There is a notable gulf in strength levels between the Thunderbolts*, with some boasting the strength of an average human, and others being significantly enhanced. When it was first announced, Thunderbolts* was notable for starring a team of characters whose collective strength paled in comparison to the likes of the Avengers. Mostly comprising super soldiers and characters who, as Yelena puts it, "Just punch and shoot," the Thunderbolts were underdogs in a world populated by gods.

This is, of course, part of their appeal. It downplays their actual strengths, which previous MCU installments offer insight into which of the team and ing characters would win in a straight, physical fight.

9 Mel Is The Weakest Character (Despite Stopping Sentry)

Mel Is A Non-Superpowered Human

Mel is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's reluctant assistant. She plays a minor yet relatively important role in Thunderbolts* as she becomes a double agent whose moral stance against Valentina's shady practices prompts her to secretly work with Bucky. Thunderbolts* is Mel's MCU debut, meaning there is no prior appearance on which to base her relative strength levels, nor is Mel given an opportunity to show how physically strong she is within Thunderbolts*.

Mel is likely based on or inspired by Melissa Gold from Marvel Comics, who is a founding member of the Thunderbolts as Screaming Mimi, and later, Songbird.

Nevertheless, Mel is ostensibly a non-superpowered human. Although Melissa is to thank for subduing Sentry by activating the killswitch that seemingly fried his brain, it's fair to say that she is the weakest of the main cast in Thunderbolts*. This could change, now that she has been faced with fraught situations that could prompt her to boost her strength as a way of defending herself.

8 Valentina Allegra De Fontaine Is Powerful In Other Ways

Valentina Is A Non-Superpowered Human

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is the secondary villain of Thunderbolts* and the shady figure responsible for funding Project Sentry and, consequently, Sentry and the Void. Throughout Valentina's MCU appearances, she is shown to be an ambitious, cunning, and charismatic CIA director who has managed to recruit several enhanced individuals to carry out operations in her name. She is never seen to be taking part in any fights, nor displaying any feats of strength herself, however.

Nevertheless, it's safe to assume that Valentina can hold her own, given her high status in the CIA. In Thunderbolts*, Valentina remains resolute in the face of an attack by the titular team, showing her strength of character in the face of adversity. Regardless, she isn't as physically formidable as all the others in the room at the time.

7 Yelena Belova Is More Skillful Than Strong

Yelena Is A Non-Superpowered Human

Yelena Belova is a highly trained Black Widow assassin. Her MCU debut in Black Widow saw her face off against her adoptive sister, Natasha Romanoff, to a stalemate. She also fought Clint Barton to similar results in Hawkeye and has carried out several successful missions for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. One of these is depicted in the opening scene of Thunderbolts*, where Yelena can be seen subduing an entire corridor of armed guards alone.

Yelena is certainly stronger than the average human to be able to carry out these physical feats. Nevertheless, part of what makes her such a formidable combatant is her superior skill and agility. Her quick thinking and skill set are what make her a useful addition to the team, but her physical strength isn't on par with her teammates.

6 Ghost Showcased Some Impressive Feats Of Strength In Her MCU Debut

Ghost's Phasing Powers May Improve Her Strength

Ava Starr's MCU debut was as the primary villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp, where she bolstered the ranks of the MCU's most sympathetic villains. Ghost's phasing abilities were the result of a quantum accident involving her parents, who died as a result of her father's experiments with quantum energy and inadvertently caused Ava's cells to become unstable. This grants her phasing abilities that make her powerful in many ways, even granting her what appears to be above-average strength.

She is also seen killing guards with single strikes, typically immediately after phasing back into her physical form.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ghost is strong enough to send Ant-Man flying through a wall and damage another. She is also seen killing guards with single strikes, typically immediately after phasing back into her physical form. While her strength appears to be superior to an average human, it's fair to say that her strength doesn't match that of a super soldier, with her usefulness in a pinch being rooted in the combination of her combat skills and phasing abilities.

5 Taskmaster Is Able To Stand Up To Red Guardian

Taskmaster's Strength Is Enhanced

Thunderbolts* was woefully brief, particularly when her MCU debut in Black Widow was so divisive. Antonia Dreykov's Taskmaster is rather different from her comic book counterpart, despite boasting the same ability to perfectly replicate other MCU characters' fighting styles upon witnessing them. One such character is Steve Rogers, whom Taskmaster often imitates as she carries around a shield of her own.

