All 10 Major Deadpool & Wolverine Characters Ranked By How Useful They Would’ve Been Against Thanos

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s long list of characters could have helped the Marvel Cinematic Universe if some of them had debuted in the franchise a few years back, as there are powerful characters in the 2024 movie who could have taken the fight to Thanos. As one of the biggest events in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga so far, Deadpool & Wolverine made sure to use the multiverse concept to the film’s advantage. Besides bringing back Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as a new Wolverine variant, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s list of cameos features several shocking multiverse players.

The movie also has one of the most powerful villains the MCU has ever seen, and it is interesting to ponder how Deadpool & Wolverine‘s biggest stars would have fared against the MCU’s Big Bad, Josh Brolin’s Thanos. The multiverse could always answer that question in future Marvel movies, but a few of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s characters would likely have presented more of a threat to Thanos than others.

10 Elektra

The Character Would Not Pose A Threat To Thanos

The first of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s major characters on the list is Jennifer Garner’s Elektra. The heroine finally got paid respect in Deadpool & Wolverine, which showed just how much of a threat Elektra can be in good, old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat. However, that is hardly enough to have her actually become something of a threat to Thanos. The Mad Titan easily beat the Hulk hand-to-hand, so Elektra would have been way out of her league.

If Garner’s Marvel character had been in the MCU during the final two Avengers movies of the Infinity Saga, then she would have had to help the heroes in a different way. Characters like Black Widow, Okoye, and Hawkeye assisted the team by taking on Thanos’ Black Order. Elektra could have done the same, leaving the Mad Titan to more powerful heroes.

9 Blade

The Iconic Movie Hero Would Also Have Struggled

Wesley Snipes’ Blade films — alongside Fox’s X-Men franchise and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy — are largely responsible for all the superhero movies that would come after, including the MCU. Snipes’ Blade is mostly the same in his franchise and in Deadpool & Wolverine, save for the fact that the character is now older. Still, Blade appeared to be as strong as ever when he bloodily took down hordes of Cassandra Nova’s minions in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Would that have made him enough of a threat to Thanos? Hardly. The Mad Titan is simply too powerful of a character for Blade to take head-on. With his hand-to-hand skills, agility, and half-vampire constitution, Blade could hold Thanos’ attention for a moment. However, he is not powerful enough to kill the villain, so Blade would also be better against Thanos’ army.

8 Cavillrine

The Character Did Not Show Enough Of His Might

One of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s most shocking moments was the early reveal that former Superman actor Henry Cavill was in the movie as a Wolverine variant. Dubbed the Cavillrine, the character got to appear for a brief moment as Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool tries to recruit him. Deadpool is a strong character, but the Cavillrine made quick work of him. With only one punch, Cavill’s version of Wolverine sent Deadpool flying back.

That showed the character is not someone to be messed with, but Cavill ultimately appeared very little to correctly judge if the Cavillrine would be able to defeat Thanos had he been in the MCU when the Mad Titan was active. Still, as a version of Wolverine, the Cavillrine would have presented some resistance to Thanos as long as the Infinity Stones were not yet in play.

7 X-23

Laura Has Been Fighting For A Long Time

Just like the Cavillrine could have presented a little challenge to Thanos, even though the extent of his power is unknown, so would Dafne Keen’s X-23. Like Henry Cavill’s multiverse character, Keen’s heroine is also a version of Wolverine. In fact, Laura was created based on the DNA of Hugh Jackman’s original Wolverine. Since that version of Logan was his universe’s Anchor Being, as revealed in Deadpool & Wolverine, X-23 is a formidable character.

Adding to that, Dafne Keen’s X-23 has been viciously fighting since she was a kid. Logan is the perfect showcase of how well the character does in fights where she is the underdog, something that would have been true if she had met Thanos. X-23 would have been a worthy character to have alongside more powerful Avengers to ultimately take Thanos down, but she would not have been able to do it alone.

6 Pyro

The Villain Made Quick Work Of A Major Hero

Aaron Stanford’s Pyro surprisingly had a bigger role in Deadpool & Wolverine than expected. Besides Cassandra Nova, the character was the only other villain in the Void to get an arc. Pyro ultimately betrays Cassandra because he has grown tired of her orders and wants to leave the Void. The character’s power is shown when he easily dispatches Chris Evans’ Human Torch, using his manipulation of fire to extinguish Johnny’s flames.

