18 Most Powerful Thor Versions [Ranked]

Thor is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe and among the mightiest Avengers. One might argue that only the Hulk can match the God of Thunder’s immense physical strength, but there’s so much more to Thor than just brute force. In fact, there are some versions of the Asgardian Prince capable of destroying incredibly powerful cosmic beings.

Thor fans, look no further – here’s the ultimate list of the 18 most powerful Thor versions ever created in the comics, from regular Thor to Rune King Thor and others. The list will be ranked from least to most powerful. Enjoy!

18. Unworthy Thor

Unworthy Thor opens our list of alternative versions of the God of Thunder – not to be mistaken with a pre-worthy, young Thor, who was a brash, overconfident Asgardian Prince before being deemed worthy of his powers and obtaining Mjolnir.

Unworthy Thor appeared several times – most recently, in the MCU in the first Thor movie and over the past couple of years in the comics. After Nick Fury whispered something to Thor, the God of Thunder suddenly realized he was not worthy of his powers, being unable to lift Mjolnir. During this period of self-rediscovery, Jane Foster took on The Mighty Thor mantle.

Unworthy Thor lost the powers granted to him when wielding Mjolnir, essentially losing the might of the God of Thunder. Still, Thor now wields Jarnjorn, a powerful Asgardian ax, and still has thousands of years of combat skills and experience behind him. He’s still a badass, just not as powerful as Thor Odinson usually is.

17. Throg

It’s not rare to see Marvel play around with silly stuff like Spider-pig being one universe’s Spidey or Throg, the Frog of Thunder, wielding the powers of Thor. In fact, there have been more than one version of the mighty Throg, and all of them are absolutely awesome.

The first time Throg appeared, Thor, himself turned into a frog and waged war on the rats. His partner in that mission was Puddlegulp, who was later revealed to be a human, and Simon Walterson also turned into a frog.

Puddlegulp finds a tiny piece of Mjolnir and manages to lift it, deeming him worthy. Throg, the Frog of Thunder is mighty, but still, just a frog, so I can’t really put him higher, but if you ask me about the most awesome versions of Thor, the Frog of Thunder has to be right near the top.

16. Thor 2099

The Marvel 2099 Universe was first believed to be an alternative universe. However, it was later revealed that it’s actually a distant future of Marvel’s main universe, the Earth-616 universe.

In this futuristic world, the Church of Thor exists in Nueva York, and Reverend Cecil MacAdam is one of Thor’s most faithful worshippers. However, instead of being the hero he worships, MacAdam is tricked into being a god-like supervillain.

Thor 2099 wields a hammer with similar properties as Mjolnir and virtually gains all of his powers through the hammer. However, instead of fighting criminals, he fought future Spidey, Punisher, and Doom. After Spidey kicks the hammer out of his hand, it’s thrown into Valhalla, the floating city.

MacAdam chases after it, unwilling to relinquish his newfound powers, but the city explodes, and Thor 2099 perishes in it. The guy was mighty, had all the powers of Thor, but was simply too inexperienced in battle and too hungry for power.

15. Dargo Ktor

Dargo Ktor is a guy taking Thor’s mantle even further away in the future. The year is 2587, and the world is burning in ruins and despair. The Corporation rules over what’s left of civilization, with only a handful of rebels working to oppose them. Dargo was a member of the rebel squad who found Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and Ktor was worthy enough to lift it.

As he did, Dargo gained Thor’s might, but although he was worthy, Mjolnir wouldn’t obey his new master. After a battle with Loki, Dargo decided to throw Mjolnir through a portal, leaving the hammer to find his true master, relinquishing the powers of the God of Thunder.

Dargo was Thor for quite a short time, but the fact that he defeated Loki with a disobedient Mjolnir and the fact he was willing to relinquish the newfound power definitely deserves a Top 15 spot.

14. Thorlief Golmen (Ultimate Thor)

I’ve seen Ultimate Thor much higher on some lists, but realistically, there are many versions of Thor more powerful than Thorlief Golmen. He was a part of the Marvel Ultimate universe (hence, the name Ultimate Thor), where Thorlief was more grim, aggressive, and opinionated.

Golmen was a vocal social and political activist who claimed to be a reincarnated Thor. Of course, after such a claim, Thorlief was institutionalized but soon proved his claims were true. He reluctantly joins the Ultimate version of the Avengers, that’s much more strict and worked by the book.

He wielded a hammer that resembled Stormbreaker but was called Mjolnir. However, as much as Thorlief was bold and brave, his powers were weaker than classic Thor’s. Also, he didn’t have the necessary fighting skills to be higher on this list. I mean, Magneto stole Mjolnir from him without even breaking a sweat. Number 14 is high enough for Ultimate Thor.

13. Ragnarok Thor

No, I’m not referring to Ragnarok, the event. I’m talking about Ragnarok, the cyborg Thor created by Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, and Mr. Fantastic, aka Reed Richards, for their needs during the Civil War event. They used Thor’s DNA to create the artificial intelligence being.

