Which Is Stronger In Doomsday?

Avengers: Doomsday will be filled with superteams, with the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Thunderbolts/New Avengers, and another Avengers team assembled by Sam Wilson all confirmed. The latter two have already been set up for conflict, as Thunderbolts*‘s post-credits scene teased the rift between Sam and Bucky Barnes over the use of the Avengers name.

With the MCU setting up a clash between the two Avengers teams in Doomsday, who would be lined up on each side became a point of interest. The New Avengers roster was already made clear through their formation on screen and the official Avengers: Doomsday cast list. But there was still some debate about who would join Captain America.

Disney has now cleared up the situation, as Captain America’s Avengers team in Doomsday is confirmed. And with the six members revealed (so far), it is easier to decipher how this fresh Avengers roster compares to the self-proclaimed New Avengers.

Comparing The Avengers & Thunderbolts’ Official Rosters In Avengers: Doomsday

As revealed by Disney, the official Avengers team in Doomsday will consist of Sam Wilson/Captain America, Thor, Loki, Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Shang-Chi, and Joaquín Torres/Falcon. This gives the team three former Avengers, a magical god, a mystical martial artist, and another flyer.

Thunderbolts confirmed what the team roster would be like in Doomsday. Bucky, Yelena Belova, Ava Starr/Ghost, Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, John Walker/U.S. Agent, and Robert ‘Bob’ Reynolds/Sentry are introduced as the New Avengers by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and shown hanging out in the New Avengers tower when a Fantastic Four-themed ship enters the atmosphere.

Both teams have six members, making any fight a fair one in terms of pure numbers. But the abilities of these heroes are quite different.

Captain America’s Avengers team has more variety among the team’s powers. Sam and Falcon have hi-tech flying suits, Thor and Loki are literal gods, Ant-Man has size-changing abilities, and Shang-Chi has mastered the incredible power of the Ten Rings. They’ve got tech, magic, strength, and much more on hand.

The Thunderbolts team has a more limited power set overall. Bucky, John, and Alexei are all super soldiers. Yelena has no specific powers beyond her highly trained combat skills and uses traditional Widow weapons. Ghost’s exposure to quantum energy did give her some cool abilities, but her intangibility/invisibility does have its limits.

Yet, Sentry’s inclusion on the Thunderbolts team raises the team’s power level significantly. He has traditional superpowers of flight, strength, speed, telekinesis, and more, as well as the unmatched power that comes when his darker side, the Void, is unleashed. Sentry is the strongest member of either Avenger team, as he is the MCU’s most powerful character by far, surpassing even Loki and Thor.

Captain America’s Avengers Team Is The Stronger Team In Avengers: Doomsday

Thanks to Sentry being on the New Avengers, an argument could be made that he automatically makes them more powerful than Captain America’s. He could single-handedly take down the entire group if he needed to. However, Thunderbolts* teased that Bob is hesitant to fully tap into his powers again out of fear that the Void will consume him once more.

Determining who is the stronger team overall goes beyond the raw power of its strongest member, too. The collective power assembled is what ultimately matters. Thor, Loki, and Shang-Chi might not be as powerful as Sentry, but their combined abilities could be enough to put up a solid fight against him. They are also each more powerful than any single other New Avengers member.

I’m also confident that Captain America and Ant-Man could take down most of the other Thunderbolts in 1v1 battles. Bucky, Yelena, and Ghost would stand the best chances of winning such fights. Falcon is arguably the weakest link, partially just due to his inexperience, but even he could potentially take down Alexei or John in the right condition.

The sheer power represented by both teams is only part of the equation, though. How a team interacts together and what they are capable of doing also play an important role in determining who is strongest.

While the New Avengers hold an edge here as they’ve actually spent some time as a team already, Captain America’s Avengers should have no trouble figuring out how to fight as a team. Ant-Man/Thor, Sam/Ant-Man, Thor/Loki, and Sam/Falcon have spent time working together in previous MCU movies, so they’d just need to incorporate Shang-Chi, who should slide into place easily.

It’s also worth noting that Captain America’s team is more used to being the heroes. Sam, Thor, and Ant-Man are veterans at saving the world, while Loki has saved the multiverse. Shang-Chi and Falcon may be newer to the superhero game, but their experience levels are quite similar to most of the New Avengers members.

For all those reasons, I’d give Captain America’s Avengers an edge over the Thunderbolts heading into Avengers: Doomsday. If the movie lets these two teams actually fight it out, then an official answer from Marvel Studios on which is strongest will come. Otherwise, it’ll continue to be up for debate.

Consider me Team Cap (as usual) on this topic, even if Sentry’s allegiance alone makes Team Thunderbolts an understandable side to fall on.

Release Date

December 18, 2026

• 

• 

  Vanessa Kirby

  Sue Storm / Invisible Woman

• 

  Johnny Storm / Human Torch

• 

  Ebon Moss-Bachrach

  Ben Grimm / The Thing