The Most Powerful Super Soldiers in Fiction, Ranked From Khan All the Way Up to the Doomslayer

I have ranked 23 of the most powerful super soldiers across fiction, from slightly enhanced humans at the bottom to the Doomslayer at number one. The list starts grounded and it gets pretty crazy pretty quick.

Super soldiers are everywhere in fiction: Captain America, Master Chief, Deathstroke, Doomslayer. Basically, every universe has looked at a normal soldier and thought, "Yeah, but what if we made him way harder to kill?" The question here is just how dangerous each of them actually is.

Khan and Soldier 76 are the grounded starting point

Starting us off at number 23 is Khan, one of sci fi's original super soldiers. Khan was genetically engineered during Earth's Eugenics Wars to be stronger, healthier and smarter than any ordinary human, and really, his intelligence is his biggest weapon. He is a brilliant strategist and leader who once controlled more than a quarter of Earth. Then in The Wrath of Khan, after a year stranded on Ceti Alpha V, he takes over the Reliant, steals the Genesis device, and nearly beats Kirk with a ship he basically just stole.

Physically, though, Khan is still pretty grounded. He can overpower normal humans, but compared to what is coming later, he is definitely our starting point.

Number 22 is Soldier 76. Jack Morrison volunteered for a United States program to enhance soldiers during the Omnic Crisis, where he was biologically enhanced until he became a super soldier, and he eventually became Overwatch's first strike commander. Even decades later, he is still out there winning fights basically by himself. Jack also comes loaded with futuristic weapons. He is not doing anything completely insane yet, but he is stronger, faster and tougher than a normal human, with decades of experience and some seriously advanced gear.

Jack Krauser grows a giant arm blade, while the Winter Soldier and Solid Snake get by without a long list of powers

Number 21 is Jack Krauser. Krauser was already an elite soldier who served alongside Leon Kennedy, but after becoming obsessed with gaining more power, he willingly infected himself with a disease. Now you have an already elite soldier with superhuman strength, speed, agility and durability. On top of that, Krauser can mutate his arm into a massive blade and leap around the battlefield. So it is a super soldier who can also just transform his arm into a giant sword at will.

Number 20 is the Winter Soldier. Bucky Barnes starts out fighting alongside Captain America during World War II, but after apparently dying, he is recovered, brainwashed, and transformed into one of the Soviet Union's deadliest assassins. He is an elite marksman, fighter and assassin who can use basically any weapon you give him. His cybernetic arm gives him superhuman strength, but his real advantage is experience. He spent decades assassinating targets and fighting superhumans like Captain America, Wolverine and Black Widow. He does not have a long list of powers. "He's just extremely good at killing people who do."

Number 19 is Solid Snake. Snake is a clone of Big Boss created through the Les Enfants Terribles project, giving him the genetic potential of one of the greatest soldiers alive. Konami said he has an IQ of 180, says he speaks six languages, and eventually calls him the man who makes the impossible possible. His resume is kind of ridiculous. Snake infiltrates Outer Heaven and destroys Metal Gear, comes out of retirement to do it again in Zanzibar Land, fights his way through Foxhound, and helps destroy Metal Gear REX at Shadow Moses. He is not superhuman in the way most on this list are. He just spends his entire life beating things that should have beaten him.

Captain America sets the standard, while Midnighter and Deathstroke are built to win fights

Number 18 is Captain America, basically the super soldier. Steve Rogers was a weak, scrawny volunteer during World War II before Project Rebirth and the Super Soldier Serum transformed his body, enhancing him to peak physical potential. But the serum is only half of it. Cap became one of Marvel's best fighters in hand to hand combat, able to take on opponents way stronger than him through skill and experience alone. Then there is his shield, indestructible vibranium that Steve can use to block or throw with ridiculous accuracy. He is not the strongest character here, but he is probably the standard for every other super soldier.

Number 17 is Midnighter. He was biologically and cybernetically enhanced as part of Henry Bendix's experiments, giving him superhuman strength, speed, durability, and a healing factor on top of it. None of that is really his best ability, though. That would be the combat computer implanted in his brain. Midnighter can run through millions of possible scenarios for a fight, analysing what his opponent might do and figuring out how to counter it, all before it ever happens. It is not literal precognition, and it does not make him unbeatable, but it is pretty close. Add in his fighting skill and a complete willingness to kill, and Midnighter is basically built to win fights.