While Pyro is not physically strong, the character could have been a threat to Thanos. His ability to increase any fire’s size to an intensity that can hurt other heroes and villains makes Pyro a great threat, especially since he had many years to hone his skills. While it would have been hard for Pyro to single-handedly take out Thanos, the mutant could have put a dent in the villain and delivered suppressive “fire.”

5 Gambit

The X-Men Character Could Have Made A Name For Himself

Channing Tatum’s Gambit is undoubtedly Deadpool & Wolverine‘s breakout character. After spending a decade trying to get a solo Gambit movie made, the actor finally had the chance to give life to his favorite superhero in the MCU. Tatum became one of the movie’s most popular elements, with his version of Gambit being hilarious, powerful, and a great fighter. After Deadpool & Wolverine and Disney+’s X-Men ’97 showed the scope of Gambit’s powers, he could have taken down Thanos.

Gambit can charge any object or being he touches with kinetic energy, leading to a powerful explosion. He mainly uses that on his deck of cards, taking out enemies swiftly. X-Men ’97 showed that the character could cause a major explosion capable of taking out a Three-Headed Sentinel. As such, Channing Tatum’s Gambit could have taken out an Infinity Gauntlet-less Thanos, even if he died to do so.

4 Johnny Storm

The Fantastic Four Member Is Quite Powerful

Deadpool & Wolverine used Chris Evans’ Human Torch as great comedic relief. However, that did not include doing justice to how powerful the hero is. Evans’ two Fantastic Four movies showed Johnny Storm’s feats of strength, and the hero should have beaten Pyro during their fight. Still, had Evans played both Captain America and the Human Torch against Thanos, his original Marvel character could have done even more damage than Cap did.

Steve Rogers was able to surprise Thanos with his strength in their first fight, later becoming a legitimate threat when he wielded Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Evans’ Johnny Storm is even more powerful than Captain America — no Mjolnir included. The Human Torch’s ability to fly and burn as hot as a supernova, plus his years of experience in the Fantastic Four defeating Doctor Doom, the Silver Surfer, and more, show he could beat Thanos if his powers were accurately portrayed.

3 Deadpool

The Merc With A Mouth Is Very Hard To Kill

Deadpool is not on the same power level as MCU characters like Thor, Captain Marvel, or the Scarlet Witch. However, his insane healing factor makes him extremely hard to kill. In the comics, Deadpool has managed to kill Thanos twice, though he had the help of outside factors and items to do it. That means that in a direct fight, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool would not be able to kill Thanos.

However, Deadpool’s endurance, healing factor, agility, and sword-fighting skills could have made him the ultimate distraction. Not only would Deadpool be able to take out several characters of Thanos’ army like he defeated the Deadpool Corps in Deadpool & Wolverine, but the character could have been used in a coordinated attack alongside heavy hitters. Deadpool would stall and resist Thanos long enough for others to take him down, surviving to tell the story.

2 Wolverine

The Ultimate X-Men Member

While most characters on the list would have to sacrifice themselves to make their powers reach a level that could take out Thanos, Deadpool and Wolverine’s healing factors make the duo the most likely to survive the encounter and still defeat the Mad Titan. Wolverine is the most vicious fighter on the list, and that, allied to his healing factor and Adamantium claws, would have given Thanos some trouble in a fair fight.

What helps Wolverine be the hero that could have been the most useful against Thanos is his superhero team background. While he would eventually fail the X-Men of his world, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s version of Logan spent several years fighting alongside a powerful team. That would have made him a perfect fit for the Avengers, using his experience, fighting skills, and healing factor to help lead the team to victory against Thanos.

1 Cassandra Nova

Deadpool & Wolverine’s Most Powerful Character

Finally, there is no doubt that Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova would have been the most useful character from Deadpool & Wolverine against Thanos during the Infinity Saga. Cassandra Nova is Charles Xavier’s twin sister. Professor X is one of the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics, which makes Deadpool & Wolverine‘s main villain one of the most formidable characters to have ever appeared in a live-action Marvel movie.

Cassandra Nova showed the full scope of her powers in Deadpool & Wolverine. The character could heal herself, had the ability to enter people’s minds by touching them, had telekinesis, had intangibility, could blast enemies with psionic waves, and more. All of those skills mean she could have helped the Avengers take down Thanos if there was something in it for her. The most powerful character in Deadpool & Wolverine would likely want the Infinity Gauntlet for herself.

A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Director

Shawn Levy

Release Date

July 26, 2024

Cast

Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney

Runtime

127 Minutes

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