It turned sour quickly, as Ragnarok had all the powers and abilities of Thor but lacked his humanity, empathy, and goodness. Ragnarok was violent, crazy, and completely off the rails. I mean, Clor (Clone Thor) had done his job but had sick murderous tendencies. It took the real Thor coming back to defeat Ragnarok in the end.

Maybe Ragnarok lacked some traits that Odinson had but was still powerful enough to kill Goliath. She definitely deserves a spot here.

12. Eric Masterson (Thunderstrike)

Eric Masterson briefly held the Thor mantle before being turned into Thunderstrike. I’m not sure if it was an upgrade or downgrade, but at least it made Eric a hero of his own. He and Odinson shared a body for a while after Odin merged them. You see, Masterson was Thor’s loyal supporting character before almost getting killed.

To save his life, Odin merged him with his son, and later, it was quite difficult to separate Thor and Eric. After separation and Odin’s banishment of Thor, Eric was given Mjolnir and the powers of the God of Thunder. However, Thor returned soon after the Enchantress manipulated Eric into attacking Sif. 

Thor beat him in battle, even without his powers, and reclaimed them in the process. As for Masterson, after Odin learned about the Enchantress’ manipulation, he gave Eric a mace and the identity Thunderstrike. He was still powerful but a bit lesser than Thor.

11. Volstagg (War Thor)

Volstagg is actually one of Thor’s loyal warrior friends from Asgard – the guy with the awesome red beard in the MCU. However, he became a very powerful version of Thor due to his rage, grief, and nothing left to lose.

During the Secret Wars, Ultimate thor lost his Mjolnir that slipped through the multiverse portals. Now, Volstagg operated as a Senator on Svartalfheim during the War of Realms that raged across the cosmos. He worked with the children of Alfheim, but after all of them were killed in the war, Volstagg grieved. 

He found the lost Mjolnir from the Ultimate universe, picked it up, and proved worthy. He’s incredibly powerful, an awesome warrior, and incredibly motivated. However, perhaps his grief and anger sometimes get the best of War Thor, so he didn’t break the top ten here.

10. Storm Thor

We’re officially in the top ten, opening with a super cool version of Thor, Storm Thor. This is one of few awesome merge-Thors; the God of Thunder merging with another character to create a super-powerful hybrid.

During the Secret Wars in 2015, God Emperor Doom literally gathered an army of Thors from various universes to create the Thor Corps – his personal army to help Doom stay in charge. I mean, there were some pretty amazing – and bizarre – versions of Thor in the Corps. We had a Groot Thor and even a Dino-Thor. Yes, a Dinosaur Thor.

However, probably the most epic and powerful among them was Storm Thor. Basically, the X-Men character Storm from the Earth-904 universe was given an enchanted hammer called the Stormbringer and became Storm Thor. She was the Sovereign of Asgard before the Thor corps came to call.

9. Beta Ray Bill

Beta Ray Bill is a unique, incredibly interesting character. He first appeared as a Korbinite anti-hero. Beta Ray Bill looks quite menacing, and he fought against Donald Blake’s Thor first. After separating Blake from Mjolnir, and reverting him to being just human, Beta Ray Bill proves worthy and gains Thor’s powers.

Afterward, Odin made Thor fight Beta Ray Bill to death for the powers – and the Korbinite beat him, hands down. However, we finally learn that Bill is a good guy when he decides to spare Thor’s life, even if it means not getting the powers.

Odin is amazed by his decision, so he forges the Stormbringer for Beta Ray Bill, virtually making him the second Thor. The two Thunder Gods soon became allies.

8. Jane Foster (Mighty Thor)

Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor is getting introduced into the MCU, as Natalie Portman’s character will take on the mantle of the Goddess of Thunder. In the comics, Jane became the Mighty Thor after Odinson had been deemed unworthy.

Jane is battling cancer but sees she’s worthy after picking up Mjolnir, so despite her illness, she decides to do good and be a hero. She has seemingly the same powers as Thor, but her indomitable will, incredible intellect, and undying goodness are indeed deserving of such a high spot on the list.

Why? Think about this – her cancer gets worse every time she reverts to the Mighty Thor form. Jane knows that but still chooses to answer the call every time she’s needed. If that isn’t true heroism, I don’t know what is.

7. Thor Odinson (Classic Thor)

You might be surprised that the Classic Thor (regular Thor, or Odinson, whatever you wish to call him) is so high on the list. However, the Thor we’ve been following in the comics for decades is indeed one of the most powerful versions of the character, too.

Thor has seen so many wars, won so many impossible battles, was one of the original, founding Avengers, and made so many people fall in love with superhero comics. Sure, he’s had his ups and downs throughout history, but his heart never changed. 

Even when his powers were stripped, and Odinson became Unworthy Thor, he still continued to fight for what was right, proving he’s a hero like no other. I was close to pitting him even higher on the list, but the versions I’ve placed above simply top him in power. Not heart, but pure power. And, after all, this is a list of the most powerful Thors, not the most beloved.

6. MCU Thor

One might argue that classic Thor and MCU Thor are the same guy, but no, they’re not. Classic Thor is Earth-616, whereas MCU Thor is Earth-199999. Yup, the MCU has a designated universe number, too. So, why is MCU Thor better than Classic Thor?

