper, uses Hofund as his main weapon.
Basically, it acts as an inter-dimensional key.
In Thor: The Dark World Heimdall also uses Hofund to create a shield around Asgard. He does this to protect the realm from an attack by the dark elves. Heimdall himself is capable of seeing almost anything across the nine realms, though whether this ability comes from the sword is unclear.
Unfortunately, with Asgard now in ruins, Hofund has been relegated to a fairly basic weapon. In the comics, Hofund does have additional properties. It can become engulfed in a blue flame with energy summoned from the stars, and can also disguise the wearer.
Yaka Arrow - Guardians of the Galaxy
The Yaka Arrow is pretty terrifying. Its controller, Yondu, basically uses it as a small guided missile. He does this by whistling to it.
For starters, it's sharp. It can easily pierce through armor, bone, and metal. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Yondu uses it to take out an entire battalion. It can also withstand extreme heat, and has been seen to weave through explosive material without a scratch.
The Yaka Arrow does have one mighty flaw, however.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Nebula is able to disarm it simply by shooting the controller offYondu's head while he's distracted. Anyone using the arrow would have to remain constantly vigilant.
Sadly, Yondu is no longer with us. At the end of Vol. 2, we see his first mate Kraglin learning to work the weapon.
The Monolith - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Monolith is made entirely of solid dark matter. It serves as a portal to the old Inhuman world of Maveth - once a thriving colony until it was destroyed by Hive.
The device was actually the catalyst in the creation of H.Y.D.R.A. They formed with the intention of using it to bring Hive back to Earth.
It does have one other small function: it could be used to wipe out Earth's entire Inhuman population. The Kree built this fail-safe when they decided they could no longer stand by their experiment.
The Monolith is not a weapon in the traditional sense.
However, since it can be used to not only to throw people to the other side of space but to quickly perform genocide, we had to rank it fairly high on the list. As of the end of now, its status in the MCU is still active.