Number 16 is Deathstroke. Slade Wilson was already an elite soldier even before volunteering for an experimental military procedure that enhanced both his body and mind, giving him superhuman strength, speed and durability. He is one of DC's best mercenaries: an elite fighter, marksman and tactician who never walks into a fight without a massive arsenal strapped to his back. He has fought Batman to a standstill and regularly beaten the Teen Titans and plenty of other superheroes over the years. Deathstroke really is one of the best fighters out there.

Soldier Boy and Nemesis can take ridiculous punishment

Number 15 is Soldier Boy. In The Boys, Soldier Boy was one of Vought's earliest success stories, if you can actually call him that, as a creation of Compound V who eventually became America's original superhero. He is incredibly strong and ridiculously durable, to the point where, after he was captured, the Russians spent decades shooting, burning, cutting and experimenting on him without even making a scratch. When he finally comes back, he is strong enough to trade punches with Homelander himself.

On top of that, the Russians also gave Soldier Boy a new power: a massive radioactive blast from his chest. It is powerful enough to level buildings and can burn the Compound V straight out of other supes, essentially transforming him into a walking nuclear bomb.

Number 14 is Nemesis. Umbrella created the Nemesis T-Type by implanting a parasite into a Tyrant, giving a massive monster enough intelligence to follow orders, track targets and use weapons. Nemesis is incredibly strong, can smash through walls, and survives ridiculous punishment. And of course, Umbrella gives the monster a rocket launcher, because apparently he just needed one. The bigger problem is his mutations. Seriously injuring Nemesis does not necessarily kill him; instead, it can force his body into a different form. So throughout Resident Evil 3, Jill basically keeps killing this thing only for it to keep coming back bigger and uglier than before.

Reiner Braun, Frank Horrigan and General Grievous go far beyond human scale

Number 13 is Reiner Braun, wielder of the Armored Titan. Reiner was trained from childhood as one of Marley's warriors before inheriting one of the Nine Titans, giving him the ability to transform into a giant 50 feet tall and covered in armor. As you can probably guess from the name, the armor is kind of his whole thing. Reiner can smash through forts, shrug off cannon fire, and go toe to toe with other Titans, all while healing from any damage he takes. The armor is not necessarily indestructible, but most super soldiers do not get to turn into an armored giant when things go south.

Number 12 is Frank Horrigan. Frank started out as an Enclave Secret Service agent before exposure to the Forced Evolutionary Virus mutated him into a massive super mutant. Instead of looking at the giant monster they created and deciding that was probably enough, the Enclave just kept going. Frank was experimented on even more, cybernetically enhanced and given power armor, transforming him into a walking tank. He is insanely strong, ridiculously durable, and carries a plasma gun alongside a massive blade. Basically, the Enclave took a super mutant, gave him power armor, handed him a plasma cannon, and set him loose in the wasteland.

Number 11 is General Grievous, and yes, I think he does technically count for the list. After most of his body was destroyed and replaced, Grievous became a cyborg built entirely for combat, giving him superhuman strength, speed and agility, while also letting him split his arms apart to attack with four weapons at once. Then Count Dooku decided to teach him how to fight with a lightsaber. So now Grievous can wield four lightsabers at the same time, overwhelm opponents with attacks from basically every direction, and he has killed enough Jedi to literally start collecting their lightsabers as trophies.

Adam Smasher, Master Chief and Captain Titus pair enhancement with heavy armor

Number 10 is Adam Smasher. While still technically a human, Smasher has had basically his entire body replaced with military grade cybernetics. He is insanely strong, covered in armor, and loaded with enough weapons to become a one man army: machine guns, missiles, explosives, you name it. On top of all of that, Smasher also has a Sandevistan, allowing this giant walking tank to move at superhuman speeds.

Number nine is Master Chief. John-117 was taken as a child and inducted into the Spartan II program, where years of brutal training and biological enhancements transformed him into a super soldier. Then they took that super soldier, who was already on par with Captain America, and put him inside Mjolnir armor, which basically takes everything John can already do and "cranks it up to 11." Honestly, though, his experience and skill are just as significant as the armor. He spent decades fighting the Covenant, the Flood, the Prometheans and the Banished, taking down everything from Elite warriors to Hunters and massive alien war machines. It does not matter what weapon you give him, either. He is an expert with all of them.

Number eight is Captain Titus. Titus is an Ultramarine Space Marine, meaning he was genetically and surgically transformed from a normal guy into one of the Imperium's superhumans. Right away you have superhuman strength, speed, durability and a whole bunch of extra organs, all before putting him inside power armor. But Titus has actually gotten stronger since the first Space Marine. After nearly dying while serving with the Deathwatch, he got even more enhancements and upgraded power armor, protected by an Iron Halo and carrying a chainsword. He also has centuries of combat experience against Orks, Tyranids, Chaos Marines, and basically every other horrible thing the 41st millennium can throw at him.

