How The MCU's Agatha Harkness Ranks Against Marvel's Most Powerful Magicians

Summary

• The MCU has several powerful sorcerers who come from different origins of magical power.
• Gods like Loki and Hela are powerful magic users, as are mutants like Magik and the Scarlet Witch.
• Agatha Harkness is more powerful than sorcerers like Baron Mordo and Wong but doesn’t reach the heights of Doctor Strange, Dormammu, or the Scarlet Witch.

Agatha All Along will see the return of Agatha Harkness to the MCU, but how do her magic powers compare with other magicians in the franchise? Agatha All Along‘s story takes place in the Multiverse Saga of the MCU, shortly after the events of WandaVision. The show will likely be largely separate from the wider MCU continuity, aside from picking with Agatha and her quest to regain her powers after WandaVision‘s climactic ending. As one of many upcoming MCU TV shows, Agatha All Along is highly anticipated.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the show is the promised exploration of magic that so few MCU properties possess. Only Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and WandaVision have explored magic to any capacity in the franchise, with Agatha All Along promising to rectify this by showcasing the titular character traveling the Witch’s Road to recover her powers. Agatha All Along‘s first trailer depicted a great deal of magical goodness, raising the question of how powerful the character is in comparison to the other magic users of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

10 Magik

The New Mutants Possesses A Powerful Magic Wielder

While technically part of the 20th Century Fox X-Men movie timeline and not the MCU, the multiverse allows Magik to appear on this list. Magik, a.k.a. Ilyana Rasputin, was portrayed by Anya Taylor Joy in the 2020 film The New Mutants, one of the final productions of the X-Men franchise before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox. Despite not being the most powerful of mages, Magik’s power is worth noting.

Magik’s power comes from sorcery, with the mutant able to call upon special powers to manifest various weapons and armor to aid her. From a suit of Eldrich armor that grants superhuman strength and deflects or limits attacks both magical and physical to summoning the Soulsword. Magik’s powers are formidable. Besides this, Magik can conjure psionic disks that allow time travel and interdimensional teleportation. Magik’s host of other magic abilities make her a powerful sorcerer, but she is not an Omega-level Mutant and often pales in comparison to other Marvel magicians.

9 Baron Mordo

Doctor Strange’s Ally-Turned-Enemy Is A Powerful Sorcerer

The primary source of magic in the MCU is Kamar-Taj, the retreat in which people can learn to become powerful sorcerers. In Doctor Strange, the primary caretaker of the titular character is Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Baron Mordo, a mage more powerful than Magik but weaker than other MCU characters. Being a sorcerer of Kamar-Taj alone makes Mordo a powerful magic user, with both Doctor Strange movies proving the extent of his abilities.

Mordo could be the villain of Doctor Strange 3 to capitalize on his last mainline MCU appearance.

In Doctor Strange, Mordo was responsible for training the titular character, How powerful Strange eventually becomes is a testament to Mordo’s own strength. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Baron Mordo from Earth-616 does not appear, but the variant from Earth-838 is Sorcerer Supreme, signifying how strong the character could truly become. Hopefully, Mordo’s strength continues to be shown should the MCU delve into Doctor Strange‘s post-credit scene in which Mordo became a villain.

8 Loki

The Asgardian God Of Mischief Is Strong In The Arcane Ways

Going off Marvel Comics, Loki may be higher in the ranking of magicians. Concerning the MCU, however, his magic has been somewhat underutilized. Nonetheless, Loki is still a powerful sorcerer who has a variety of abilities. From his illusions that have tricked even the strongest MCU characters to his magic blasts and ability to bend minds to his will, Loki has several magic powers that see him ranked among the strongest MCU sorcerers.

Loki’s strength is evident in his ability to go up against the strongest heroes in the MCU. Thor is often considered one of the franchise’s strongest Avengers, yet Loki has held his own against his brother several times. Furthermore, Loki was the primary enemy of The Avengers in Phase 1, alone proving his power. Alternate versions of Loki from the Disney+ Marvel TV show then went up against powerful beings like He Who Remains and Alioth, showcasing just how strong the God of Mischief can be in the ways of magic.

7 Wong

The MCU’s Current Sorcerer Supreme

Wong’s MCU power comes mostly from his title. After Doctor Strange vanished in Avengers: Infinity War, Wong became the Sorcerer Supreme. This arguably made Wong the strongest magic user in the entire franchise for a time and is a title he held even after the return of Strange in Avengers: Endgame.

The title of Sorcerer Supreme is enough to rank Wong highly in this list, as are the abilities he has shown throughout the MCU. While he was not shown as capable in Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw him leading Kamar-Taj against Wanda Maximoff, the most powerful magic user in the multiverse. Wong held his own against Wanda several times in the film, as well as other powerful enemies. This places him above former colleagues like Mordo, despite Wong being slightly weaker than some other MCU magicians.

6 Agatha Harkness

The Westview Witch May Only Become Stronger In The MCU

Similar to Wong, Agatha’s ranking can be chosen by her ability to stand against Wanda Maximoff. As alluded to, Wanda is one of the most powerful magic users in the MCU and Marvel Comics, yet Agatha managed to constrain her. The entire plot of WandaVision surrounds Agatha manipulating Wanda’s own magic to trick the latter into revealing her secrets and potentially siphoning her power. This feat alone signifies Agatha’s strength in magic, as Wanda and hundreds of other people fell prey to Agatha’s illusions.

