TheMarvelUniverse has such a rich catalog of heroes from around the world. While most of Marvel’s biggest names were born and raised in the United States, there are a significant number of known heroes that originate from every part of the world. The entirety of Europe, for example, is home to some iconic and underrepresented heroic people in Marvel Comics.
Commonly known European superheroes, like Black Widow or Sharon Carter, have made their way to the States, often being segregated from their cultural lifestyles of home. However, taking a closer look at the superhero community of the Eastern Hemisphere, shows just how varied and powerful Europe’s greatest assets are. Considering both what makes a character cool and the scope of their in-canon powers, here are thefifteen coolest European superheroes ranked by strength.
15Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine
First Introduced In:Strange Tales #159 (1967)by Jim Steranko
Valentina Fontaine is a complicated and falsified identity that conceals the true, and still frequently unknown, woman that wears the name. What is known is that Valentina comes from a lineage of secret intelligence operatives based in Italy that serve a shadow organization called Leviathan. For many years, the Contessa wasa loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, developinga long and toxic relationship with Nick Fury Sr.
Valentina was so respected within the intelligence organization, that after Fury’s “death” she waspromoted to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.However, it was revealed that the Contessa had been a deep cover plant, installed by Leviathan to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. and merge the two sister organizations’ resources. While she is a master spy and an excellent strategist, Valentina is only a human and one caught in too many complicated webs.
14Guillotine
First Introduced In:Contest of Champions #1 (2015)by Al Ewing and Paco Medina
From a young age, Jeannine Sauvage has been cursed to wield thebloodthirsty sentient sword, la Fleur du Mal.Despite the sword’s corruptive influence, Jeannine, now known as Guillotine, became a heroic vigilante. Patrolling the streets of Paris, Guillotine operates in a similar manner toDaredevil or Iron Fist.
Outside its magical status, la Fleur du Mal seems to only offer the generic spread of enhancing abilities. While it does give Guillotine the power needed to act as a hero, its constant murderous infestation into Jeannine’s mind makes it more of a long-term hindrance than an ally. That said, la Fleur du Mal is capable ofsummoning the souls of its previous wieldersto give Guillotine boosts to her power when in need.
13Ursa Major
First Introduced In:Incredible Hulk #25- (1980)by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema
While not necessarily the strongest of heroes, Mikhail Ursus is an incredibly entertaining one. A mutant with the power to transform into a humanoid bear, Ursa Major is a walking Russian stereotype. Like many of Russia’s extended military operatives, like Black Widow or the Winter Soldier, Mikhail waskidnapped, brainwashed, and bonded into servitudefor the Soviet military.
After the USSR’s collapse, Ursa Major most notably served inthe Winter Guard,Russia’s equivalent to the Avengers.His greatest weakness, other than his debilitating alcoholism, is what happens if he remains in his bear form for too long. If transformed for any longer than six hours, Mikhail’s general intelligence and sense of self degrade,threatening to turn him into an average brown bear.
12Ka-Zar
First Introduced In:X-Men #10 (1965)by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Practically Marvel’s answer to Tarzan, Kevin Plunder is the son of an English noble person and scientist credited with discovering the Savage Land. After the tragic loss of his father, Kevin was adopted by a saber-tooth tiger named Zabu, earning the name “Ka-Zar.”The Savage Landholds no one true king, but Ka-Zar is known as its well respected protectorate.
While Ka-Zar is little more than a human, he was imbued with thelifeblood of the Savage Land’s Man-Thing, establishing a deeper connection between Ka-Zar and the Savage Land’s flora and fauna. Where he lacks in comparative power, Ka-Zar is a brilliant hunter and warrior. Even Kraven the Hunter’s master acknowledged Ka-Zar asthe superior hunterbetween the two.
11Banshee
First Introduced In:X-Men #28 (1966(by Roy Thomas and Werner Roth
Sean Cassidy hails from a long lineage of Irish mutants who have existed long before recorded history. Banshee’s body produces powerful sonic waves that, with years of training and adapting, have given Sean adecent spread of unique abilities.More commonly known for using his sonic screams to generate flight, Banshee also uses his powers as a form of sonar.
Most impressively, his screams have asimilar devastating effect to Black Bolt’s, although to a significantly lesser degree. Banshee frequently equips himself with small explosives, dropping them on enemies while flying overhead. While he may not be comparable to anyOmega-level mutant, Sean is well known for his tenacity and grit, making the lifelong mutant soldier a force worth knowing.