Wolverine, Bloodshot and Agent Venom are incredibly hard to put down

Number seven is Wolverine. Logan already had enhanced senses and an insanely powerful healing factor before Weapon X kidnapped him and bonded adamantium directly to his skeleton. So now you have someone who can heal from any injury, and whose bones are also basically indestructible. He has six adamantium claws coming out of his hands and over a century of fighting experience, from actual wars and black ops to the X-Men and the Avengers. Logan is not anywhere near the strongest person on this list, but he happens to be incredibly hard to kill and really good at putting his claws through people way stronger than him.

Number six is Bloodshot. Project Rising Spirit wanted to create the perfect soldier, so naturally they filled a guy's bloodstream with billions of nanites. Those nanites enhance Bloodshot's strength, speed and durability, but the real power is what happens when you hurt him. They can reconnect nerves and tissue, rebuild broken bones, even reconstruct damaged organs, allowing him to recover from injuries that should have killed him. The nanites can also interact with electronics and technology all around him, giving Bloodshot a whole bunch of other powers on top of being an elite soldier.

Number five is Agent Venom, and I am specifically talking about Flash Thompson during his original government agent days. Flash was already a decorated soldier before Project Rebirth bonded him with the Venom symbiote, essentially giving a soldier Spider-Man powers. The symbiote gives him superhuman strength, speed and durability, on top of a healing factor, webbing, shapeshifting, even a spider sense. Unlike most Venom hosts, Flash can still fight very much like a soldier, using guns, explosives and all sorts of things. So you are not just fighting Venom, but Venom with military training.

Raiden and Weapon H pair ridiculous strength with a super sword and adamantium claws

Number four is Raiden. By Metal Gear Rising, most of Raiden's body has been transformed into a cyborg, making him frankly ridiculous. This is a guy who catches the enormous blade of Metal Gear RAY, overpowers the machine, then literally throws the giant robot through the air, and later battles Metal Gear EXCELSUS and rips apart a war machine that absolutely dwarfs him.

He is also insanely fast, able to enter Blade Mode and slice targets apart in an instant. Then there is his high frequency blade, which uses intense vibrations to weaken bonds and cut through anything. So Raiden is ridiculously strong, ridiculously fast, and carrying a super sword.

Number three is Weapon H, or Clayton Cortez. Weapon X created Clayton using DNA from both the Hulk and Wolverine, which is honestly a nightmare combination, because Weapon H basically gets Hulk level strength and durability mixed with a healing factor and massive adamantium claws. Unlike the Hulk, Clayton is an experienced mercenary who keeps his intelligence and training while transformed. He has fought Wolverine, the Hulk and giant monsters, and still comes out the other side swinging. An absolute monster.

Captain Atom stretches the definition of a super soldier

Number two is Captain Atom. Nathaniel Adam was an Air Force officer before a military experiment transformed him into a quantum powered superhero. At this point, we have stretched the term super soldier pretty far, because Captain Atom can fly, absorb enormous amounts of energy, fire that energy back, and manipulate matter and energy on a fundamental level.

Depending on the story, his powers can get completely insane. At one point, Nathaniel enters the quantum field and actually creates an entire universe through thought. He is basically a living nuclear weapon who can absorb ridiculous amounts of energy and manipulate the matter around him.

The Doomslayer takes number one because hell itself is scared of him

Finally, number one is the Doomslayer. He originally starts out as a marine, but after years of fighting demons and eventually being enhanced through the Divinity Machine, he becomes something way beyond human. He is superhumanly strong, fast and durable, and basically never seems to get tired. Honestly, though, that is nothing compared to the weapons he carries: the Super Shotgun, rocket launcher, plasma rifle, the BFG, the Crucible, Sentinel weapons. The Dark Ages apparently decides that is not enough and gives him the Atlan mech and a mecha dragon.

His resume is even crazier. He spent ages waging war against hell, killing demons, Titans, the Icon of Sin, and eventually Davoth, the Dark Lord himself. By The Dark Ages, Bethesda literally calls the Slayer the "super weapon of gods and kings," and honestly, that is probably the best description of him.

He starts out as a marine, gets transformed into something way beyond human, and spends so long slaughtering the armies of hell that eventually hell is the one scared of him. That is why the Doomslayer takes number one.

I know this one is going to stir up strong opinions, so tell me: would you have put the Doomslayer at the top, or does someone else on this list deserve number one?