Well, the sheer magnitude of change and character growth he had gone through has to be taken into account. From being an arrogant young stud, all the way to grieving Fat Thor, the journey of Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder has been epic.

His father – died. Mother – killed. Lover – lost. Brother – dead multiple times. His best friend – was murdered before his eyes. His home – was destroyed along with his sister. Still, he reemerged, picked himself up, endured the full force of a neutron star to forge the Stormbreaker, and came back stronger than ever.

I mean, the guy threw Storbreaker so hard that Thanos couldn’t keep it at bay with six Infinity Stones. SIX! If only Thor had gone for the head…

5. Iron Hammer

Imagine if Thor had such a brilliant, genius intellect as, for instance, Tony Stark. If that happened, you’d get the Iron Hammer – a merged hybrid between Iron Man and Thor.

During the Infinity Warps event, a new universe merged heroes (and villains) together, creating completely new characters. One of them was Iron Hammer, aka Stark Odinson – and he was epic. The character kept Odinson’s might and combined it with Tony Stark’s incredible mind and technology.

Honestly, I can’t believe Iron Hammer isn’t the most powerful Thor version ever. Heck, I don’t know how that combination isn’t the most powerful hero of all time. However, we’ve seen better, believe it or not. Iron Hammer is good enough to break the Top 5, though.

4. Thor-el

Marvel and DC collaborated more than a few times, but this collaboration was one of my favorites. In one of the Amalgam Comics, Thor was merged with none other than Superman, DC’s trademark powerhouse superhero himself. The name Thor-el came from Thor and Kal-el, Supes’ real name.

Superman was in his blue energy form at the time of the fusion with Thor but come on – whatever versions of these two epic powerhouses combined would create one of the most epic superheroes of all time. There’s not much Superman can’t do, even without the powers of the God of Thunder. Honestly, I’m sad we haven’t seen more of Thor-el.

3. Cosmic King Thor (Herald Of Thunder Thor)

In one of the most recent Thor runs, in 2020, we’ve seen the God of Thunder become almost invincible, receiving one of his biggest upgrades ever. Galactus – the all-powerful cosmic entity – sought help from Thor to defeat Black Winter – a huge space cloud that’s been destroying everything in its path for centuries – including Galan’s old galaxy.

Galactus gives Thor a fraction of his Power Cosmic, turning the God of Thunder into his herald. Imagine the Silver Surfer having Thor’s god-like powers on top of what Galactus granted him, and you get Cosmic King Thor.

I mean, his powers are almost unlimited. With the ability to warp cosmic energy to his will, the guy literally killed Galactus – the guy who granted him the powers in the first place.

No, I haven’t got that wrong. There are two versions of Thor, even more, powerful than Cosmic King Thor. Talk about overkill.

2. Rune King Thor

Many argue that Rune King Thor is the most powerful version of Thor ever created, and I can’t be mad at that because he’s almost omnipotent. I’d rank him second, but the margin is incredibly slim.

Rune King Thor is simply unfathomably powerful. Not only is his strength on an unprecedented level, but his wisdom. I wound delve into details and mere speculations – all you need to know is that, at one point, he bested Those Who Sit Above In The Shadows. The “gods of gods.” 

They begged forgiveness. Not only that – in Thor #84, Rune King Thor destroyed Yggdrasil, forever ending the Asgardian Ragnarok cycle. He’s easily above the multiversal level of strength – almost indestructible, immortal, invincible.

1. Old King Thor

Finally, the most powerful version of Thor ever has to be Old King Thor. I know Rune King Thor is the obvious choice, but hear me out. Old King Thor is the future version of Odinson that survived the destruction of Asgard, the death of all other gods, the destruction of Earth, and more.

He killed Gorr the God Butcher, Galactus, and many other unfathomably powerful cosmic entities. After inheriting the Odinforce, on top of his powers, it was renamed Thor-force, as Old King Thor got the nickname The Destroyer and sat atop the Asgardian throne as the last All-Father.

Over the years, Thor lost an arm but mounted the arm of the super-powerful Destroyer armor to himself. Remember, the Destroyer was a joint project of Zeus, Odin, and other ultra-powerful gods. If all that wasn’t enough, Old King Thor also claimed All-black, the Necrosword from Gorr – one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, capable of decapitating a Celestial.

Do you need more? Then how about that time when Old King Thor and Wolverine remained the last living heroes at the end of time, fighting against Doom, who possesses the powers of virtually all the Earth’s lost heroes at the same time.

Wolverine gives his life to get Thor the Phoenix Force, making him the most powerful hero ever in the entire Marvel Multiverse. The guy beat Doom with all those powers and did so comfortably. 

It’s like having the powers of Thor, the Phoenix Force, the Destroyer, Odin, Zeus, and other gods while wielding All-black the Necrosword – one of the most powerful weapons ever to exist. Old King (Phoenix) Thor might not just be the most powerful Thor version ever, but the most powerful hero of all time, hands down.