Marvel’s Avengers are known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but only one can actually be the mightiest - the question is, who is it? The team certainly has no shortage of powerhouses, but out of all the Avengers, which one is the strongest? The answer may not be what you expect.
First of all, it’s important to establish that the answer is different in the comics than it is is the MCU, partially because there are simply way more characters to choose from. However, the MCU answer isn’t exactly clear-cut, either. While Thor seems to think it’s him based on how he introduces himself as the “strongest Avenger” when trying to access the Quinjet in Thor: Ragnarok, the ship actually gives that title to Banner. That moment may have mainly been for comedic purposes, but Hulk does seem to prove he’s the stronger of the two in Avengers: Endgame by sustaining the snap of the Infinity Gauntlet. But again... the movies miss the real point of the question.
For starters, there’s actually another character that’s stronger than both of them - Captain Marvel. While fans were given a taste of just how powerful Captain Marvel is in her solo movie, her full potential was realized in Avengers: Endgame when she single-handedly destroyed Thanos’s mothership in the final battle. She also proved that she was more than a match for the Mad Titan himself when they briefly squared off - and keep in mind, Thanos had the gauntlet with all six stones when they did. For context, Thanos easily bested Hulk and Thor with only one stone at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. As far as the MCU is concerned, Carol takes home the gold for strongest avenger, but the comics are a different story.
Hulk may have lost the contest for strongest avenger in the MCU, but he’s a solid contender for the title in the comics, too. His strength is essentially limitless; he one managed to lift up an entire mountain - which was said to weigh over a billion tons - and defeated the literal god of strength in a fight. In his most powerful form, called World War Hulk, his very steps caused earthquakes. No one could possibly beat that, right? Wrong.
World War Hulk steamrolled over all of Earth’s heroes, and just when it looked like no one could stop him, The Sentry showed up. Sentry is said to have “the power of a million exploding suns,” which basically makes him Marvel’s version of Superman. The difference is that Sentry is a lot more mentally unstable than the Man of Steel, which makes him hesitant to unleash the full extent of his powers. But when Tony Stark tells him that he’s their only chance at stopping Hulk’s rampage, Sentry finally cuts loose, and an incredibly destructive battle ensues.
Sentry’s battle with Hulk ends in something of a draw, with Sentry unconscious and Hulk reverted back into Bruce Banner. However, one could argue that Sentry chose to end the fight before things got too out of hand and simply passed out from exertion, but in any case, this battle occurred before Sentry discovered he also had the power to manipulate molecules. It’s a close call, but if there were to be an all-bets-are-off rematch between Hulk and Sentry, Sentry would most likely emerge victorious, making him the strongest Avenger of all time.
