In stories with characters that last a long time, it’s common for those characters to become increasingly powerful. This is often called “power creep,” where characters are either made much stronger or replaced with even more powerful versions, making the original characters seem weak by comparison. A good example is Superman: when he first appeared, he could only jump about an eighth of a mile, but now he can travel vast distances across the universe. As comic book stories continue, villains and dangers tend to escalate, forcing heroes to become more powerful to keep up. While most heroes and villains have become stronger over time, there are a few exceptions.
It’s common for characters to become increasingly powerful, but sometimes they become too strong, forcing writers to reduce their abilities to maintain a balanced story. We’re taking a look at seven Marvel characters who have actually become weaker over time. While they may have been incredibly powerful at one point, their current versions wouldn’t stand a chance against their former selves. These heroes and villains were once at the peak of their power, but now they’ve faded from their former glory. Let’s dive into how their power levels have changed.
7) Wolverine
Wolverine, the X-Men’s most animalistic mutant, is much more powerful now than when he first appeared – back then, he was just a regular human wearing clawed gloves. However, he’s still not operating at his full potential. While his healing ability is famously strong, it isn’t as potent as it was during his peak in the 1990s and 2000s. During that time, he showed incredible feats of endurance, like surviving two nuclear explosions and even rebuilding his entire body from only his skeleton, as seen in Wolverine (2003) #43.
In recent years, Wolverine’s healing ability has become less extreme, closer to that of a very durable human. This was particularly evident during the Krakoan Era, where his frequent deaths were a key part of the story in X-Force (2019). He’s become vulnerable to things like laser blasts and even decapitation—once, Beast killed him with a specialized knife. While still incredibly skilled, Wolverine can no longer fully regenerate from just bones. He needs a significant amount of muscle tissue to survive, and he’s no longer truly invincible.
6) Rick Jones
Similar to Wolverine, Rick Jones has become far more powerful over time. He started as a regular human sidekick to the Hulk, but quickly evolved into one of Marvel’s strongest and most adaptable heroes. He’s had a remarkable history, including mentally linking with the Hulk to control him, becoming the Hulk himself, partnering with Captain Marvel as her human form, being the first host for the Destiny Force, transforming into the gamma-powered A-Bomb, and recently bonding with the Toxin symbiote.
Rick is ultimately just a person, but his powers are incredibly unpredictable, fluctuating wildly. While he’s currently Captain Spider, it’s clear he hasn’t reached the same level of strength he had when he was the Hulk or wielded the Destiny Force. He’ll inevitably lose these powers and return to being ordinary, only to gain new ones again. However, it’s unlikely his future abilities will ever match his past feats.
5) Franklin Richards
Franklin is an incredibly powerful being in the Marvel Universe. His reality-warping abilities developed gradually, beginning with glimpses of what was to come and small changes to influence events. At his most powerful, he battled cosmic entities called Mad Celestials, aided by a resurrected Galactus, and even rebuilt the entire multiverse, one universe at a time. While he’s lost his powers multiple times, his most recent loss is self-imposed.
I’ve learned that Franklin is meant to be the last one standing from his entire universe, and eventually become a god-like being in the next one. But honestly, he’s not prepared for that kind of responsibility yet. He’s still just a teenager, and all he wants is a normal life, not to be known as the strongest being in existence. So, he did something incredible – he actually hid his own powers from himself, and even made himself forget he did it! Everyone thinks his abilities just faded away. Now, for one single day each year, his powers come back to him, but then they disappear again. The amazing thing is, he’s still technically as powerful as ever, but to everyone else, he just seems like a regular teen.
4) Beyonder
When the Beyonder first appeared in Marvel comics, he was unbelievably powerful – far beyond anything readers had seen before. His initial move was to gather all of Earth’s heroes and villains, even the cosmic entity Galactus, and place them on an alien planet. There, they witnessed him destroy an entire galaxy with almost no effort. He was presented as all-powerful and invincible, describing the Marvel Universe as insignificant compared to his own existence. He casually dismissed an attack that he claimed could have obliterated a billion universes, showing he was capable of literally anything he wanted.
