DC's Superman is generally considered to be the first modern superpowered hero in comics. While he began as just a strong man committed to helping people and fighting corruption, eventually his abilities to fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, and deflect bullets with his pecs would be added to the ever-growing list of his powers. Given the popularity of the Man of Steel, it's no surprise Marvel has made copycat characters.
There are numerous Marvel Supermen, but the most famous two are probably the Sentry and Hyperion. Both of these individuals are incredibly strong and committed to helping others. But who is stronger?
10 Sentry: 1 Million Exploding Suns
The Sentry has one of the most overwhelming superpowers of anyone in the Marvel Universe: the power of one million exploding suns. What this means is somewhat subjective, but beyond it being a nod to Superman's solar-based power set, it also apparently gives him the equivalent strength of stars going nova.
His actual powers include flight, godlike physical prowess, psychic abilities, invulnerability, and manipulation of matter down to the molecular level. While psychic abilities might not be sun-like in nature, there is no denying that the Sentry's abilities make him a force to be reckoned with.
9 Hyperion: Eternal
The Eternals are ancient powerful beings created by the Celestials to be the guardians of Earth. They are immortals imbued with incredible abilities that let them do whatever is necessary to keep the planet safe. Hyperion is an Eternal, albeit one from the Earth of a totally different reality.
In fact, he was sent from his planet to the main Marvel Universe as the only survivor of his world. He is the protector of Earth who lost his Earth and so has adopted another. This tragic reinterpretation of the Superman story is made all the more potent when one considers that Hyperion was raised by a human father who taught him the culture of his new homeworld, making him Earth's Eternal guardian twice over.
8 Sentry: Angel of Death
In the major crossover story Siege, Norman Osborn lays siege to Asgard. At the time, Asgard is located in Broxton, Oklahoma while Norman Osborn has taken charge of his own Dark Avengers team in addition to being given control over the Earth's global security network. The original Avengers, who had been in hiding from Osborn's forces, take up the defense of Asgard alongside the pantheon of gods.
When it looks like Osborn is about to lose, he unleashes his secret weapon: the Sentry. The secret behind the Sentry's Biblical levels of strength turns out to be that he is the literal Angel of Death. The devastation he unleashes at Osborn's behest is like something out of the Old Testament.
7 Hyperion: Held 2 Universes With His Bare Hands
Jonathan Hickman's time writing Avengers and New Avengers focused on a singular event that was destroying the Marvel multiverse, specifically different universes crashing into one another, slowly wiping one another out. During one such Incursion, Hyperion tries to hold two separate universes apart with his bare hands!
And he succeeds, at least for a while. Inevitably, the weight of two whole universes is too much for him to hold apart for long, but what an incredible feat to pull it off at all! This is something no other Marvel character seems able to surpass.
6 Sentry: Conflict Avoidance
Sentry is a psychologically complex character. It is easy to dismiss him as just another brawny Superman knockoff, but his physical attributes are not what make him stand out. His other abilities, like reality alterations, are where he stands out as truly godlike in his sheer might, as can be seen in the time he made the whole world forget he exists. To avoid confronting his issues, he literally writes himself out of reality!
Another less impressive example of conflict avoidance is his intangibility. As powers go, it is quite impressive, even for one as strong as he is. Still, it serves him well. No one can hit him if they can't touch him.
5 Hyperion: Friendship with Thor
Soon after Hyperion is introduced to the mightiest superhero team of Earth 616 (AKA. the main Marvel Universe), he befriends the Asgardian Avenger, Thor Odinson. The two hit it off, as Marvel's thunder god introduces Hyperion to the joy of mead. Each finds a sense of camaraderie in the other, fighting together and enjoying the other's company.
Later in their story, the two stand against an army of Beyonders. As they prepare to meet what they understand must be their death, Hyperion thanks Thor for making him a better person. Then they make a last stand as warriors against an invincible army, victorious in their glorious deaths.
4 Sentry: The Void
Lots of heroes have mortal enemies who serve as a dark mirror, reflecting their worst nature. Superman wants to save humanity with his strength, while Lex Luthor wants to be strong as the Kryptonian, no matter what it costs humanity. Captain America embodies the best of what his country is capable of being, while Red Skull weaponizes the worst aspects of human nature. But the Sentry's worst enemy is himself, or rather, his darker half.
As powerful as the Sentry is, he has a second personality that is just as powerful, known as the Void. The Sentry might have the power of one million exploding suns, but the Void is the darkness of those suns going out and the death that comes from nuclear annihilation.
3 Hyperion: Lifted Atlantis
Hyperion's lives with the knowledge that his entire homeworld has been destroyed. This burden presses on him, as does the trauma of all he has lost. While the Incursions that destroyed multiple universes were a naturally occurring phenomenon across the spectrum of realities, a number of people destroyed other universes intentionally to save their own. For example, Namor personally destroyed a parallel universe.
To avenge this, Hyperion and the Squadron Supreme attack Namor and his Atlanteans. During the fight, Hyperion lifts the city of Atlantis into the air, then hurls it over the horizon. Namor rushes Hyperion in a blind rage, only to be decapitated with a single laser blast. It is hard to be certain since he is dripping with seawater at the time, but it seems he does not even break a sweat pulling this off.
2 Sentry: Superman Copycat
The Sentry is a copy of DC's Superman. As Superman is the strongest DC hero, it makes sense that Sentry is equally strong. X-Ray vision, laser vision, flight, and the ability to casually rip a deity in two with his bare hands are just some of Sentry's Superman-like powers.
However, Marvel is not to be outdone by their competition. More than just copying Superman's powers, Sentry's reality manipulation abilities, psychic abilities, and angelic status give him unique abilities that make him more powerful than DC's Man of Tomorrow.
1 Hyperion: He's Superman
Sentry might be a copycat of Superman, but Hyperion is basically just Superman. His powers, his origin story, and his moral code echo those of the Kryptonian hero.
Superman is not just the strongest of DC's pantheon of heroes. He is also the most emblematic of self-sacrifice, hope, and virtuous living. That Hyperion is able to embody these traits make him something truly special amid the moral ambiguity and complex psychological profiles of Marvel's roster of masked vigilantes. He is truly something special.
