The massiveMarvelcosmology has transcended far beyond the simple definitions of gods. While Thor and Loki may be household names, they are far from the most powerful gods that dictate the fate of the Marvel Multiverse. Even within the past decade, Marvel has expanded their cosmic pantheon of multiversal deities beyond what could have ever been originally conceived.
From destroyers of worlds, to cosmic embodiments of concepts, to sentient non-existence, Marvel’s growing menagerie of gods has transformed the media into one of omniversal proportions. While readers can look at Earth’s heroes and villains as ultimate powerhouses compared to the real world, even they are dominated by the overwhelming force that is Marvel’s greater divine cosmology. To help make sense of the greatest of the greatest of gods in Marvel Comics,these are the most powerful gods in Marvel continuity (so far).
15The Utgard-Gods
Debuted InX-Men / Alpha Flight #1by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith
A faction ofElder Gods who fled Earthwhen the Demogorge was set loose to devour their kind, the Utgard-Gods found a new home in an alternate dimension known as Utgard. Most of the other Elder Gods who escaped the Demogorge’s wrath fled to individual realms, but the god known asUtgard-Loki believed that he and his siblings would be stronger together. Before sealing themselves away in Utgard, Utgard-Loki gave the key to his dimension to Gaea who, if she believed it necessary, wouldrelease the Elder Godsin the future to enact her will.
Utgard-Loki and his brother Utgard-Thor took a particular liking to the Asgardian Loki and Thor when they were children. Over time, they have been testing the siblings to decide whether they would be fitting successors. Currently, Gaea has set loosethe Utgard-Godsto lay waste to Earth as punishment for its inhabitants' misuse of the planet’s plentiful resources.
14Chthon
Fully Debuted InAvengers #186by David Michelinie, Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, & John Byrne
Chthon is one ofthe first Elder Godsbirthed by the Demiurge Primordial andthe Earth’s first master of black magic.Like many of his siblings, Chthon’s mind and spirit rapidly degraded over time, resulting in the death of most Elder Gods. Before fleeing to an alternate dimension,Chthon forged the Darkhold, an artifact of immense dark magical power, that would serve as his direct connection to Earth so that he may return in the future.
Chthon is the father of Earth’s first monsters including werewolves, vampires, and zombies, buthis greatest creation is that of the Scarlet Witch. When she was only an infant, Chthon noticed Wanda Maximoff’s latent connection to chaos magic and believed that she would become his perfect vessel to return to Earth. While the Elder God of Chaos has faced defeat on numerous occasions, his dark influences persist as commonplace evils perverting the sanctity of life and peace on Earth.
13The Demiurge Primordial
Debuted InThe Annual #10by Alan Zelenetz and Bob Hall
The Demiurge Primordial isthe progenitor of all life on Earth.It is the Earth’s life force given a sentient mind and the creator of the world’s Elder Gods. While possessing qualities of an Abstract Being, the Demiurge Primordial is not technically that. Instead, “Demiurge” is a title and a right to power that is passed down along eons of generations.
Over time, the Demiurge Primordial’s first children degraded into violent and cannibalistic degenerates, leading it to mate with Gaea, one of its own creations, to conceive an Elder God powerful enough to put down its siblings. From their consummation, the Elder God Atum was born, who would later consume as many of his maddened siblings as he could before what remained fled to other dimensions. While not much else is known about the Demiurge Primordial, it isdestined to be succeeded by Wiccan, the son of the Scarlet Witch.
12The Phoenix Force
Debuted InX-Men #101by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum
Potentially the universe’s oldest beings, the Phoenix Force isthe nexus of all psionic energy across the Multiverseand the being that both sparks creation and consumes it in flames. While not quite on the same level as an Abstract Being, it is still regarded as a critical force in the greater balance of the Cosmos. Overseeing the sway of life, death, and rebirth, the Phoenix Force has complete sway over the life cycle of existence.
However, it frequently requires hosts to channel its near-limitless power, often subjecting the host to the cosmic force’s will. Despite its immeasurable power,the Phoenix Force is not infallibleand can be corrupted, creating a vile entityknown as the Dark Phoenix. As the Dark Phoenix, its drive to perpetuate the cycle of life is replaced by a drive to consume the power of the Multiverse, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. If the Phoenix Force were to ever die, it would be reborn to start its journey again.
11Eternity / Infinity
Debuted InDefenders #92by J.M. DeMatteis and Don Perlin
Both Eternity and Infinity are two beings who are also one. Technically considered both sides of the same coin, the duo originally served asthe living embodiment of the Seventh Cosmos.It is within the Seventh Cosmos that the Multiverse was introduced to the true concept of time, ensuring infinite and eternal opportunities to forge new creations.