Agatha All Along begins streaming on September 18, 2024, on Disney+.

Later in the show, Agatha then directly fought Wanda. Against a being as powerful as the Scarlet Witch, there are not many who would last long in battle. Agatha managed to, however, and even survived the fight to live another day. In Agatha All Along, her powers could only grow which would likely see her move further up this list as one of the strongest witches in the MCU.

5 The Ancient One

The Former Sorcerer Supreme Has A Great Deal Of Power

When proper magic was introduced to the MCU in Doctor Strange, one person stood out as the most powerful sorcerer. The person in question was the Ancient One, the leader of Kamar-Taj and responsible for training people in the Mystic Arts. As is the case with Wong, this title carries a great deal of weight and proves someone to be one of the strongest magic users in the universe.

Ironically, though, it is the Ancient One’s passing of the torch that proves how powerful she – and another magic user – is. The Ancient One is, as evidenced by her name, incredibly old. Despite living through countless generations of magic users, the Ancient One never found anyone powerful enough to take her place. That is until Stephen Strange appeared. While this is a testament to his power, it also proves that there are not many who can match the Ancient One’s abilities, as she had to wait hundreds of years to properly pass on what she had learned.

4 Hela

Another Of Asgard’s Gods Has The Capabilities To Be Incredibly Powerful

When concerning powerful magic users in the MCU, Hela is an interesting case study. In Thor: Ragnarok, it is explained that Hela’s power is tied to Asgard itself, While Hela remains on the planet, she is quite possibly the most powerful being in the universe. Hela’s magic abilities, be it physical manipulation to create endless weapons or necromancy, are nigh unstoppable on Asgard, to the point that even two of the strongest Avengers in Thor and Hulk, a Valkyrie, and another powerful sorcerer in Loki needed to destroy the planet to have any hope of stopping her.

Odin locking Hela away for generations also proves how powerful his first-born daughter truly is when linked to Asgard.

Outside of Asgard, Hela’s powers are still prevalent, only not quite as amplified. Away from Asgard, it is likely that the self-dubbed Revengers would have stopped her in some way. As such, the two extremes of her powers see her balance out to land at the middle point on the list of powerful MCU magicians.

3 Dormammu

The Malevolent Leader Of The Dark Dimension Is A Formidable Threat

In Marvel Comics, Dormammu is described as the most powerful of the Faltine. The Faltine are extra-dimensional beings who are born from pure magic, giving them immense power in the ways of sorcerers. This is the case in the MCU, with Dormammu being the incredibly powerful leader of the Dark Dimension and proving his power over magic in several different ways during his final confrontation with the titular hero in Doctor Strange.

In Doctor Strange‘s final act, Dormammu is trapped in a time loop with Stephen. During this time loop. Dormammu showcases endless deadly methods of magic to kill Doctor Strange before the time loop begins again. This proves his power as a Faltine, as does the fact that he would have easily taken Earth were it not for Doctor Strange’s intervention. While it is unclear the extent of his power in the MCU specifically, there is no denying that there are not many on this list who could go up against Dormammu and live to tell the tale.

2 Doctor Strange

The MCU’s Rightful Sorcerer Supreme Ranks High As A Marvel Magician

One of the few beings to survive against Dormammu is obviously Stephen Strange himself. Strange using the power of the time stone to defeat Dormammu enables him to be ranked as highly on this list as he is, as do the many other feats of magical strength Doctor Strange has showcased since 2016’s solo movie. Since then, Strange has solidified himself as one of the most powerful Avengers, primarily due to his battles with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

Combining all of his feats together makes it difficult to rank Strange any lower concerning MCU magicians…

Strange faced down the Mad Titan who possessed four Infinity Stones and went toe-to-toe with him. After the events of Thanos’ invasion, Strange then was responsible for stopping the Scarlet Witch’s multiversal rampage. Combining all of his feats together makes it difficult to rank Strange any lower concerning MCU magicians. In the future, as Strange becomes more powerful, he could easily take the top spot from Marvel’s most powerful magic user.

1 The Scarlet Witch

The Fabled Being Capable Of Destroying The Multiverse

The most powerful magic user in the MCU is the prophesied Scarlet Witch. Wanda Maximoff has always been a powerful sorcerer, from her manipulation of energy to her ability to create powerful illusions and overtake minds. However, the events of WandaVision multiplied that power exponentially by officially crowning her the Scarlet Witch. Agatha Harkness’ revelation that there is an entire chapter in the Darkhold dedicated to Wanda is proof of the latter’s power, as is the prophecy in which she is mentioned.

The Darkhold states that Wanda’s power succeeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme, as shown by her efforts against him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Her ability to terrorize the multiverse, defeating incredibly powerful Marvel characters like Captain Marvel, Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic, and Professor X, cannot be understated. Finally, the prophecy states the Scarlet Witch is destined to destroy the world, an incredible testament to her power as the MCU’s most powerful magic user before the events of Agatha All Along.