10 Most Powerful Characters in Ice & Fire (Ranked)

We know that there are a lot of different characters in the world of Ice & Fire that George RR Martin created, as the books he wrote were the ones that served as the source materials for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Of course, a lot of these characters are powerful enough in their own right, regardless of the way we actually determine what constitutes true power.

As such, there are a lot of different powerful characters in the world of Ice & Fire, as all of the most prominent characters have unique abilities and skills that allow them to be quite powerful. But we are not only measuring power here in terms of battle strength but also in influence and in other different ways. So, with that said, let’s look at the most powerful characters in George RR Martin’s books.

10. Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra Targaryen is one of the protagonists of House of the Dragon and seems to be the focus character of the series. History doesn’t remember Rhaenyra very well, but her story was told very well in House of the Dragon as she was the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms because her father named her his heir. 

However, that right was taken away from her by Queen Alicent Hightower, Otto Hightower, and the rest of the Greens when they installed King Aegon II on the Iron Throne. This led to the Dance of the Dragons, which is the Targaryen civil war that tore the entire realm apart. Rhaenyra’s side showcased its power when she was able to win the support of some of the most powerful houses in Westeros and had 13 dragons during the beginning of the war. But what limited her power was the fact that the Greens also had half of the realm’s power as well.

9. Rob Stark

Not a lot of people would remember Rob Stark as a powerful character during the events of Game of Thrones, but he was actually quite powerful. Called the Young Wolf, he was a genius strategist and tactician because he was able to win all of the battles that he fought and was able to outmaneuver Tywin Lannister in battle. And he had the support of the entire north, which was as big as the rest of the Seven Kingdoms.

In that regard, Rob Stark had a powerful army under his command when he was named King of the North. On top of that, he was as brilliant as any military commander can be. The only problem was that he followed his heart and that eventually led to his downfall. Had he decided to stay true to his promise of marrying one of Walder Frey’s daughters, he would have won the war against the Lannisters.

8. Corlys Velaryon

In terms of overall power during the time of the Dance of the Dragons, Corlys Velaryon was probably the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms. As the head of House Velaryon, he had the most powerful fleet in the known world and had his own share of dragons. He was also a military genius and a capable fighter.

The only problem in relation to his power was that his strength was limited to his own house and to the smaller houses that were pledged to House Velaryon. That was probably the reason why he desired to see his family on the Iron Throne so much. Nevertheless, House Velaryon saw the peak of its power during Corlys’s time, as this noble family only became less prominent as the years passed.

7. Jon Snow

Jon Snow was a simple man that only wanted to find a place where he belonged but what he didn’t know was that he had arguably the most powerful combination of bloodlines during the events of Game of Thrones. He started out as a brother of the Night’s Watch and eventually became the Lord Commander who even commanded the loyalty of the Wildling army. And when he defeated the Boltons, he was named the king of the north due to being the last known male with Stark blood at that time.

However, the truth was that Jon Snow was the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and that meant that he was a trueborn Targaryen and Stark. In that regard, he had power from three sources: his Stark blood, his Targaryen blood, and his command over the Night’s Watch and the Wildlings. He was even considered to be the Prince that was Promised. But the only thing that held him back was the fact that he was the only one among the different characters in Ice & Fire that had no desire for titles or power, as he simply wanted to do what was right.

6. Bran Stark

It’s not a surprise that we have another Stark on this list, as Bran Stark is one of the most powerful characters in the entire storyline, not only because of his Stark blood but also because of his status as the Three-Eyed Raven. While he became crippled after getting pushed from the top of a tower by Jaime Lannister, Bran eventually learned of his true destiny as the Three-Eyed Raven, which is a person that is capable of seeing almost everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen.

The fact that Bran can see almost everything in history means that he already has a clue of what is going to happen. And it was his status as a walking history book that allowed him to survive the events of Game of Thrones and become the first elected king in the history of the Seven Kingdoms in the aftermath of the war between Daenerys and Cersei.

5. Tywin Lannister 

During the reigns of both Aerys Targaryen and the Baratheons, Tywin Lannister was widely considered to be the most powerful man in the entire realm because he had all of the things that were enough to make a man powerful: money, wits, influence, and men. The fact that Tywin was arguably the smartest and greatest lord among the Great Houses of Westeros made him the most feared man in the realm. And not even the Baratheon kings could stand up to him.

Tywin may not have worn the crown, but he was always the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms behind the scenes because of his influence over the different leaders of the realm. The fact that the realm was also indebted to him financially allowed him to put pressure on the Baratheons during their reign. Of course, there is no other man in the history of Westeros who had his cunning, tactical, and ruthless intelligence.

4. Cersei Lannister

Out of all of the different women in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, Cersei Lannister is near the top of the list in terms of her power and influence. This all stems from the fact that she was the queen consort to Robert Baratheon and the queen mother to both Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon. And after the death of her last surviving son, she became the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, with only Daenerys contesting her place on the Iron Throne.

Throughout the history of her character, Cersei used a combination of influence, wits, strategy, and ruthlessness to hold on to her post as one of the most powerful people in the Seven Kingdoms. And she outlasted almost all of her enemies to become the most powerful person in the realm before Daenerys decided to attack Westeros.

3. Aegon the Conqueror

Often regarded as the greatest of all of the Targaryen kings that ruled the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon the Conqueror was the man that united an entire continent that was never united in more than ten thousand years of existence. He was the only person to actually convince the different lords and kings of the Seven Kingdoms to bow down to him. And he did so through the strength of three full-grown dragons that struck fear into the hearts of all of the houses of the realm.

Save for Dorne, all of the lords of the Seven Kingdoms swore fealty to Aegon the Conqueror in only two years. There were even lords that didn’t have to march against him the moment that they saw his dragons. And it was the fact that he had dragons and an entire realm under his command that made him the most powerful man in the entire world during his reign as the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.

2. Daenerys Targaryen

She may have started out as a powerless exile that was sold off to a barbarian lord, but Daenerys Targaryen became the most powerful living character during her time in Game of Thrones because she had the same power that made Aegon the Conqueror the most powerful man of his time. And we are talking about dragons, as Daenerys’s magic allowed her to bring dragons back into the world, and she was the only one in the known world to have dragons on her side.

Daenerys’s power grew slowly and steadily ever since she hatched her dragons from their eggs, as her power also increased while her dragons were growing up. Through her influence as the Mother of Dragons and her natural leadership skills, she was able to gain a huge army of Unsullied and earned the loyalty of an entire mercenary group. She also became a queen in Slaver’s Bay when she abolished slavery there. And when she got to Westeros, no other person (except for the next character on this list) could match the strength of her Unsullied, Dothraki riders, and Dragons.

1. Night King

While Daenerys is the most powerful living person during the time of Game of Thrones, the most powerful being in the history of Ice & Fire was the Night King, who had been around for 10,000 years. He was the very reason why Aegon the Conqueror sought to unite the Seven Kingdoms under his banner, as he dreamt of the threat of the Night King, who he believed could not be stopped unless the continent of Westeros was united under a Targaryen. And there is a good reason why the Night King was so powerful.

The Night King had the ability to turn people into White Walkers, which were entities that were similar to him in the sense that they had the power to turn the dead into walking slaves. He was the supreme commander of the Army of the Dead, and his army only grew larger the more people he killed. The Night King could even turn a dragon into his thrall by bringing its corpse back to life. And the biggest reason why he is so powerful is the fact that he cannot be killed by fire and conventional weapons, as the only thing that we’ve seen capable of killing him is Valyrian Steel.