10 Strongest Marvel Superheroes (Who’ve Never Been an Avenger)

The Avengers have become a synonym for Marvel royalty, thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, they’re incredibly important, but they are far from being the only superteam around. Many of Marvel’s most powerful heroes have never belonged to any of the many Avengers rosters in Marvel’s history.

Whether it is the West Coast Avengers, the New Avengers, or even the Avengers Academy, these heroes have never been part of this team. Instead, they belong to other superhero teams, like the X-Men, Heroes for Hire, or the Inhumans, and may or may not be allies of the team known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

10 Misty Knight Stays On Street-Level Teams

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #1 Vol. 1 (1975), by writer Tony Isabella, penciler Arvell Jones, inker Vince Colletta, colorist Stan Goldberg, and letterer Joe Rosen

A former police officer turned private investigator, Misty Knight lost her arm during a bomb attack. Fortunately, Tony Stark was able to fix a bionic arm for her, granting her superhuman strength up to 75 times the average human. This amazing gadget also emits molecule-breaking high-frequency vibrations, dampens the pain in her body, and grants her magnetokinesis.

Since her debut in 1975, Misty has belonged to many superteams, such as Daughters of Liberty, the Defenders, and Heroes for Hire. She even led her own team, Misty Knight’s Crew. However, she has never been a part of the Avengers, almost always staying with street-level teams. This makes sense since her abilities don’t allow her to fly or breathe in space. Instead, she remains true to her fight for justice on Earth.

9 Scarlet Spider May Not Be Heroic Enough For The Avengers

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #149 Vol. 1 (1975), by writer Gerry Conway, penciler Ross Andru, inker Mike Esposito, colorist Janice Cohen, and letterer Annette Kawecki

Created by the Jackal, Ben Reilly is a genetic clone of Peter Parker who was supposed to antagonize Spidey. However, he made amends with him and even took the Spider-Man role for a while when Peter left New York. Known as the Scarlet Spider, Ben acted as a hero for a while, but he has remained in a morally gray area for most of his time as in Marvel — even acting as a full villain in recent years.

Scarlet Spider has never been a member of the Avengers, likely due to his moral alignment. The Peter Parker clone has been a member of teams with other antiheroes like him. When he joined the Midnight Sons, he shared the front lines with characters like Moon Knight, Blade, and Doctor Voodoo. He also fought alongside the New Warriors, though he’s never upgraded to the Avengers. His recent transformation into the villainous Chasm has only further driven him away from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

8 Cyclops Is Loyal To The X-Men

First Appearance: X-Men #1 Vol. 1 (1963), by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Paul Reinman, and letterer Sam Rosen

Scott Summers/Cyclops is a powerful mutant who can shoot laser beams through his eyes and control them. Known as one of Marvel’s alpha-level mutants, he possesses powerful optic blasts and has a mind destined for leadership. Given this, he has led the X-Men many times — in fact, he’s the first-ever leader of this team.

Cyclops is a central referent when discussing the X-Men, just like Iron Man is for the Avengers. Given this, it makes sense that the mutant has never been a part of the Avengers. Scott belongs to the original X-Men roster, and throughout his 60-year-long history in Marvel, he has pretty much always been part of this team in many of its iterations. But when it comes to the Avengers, he has only fought alongside them—or even against them.

7 Nico Minoru Might Be Too Young For The Gig

First Appearance: Runaways #1 Vol. 1 (2003), by writer Brian K. Vaughan, penciler Adrian Alphona, inker David Newbold, colorist Brian Reber, and letterer Paul Tutrone

Nico Minoru, aka Sister Grimm, debuted as the most powerful member of the Runaways thanks to her Staff of One, a magic focus that allows her to do all kinds of magic — as long as she only uses a spell once. With the Runaways, Nico did something no other teenage team had done: face their own villainous parents. The team thrived under Nico’s leadership and has since gone against many other villains like the ancient Gibborim and the insidious Doc Justice.

Although Nico has led her own team, she has never been considered for a position with the Avengers. Nico briefly worked alongside the short-lived A-Force, though she has yet to be given the official membership card. This is likely due to her age. In the latest Runaways run, Nico is only a young adult. She and her peers barely make it into college, so it makes sense for Captain Marvel or Iron Man to consider she isn’t ready to be an Avenger yet. However, she’s also incredibly powerful, so it’s safe to say they will consider her in the future.

