Since its inception, the MCU has been defined in part by the incredible tools that its characters use to do battle with one another. While some of the characters in this universe are superpowered, others just have an exceptionally cool piece of tech or some mystical object that keeps them in the fight.
Some of the weapons on this list have been used for good, and others for evil, but what unites all of the items on this list is that each of them is immensely powerful.
Infinity Gauntlet
Thanos’s weapon to beat all weapons, what makes the Infinity Gauntlet so powerful is not the gauntlet itself, but the powers it is capable of wielding. Each of the Infinity Stones is, on its own, an immensely powerful weapon, but when combined, they are capable of wiping out half the population of the universe in a single snap, and that’s exactly what they did.
Of course, the Gauntlet also made Thanos essentially unstoppable, so that even the combined force of all of the Avengers was incapable of stopping him from enacting his plan.
Mjolnir
In addition to being one of the most powerful Avengers, Thor also benefits from having the most powerful weapons. The first of those is Mjolnir, his mighty hammer which can only be lifted by the truly worthy.
As we see in Ragnarok, Thor is plenty powerful even without the hammer, but Mjolnir helps to hone his power and define it, and it also helps him fly around and pull lightning down from the sky. Captain America, ordinarily just an exceptionally strong guy with a big shield, becomes incredibly hard to beat once he picks up Mjolnir, and that’s because the weapon itself has immense power.
Yaka Arrow
Yondu is neither a total hero nor a villain, and the arrow he wields is one of the coolest weapons the MCU has ever introduced. The arrow, which responds to the sound of his whistle, is almost unstoppable and can mow entire reams of opponents with ease.
Other than the arrow, Yondu is a pretty ordinary blue guy, but with it, he can take out entire armies all by himself. The Arrow is not unbeatable, as we see memorably in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, certain superhuman beings can take what the arrow dishes out, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a hugely effective weapon.
Chitauri Scepter
Loki has, over the course of his extended tenure in the MCU, managed to cause quite a bit of mischief, but never more than in The Avengers, when he wields the Chitauri Scepter and the mind stone in order to take over Earth on Thanos’s behalf.
The Mind Stone is the perfect weapon for Loki, as it allows him to twist allegiances against one another, and create fractures inside of The Avengers before they’ve even fully formed. Loki is a master of deception, and with the Scepter, he became so powerful that only the combined force of the Avengers could take him down.
Stormbreaker
Although Thor doesn’t need a weapon, it certainly doesn’t hurt when he has one. After Thanos killed his brother and all his friends at the beginning of Infinity War, he realized that’s exactly what he needed, and set out to force Stormbreaker.
Although Mjolnir will always be his signature weapon, Stormbreaker may be even more powerful, and it ultimately allows him to deal what should be a kill shot to Thanos after destroying his entire army. Unfortunately, Thor’s aim was just a little bit off, and while he does ultimately kill that original Thanos, he’s too late to stop him.
The Ten Rings
We haven’t seen the full potential of the Ten Rings yet, as they’ve only appeared in a single film, but the power that they possess seems to be immense. Shang-Chi’s father was able to accumulate immense power with their help, and he may have proven nearly unstoppable if he wasn’t his own undoing.
The connection that the rings may have to the coming of Kang and the quantum realm remains to be seen, but for now, it seems clear that Shang-Chi may become one of the more powerful members of the Avengers, thanks entirely to the power that those rings provide.
The Nano Gauntlet
Perhaps the only weapon in the entire MCU more powerful than the Infinity Gauntlet, the Nano Gauntlet was built explicitly with the goal of undoing the damage that Thanos had done.
While it’s unclear initially whether the thing even works, we eventually see both The Hulk and Tony himself use it to first bring back everyone Thanos snapped away, and then to snap away Thanos and his army, bringing an end to the entire conflict for good. The Nano Gauntlet was built only to undo damage, so it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see anyone use it again, and that’s ultimately for the best.