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WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Avengers #51, available now from Marvel.
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are on the verge of the greatest battle of their lives. The emergence of the Multiverse’s most menacing Masters of Evil has wrought incalculable death and destruction across various realities, and now they have arrived in the Marvel Universe that fans know best to continue their campaign of terror. Even worse, these Masters of Evil have their own Dark Phoenix who stands poised to obliterate everything in her way, all while Maya Lopez is still figuring out the power she commands. Thankfully, Avengers #51 by Jason Aaron, Juan Frigeri, David Curiel, and VC’s Cory Petit has revealed that there are at least a few figures capable of destroying the Phoenix, even if they aren’t likely to all be on the same side of the fight.
Molecule Man
Owen Reece, better known as the Molecule Man, has menaced Marvel’s heroes ever since he burst onto the scene all the way back in 1963’s Fantastic Four #20 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Able to command and reshape the very molecules that makeup all forms of matter, the Molecule Man has previously used his powers to achieve such astounding feats as bringing brick buildings to life and encasing the entirety of Manhattan in a barrier of his own making. His abilities have proven sufficient to see Reece not just survive encounters with beings such as the Beyonder, but overcome nearly every enemy that has ever gotten in his way. Even the mighty Galactus has admitted before that if the Molecule Man so chose, he could unmake the Devourer of Worlds with a single thought, and there is no reason to think he couldn’t do the exact same to the Phoenix if he were so inclined.
Thanos
The Mad Titan has terrorized the Marvel Universe for almost fifty years, and in that time has solidified himself as one of the most imposing figures in it, almost without equal. Though the likes of the Avengers and Squirrel Girl have consistently thwarted his plans throughout the decades, Thanos’ indomitable will and impossible strength have seen him come back from each and every defeat that he has suffered. As an Eternal, Thanos is already an immortal instrument of death, but with the arcane knowledge he has acquired he is an even greater threat than any of his brethren. Despite being overpowered by the combined efforts of various heroes even recently in the pages of Eternals, there is no doubt that Thanos could destroy the Phoenix if it were just the two of them.
Galactus
The Devourer of Worlds is unquestionably one of the pillars of the Marvel Universe, even if he isn’t one of the more benevolent figures in it. The last survivor of the Sixth Cosmos, Galactus has always been more of a living tragedy than a true villain, although that hasn’t stopped him from posing a threat to countless planets, including Earth. While Galactus has been turned away from our world by its heroes time and time again, he has also never had a problem taking on smaller bands of warriors across the cosmos, from the Silver Surfer to the Son of the Hulk without breaking a sweat. His heralds may be the ones behind some of the most unforgettable moments in Galactus’ story, yet there is little doubt that the Devourer of Worlds would be able to eradicate the Phoenix Force if he had to.
The Living Tribunal
The Living Tribunal is the ultimate safeguard for the Multiverse, effectively acting as both its protector and executioner when the time calls for it. One of the many Abstract Entities alongside the likes of Eternity, the Living Tribunal is quite possibly the penultimate force in all of existence, able to erase entire worlds with little more than a glance and exist across various realities simultaneously. When Adam Warlock was in possession of the completed Infinity Gauntlet, it was the Living Tribunal who decided that so much power needed to be split up amongst more than just one corruptible individual, and his word was one that could not be defied. Unfortunately, the Living Tribunal would also be replaced by Adam Warlock following the entity’s demise at the hands of another who is also capable of destroying the Phoenix Force – the Beyonders.
The Beyonders
While the Beyonders were first mentioned all the way back in 1980’s Marvel Two-in-One #63 by Mark Gruenwald and Jerry Bingham, it wasn’t until the Multiversal Incursions began decades later that these all powerful beings would make their first proper appearance. It was in fact the Beyonders who created the Molecule Man as a living singularity across every iteration of the universe, and with the deaths of these figures the Beyonders had hoped to witness the death of all things as each Molecule Man would take their own universe with their own demise. Of course, the Beyonders would eventually be defeated, though not until after they had already annihilated most of the Abstract Entities in existence.
Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch is one of the few characters that truly needs no introduction. In her early career she was a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, working alongside Magneto, the man she for so long believed to be her father. As it would eventually be revealed, the Scarlet Witch was never a mutant herself, but rather an impossibly powerful being capable of rewriting history and existence with just a few simple words as seen when she remade the world into the House of M reality by uttering “No more mutants.” Wanda might not seem as intimidating or unstoppable as the Phoenix on the surface, but her appearance belies everything about her, including the fact that the Phoenix could simply be erased from existence entirely if the Scarlet Witch deemed it to be so.
Odin
Odin Borson has long been recognized as the the most powerful Asgardian, and he has spent thousands of years using that strength as the protector of the Ten Realms, including Earth. As one of the Stone Age Avengers, Odin fought side by side with the very first Phoenix to come to our world, felling threats from every corner of the universe, from other gods to the Celestials themselves. In the Modern Era Odin has proven himself capable of destroying objects of immense power such as the Celestial born Matrix Stone, and while his strength has wavered in recent months following Thor’s ascent to the throne of Asgard, Odin is unquestionably one of the strongest, fiercest fighters the Marvel Universe has ever known. How exactly he would be able to kill the Phoenix isn’t perfectly clear, although the Odinforce he commands would likely be the place to start, especially considering he has used it previously to defeat the likes of Annihilus and Mephisto.
Thor
The current All-Father of Asgard, Thor Odinson also happens to command the former Odinforce on top of the myriad of other powers at his disposal. As one of the mightiest Avengers, Thor has spent decades protecting the Ten Realms from all manner of threats just as his father did before him, and it is his shocking lineage that could put him in a position to defend Earth from the Masters of Evil’s Dark Phoenix. While historically Thor has known Freyja as his mother, he has also spent no small amount of time wondering if that were true, only to discover that the original Phoenix herself was the woman who gave birth to him. Knowing that the Phoenix is his biological mother has made things tense between him and the current host to the cosmic raptor, Maya Lopez aka Echo, yet it also begs the question of just how much of that same power Thor has at his fingertips, and whether it could play a role in him being able to fell put the Phoenix Force down as he has countless other impossibly powerful enemies such as the Black Winter.
Maya Lopez
When the Phoenix Force came back to Earth to find a new host through its tournament of potential champions, Maya Lopez was the least likely of all the combatants to become its vessel. Able to recreate any act she sees similar to the Taskmaster, Maya found a home for herself under the Kingpin’s tutelage before deciding to venture into the world of heroics for herself. Over the years Maya has taken up the mantles of both Ronin and Echo, proving herself to be one of the most skilled and undervalued combatants in the Marvel Universe time and time again, not to mention one of the most capable of them all. It was this uncanny ability to adapt and change tactics that led the Phoenix to choose Maya as its current host, and while she is far from familiar with the power that is now hers to command, the fact that she has been able to harness it in such unique ways is a great indicator that she will have no problem pushing it to limits that have never been seen before.
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