10 Coolest Ways Marvel Characters Got Their Superpowers

Summary Marvel Studios has displayed some of the coolest ways to get superpowers in the MCU's 16-year history.

Heroes and villains alike have had realistic, believable, but fantastical origin stories in the MCU.

Characters such as Steve Rogers, Kaecilius, Matt Murdock, Wanda Maximoff, and Carol Danvers received their superpowers in some very compelling ways.

Over the last 16 years, Marvel Studios has demonstrated some very cool ways in which the superheroes and villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have received their incredible abilities. The MCU kicked off in 2008 with the release of Iron Man, Marvel Studios' first feature film that explored the origin story of Tony Stark's Iron Man. Since then, many other origin stories in the MCU have displayed some of the brilliant ways in which heroes and villains alike have been given their superpowers, some of which have proven the dangers of everyday life, while others have expanded Marvel Studios' universe.

Since 2008's Iron Man, Marvel Studios has adapted some of Marvel Comics' most recognizable and memorable superheroes and villains into live-action. The MCU has always done a good job of adapting some of the weirdest and most unconventional origin stories into the MCU, making them believable and realistic, despite often culminating in regular individuals getting incomprehensible and extraordinary gifts. While a slew of new heroes will soon debut in the MCU, bringing fresh origin stories with them, existing characters such as Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Steve Rogers, and Carol Danvers have received their superhuman powers in some incredibly thrilling ways.

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Related 20 Strongest Superheroes In The MCU The MCU's roster of superheroes is huge, and each one possesses incredible abilities that make them some of the strongest beings in the multiverse.

10 Peter Parker Was Bitten By A Spider

Peter Parker’s Spider Bite Hasn’t Actually Been Seen In The MCU

Tom Holland debuted as Peter Parker's Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, introduced to the MCU after he had already received his abilities. Previous live-action Spider-Man movies detailed Peter Parker's origin story as Spider-Man, in which he was bitten by a radioactive or genetically-modified spider, gifting him spider-like powers, but Marvel Studios chose not to retell this story in the MCU. Holland's Peter Parker has mentioned his spider bite in the MCU, but this transformative moment hasn't actually been seen on-screen.

Presumably, Tom Holland's Peter Parker went through a similar process to previous live-action Spider-Men. After being bitten by the spider, Parker's physiology would have changed overnight, giving him superhuman strength, reflexes, the ability to cling to walls, and a sixth sense known as his "Spidey Sense". Marvel Animation's upcoming Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is expected to tell this story from the perspective of one of Peter Parker's variants.

Hudson Thames will voice Peter Parker in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, after he previously voiced the wall-crawler in Marvel Studios' What If...?.

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9 Steve Rogers Was Given The Super-Soldier Serum

Steve Rogers’ Captain America Was The MCU’s First Successful Super Soldier

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Chronologically, the first MCU superhero to receive their powers was Steve Rogers, who became Captain America after being injected with Dr. Abraham Erskine's experimental super-soldier serum. 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger explored this origin story, and the sequence in which Rogers received the serum is one of the most memorable moments in the MCU's entire history. Chris Evans' Steve Rogers went from a scrawny kid from Brooklyn to a peak human specimen in a matter of seconds.

Steve Rogers' transformation into the super soldier Captain America caused envy across the world, leading to many trying to recreate this process. Unfortunately, most of these subsequent super soldier attempts failed, but this only makes Rogers' origin story even cooler, as he was the world's only successful super soldier for many decades. Captain America: The First Avenger's impressive visual effects to make Evans look small only made this moment even more impactful.

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8 T'Challa, Killmonger & Shuri Consumed The Heart-Shaped Herb

Black Panthers Receive Their Powers Through Natural Means

The many Black Panthers of the MCU, including Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger, and Letitia Wright's Shuri, were all also super soldiers, but they received their powers through different means to Steve Rogers. Instead of a chemical formula, the Black Panther receives their powers through consumption of the naturally-grown heart-shaped herb. This plant is infused with vibranium that has existed in the soil of Wakanda since a meteor crash millennia ago.

