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The 9 Most Powerful DC Heroes From The Movies

Counting Down the 9 Most Powerful Heroes From All the Films That DC Has Produced

By Mason PalmerPublished 6 years ago 17 min read
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DC is home to some of the most powerful beings within any superhero universe and only a select few have had the honour of making it to the big screen. The heroes that have, whether considered a success or not, have definitely been memorable and some of them can be considered some of the most powerful beings in all of film. In this list, we will be counting down the nine most powerful superheroes that have been featured in DC movies. This list will be based on just the films and the comic books will not be included.

9: Cyborg

The former college football player may seem like he should be higher up the list. However, his appearance in Justice League suggests to us that he has not yet reached the peak of his power quite yet and he is still developing more abilities as the film goes on. In the Zack Snyder cut of the film, he is seen in his original state which shows us that in the original cut of the film he has only just obtained his powers as the Cyborg. Not only this, but throughout the film, he continues to evolve and gain new abilities which also shows us that he is quite new to his role as the Justice League member. His inexperience is shown yet again in the scene in which Superman is revived when it shows us that he cannot control his powers with his hand cannon firing at Superman by itself, whilst Victor is seen trying to control it but can't. I'm sure that if he had more experience with his powers and if they had fully developed it, would allow him to gain more control over them, which would result in him in being higher up on the list in being a much more powerful being. However, due to his inexperience and lack of control, he has secured the ninth spot.

8: The Flash

Barry Allen is in the same situation as Victor Stone in the placement on this list; although very capable of being one of the most powerful heroes in the DCEU he is very inexperienced. The fight against Steppenwolfe is his first big fight with his powers, which is the same for Cyborg. He states in the Justice League film he has only "pushed people and ran away," which not only shows us that he has little experience with using his powers to their full potential, but that he is also scared of the situation which isn't a good trait for a superhero. Yes, he is only young so it is understandable; however, it doesn't change the fact that it makes him weak against the huge threat he is dealing with. Barry Allen hasn't reached the full extent of his powers yet so he can only get more powerful with experience and time. An example of this would be tapping into the speedforce which is shown in the TV show but he is yet to do so in the DCEU and that shows us that he has yet to discover all of his possible abilities. Given time he would be higher up on the list but again due to inexperience and not reaching his full potential, he has made the eighth spot.

7: Ozymandias

Although Ozymandias doesn't really have any superpowers, his abilities in combat really do make him a force to be reckoned with. He is the main antagonist in the Watchmen film; however, in the film, he does also serve as part of the superhero group which does technically make him a superhero at some point. Also, his entire goal in the film is to try and achieve world peace, so calling Veidt a "bad guy" would be far from the truth. You may wonder why he is further up the list than the likes of Flash and Cyborg, and this is again due to experience. Regardless of how much power you may potentially have, if you don't know how to use it you cannot truly be powerful. In the case of Adrian Veidt, he has all the experience in the world and the abilities to back it up. He has had years and years of combat training prior to his appearance in the film and you can see this mainly when he is fighting off two Watchmen members, Nite Owl and Rorschach, with absolute ease and without breaking a sweat. He has even managed to catch a bullet in his hands when someone attempted to shoot him which is an example of his amazing reflexes so it would be hard to catch Ozymandias by surprise during combat. He is also considered the smartest man alive which helps him plan the main plot of the film and it works out in his favour, even outsmarting the likes of Dr. Manhattan who can see into the future. He manages to explode Dr. Manhattan also. Even though he manages to regenerate himself shortly after, he still managed to pull it off. All of these reasons above are why I believe he deserves the spot at number 7.

6: Aquaman

The King of Atlantis is definitely one of the most powerful beings in the DC universe, although he was once the butt of many jokes within the old comics. However, the many recent comics and definitely the Justice League film has forced many people to take him much more seriously and his appearances in the DCEU have showcased the king's power in full force. We got our first taste of Aquaman in Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice which showed us a little clip of what he is capable of with him first striking the camera with his trident and then swimming away at immense speed. This gave us our first taste of his ability of swimming at super speeds, which is not only a very unique power but it shows that he is very, very strong as it is much more difficult to move in water than it is on land and he can not only move around with ease, but with speed. It also goes without saying that he can breathe underwater. In Justice League, he is seen saving the superhero team by jumping in front of a huge amount of water going straight for them which could've drowned them all. He jumps in front of the water, smashes down his trident, and he splits the water and stops it from getting to the team. The force of the water would've definitely knocked down all of them and you can see how much force it had with the amount of energy and effort Arthur Curry had to give out in order to stop it. Nevertheless, he managed to stop it, which would've required an immense amount of power. During the final battle, he was also able to severely knock back Steppenwolf by hitting him with his trident which, considering how powerful Steppenwolf really is, is very impressive since the League had to bring back Superman in order to beat him. Aquaman from the past would be very proud to have made it to number 6 on this list.