Eternity and Infinity eventually fell whenthe Beyonders waged a war to destroy the Seventh Cosmosto preserve Marvel’s omniverse from an even greater threat. Thanks to the efforts of Doctor Strange, Reed Richards, Doctor Doom, and Molecule Man, Eternity became the new embodiment of the Eight Cosmos while his sister-self traveled to the Far Shore to “live” alongside the other previous Cosmos. Having embodied two Cosmos, the first of his kind to do so, Eternity has a powerfully unique abilityto summon past incarnations of the Multiverseas he deems necessary.
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10The Griever at the End of All Things
Debuted InFantastic Four #2by Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli
The cosmic counterpart to the Queen of Nevers, the Griever at the End of All Things is the living embodiment of entropy and decay. Time and space have a definitive beginning and end to which the Griever is the process in which those dimensions slowly die out at the end of existence. While, from the readers’ perspective, the Griever is an ultimate cosmic evil, she is insteada cosmic necessity.
As was designed by Marvel’s greatest deity,creation must be followed by destruction and deathso that there can be room for new creation in the future. She takes her name from her inevitable realization that she will watch all reality die in which she alone will be left to grieve all that ever was and all that ever could be. To oppose the Queen of Nevers, the Griever created Endlings, endlessly hungry creatures who feed on reality,expediting the Multiverse’s entropy.
9The Queen of Nevers
Debuted InSilver Surfer #2by Dan Slott and Michael Allred
The Queen of Nevers is the living embodiment of the Fourth Cosmos of the Marvel omniverse. Originally a traveler from the Third Cosmos named the Pilgrim, the Queen of Nevers survived the end of the Third and was transformed into the next reality. The Never Queen wasthe first being to create character archetypes and “possibility,”expanding the realms of potential creation for the Celestials to explore.
Currently, the Queen of Nevers resides on the edge of the Multiverse alongside her lover, Eternity. Unlike the other previous Cosmos, the Never Queen directly interacts with the current Multiversethrough nexus beings, like the Scarlet Witch, who act as the cosmic being’s agents of creation. Despite the “death” of her Cosmos, she is still at war with her cosmic counterpart, the Griever at the End of All Things. Due to her close relationship with Eternity, when the two are together,there are no constraints to the possibilities of their creation.
8The First Firmament
Fully Debuted InUltimates 2 #5by Al Ewing and Travel Foreman
Before the Multiverse, there was a singular sentient universe known as the First Firmament. In its original state,the First Firmament was the only form of existence; a singular being with no purpose. In time, the multiversal precursor created the Aspirants and the Celestials to experiment with the concept of creation. While the Aspirants were loyal to the First Firmament,the Celestials wanted creation to evolvepast the deity’s confines, launching a civil war between the factions.
The First Firmament fell during the civil war, breaking apart andthus creating the first Multiverse.On the furthest edge of reality, the First Firmament bid its time until it would invade the Eighth Cosmos in order to cease the chaotic multiverse and reassert its dominance as the one and only true form of existence. Currently, the first of the Cosmos is sealed away outside the barrier of the Multiverse as punishment for its crimes.
7The Kings in Black
Debuted as Knull inVenom #3by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman
The Kings in Black, also known as the Onyx Kings, were created by the Celestials alongside the Beyonders to serve as cosmic caretakers for the Multiverse. Where the Beyonders,also known as the Kings in White, guide the hand of creation, evolution, and progress, the Kings in Black are charged with plunging creation into the void of non-existence. While it isn’t entirely confirmed, it seems thateach Cosmos has a King in Blackwho oversees that version of reality’s cosmic balance.
The first known King in Black of the Seventh Cosmos is Knull,the Father of the Symbiotes. Knull took a particularly strong pleasure in his role, motivating him to overthrow the Ivory Kings and plunge all of reality back into the void. Unlike the Beyonders, the Kings in Black exist as multiple beings across the Multiverse who are connected together,creating a multiversal-level hive-mind.Currently, Eddie Brock serves as the Eighth Cosmos’s King in Black.
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6The Beyonders
Officially Debuted InMarvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1by Jim Shooter, Michael Zeck, John Beatty, Christie Scheele, & John Rosen
The Beyonders arethe first sentient creations of the Celestials, who were originally tasked with maintaining the Multiverse from outside its walls. To balance the Celestial’s infinite creations, the Beyonders were designed to preserve creation rather than destroy it. The Beyonders are directly responsible forthe abundance of extraordinary super-people on Earthas a preemptive means to create great forces to combat the many inevitable cosmic threats of the future.
However, after foreseeing the arrival of Enigma, a multiversal being capable of consuming the Multiverse itself,the Beyonders sought to destroy the Seventh Cosmosto kill Enigma along with it. These actions directly led to2015’s Secret Wars eventwhich saw the death of the Seventh and the birth of the Eighth Cosmos. While they were made to look like antagonistic forces, the Beyonders' ultimate ploy to save the multiverse from Enigma succeeded, at least for now.