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10Morbius
First Introduced In:Amazing Spider-Man #101 (1971)by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane
One of Spider-Man’s most iconic anti-heroic enemies, Michael Morbius is a classic Peter Parker parallel, where infusing animal DNA with his own had disastrous effects. Now a pseudo-vampire, withall the similarities and cravings without the obvious weaknesses, Morbius tries his best to be a good person despite his violent cravings. Born in Nafplio, Greece, Michael’s life quickly fell apart after his genetic failure.
His bloodlust was too powerful, leading the doctor to kill one of his lifelong best friends. On top of his genius intellect, Morbius has the classic vampiric powerset without any of the traditional drawbacks. While he infrequently uses these talents,Morbius can create other pseudo-vampireslike himself, giving him complete control over the individual. Similarly,the Living Vampirecan hypnotize enemies into bending to his will.
9Captain Avalon
First Introduced In:Captain Britain #1 (1976)by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe
The originalCaptain Britain, Dr. Brian Braddock is imbued with the mystic powers of the Amulet of Right, a gift from the sorcerer Merlyn. While some believe Brian to simply be theBritish equivalent of Captain America, Braddock is Earth-616’s multiversal protector. He originally began his heroic career serving inan extra-dimensional protectorate groupknown as the Captain Britain Corps.
Although he later surrendered his powers and title to his twin sister Betsy, as Captain Avalon, Brian still represents the same level of power he had before. Because of his connection to Otherworld, Brian possesses an intense connection tothe interdimensional energies that bridge Otherworldto Earth. While he is granted the proper spread of generic superheroic abilities, heslowly loses his powersthe further from the British Isles he gets.
First Introduced In:Marvel Spotlight #2 (1972)by Roya Thomas, Jean Thomas, Gerry Conway, & Mike Ploog
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Born in Transylvania, Jack Russell and his family fled to the United States after his lycanthropic father was killed by an angry mob. When Jack turned eighteen, the ancient spiritual curse his family harbors activated,transforming him into the Werewolf by Night. As much as he hates it, Jack is a classic movie monster werewolf. However, because his family’s abilities stem fromthe powers of the Darkhold, Jack has some control that the traditional werewolf wouldn’t.
Jack does involuntarily transform into his wolf form under the full moon, but he otherwise has the willpower toforce conscious transformationsas he chooses. While during his chosen transformations he retains his normal levels of intellect and self, under a full moon Jack’s humanity is completely lost, leaving behind a hulking beast of terror. Other than his overwhelming physical power, enhanced durability, and superhuman senses, Jack’s healing factor is known to beon par with Wolverine and Deadpool’s. He was once able to regenerate his own head after it was blown off by Deadpool.
7Elsa Bloodstone
First Introduced In:Bloodstone #1 (2000)by Dan Abnett and Michael Lopez
“The World’s Greatest Monster Hunter,” Elsa Bloodstone is a comedically snarky, dual-rifle-wielding,monster-hunting prodigy. Taking after her father’s lifelong practice, Elsa only learned of her true parentage sometime after she and her family had left England for Boston. Despite her relative Bostonian upbringing, Elsa is commonly known for casually dropping English slang while bathing in the blood of beasts.
Thanks tothe magic of her Bloodstone, Elsa isa semi-immortal powerhousewhose physical powers come second to her natural skills. Elsa is an expert marksman, capable of landing shows with pinpoint accuracy while performing multiple feats of acrobatics. Her durability aside, Elsa is used to putting herself in front of the world’s most terrifying creatures and always making it out with a trophy kill and the last laugh.
6Nightcrawler
First Introduced In:Giant-Sized X-Men #1 (1975)by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum
Just as easily as Kurt Wagner is known for his fluffy blue fur and his teleportation abilities, he is every X-Man’s favorite German Catholic and all-around spiritual advisor. The child ofMystique and Destiny, Kurt has completely unshackled himself from his parentage’s wrongdoings to become a wise guide for wayward souls. Despite his general pacifistic nature,Kurt is a master swordsmanand a nimble acrobat.
Nightcrawler’s unique type of teleportation often gives him an advantage against unsuspecting opponents. The rapid and intense nature of his interdimensional teleportation, while having little effect on him,drastically exhausts and disorients enemiescaught within his power. His inherent understanding of dimensional space and minor cloaking abilities, make Kurt just as mucha master of espionage as he is at bladed combat.
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