Humanity is just a drop in the ocean. We may be the most advanced species of this planet but in the Marvel Universe, we are one of the most backward species to ever exist. The Marvel Comic Book Universe is full of amazing alien races with histories and culture that dates back to the dawn of time itself. They have amassed huge wealth and power, riding on the back of futuristic technology and knowledge of the universe and its deepest, darkest secrets. Amidst all these races, how humanity even managed to keep its flame going is something we will all have to sit back and think really hard to find out. These Alien Overlords are the real deal. They are the real superpowers of the Universe. Presenting – 10 Powerful Alien Races in Marvel Comics that can obliterate the Avengers!
1. The Sovereign
We start off the list with a race that is prouder than the Nazi Regime was during the peak of World War Two. Just like Hitler’s puppets, these guys also consider themselves superior to every other race by virtue of genetics. The Sovereign is a race of golden-skinned xenophobic aliens that like to hate literally anything that did not share an origin with them. They do not need to reproduce anymore since they control their genetics and can create their offspring using technology and change their DNA to exactly what and how they want them to be. The Sovereign have a very rigid social structure, with every new born having a predetermined place in society. They also have a very huge army that is outfitted with the most advanced technological weapons ever known.
2. The Skrulls
The alien shapeshifters called Skrulls have a reputation for being experts at spying and espionage. The Skrulls have been at war with the Kree since time immemorial. They have been at the center of many popular story arcs, including Secret Invasion, their most famous story-line, where they made life hell for the Avengers. The Skrulls ability to mimic the appearance of any person they come into contact with also helps them gain their target’s short term memories. This makes them exceptionally amazing at sabotage, subterfuge and assassinations.
3. The Brood
The Brood is a race of violent, carnivorous aliens that have a tendency to destroy anything they come into contact with. They are also one of the most evil creatures of the universe, and have been one of the most difficult species to defeat. Their persistence at surviving anything is what makes them so hard to beat. The Brood use biology to replace technology wherever they could. They have a hive mind set, with the Brood army being controlled by a single Brood Queen using telepathy. The Brood Infantry Units are built for battle, with the Queen commanding their movements all the time.
4. The Builders
The builders were the first-ever race in the universe to achieve sentience. They are the most ancient space-faring race of the Marvel Universe. The Builders were created by Captain Universe, and they consider her as their Mother and God. The Builders were the ones that seeded the universe with different life forms. They have two classes – Creators and Engineers, each specifically suited to their namesake. The Builders consider themselves to be perfect in all form, and that is the rational they use to conquer entire star systems. Their fleet is large enough to dwarf several stars and they can destroy an entire planet in a single sweep. The Builders are so strong militarily that they defeated the Galactic Council (the federation consisting of all known sentient species in the Universe) by themselves and even managed to fight the Beyonders.
5. The Kree
The Kree were once a primitive race that did not have the technology that could even put them into the same stage as the Human Era Industrial Revolution phase. They were mostly an agrarian planet. But the Skrulls, who were once a benevolent race, visited them and the Kree revolted against their gift bearers. They stole their technology and then waged an eternal war against the Skrulls. The Kree have now become advanced enough to be considered technologically superior to the Skrulls, and they follow a strict martial culture. They have a huge inter-stellar empire and are masters of genetic and artificial intelligence. Their Kree Sentries are huge war machines that can fight for them for centuries have an unlimited energy source and are outfitted with the most devastating weapons the Kree have at their disposal.
6. The Shi’ar
The Shi’ar Empire is one of the greatest alien empires in the Marvel Universe both in terms of power and size. Initially hailing from a small world of avian themed humanoid aliens, the Shi’ar used technology and their huge numbers to conquer planet after planet. The Empire now consists of multiple races that collectively form the crux of its ruling, martial and social class. The Shi’ar Empire’s greatest asset is its Imperial Guard – a team of superheroes that have tremendous superpowers and are pretty much like the Avengers. The ruler of the Shi’ar Empire is Vulcan, a human mutant and the brother of Cyclops of the X-Men. The Shi’ar once conquered the Kree Empire and at one instance, the Phoenix Force. That is how strong these people are.
7. Asgardians
Asgard, as opposed to popular belief, is not actually heaven. It is just a world that exists in an extra-dimensional pocket of existence, free from the scares and fears of the known universe. The Asgardian dimension, being cut off from the rest of the universe, has provided a suitable atmosphere for the Asgardian class to thrive. But do not for a second think that their isolation has made them slouch. The Asgardians have the most powerful warriors within their midst – Thor, Odin, Lady Sif, Skurge – are premium hitters of the heavier range. The Asgardians and the Shi’ar have fought before and the outcome was the Shi’ar losing to the Asgardians at the end. The Asgardians are capable enough of defeating the Shi’ar – a race that can defeat the Phoenix Force!
8. The Watchers
The Watchers once decided that they needed to share their technology with every other primitive race and help uplift them. One race that was gifted their nuclear technology – the Prosilicons, ended up using the tech to destroy their planet. Ever since, the Watchers have refrained from interfering in the matters of other planets, deciding to just watch and observe every civilization. What sets the Watchers apart is not their military might but their command over vast reservoirs of knowledge. The Watchers also have the audacity to challenge the Celestials, the most powerful race of cosmic beings in the Marvel Universe. That certainly warrants a place on the list.
9. The Celestials
The Celestials were the creations of the First Firmament – a being that does not have any form and encompasses more than the regular three dimensions and is thus an abstract entity. When they were a relatively younger race, the Celestials decided to play God and toy with life – forcefully making other species evolve and mutate as they saw fit as part of their experiments. The First Firmament was not happy with how the Celestials were interfering with other life forms, so he waged a war against them. The Celestials defeated their own creator and banished him to another reality and continued on with their experiments. That is how superpowers came into existence. Their cosmic prowess is virtually limitless and Celestials have complete control over life and death of all living beings in the Cosmos. They judge entire planets and if they do not deem it worthy, they can destroy it in a second if they willed it to.
10. The Beyonders
We end the list with the most powerful and most mysterious alien race the Marvel universe has ever encountered. The Beyonders do not belong to our universe. As a matter of fact, they do not belong to any universe. They hail from a plane of existence that exists beyond the Multi-Verse. What is even more intriguing is that nobody has seen an actual live Beyonder. What we see in the comic books are actually their agents sent to interact with the inhabitants of the different universes. The Beyonders’ power level is virtually limitless. To put matters into perspective, the Hand of a Beyonder is said to be so large it can fit in several planets within its fist. When Doctor Doom managed to steal the power of one Beyonder, he gained enough power to stand against the combined might of the entire Celestials, who were almost pushed into a corner fighting him.
