The 10 Strongest Thor Villains in the Marvel Comics, Ranked

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While most people in the general audience know Thor (Chris Hemsworth) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s been around in Marvel Comics since 1962. This has given him many decades to accumulate a rogues’ gallery that is absurdly strong. If one is going to face off against the mighty God of Thunder, they’re going to need to be pretty strong, either physically, mentally, magically, or all of the above.

It’s because of this that Thor has some of the strongest villains in all of Marvel Comics. Some of them even dabble as villains for other Marvel heroes and teams as well, because of how much it truly takes to bring them down. Whether they’re from Norse mythology and adapted to the Marvel world like Thor himself or a Marvel original, Thor’s enemies are some of the strongest out there.

10

Destroyer

First appearance: Journey Into Mystery #118 (1965)

Most well-known for being one of the main antagonists of Thor in 2011, Destroyer is quite a heavy-hitting foe. This is no man, woman, or creature, though. Destroyer is an armor that comes to life through enchantment—created by Odin himself to hold the power of many gods with the intention of fighting full-on Celestials (beings borderline omnipotent).

The metal making up Destroyer surpasses the durability of the likes of vibranium, adamantium, and even uru, thanks to Skyfathers infusing it with godly energy. When Destroyer gets activated, it always means, well, destruction of anything in its way. Despite being abundantly strong, fast, and durable, this armor also can shoot visor energy blasts, fly, and can even manipulate energy and matter on occasion.

9

Loki Laufeyson

First appearance: Venus #6 (1949)

Of all the Thor villains out there, Loki is quite easily the most recognizable—both in the Marvel universes and outside them. He’s also one of the most popular MCU characters, period. He started as a villain in Thor and eventually by his own solo project many years later, Loki, he became a hero. But he is far more villainous in the comics and that always means terrible news for Thor.

The God of Mischief himself has sorcery abilities unlike any other and is one of the most powerful magic users in the Marvel Comics universe. He’s right up there standing on the podium with Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom. It’s said magical abilities that always make him trouble for his brother-by-adoption. Whether it’s something as funny as turning Thor into a frog and turning city neighborhoods into candy, or as bad as taking over the planet, Loki is unbelievably strong and always a struggle for his brother Thor.

8

Hela

First appearance: Journey Into Mystery #102 (1964)

Before her appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, only Norse and Marvel Comics diehards knew about the likes of Hela (Cate Blanchett). Which is a shame, because she is actually a massive foe and one of Thor’s best when it comes to the comic book world. While she may be the daughter of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) in the MCU, she is not in Marvel Comics storylines and was actually created by the previous All-Father, Bor, as an artificial black Infinity Stone.

She is the genuine Goddess of Death and that already makes her such an issue for Thor. She can raise the dead and is a bit stronger than the typical Asgardian god. Also, as represented in Thor: Ragnarok, she is immortal—not only when on Asgard like in the movie, though. In comics, Hela is genuinely just immortal.

7

Kurse (Algrim)

First appearance: Thor #347 (1984)

Kurse (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) was also featured in the MCU through the ever-hated Thor: The Dark World and was definitely representative of why people didn’t like the movie. He was massively de-powered from his comic counterpart and disappointed many. A massive reason being the fact that if he was more like his comic self, he could have been a villain for a movie all on his own.

When he was first introduced in Thor #347 (1984), he was comparable in strength to the God of Thunder. However, over the years, he has grown far more powerful. Both in physical strength and upgrades, as he received an enchanted armor/gear from the Beyonder that made him almost invincible. Like the rest of the Dark Elf species, though, he is still susceptible to iron. But that’s only a weakness if someone can actually get close.

6

Midgard Serpent (Jormungand)

First appearance: Thor #127 (1966)

An incredibly important figure in Norse mythology is none other than Jormungand, aka the Midgard Serpent. The character has a huge place in the story of Ragnarok (the actual mythology, not Thor: Ragnarok), as he is destined to fight against the gods at the end of the world. Marvel Comics loves playing with the characters from the original mythology and making them unique and new to their own and the Midgard Serpent is no different.