5: Green Lantern

Hal Jordan is a very powerful hero. Since being equipped with the Green Power Ring, it's hard to think of what this hero cannot do. The ring allows him to create literally anything that comes to mind, whether that's a force field or something ridiculous like a giant toy car on a race track (that really happened in the movie). Although the movie is considered a flop, it still shows the Green Lantern's power in all its glory. The ring's power depends on how strong the willpower of the Green Lantern is so obviously at the start he isn't too powerful; however, as time goes on he puts in a lot of practise and he manages to control his willpower which allows him to exploit how strong the Power Ring really is. By the end, he eventually becomes one of the strongest members of the Green Lantern Corps and this is shown very well in his final battle scene with Parallax. Not only was he able to defeat Parallax by himself, which in itself is a very impressive feat, he was able to withstand the gravitational pull of the sun and the serious heat that it emits. He flies to the sun to lure Parallax near to it so that the villain would be dragged in by its pull. He manages to just stop still in space and withstand the sun's pull all by himself with no assistance from anyone which shows a ridiculous amount of strength being used by Hal. He then creates two jet planes that help him move away before Parallax could reach him and with one final hit using his Power Ring to create a huge fist, he punches the villain into the sun and as soon as it reaches the atmosphere surrounding it, it burns alive. This is all the more impressive since he was just a mere human not long before. These reasons above give Hal fifth place.

4: Batman

I know that many people would disagree with Batman being this high up on the list since he is just a billionaire who happens to have no super powers. The reason he is so high is because of how skilled he is with everything from intelligence to his combat skills. He knows how to play the game so well and this is shown in Batman vs Superman. He does his research on the Kryptonian and he knows how to use Superman's weakness to his advantage—not only the Kryptonite, but also his humanity. Batman knows that Superman won't try and kill him and he was right as in the film. Clark does hold back a huge amount to try and talk to Bruce man-to-man. He knew that Clark wouldn't go for him straight away so he uses this to his advantage when setting the traps at the start of the fight. Superman does showcase his strength, however, with a simple push which sends Batman flying backward. But Batman's greatest ally is his intelligence which he uses when incorporating the specialized weapons he created for the fight. The smoke grenade he drops on top of the roof actually had lead within the smoke which is why Superman couldn't see through it and where Batman went, which gives the Dark Knight a temporary advantage against him. As well as the specially made armoured suit he makes for the fight, he also has a variety of Kryptonite grenades and bullets to weaken Clark for a short while, which works really well as in the end Batman seems to have won the fight and he is just about the kill him with the Kryptonite spear when the heroes settle their differences in a way that set the internet into a frenzy. But I will cover that another time. In Justice League, Batman also has all the power by essentially being the leader of the League and his plan on how to defeat Steppenwolf and how to stop the motherboxes creating the boomtubes allowing the Parademons to work effectively when Superman comes along (which was also his idea). He convinced to the entire league that bringing back the caped crusader was the right thing to do and it led to them winning the battle, so it was Bruce's intelligent thinking that helped the Justice League win. He also has contingency plans in how to defeat every member of the Justice League including himself in case anyone was to go rogue. You might think this reason would make him number 1 since he has plans on how to defeat them all, but the feats portrayed in the films land him the number 4 spot.

3: Wonder Woman

Princess Diana is without a doubt one of the most powerful beings in the DC universe, not only because of her superpowers but also because of her upbringing. We see her first in Batman vs Superman where she comes to help Bruce and Clark take on Doomsday in the final battle sequence and in which she brings the big fight. She manages to save Bruce by jumping in front of Doomsday's omega beams and blocking them with the Bracelets of Submission, which is a crazy feat of power as the beams would've most definitely burned Batman alive if she hadn't turned up to save him. She then doesn't hesitate to engage in battle with the Kryptonian monster which is one of the reasons she is one of the most powerful—she is very brave. We see in her standalone film that she was brought up to be a warrior. She had been training her entire life on Themyscira where all the Amazons live. She has been brought up on the warrior mindset so this is why she will never back down from any fight and it is possibly her greatest trait—it will allow her to go in to fight with complete confidence and she won't hesitate or hold back. She has also been training in combat for most of her life. This trait along with all of her powers she already has makes her almost unstoppable to anyone who stands up to her. In her film we see her save an entire village from destruction and she launches herself into a clock tower that's housing a sniper and she decimates the tower into complete ruins. She also decides to go above the trench and onto no man's land which is again a sign of her bravery and she deflects every single bullet with the Bracelets of Submission and her shield. This not only shows her undeniable bravery but also her speed and reflexes. She also has enhanced speed and you can see this in Justice League when she shields Aquaman from falling rocks. She has used the Lasso of Truth many times throughout all three films she has been in and it never fails her. She uses it as a weapon mostly to assist her combat and taking down the enemy to which it is very effective and she uses it really well. Its main power is whenever people find themselves caught in the lasso they are compelled to tell the truth and nothing else, which would make her a great asset in finding out where someone or something is if they refuse to co-operate. She also has super strength which is shown many times through-out the films she has been in, especially where she punches Steppenwolf and sends him flying backwards into the wall. In her final battle with Ares she manages to take him down, send him flying also with her hits and pick up an army tank and throw it at the God of War, which really showcases her strength. As well as the shield and lasso she wields the Sword of Athena so she has many weapons and ways to defeat enemies to choose from. These are the reasons she ranks third.