After the huge success of the original Secret Wars in 1984, Marvel wanted to bring back the Beyonder character. However, they realized he was too powerful, so they significantly reduced his abilities. By Secret Wars III, the Beyonder’s power was comparable to that of Molecule Man, and both were explained as fragments of a broken Cosmic Cube. While still very powerful, the Beyonder is no longer the universe-threatening being he once was.
3) Sentry
Sentry was introduced as Marvel’s most powerful, yet forgotten, hero. He was known as the man with the power of a million exploding suns, and his comic series showed just how strong he was. Sentry could change reality itself, easily defeating even incredibly powerful beings like the Hulk or holding his own against Galactus. However, he also had a dangerous dark side called the Void, which threatened to destroy the entire universe. When the Void emerged, no one – not even all of Earth’s heroes combined – could stop it. Ultimately, Sentry had to erase everyone’s memories of his powers to prevent the Void from ever returning.
The Sentry has become a symbol of weakness. Once powerful enough to easily defeat the Avengers, he now frequently dies in fights against even moderately strong opponents. While he managed to fight the World-Breaker Hulk to a draw, he was knocked unconscious while Hulk continued fighting. He was effortlessly killed by Knull, and even Thor was able to defeat him when Sentry was part of the Dark Avengers. Despite being intended as an almost invincible hero, the Sentry has proven to be surprisingly vulnerable.
2) Spider-Man
Spider-Man’s core abilities haven’t changed much since he first appeared. While he might be a little stronger now, his powers are generally the same as they were in his early stories. However, one important power – his Spider-Sense – has actually been weakened over time. Originally, the Spider-Sense did far more than just warn him of danger. It allowed him to track radio signals, detect crimes happening throughout the city, and even follow people like the Chameleon across town – abilities it doesn’t consistently demonstrate anymore, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963).
As a longtime Spider-Man fan, I’ve always felt the Spider-Sense was… convenient. It felt like whenever the writer needed Peter to know something, find something, or just be somewhere, bam – the Spider-Sense would tingle! It was a bit of a catch-all, honestly. It’s cool that they’ve expanded on what it can do over the years, but it doesn’t seem to do quite as much as it used to. Like, yeah, he can use it to dodge attacks even faster than Quicksilver, but it doesn’t seem to help him pick up radio signals anymore, and that always felt like a really unique use for it.
1) Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is arguably the most weakened character in history. His signature move, the Penance Stare, used to be incredibly powerful – forcing wrongdoers to relive all the pain they inflicted on others, often leading to severe trauma or even death. However, in recent iterations, almost everyone he tries to use it on is suddenly immune. This immunity happens far too often and doesn’t have a consistent or logical explanation.
It makes sense that the Penance Stare wouldn’t affect beings without souls, or powerful cosmic entities like Galactus. But it’s ridiculous that it doesn’t work on villains like Thanos, the Punisher, and Doctor Doom. The power’s supposed to make those who feel no remorse experience the pain they’ve inflicted, and it doesn’t try to make them feel regret – it directly attacks them with the pain itself. The whole idea behind the Penance Stare is to punish evildoers, so making it ineffective against those who are too evil is a terrible change, and I’m still frustrated by it.
Read More
- Best Controller Settings for ARC Raiders
- Stephen Colbert Jokes This Could Be Next Job After Late Show Canceled
- DCU Nightwing Contender Addresses Casting Rumors & Reveals His Other Dream DC Role [Exclusive]
- 10 X-Men Batman Could Beat (Ranked By How Hard It’d Be)
- All Her Fault cast: Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning star
- Gwen Stefani Details “Blessing” of Her Holidays With Blake Shelton
- Bitcoin’s Mysterious Millionaire Overtakes Bill Gates: A Tale of Digital Riches 🤑💰
- How to Froggy Grind in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 | Foundry Pro Goals Guide
- Kristen Bell Details Tension With Nobody Wants This Writer Erin Foster
- 5 Great Psychological Thrillers Nobody Talks About
2026-02-14 20:18