Avengers: Doomsday assembles the largest roster of heroes the MCU has produced yet. However, this multiverse-spanning team-up brings more than just quantity. Many characters arrive significantly more powerful than their last appearances, equipped with upgraded abilities, new technology, or transformed circumstances that position them at their absolute peak.
The fifth Avengers crossover event, releasing on December 18, promises a villainous threat never seen before, courtesy of Doctor Doom. This makes it necessary for every hero to be at their absolute best. Looking at their current power level, these characters are ready to give Doom a run for his money in his bid to create Battleworld.
Characters Entering Avengers: Doomsday With Major Power Upgrades
Loki
Loki evolved beyond his original power level by the end of Loki Season 2. Tom Hiddleston’s character sacrificed himself to become the God of Stories, taking control of the multiverse’s time threads and holding them together at the center of existence.
This transformation elevated Loki from trickster god to cosmic entity. He maintains the stability of all timelines from his throne at the end of time. This makes him potentially the most powerful hero entering Avengers: Doomsday, assuming he can leave his post.
The Loki series finale showed him controlling time itself, rewinding events, and manipulating reality. These abilities far exceed anything Loki demonstrated in previous MCU appearances.
Sam Wilson (Captain America)
Captain America: Brave New World follows Sam Wilson as he fully embraces the Captain America mantle. Anthony Mackie’s character spent years as Falcon before Steve Rogers passed him the shield in Avengers: Endgame.
Brave New World shows Sam commanding respect as Captain America. The film positions him as America’s symbol and a leader among heroes. By Avengers: Doomsday, Sam carries the confidence and experience necessary to lead the team against Doctor Doom.
Sam also received vibranium wings and an upgraded suit from Wakanda. These enhancements make him more durable and dangerous in combat. He enters Doomsday as a fully realized Captain America, not just a successor trying to fill Steve Rogers’ shoes.
Shuri (Black Panther)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ended with Wakanda and Talokan forming an alliance. Letitia Wright’s Shuri forged peace with Tenoch Huerta’s Namor after their nations nearly destroyed each other.
This alliance gives Shuri access to Talokan’s advanced underwater technology. Combined with Wakanda’s vibranium resources, Shuri enters Avengers: Doomsday with two nations’ worth of technological superiority behind her Black Panther suit.
The fourth Doomsday teaser confirmed Shuri’s presence alongside Namor and M’Baku. The teaser showed both leaders in updated costumes, suggesting they prepared for battle together. Shuri’s upgraded Black Panther suit likely incorporates Talokan innovations, making her more formidable than ever.
Namor
The Wakanda-Talokan alliance works both ways. While Shuri potentially gains access to underwater technology, Namor receives Wakandan vibranium enhancements for his equipment and armor.
Namor already ranks among the MCU’s strongest characters. His mutant abilities include superhuman strength, flight through ankle wings, and near-invulnerability underwater. Adding Wakandan technology to this foundation creates an incredibly dangerous warrior.
The fourth Doomsday teaser revealed Namor’s new costume. The updated suit features more elaborate design elements and appears to be constructed from different materials than his Wakanda Forever armor. These upgrades likely incorporate vibranium, dramatically increasing his defensive capabilities.
Joaquín Torres (Falcon)
Danny Ramirez’s Joaquín Torres inherited the Falcon mantle from Sam Wilson. However, he received a significantly upgraded version of the EXO-7 wing-suit that Sam used for years.
Captain America: Brave New World showed Torres flying with redesigned wings featuring advanced capabilities. The suit incorporates modern technology that makes it faster and more maneuverable than previous iterations.
Torres enters Avengers: Doomsday with cutting-edge equipment that surpasses what Sam Wilson used during his Falcon years. This technological advantage positions Torres as a formidable aerial combatant ready to support the team against Doctor Doom’s forces.
Shang-Chi
Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi claimed the Ten Rings at the end of his solo film. These ancient artifacts grant immense power, including energy projection, enhanced strength, and the ability to create force fields.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings showed Shang-Chi mastering the weapons his father wielded for centuries. The rings responded to him more powerfully than they did to Wenwu, suggesting Shang-Chi unlocked greater potential from the artifacts.
The Ten Rings remain mysterious even within the MCU. Wong and other sorcerers studied them without determining their origin or full capabilities. Shang-Chi enters Avengers: Doomsday, wielding weapons that predate recorded history, making him one of the team’s heavy hitters.
Magneto
Ian McKellen’s Magneto enters Avengers: Doomsday with unprecedented destructive capability. The actor accidentally revealed in a recent interview that Magneto destroys New Jersey during the film. McKellen told Jake’s Takes: "I did destroy New Jersey the other day. Oh, I perhaps shouldn’t have said that." He later doubled down on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, confirming that Magneto destroys the entire state and apologizing to New Jersey residents.
This represents a massive power upgrade from the Fox X-Men films. Magneto previously moved the Golden Gate Bridge and lifted stadiums. Destroying an entire state suggests his electromagnetic control reached new heights, possibly enhanced by circumstances within Doomsday’s plot.
The scale of this destruction positions Magneto as one of the film’s MVPs. Whether he acts as hero or threat remains unclear, but his ability to level an entire state makes him a formidable presence regardless of allegiance.
M’Baku
Winston Duke’s M’Baku became King of Wakanda at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This elevation transforms him from a warrior into the leader of Earth’s most technologically advanced nation.
M’Baku already proved himself a formidable fighter through films like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. His combat skills, combined with the Jabari tribe’s warrior traditions, made him a valuable ally.
However, commanding Wakanda’s military forces and resources gives M’Baku unprecedented strategic power. He enters Avengers: Doomsday not just as a strong individual but as the leader who can deploy Wakanda’s full might against Doctor Doom.
Cyclops
James Marsden’s Cyclops returns with dramatically increased power. The third Avengers: Doomsday teaser showed Cyclops removing his visor and unleashing a massive optic blast across a destroyed battlefield.
The blast appeared larger and more destructive than anything Cyclops demonstrated in the Fox X-Men films. The scene showed him screaming as he unleashed the full force of his abilities, suggesting desperation or rage pushed him beyond previous limits.
Cyclops wore a comic-accurate yellow costume in the teaser, complete with bright belts and proper X-Men insignia. This visual upgrade accompanied his power increase, positioning him as the field leader the X-Men deserved rather than the sidelined character he became in later Fox films.
The teaser implied Cyclops faces Sentinels, with a giant figure visible behind him in the ruins. This creates his first on-screen confrontation with the mutant-hunting robots after 26 years playing the character, giving him an iconic moment denied throughout the Fox franchise.
Thor
Thor: Love and Thunder ended with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor adopting Love, the daughter of Gorr the God Butcher. This relationship fundamentally changed Thor’s priorities and motivations.
Thor previously fought for Asgard, Earth, and the universe at large. While noble causes, they lacked the personal stakes that drive warriors to their absolute limits. Love gives Thor something intimate and precious to protect.
The second Avengers: Doomsday teaser showed Thor looking concerned, suggesting Doctor Doom’s actions perhaps threaten or separate him and Love, giving Thor the most personal motivation he has ever carried into battle.
A desperate Thor fighting to protect his daughter represents the God of Thunder at his most dangerous. Previous films showed Thor could channel devastating power when pushed. Avengers: Doomsday positions him with the strongest emotional drive he has ever experienced, making him more formidable than his Infinity War or Endgame appearances.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