Vibranium is perhaps the most coveted resource in the MCU, having created some of the franchise's most powerful tools. The fact that vibranium also grants the Black Panthers incredible abilities such as enhanced strength, agility, speed, and a regenerative healing factor is testament to how remarkable vibranium actually is. When consumed, the heart-shaped herb even allows the Black Panther to speak to their ancestors in the Ancestral Plane, adding another layer of beauty to this significant transformation.

Related Black Panther 3: Everything We Know Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sets up several plot threads for Black Panther 3, but no official announcement has been made by Marvel Studios so far.

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7 Tony Stark Built The Iron Man Armor

Tony Stark’s Genius Helped Him Create Iron Man

While Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark didn't actually have any superhuman abilities, the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist did still have a brilliant origin story as Iron Man in the MCU. After the egotistical Tony Stark was abducted by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, he worked alongside Shaun Toub's Ho Yinsen to design a miniaturized arc reactor to keep shrapnel from entering his heart, and then to build his very first, rudimentary Iron Man armor. This original suit was kitted out with flamethrowers and small flight capabilities, allowing him to escape from captivity.

Tony Stark proved his genius more than ever before when designing his first Iron Man suit. This armor was forged from the scraps of Stark Industries' weapons, displaying Stark's innovation, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking brilliantly. This kick-started an epic journey of invention for Tony Stark, and set a high standard for subsequent MCU projects for years to come.

Robert Downey Jr. has recently stated that he'd happily return to the MCU as Tony Stark, raising hopes that Iron Man could reappear.

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6 Kaecilius Harnessed The Power Of The Dark Dimension

Kaecilius’ Mastery Of Magic Makes Him Extremely Powerful

While Doctor Strange's harnessing of magic and mysticism in 2016's Doctor Strange was exciting to watch, the villainous Kaecilius receiving his enhanced magical powers was more impressive. Mads Mikkelsen's Kaecilius had been a disciple of the Ancient One, but turned his back on her after learning of Dormammu and the Dark Dimension. Kaecilius and his followers had their powers enhanced massively by drawing energy from the Dark Dimension, making them almost too powerful for Doctor Strange.

Kaecilius was the perfect dark mirror to Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange in the MCU's Phase 3, as Strange could have very easily gone down the same path as his more-dangerous foe. This reflection made Kaecilius' evolution from simple Master of the Mystic Arts to Dark Dimension zealot even more impactful, and watching Kaecilius and his followers physically change when using the Book of Cagliostro to assume the Dark Dimension's power was a harrowing moment.

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5 She-Hulk & Abomination Were Exposed To The Hulk's Blood

She-Hulk & Abomination Prove How Dangerous Bruce Banner’s Blood Can Be

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Bruce Banner's own transformation into the Hulk in 2008's The Incredible Hulk was a memorable moment in the MCU's history, but subsequent characters have hammered home its impact. Banner's own blood is very dangerous, as proven by Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky and Tatiana Maslany's Jennifer Walters in The Incredible Hulk and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, respectively. Both of these characters violently transformed into Hulk-like characters after being exposed to Banner's blood.

Banner's blood combined with the super-soldier serum in Blonsky to transform him into the twisted and sinister Abomination in The Incredible Hulk. In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, however, Walters was exposed to her cousin's blood after a car accident, transforming her into She-Hulk, who instantly had more control over her powers than her predecessors. The impact of Banner's blood will be felt again when Tim Blake Nelson's Samuel Sterns returns as the Leader in Captain America: Brave New World.

Related Every Hulk In The MCU (& Which Is The Most Powerful) The Marvel Cinematic Universe includes several iterations of The Hulk, but who are they and who is the most powerful one? We break it down.

