Dormammu is often referred to as Doctor Strange’s arch-nemesis and one of the most powerful entities to exist within the Marvel Universe. His powers are vast, and his appearance somewhat resembles the Celestials. That led many fans to wonder, is Dormammu actually a Celestial, and if not, is he more powerful than Celestials?
Dormammu is not a Celestial but rather an incredibly old entity born in the dimension of the Faltine. Throughout millennia, he gathered matter and assimilated it into his being, eventually settling in the Dark Dimension, and becoming its ruler. Within it, Dormammu’s powers are nearly unlimited.
That would mean that within the Dark Dimension – the mystic realm filled with natural warps into pocket universes he could assimilate – Dormammu is way more powerful than the Celestials. Outside of it, however, he isn’t as powerful but is still a force to be reckoned with. In fact, there were times when his power grew immensely in every dimension. Let’s explore the dark entity a bit more.
Is Dormammu A Celestial?
Dormammu most often appears in a humanoid form. However, his body is colossal, and he has a big burning head on top. He resembles the Celestials, in a way, but without their signature helmets. So, is Dormammu a Celestial?
Dormammu is not a Celestial in any shape or form and is a completely different cosmic entity, with arguably much bigger power than any Celestial, barring One Above All (the Celestial, not the supreme Marvel Comics deity).
He was born, probably millions of years ago, in a dimension where the Faltine had lived – the incredibly powerful energy entities who lived as peacefully as they could. However, Dormammu and his twin sister, Umar, showed signs of evil from the get-go.
They gathered matter to themselves and assimilated it into their beings to become more powerful. The twins eventually slay their parents, and for that, they get banished out of their native dimension. They explore other dimensions, assimilating matter on their way until they stumbled upon the Dark Dimension.
There, the society was peaceful under the rule of their wizard king Olnar the First. The king’s lust for power made him invite Dormammu and Umar into his realm, providing them with sanctuary and the mystic power of the Dark Dimension in exchange for them to teach him how to shatter the barriers between the dimensions and absorb other dimensions into his.
They accept but quickly lead Olnar to the dimension of the Mindless Ones, where he gets killed. Dormammu and Umar are considered heroes in the Dark Dimension, and Dormammu ascends to the position of the ruler of the Dark Dimension.
That’s when he partially reverts to his flaming Faltine form while merging himself with the mystical, vastly powerful energies of the Dark Dimension, making him unfathomably powerful, as we learn in Doctor Strange Vol. 2 #71.
Throughout the centuries, even millennia, Dormammu continued to absorb and assimilate entire dimensions and pocket universes, becoming all the more powerful. He frequently battled Agamotto, the first Sorcerer Supreme, but could never destroy the Earth’s dimension.
However, he’s had his eyes on it for a very long time, and the only thing preventing him from destroying and absorbing it is Agamotto, the Ancient One, and all the Sorcerer Supremes who guarded it throughout the centuries.
Is Dormammu More Powerful Than The Celestials?
Oh yes, Dormammu is absolutely more powerful than the Celestials and has tons of feats to prove it. As I’ve already mentioned, in the Dark Dimension – where Dormammu rules – he is nigh-omnipotent. There is no time in his dimension – no past, present, and future.
That means nothing can really happen – not even a thought – but at the same time, anything can happen. He can create and erase on a whim – Dormammu is really unbeatable. Not even the Ancient One at full power could defeat the Dread.
Outside of his dimension, though, Dormammu is still powerful, but not nearly as much as within the Dark Dimension. Luckily for him, he can operate from his dimension into other dimensions, using natural warps and pocket universes within the Dark Dimension. Now, it takes Dormammu time to get to his ultimate power levels, but when he does – behold.
Dormammu himself once proclaimed himself to be equal to Odin or Zeus – and those guys could defeat a Celestial single-handedly.
Also, just a single issue later, Dormammu explains how he’d easily make the Celestials fall and burn in the fires of the Faltine.
Now, it’s one thing to say something yourself, but another thing to prove it. So, what does Dormammu have to support his claims? Well, to begin, his single attack is enough to literally shake the universes.
Dormammu had fought and beat the Ancient One before and even killed a Sorcerer Supreme from another reality. One of his attacks was enough to make the almighty Shuma-gorath – an immortal cosmic being – flee. But, that’s not nearly the most epic feature he had ever achieved.
You see, Dormammu is often considered to be one of the Hell Lords, like Lucifer, Marduk, Mephisto, or Satannish. The truth is, he is unfathomably more powerful than all of them. In fact, the other Hell Lords dread Dormammu and are well aware of his power.
Do you know that super powerful Hell Lord, Satannish – the one who overpowered Mephisto himself and almost bit his hand off with his abdominal maw? Well, that guy was actually created by Dormammu himself.
Yes, Dormammu’s minion can overpower Mephisto. That’s how powerful he is. But that’s not even close to being his best feat. Remember Ego? You know, the Celestial that became the Living Planet? Well, Dormammu once absorbed him completely, merging his power with his, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 6 #17.
But, the most shocking presentation of Dormammu’s immense power was the multiple times he fought Eternity herself. And in one of those fights, his attack was so powerful that Doctor Strange saw the essence of Eternity literally disintegrating from the sheer force of Dormammu’s attack.
Finally, Dormammu was incredibly powerful ever since he became the ruler of the Dark Dimension. But, it didn’t stop there – the guy had at least three major power-ups throughout his history. First, he merged himself with a version of Doctor Strange, giving himself a new, improved, much more powerful body.
Then, he found his alternative version from the Earth-691 universe and merged his essence with himself, essentially doubling his power. And lastly, Dormammu’s most intense power-up came when he ate/absorbed his twin sister, Umar, as well as Baron Mordo.
So, is Dormammu more powerful than the Celestials? That’s a big, resounding, unfaltering – yes.