In Marvel Comics lore, Jormungand is so strong that he can cause entire natural disasters and circle around the entire planet with his sheer gigantic size. He can also manipulate the Earth’s energy. It’s been stated before that he has potentially unlimited strength, which would make sense, given the role he plays in Raganrok, facing off against the gods themselves.

5

Perrikus

First appearance: Thor #1 (1998)

While the Marvel universe has a lot of protectors in the people of Asgard, there’s actually an evil parallel to them known as the Dark Gods. Within the Dark Gods, one of the most powerful is Perrikus. Back when Thor even had a niche human form in Donald Blake, Perrikus beat the God of Thunder so badly that it reverted him back into his Donald Blake persona.

He has a durability that has let him take a full-blown anti-force attack from Mjölnir and come out completely unphased (which not many can do). He holds a scythe that is strong enough to actually damage Mjölnir (also very difficult to do) and can shoot energy blasts that are almost as powerful. Perrikus was a great introduction to the Dark Gods and showed exactly why Asgard needed to fear them.

4

Gorr the God Butcher

First appearance: Thor: God of Thunder #2 (2012)

Of Thor’s strongest rogues, one of the most recent is also the villain of the most recent Thor solo film, Thor: Love and Thunder. This villain is none other than the iconic Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). In the comics, he doesn’t just get his name for style’s sake—Gorr is a genuinely massive threat and butchers a plethora of gods in the Marvel universe.

Wielding the ever-powerful All-Black the Necrosword, Gorr has power unlike any other. While it’s not showcased very well in Thor: Love and Thunder, he has exceptional strength, speed, durability, and can even create matter like armor, weapons, and other gear (like wings) through the power of All-Black. He was said to have tortured a god of torture once. He’s absolutely unreal.

3

Mangog

First appearance: Thor #154 (1968)

Mangog is a villain who will always exist, no matter what, so long as the sources of the many energies he feeds from are around. Which sounds not so bad for Thor to take care of, until one considers that Mangog has been noted to be the embodiment of rage and negative emotion for billions of beings in the universe. The only way he’s ever been “defeated” is through Thor using both the Odin force and the immense heat of Nidavellir’s forge at once.

With the fact that he draws on the energy from the hatred of almost the entire universe, it’s easy to claim that Mangog’s power can be considered almost endless. With strength like that, it only makes sense that he should be considered one of Thor’s strongest foes. He has pretty good reasoning for being filled with so much hate, too, as Odin wiped out his entire race and planet. It’s a shame he’s such an obscure character to many.

2

Surtur

First appearance: Journey Into Mystery #97 (1963)

Also known by the general public for his role played in Thor: Ragnarok, Surtur (Clancy Brown) was showcased to be an extremely powerful being—an incredibly accurate statement. Much like other characters originally from Norse mythology, Surtur plays a gigantic role in the story of Ragnarok. In the comic books, he’s just as powerful, which makes him a major threat for Thor—no matter what the opening of Thor: Ragnarok makes you believe, as he wasn’t near his power source, so he was majorly depowered.

With his source of power, the Twilight Sword, he can do exceptional and terrifying things. The sword itself gives him the ability to actually manipulate reality. He can grow large in size and even manipulate cosmic energy to alter himself to be untouchable, able to teleport, and even, of course, immortality. It makes sense why Surtur is one of the big bosses of Ragnarok.

1

Galactus (Galan)

First appearance: Fantastic Four #48 (1965)

The argument could be made that Galactus is only an Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Fantastic Four villain, but many may not know that he’s been a villain solely for Thor a few times. Most recently in Donny Cates‘ run on the character, where he’s the primary antagonist of the first six issues. Anyone who’s a decently invested Marvel Comics fan knows that if there’s a force in the universe that’s absurdly powerful, it’s Galactus.

The Destroyer of Worlds himself has faced Thor a few times and is typically considered a character that is “unkillable”. What makes him a villain for just Thor like he is for Fantastic Four and Avengers, is the fact that Thor, in Thor #6 (2020), killed the world-eater and claimed all of his power. Practically no one in the Marvel universe has even been able to do this before. But it wasn’t easy. Galactus is a devourer of worlds and being considered so unstoppable makes him one of the most powerful beings in the entire Marvel universe.

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“}]] We rank the strongest villains of Thor from his illustrious comics, from Destroyer to Kurse.  Read More