4 Daredevil Got Chemicals In His Eyes

Daredevil May Have Been Blinded, But This Began His Hero Journey

Netflix's Daredevil series was recently confirmed to be canon to the MCU, meaning Matt Murdock's origin story as the Man Without Fear is now part of the MCU's history. When he was nine years old, Matt Murdock saved an elderly man from being hit by a RAND Oil & Chemicals truck, but this caused the truck to flip over, and douse Matt's face with hazardous chemicals. While this blinded the young Murdock, these chemicals heightened his four other senses to superhuman levels, allowing him to eventually become the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

This was certainly a tragic and haunting turn of events for the young Matt Murdock, but it cemented his resilience from the get-go. The moment Matt Murdock received his Daredevil abilities was also incredibly realistic, grounded, and believable, bringing one of the most cliché superhero origin stories into the live-action MCU in one of the most memorable ways.

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3 Ghost Was Bombarded With Quantum Energy

Ghost Was The Sole Survivor Of A Quantum Experiment Gone Wrong

Hannah John-Kamen's Ava Starr is currently one of Marvel Studios' least-developed characters, but her origin story as Ghost is actually one of the most cinematic events in the MCU's history. SHIELD scientists Elihas and Catherine Starr attempted to build a Quantum Tunnel after being ousted from SHIELD by Hank Pym, which would have allowed them to journey to the Quantum Realm. Unfortunately, the machine malfunctioned, erupting in a huge explosion of quantum energy which killed Elihas and Catherine, but inundating their daughter.

Ava Starr initially struggled to control her new phasing abilities, but SHIELD gifted her a containment suit and gave her training, transforming her into an elite operative working in the shadows. The moment she received her abilities was tragic, thanks to the loss of Starr's parents, but it was also a fantastic burst of vivid color that proved just how dangerous and incredible the Quantum Realm can be.

Related 1 Overlooked MCU's Villain Will Be The Thunderbolts' Hulk Ghost's comeback in Marvel's Thunderbolts will not only be a huge step for her character, but it can draw parallels to the Hulk's Avengers story.

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2 Wanda Maximoff Was Exposed To The Mind Stone, But Had Innate Abilities

The Scarlet Witch’s Innate Abilities Were Enhanced By An Infinity Stone

It was initially believed that Wanda Maximoff's chaos magic abilities were gifted to her through experiments run by HYDRA on Sokovian citizens, but 2021's WandaVision completely altered the Scarlet Witch's backstory. Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff was confirmed to have innate abilities as a young witch, though Agatha Harkness suggested these would have eventually "died on the vine." Instead of wilting away, however, HYDRA's experiments only enhanced Wanda Maximoff's incomprehensible powers.

WandaVision showed Wanda Maximoff being exposed to the Mind Stone inside Loki's scepter during HYDRA's experiments. The Mind Stone's power enhanced Wanda's natural gifts, forging her into one of the most powerful and significant characters in the MCU, making her supposedly stronger than the Sorcerer Supreme, and enabling her to alter reality at will. This was a beautiful moment that saw Maximoff get a glimpse of her future as the Scarlet Witch, a role that she finally embraced in WandaVision.

For several decades in Marvel Comics, Wanda Maximoff was a mutant, and while this was retconned in 2015, this could be a potential story for her MCU future, should she return.

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1 Carol Danvers Absorbed The Power Of The Space Stone

The Tesseract Made Captain Marvel One Of The MCU’s Strongest Heroes​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Alongside Wanda Maximoff's Scarlet Witch, Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel is another of the MCU's most powerful superheroes, and this is also due to her exposure to the power of an Infinity Stone. Brie Larson's Carol Danvers shot at and blew up Mar-Vell's light-speed engine, which was powered by the Tesseract, in Captain Marvel to keep it out of Yon Rogg's hands. This explosion, however, caused Danvers to absorb the energy from the engine, enhancing her significantly.

The moment in which the Tesseract's energy gets absorbed by Carol Danvers' body is one of Marvel Studios' most cinematic moments, and leaves her with some of the most remarkable gifts in the MCU. Danvers spends most of Captain Marvel trying to understand her abilities, which she eventually does in the movie's final battle. Several other heroes have been empowered by Infinity Stones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Carol Danvers' power is second-to-none.