2: Superman

Obviously the Kryptonian would be this high up in the ranks. His performances in the three films that he has shown that he is, without doubt, the second most powerful hero ever to grace DC movies. To start things off, he saves a crew from a burning tower in the ocean by walking through the flames to then rip off the fire sealed door separating the men from the flames with complete ease and with no harm done to the Man of Steel in the slightest. Then a bit further on it the sequence a huge tower begins to fall endangering the crew yet again so Clark jumps over and keeps it up before it falls which again saves the men. He shows his strength early as a child by pushing a school bus out of a lake and using his heat vision to boil a door handle to burn his teacher's hand. He showcases his powers a lot in all of the films he has been in like his flight. We see in Justice League that he can fly just as fast as The Flash can run. Even though this version of Barry Allen is still getting to know his powers, he is still pretty quick and it's impressive for anyone to keep up with him. Another example of power in Justice League is when he helps Barry save the civilians by picking up and carrying an entire building whilst flying with ease. He is also the first hero in the film to pose any threat towards Steppenwolf when he eventually arrives at the final battle by not only dodging one of the villains punches whilst smiling (just to rub it in), but also sending him into the wall with one massive hit from the Kryptonian which shows us all how powerful he really is. Another ridiculous show of power is when he is revived and turns rogue on the League for a short while and he fights them all of BY HIMSELF. If you actually look at the members and really think about how much power it would take to even have a chance against all of them at once, it is ridiculous. There is even a bit within the scene in which Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg are all trying to push him back, but Superman just doesn't move, withstanding the force of three members of the Justice League with what looked like ease. In the same scene, The Flash attempts to sneak up behind Clark; however, Superman is just as quick and we see this when he turns his head to face Barry just as he is running towards him and he EASILY just threw away the other three members and started to throw punches at Barry, matching his speed in combat. He isn't only super strong but super quick as well. Just like Wonder Woman, he has a "no giving up" attitude when it comes to fighting. He will never stand down or turn his back which is a really good trait for a hero especially for one as powerful as Superman as this can make him very, very dangerous for his opponents no matter who they are. His dedication to finishing a fight is shown in Batman vs Superman whilst fighting Doomsday. Superman gets impaled when trying to kill Doomsday which affects his reach to impale Doomsday with the Kryptonite spear. Instead of giving up he pulls himself forward, thus killing himself but killing Doomsday and saving everyone. He is ridiculously powerful and this lands him the impressive second place spot.

1: Dr. Manhattan

If you thought anyone but Dr. Manhattan would top the list, you would be so wrong. He can literally do anything he wants.

Here is a list of all of Dr. Manhattans powers:

  • Adaptive
  • Agility
  • Blast Power
  • Cosmic Awareness
  • Density Control
  • Dimensional Manipulation
  • Duplication
  • Energy Manipulation
  • Force Field
  • Healing
  • Heat Generation
  • Immortal
  • Intellect
  • Invulnerability
  • Levitation
  • Longevity
  • Matter Absorption
  • Omni-lingual
  • Phasing / Ghost
  • Postcognition
  • Precognition
  • Psionic
  • Radiation
  • Reality Manipulation
  • Size Manipulation
  • Stamina
  • Super Hearing
  • Super Strength
  • Telekinesis
  • Telepathy
  • Teleport
  • Time Manipulation
  • Time Travel

That's a lot of superpowers for one being to have but that's just how powerful he is. His feats shown in the film are very impressive also. He effortlessly rips apart an army tank with a flick of his wrist and then with a clench of his fist crushed all the pieces back together. He was able to teleport an entire room of people away from him after they were making him feel uncomfortable, leaving him by himself in the room. He has been shown to be able to rip people apart with a flick of his wrist and can alter his size to however big or small he feels. He is immortal as he can regenerate himself, which is shown when Ozymandias managed to explode him but he returns in an even bigger size than before. He can also see the past, present, and future simultaneously which allows him to know what will happen before anyone else will which gives him a huge advantage to stop things before they go down. Ozymandias was able to outsmart him but that's because he is the smartest man alive. He also states at the end of the film that he is going to leave the universe and create his own life. If that isn't power, I don't know what is. He can literally create an entire universe by himself. He is a god-like being that definitely deserves the top spot on this list. There is also a theory that the universe he creates turns out to be the current DC universe which isn't that crazy to think about since The Watchmen are based in an alternate universe.

That's my list of the nine most powerful heroes in DC movies. Thank you for reading and sure to check out my other posts.

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About the Creator

Mason Palmer

One half of Kwispy Flicks over on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtfPA3rUiyqzIoqDwY7Ix4g

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