Between villains who have a bone to pick with the multiverse and heroes who have something to say about it, the stage is set for major showdowns in the MCU next year. As the 2026 lineup grows with rumors, confirmations, and wishful thinking, each new addition brings its own excitement. While some characters will settle old scores, others might simply get caught in the chaos. Either way, the MCU’s 2026 roster is stacking up with some of its most powerful characters yet.
As the Multiversal Saga nears its end, Marvel Studios keeps fine-tuning its roster. Leading the charge is Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel’s biggest release yet and the first Avengers film since Endgame. It promises massive multiversal threats and the heroes who’ll defend against them. Among upcoming titles like VisionQuest, Wonder Man, and X-Men ’97, it's clear that the MCU will have an action-packed 2026.
Ranking the 10 Most Powerful MCU Characters Coming in 2026
10. Ultron - VisionQuest
The sentient artificial intelligence Ultron, introduced in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, will return in Disney+’s Vision Quest series. For many fans who always believed Ultron deserved a trilogy, VisionQuest might suffice to give the Avengers’ villain one more go. Whether he returns for vengeance against Vision for his betrayal or ends up switching sides, his comeback will shake things up.
9. Namor - Avengers: Doomsday
Namor the Sub-Mariner joined the MCU's ranks in 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the formidable leader of the underwater nation of Talokan. Namor is known for his water-based abilities, primarily his power to command and control ocean life, as well as his superhuman strength and endurance.
Namor proved to be a powerful adversary in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With his tendency to switch sides, he is definitely one to watch in Avengers: Doomsday. Thankfully, he reached a truce with Shuri and halted his assault on Wakanda at the end of Black Panther 2.
8. Vision - VisionQuest
Vision has always been one of the MCU’s most intriguing synthezoids, set to make a comeback in VisionQuest and tie up some of the loose ends teased in WandaVision, completing the trilogy. By the end of WandaVision, Vision embarked on a journey of self-discovery after being reminded of the life he once shared with Wanda Maximoff.
In VisionQuest, Vision is expected to evolve beyond anything fans have seen before, possibly becoming a being of pure consciousness. According to history, this can go either way.
Similar cases of other man-made life forms in the MCU, such as AIDA and Ultron gaining consciousness, prove just how unpredictable that path can be. With his mix of super strength, intelligence, density manipulation, and Mind Stone-level awareness, Vision could become one of the most powerful entities in the MCU yet.
7. Magneto - Avengers: Doomsday/X-Men ’97
In Avengers: Doomsday, Ian McKellen's Magneto will supposedly fight alongside the X-Men in the battle against Doctor Doom. Meanwhile, Matthew Waterson will voice Magneto as he and the time-displaced X-Men navigate 3000 B.C. Egypt in the upcoming second season of the animated series, X-Men ’97.
With Apocalypse entering the scene, X-Men ’97 Season 2 will probably launch a bold new narrative for the team, one in which Magneto and the X-Men encounter a young Apocalypse and possibly reshape mutant history.
Regardless of what direction he takes in Avengers: Doomsday and X-Men ’97 Season 2, hero or villain, Magneto has consistently shown how dangerous his ability to manipulate metal and magnetic fields can be.
6. Jean Grey - X-Men ’97
Jean Grey is considered an Omega-level mutant with powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities enhanced by the Phoenix Force. The version of Jean depicted in X-Men ’97 Season 1 achieved quite an impressive feat. She exhausted the Phoenix within her to stop Mister Sinister by taking away his mutant DNA and de-powering him.
Things are still looking up as Jean and Scott Summers are sent to the year 3960 A.D. There, they meet Clan Askani and reunite with their son, Nathan, whom they had sent earlier in the season for his protection. Fans are eager to see whether Jean Grey will once again be able to tap into the Phoenix Force that made her nearly unstoppable in X-Men ’97 Season 2.
5. Sentry (Bob Reynolds) - Avengers: Doomsday
Sentry first appeared as the odd Bob who needed protection from the newly formed Thunderbolts. He soon became an impervious anti-hero with several massive superpowers in the book.
These include everything from flight and telepathy to super speed, immense strength, and a host of other Sentry powers that didn't make the cut in Thunderbolts*. His unstable mind and godlike abilities make him a hero, ticking time bomb, and, quite honestly, wild card.
4. Apocalypse - X-Men ’97
Apocalypse is one of Marvel’s most powerful characters with a rich backstory. Initially known as En Sabah Nur, he is one of the world's first mutants, often called the ancestor of all mutant-kind. His abilities include telekinesis, invulnerability, and molecular manipulation, making him a near-unstoppable force. This background is neatly wrapped in a juicy history that dates all the way back to ancient Egypt.
In X-Men ’97 Season 1’s finale, Apocalypse made a brief but significant appearance. The time-displaced X-Men rescued a younger version of the ancient mutant after they were transported back to 3000 B.C. Meanwhile, the X-Men ’97 Season 1 post-credits scene set up an interesting future for both Gambit and Apocalypse.
As anticipation builds for X-Men ’97 Season 2, fans can expect to see two sides of the character: the ruthless villain determined to eliminate the "weak links" within mutantkind and a young version that could reveal a more justified side to his motivations.
3. Franklin Richards - Avengers: Doomsday
Long before he was born in Fantastic Four: First Steps, the infant quickly became a hot commodity as Galactus hunted Franklin Richards while Sue Storm was still pregnant. This alone points to the fact that there’s definitely something extremely special about the young Franklin Richards.
In First Steps, Franklin Richards gave fans a sneak peek at his powers. The infant miraculously resurrected his mother, who had overexerted herself and died while fighting Galactus. Additionally, there’s a lineup of Franklin Richards’ powers that were not shown in Fantastic Four: First Steps, including reality warping, energy manipulation, and time manipulation, among others.
2. Doctor Doom - Avengers: Doomsday
Victor von Doom is the next major big bad making a proper debut in the much-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. While Marvel Studios has been hush-hush about details surrounding the MCU’s version of Doctor Doom, the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps showed Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom in full villain costume speaking with a young Franklin Richards.
MCU fans are heavily speculating that Downey’s Doom will have some sort of vendetta against the multiverse and a desire to tear it all down. This makes it clear that the MCU’s Doctor Doom will definitely be packing enough punch and a few tricks up his sleeve to be classified as a multiversal threat.
1. Loki - Avengers: Doomsday
During the Thor trilogy and Avengers movies that featured Loki, the God of Mischief was always a formidable player, using his smarts and sorcery to stay ahead. However, the Loki Disney+ series gave fans several renditions of the character, from Classic Loki to Sylvie and even Alligator Loki.
However, when it comes to the power scale, Loki got a major upgrade in the finale of the Loki TV series as the God of Stories. As the God of Mischief, he could pull off a cool trick or two, but as the God of Stories (even though the TV series never mentioned the title), he can manipulate universal storylines, a huge leap in power that definitely raises the stakes for him in Avengers: Doomsday.