The "Marvel Studios: Character Encyclopedia Updated Edition" guide states that Taskmaster's suit provides her with enhanced strength, though this isn't stated in the MCU movies.

This also seems to be paired with a level of enhanced strength that allows her to go toe-to-toe with another super soldier, Red Guardian. Additionally, Taskmaster often throws her shield with enough force to lodge it into metal objects, including a steel beam in her pursuit of Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova near the start of Black Widow. Still, without it being confirmed whether Taskmaster received a version of the super soldier serum, we can assume that her subduing of Red Guardian is thanks to her overall superior combat skills.

4 Red Guardian Is Strong But Out Of Shape

Red Guardian Received The USSR's Super Soldier Serum

Red Guardian was the USSR's answer to Captain America, therefore receiving that nation's version of the super soldier serum. Sadly, short of a few feats of strength like effortlessly launching prison guards around, there isn't much room for Red Guardian to display the extent of his super soldier powers in Black Widow. He is seen, however, tossing a large vat of waste in a flashback sequence when he was at his prime.

Part of Red Guardian's current arc in the MCU is that he is mostly past his prime. One of his most memorable and powerful moments in the MCU is when he endures a hit from a tumbling concrete block with his back, coming out unscathed. He additionally manages to push back against the Void's powerful telekinesis enough to allow Yelena to free herself, which is perhaps his greatest feat of strength in his current state.

3 John Walker Is A Super Soldier Still In His Prime

John Walker Received Wilfred Nagel's Super Soldier Serum

John Walker debuted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the ill-fated new iteration of Captain America. Walker injects himself with Wilfred Nagel's recreation of the super soldier serum, granting him similar abilities to Steve Rogers. He falls out of favor with the general public after using his superior strength to kill the serum-enhanced Flag Smasher, Nico. After his fall from grace, Walker agrees to carry out missions for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine under the moniker U.S. Agent.

John Walker boasts a similar level of strength to super soldiers such as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. In Thunderbolts*, Walker uses his super strength to leap hundreds of feet up an elevator shaft, and moves a truck with his bare hands in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. There are limits to Walker's strength, however, as he is unable to lift a huge concrete slab in Thunderbolts* without the help of his newfound teammates.

2 Bucky's Vibranium Arm Gives Him An Edge

Bucky Received Hydra's Super Soldier Serum

Bucky Barnes was captured and imbued with Hydra's version of the super soldier serum in Captain America: The First Avenger. This allowed him to match his best friend, Steve Rogers, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and stand up to John Walker and the Flag Smashers, who were enhanced by a recreation of the super soldier serum created by Dr. Abraham Erskine. Bucky is additionally imbued with the power of his cybernetic arm, which was first granted by HYDRA and then upgraded by the Wakandans.

His vibranium arm has been used to perform even greater feats of strength than other super soldiers who haven't been cybernetically enhanced.

Now, with his vibranium arm, Bucky Barnes is the second-strongest of the New Avengers. His vibranium arm has been used to perform even greater feats of strength than other super soldiers who haven't been cybernetically enhanced. In Thunderbolts*, Bucky uses his arm to shield civilians from a rolling truck, while he has previously used its invulnerability to pierce metal and concrete and gain the upper hand in an otherwise equal fight.

1 Sentry Could Be The Strongest Character In The MCU

Sentry May Have Received A Fortified Super Soldier Serum

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is responsible for creating the Sentry through Project Sentry, a nefarious operation intended to imbue its test subjects with the power of one thousand exploding suns. After Bob Reynolds survived the clandestine procedure, he emerged as a mighty yet dangerously unstable new superhero within the MCU. The process behind Sentry's creation is somewhat secretive, though it is implied that he underwent a comic-accurate procedure of being imbued with a much stronger version of the super soldier serum.

This has given Sentry an unclear yet demonstrably immense amount of strength. Sentry manages to subdue the titular team in Thunderbolts* with little to no effort, bending John Walker's shield into a taco shape and effortlessly ripping Bucky's vibranium arm from his shoulder. This alone proves that Sentry is the strongest character in Thunderbolts*, though it is likely that his strength will outmatch even the likes of Thor in the MCU down the line.

MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  Avengers: Doomsday

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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