6 Abigail Brand Prefers To Work With Other Agencies

First Appearance: Astonishing X-Men #3 Vol. 3 (2004), by writer Joss Whedon, penciler and inker John Cassaday, colorist Laura Martin, and letterer Chris Eliopoulos

Hailing from planet Axus, Abigail Brand, or Abigail Thanriaguiaxus, is a half-mutant human, half-alien, which grants her abilities as unique as her origins. Brand possesses heat generation to ignite people with a simple touch. She can withstand hellish temperatures beyond human possibilities and protect others from the heat. She also has a mild healing factor due to her alien genetics.

Although her abilities make her a great ally, Abigail Brand has never been an Avenger. Instead, she has divided her time between different governmental (and rogue) organizations like S.W.O.R.D., S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Alpha Flight Space Program. A truly cynical woman with dry humor, Brand doesn’t really fit the hero profile like Captain America or Iron Man. Still, she’s just as committed to fighting evil — she just does it from different trenches.

5 Black Bolt Has His Own Civilization To Rule

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #45 Vol. 1 (1965), by Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Joe Sinnott, and letterer Artie Simek

When he was still an embryo in his mother’s uterus, Blackagar Boltagon was subjected to the transformative Terrigen Mist. He was born as one of the most powerful Inhumans ever, with the ability to manipulate electrons through his vocal cords, creating concussive blasts—basically, a sonic scream.

Barely an adult, Black Bolt had to take leadership of the Inhuman community in Attilan after he discovered his brother’s treason, which led to a massacre. Since then, he has put all his efforts into leading his people, so he doesn’t need a team. Although he collaborates with the Avengers if needed — for instance, through the Illuminati initiative — he keeps to himself.

4 Silver Surfer Is Beyond The Avengers

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48 Vol. 1 (1965), by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Joe Sinnott, and letterer Artie Simek

Silver Surfer is one of the most mysterious characters in Marvel. His real name is Norrin Radd, and he comes from the planet Zenn-La, a futuristic utopia far from Earth. When Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, threatened his planet, Norrin vowed to become his herald as long as he left Zenn-La alone, which he actually did. From that moment on, the Silver Surfer abandoned his life and devoted himself to finding new planets for Galactus to eat.

Although Norrin’s work is objectively evil, since he finds victims for Galactus, his intentions are good. He values freedom overall and fights for it, especially for Zenn-La. Given this, he’s a hero and has worked alongside other Marvel heroes like the Defenders. However, he has never been an Avenger. This makes sense. The Avengers are mainly based on Earth, but Norrin’s work goes beyond the stars.

3 Jean Grey Is One Of The Strongest Marvel Characters Ever

First Appearance: X-Men #1 Vol. 1 (1963), by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Paul Reinman, and letterer Sam Rosen

Jean Grey-Summers is one of the best telepaths in the Marvel universe. A mutant with abilities from childhood, she can do almost anything with her mind, as she is an Omega-level mutant. From telekinesis to telepathy and even astral projection, she ranks among the strongest heroes in Marvel ever.

Like Cyclops, Jean Grey is a staple when it comes to X-Men. She has been part of the team from the beginning, and although she has had a troubling time due to the extent of her powers — for instance, when she became the Phoenix — she remains a core element of this team. The powerful telepath has remained loyal to the X-Men for decades, never working officially with the Avengers.

2 Beta Ray Bill Is An Underused Character

First Appearance: Thor #337 Vol. 1 (1983), by writer, penciler, and inker Walter Simonson, colorist George Roussos, and letterer John Workman

Created by Walt Simonson as a joke, Beta Ray Bill was supposed to be “an everyman from outer space,” an uncommon hero even if he looks monstrous. The Korbinite could hold Mjolnir from his debut, eventually settling for Stormbreaker when Thor reclaimed his mighty hammer.

Although Beta Ray Bill has always been a key ally for Thor — a main Avenger since the beginning –, he has never worked as an Avenger himself. Instead, except for his only solo run by Daniel Warren Johnson, he’s usually relegated to a secondary character title, so Marvel keeps him in obscurity.

1 Professor X Protects All Mutants

First Appearance: X-Men #1 Vol. 1 (1963), by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Paul Reinman, and letterer Sam Rosen

An incredibly talented telepath, Charles Xavier made his life’s goal to protect the mutant community, so he started recruiting mutants around the world to help them control their powers — and potentially have them join his superhero team, the X-Men. Recently, Xavier was de-aged in the X-Men continuity, but this didn’t change how important he is for the mutant community.

If anything, this storyline made him more powerful and more important for the X-Men. Due to his strong ties to this team, it makes perfect sense that Professor X has never been a part of the Avengers. He leads a whole super team — or a whole community even, so he can only work as an ally for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but his time and efforts belong to the X-Men.