WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Legend of Vox Machina, available to stream now on Amazon.
Ever since Critical Role brought to audiences the Dungeons & Dragons characters that formed Vox Machina, every fan has had their favorite. Well-balanced both in terms of their contribution to the story and their contributions to combat, there are always different moments where each character shines as a valuable asset to the team.
However, in comparing and contrasting them, there's a clear lead in terms of raw power. Although everyone has their unique skill set, one member of Vox Machina outshines the rest when it comes to battle.
Although the series started with the heroes proving grossly underprepared for the responsibilities ahead of them, Vox Machina eventually proved their position as the Protectors of the Realm by the end of the first season by fighting off dragons, demons and the undead. Many of the team's members needed to grow into their positions, discovering their true strength along the way. Nonetheless, there were some among the team who were deadly all along.
Grog the barbarian would prove a quick candidate for consideration when it comes to deciding the strongest member. Indeed, there is little doubting that he is the physically strongest, tearing through stone and crumpling metal helmets with his strikes. Meanwhile, his fellows Vex, Vax and Percy all proved keenly skilled with their ranged weaponry in their own rights. Percy's pepper-box The List fired bullets unlike any other creation seen in the show, and Vax's magical knives returned to his hands as soon as he threw them. Yet there is something sorely lacking in all four members that keep them from being the most powerful teammates: magic.
While physical strength and skill certainly have their place in combat throughout the show, it is the spellcasters who invariably save the day. The bard Scanlan used his spell "Scanlan's Hand" several times to conjure a giant life-saving hand that could hold the entire party aloft while a room below filled with acid, and Keyleth's druidic spells summoned the full force of nature against Vox Machina's enemies. Indeed, without her sunbeams, they could never have beaten the shadowy wraiths that were untouchable in the darkness, nor the vampiric Sylas himself. However, when deciding on the true strongest member, it's hard to find any better than the best of all possible worlds.
That means Pike. As a cleric, Pike embodies a balanced approach to all the options her fellows specialize in. She wears heavy armor and conjures weapons she wields deftly in melee combat, and she casts spells that empower her allies while hindering her foes. It was her magical enchantments that empowered the people of Whitestone against an undead army, and she managed to do all that while astral projecting to the field from miles away.
If doing everything everybody else does adeptly did not alone make her a sure bet for Vox Machina's most powerful member, Pike also has the invaluable niche as a healer who keeps the party alive. Countless times throughout the season, her teammates would have died or gone into battle injured were it not for Pike's healing touch, and during the time she was absent, they missed it sorely.
Her abilities did not always prove so apparently powerful. She started the season in a crisis of faith that left her incapable of even basic healing spells and needing to rediscover her faith at a temple for the Everlight. However, thereafter, she became Vox Machina's most powerful member, and there's no telling how much more powerful she may grow to be in future seasons.
