As the Thunderbolts make their grand debut in the MCU, Marvel"s underrated team of villains-made-good are finally getting the attention they deserve. Founded in 1996, the Thunderbolts have rarely gone long without their own series, recruiting unlikely heroes and outright villains who the Avengers would never even consider. But out of all the team"s different iterations, which members are the most powerful of all time?
Here are the 16 most powerful members of the Thunderbolts in franchise history. In this list, we"re looking at every version of the team apart from the Civil War-era villain army, given this huge assemblage of characters doesn"t really qualify as a "team" in the traditional sense.
16 Venom, aka Mac Gargan Recruited in Thunderbolts #110 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. Close Formerly the Spider-Man villain known as the Scorpion, Mac Gargan joined the Thunderbolts during a time when he was the new host of the Venom symbiote. Gargan brought the worst out of the symbiote, operating without limits under Norman Osborn"s leadership. This version of Venom was a towering, unrepentant cannibal capable of shapeshifting into various weapons and creating superstrong webbing. Venom worked with the Thunderbolts again when Red Hulk led the team, this time under the Agent Venom identity with host Flash Gordon.
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Posts 6 15 Radioactive Man, aka Chen Lu Joined in New Thunderbolts #3 by Fabian Nicieza, Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett Close One of the Thunderbolts" longest-serving and most committed members, the Radioactive Man is an old enemy of Thor who exudes deadly radiation. Radioactive Man can control radiation in a variety of ways including energy blasts, EMP detonations and even a hypnotic effect that renders his enemies susceptible to suggestion. Able to bend light and construct a gigantic energy form, Radioactive Man is as versatile as he is deadly, while also boasting enhanced strength and durability.
A patriotic villain, Radioactive Man joined the Thunderbolts under orders from China, seemingly in pursuit of a mutual enemy. However his nation was actually using the secondment as a way to distance themselves from him. As a result, Radioactive Man found meaning in the Thunderbolts and developed respect for his teammates, primarily fellow recurring member Songbird.
14 Moonstone, aka Karla Sofen A Founding Member in Thunderbolts '97 by Kurt Busiek and a Range of Artists Close Originally a supervillain under the name of Meteorite, superpowered psychiatrist Karla Sofen was a founding member of the Thunderbolts, hoping to achieve a better life under a heroic persona. Karla has varied in her desire to truly redeem herself, and often uses her position to prey on more vulnerable members for her own ends. Moonstone was in her element during Norman Osborn"s tenure as team leader, and was promoted to his Dark Avengers, stealing Carol Danvers" Ms. Marvel codename.
Karla"s powers come from merging with an alien artifact known as a gravity stone, which lends her superhuman strength and speed, near-invulnerability, energy blasts, flight and intangibility. Moonstone"s powers are tied to the alien artifact, turning her into one of Marvel"s most powerful beings when she temporarily acquired a second. Her only innate power is hypnosis, which is a result of her psychiatric training under Captain America villain Doctor Faustus.
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Posts 13 Satana Hellstrom Recruited in Thunderbolts #155 by Jeff Parker and Kev Walker Close The daughter of Marduk Kurios - aka the Devil - Satana is an antihero whose allegiances tend to vary depending on her own wants. She agreed to work with Luke Cage and John Walker"s Thunderbolts to study the Man-Thing, bringing mystical power to the team. Able to cast a variety of spells, Satana has a particular skill with hellfire, as well as being able to absorb the souls of others in order to amplify her powers.
12 Persuasion, aka Kara Killgrave Joined Thunderbolts volume 4 #1 by Jim Zub and Sean Izaakse Close The daughter of Zebediah Killgrave, aka the Purple Man, Persuasion has the same abilities, with the power to take total control of human minds. Persuasion"s mind control is incredibly powerful, able to force her thralls to do anything, including altering their thoughts and emotional state. Persuasion can control many different people at the same time via her superhuman pheromones, and defeated the Abomination solo by forcing the villain to beat himself up on her command.
11 Juggernaut, aka Cain Marko Recruited by Luke Cage in Thunderbolts #144 by Jeff Parker and Kev Walker Close Juggernaut joined the Thunderbolts when it was being run by Luke Cage and former U.S.Agent John Walker, operating as a work-release program for supervillains. Cain nearly died fighting Hyperion, but was ultimately a valuable member of the team, bolstering Cage"s belief in the rehabilitative power of the Thunderbolts. With strength and durability comparable to the Hulk, Juggernaut also possesses "magic momentum" that makes him unstoppable once he picks up speed.
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Posts 10 Red Hulk, General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross Founded His Own Team in Thunderbolts Volume 2 #1 by Daniel Way and Steve Dillion Close In 2012, General "Thunderbolt" Ross assembled his own Thunderbolts team, choosing antiheroes who could strike impossible targets with lethal force. In order to persuade Deadpool, Agent Venom, Punisher and Elektra into service, the Red Hulk promised that each would be able to assign a mission for the whole team to tackle, ultimately battling foes including Madman, the Crimson Dynamo and even Mephisto.
Red Hulk has immense strength only slightly lesser than the Hulk and can absorb and channel radiation in a variety of forms. He also exudes heat, growing hotter the angrier he gets, and can reach explosive levels of rage.
9 Penance, aka Robbie Baldwin Joined in Thunderbolts #110 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. Close After causing the disaster that kicked off Civil War, free-wheeling New Warriors hero Speedball became the self-loathing Penance. In this new role, he wore a spiked costume to punish himself for the lives lost through his actions, unlocking a new level of power. Penance was constantly absorbing all forms of energy to unleash as hyperkinetic blasts, even staggering the cosmic being Korvac at his strongest. Penance was overwhelmingly powerful, though his self-hating nature made him reckless and prone to deliberately taking injury.
8 Abomination, aka Emil Blonsky Joined in Devil's Reign: Villains for Hire #3 by Clay McLeod Chapman and Manuel Garcia Close With a base strength even greater than the Hulk, Abomination joined the Thunderbolts during a time when Wilson Fisk"s Kingpin was mayor of New York, turning the group into his personal enforcers. The heavyweight of this iteration, the team also included Rhino, Whiplash, Agony and Electro, and were led in the field by John Walker, who was being influenced by Fisk using the Purple Man"s mind control.
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Posts 7 Monica Rambeau, aka Spectrum, aka Photon, aka Captain Marvel, aka Pulsar Joined Thunderbolts volume 4 #1 by Jim Zub and Sean Izaakse Close A former leader of the Avengers, Monica Rambeau was asked to lead the Thunderbolts when Luke Cage attempted to rehabilitate its image following Kingpin"s version of the team. Monica turned down leadership but stuck with the team, using her ability to transform into any kind of energy to aid them during their short tenure.
Rambeau is capable of light-speed flight, intangibility, invisibility, and a huge range of other powers, able to transform into anything from microwaves to gamma radiation, and with few physical limitations. Monica has even boasted she could kill Thanos solo, traveling up his optic nerve as light then frying his brain.

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