In the newly released Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan is a huge fan of The Avengers and often fantasizes about being one of the superheroes that exist in her world. Even without superheroes in the real world, many people can relate to Kamala Khan’s fantasy and would love to have superpowers as well.
Fans over on Ranker have ranked the best superpowers that have been shown in movies. These powers aren't just limited to movies and range from the desire to have them, the impact they've had in pop culture, how useful these powers can be in real-world scenarios, and how easy they are to learn and use.
Note: Ranker lists are live and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Mind Control
Mind control is one of the all-time classic superpowers. It's a common power among Jedi Knights when maintaining peace and justice in the Star Wars galaxy.
The first time audiences are introduced to this power, Obi-Wan Kenobi uses it to convince a squad of Sandtroopers that Luke's droids are not the ones the Empire is looking for. In Attack of the Clones, he again uses the mind trick when he tells a death stick dealer to stop selling death sticks and go home to rethink his life. It is one of the more unjust superpowers considering that it requires interfering with someone else's free will.
Magic
Having magic can lead to endless possibilities. The most popular showcase for this power in films has been the Wizarding World franchise, but magic has also been shown throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe with characters like Doctor Strange, Wanda Maximoff, Loki, and Frigga.
The wizards and witches of the Wizarding World learn how to use magic at special wizarding schools. Students require a wand to be in full control and have to learn many different spells and charms throughout the years. In the MCU though, magic has always been more instantaneous and doesn't require attending a school for seven years. Magic can grant access to other powers such as levitation, transformation, and opening portals.
Opening Portals To Anywhere
This is a pretty simple power to have but is most certainly one that fans wish to perform in the real world. Anyone who can open portals has the ability to travel anywhere in the world and possibly the universe. This superpower can be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, more specifically in any movie where Stephen Strange is involved.
It does require a lot of training and concentration to use this power but once mastered, it allows easy and quick transportation from one location to another. The most iconic sequence in Avengers: Endgame featured Stephen Strange and Wong opening up several portals so everyone could assemble to face Thanos in the film's epic climax. It's a very flashy power America Chavez in Multiverse of Madness introduced as a new way to transport using portals that go beyond a single universe.
Shapeshifting
Becoming someone else is a power that can be incredibly helpful and several Marvel characters have access to this ability. One of the more recent examples of shapeshifting in movies comes from the Skrulls who made their MCU debut in Captain Marvel, while the mutant Mystique in the X-Men series has used this power for more sinister reasons.
The Skrull Talos has used this power to not only hide in plain sight from others but also to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. as a means to try and find information on the lightspeed engine that Kree traitor Mar-vell was working on. Mystique has used shapeshifting to also sneak into government buildings, but her motives are usually for the greater good of mutants without regard for humans. It's a power that has many advantages to it and one that most people would love to have.
Super Speed
There have been many speedsters in movies such as Dash from The Incredibles, both Quicksilver variants, The Flash in the DC Extended Universe, and Makkari from Eternals. This superpower has been depicted in two different cinematic ways, but both share the same purpose.
X-Men: Days of Future Past and Zack Snyder's Justice League showed audiences the point of view of both Peter Maximoff and Barry Allen as the world around them is moving in slow motion which gives them plenty of time to save anyone who might be in danger. The Incredibles and Eternals portray this power as Dash and Makkari being quite literally faster than anyone else and a lack of slow-motion drives home the point that they are true speedsters.
Elemental Powers
There's no denying that being able to control the elements is spectacular and Avatar: The Last Airbender is the most famous series that shows how awe-inspiring this power can be. Most of the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender control certain elements such as Katara with water, Toph with earth, Zuko with fire, and Avatar Aang with not only air but all of the other elements.
Fire and earth are the two most dangerous elements considering the potential harm of fire and the destructive abilities of the Earth itself. Water and air may appear to be the two more peaceful elements to control but depending on the user, can be just as powerful as fire and earth. Controlling any one of these elements is a true superpower that would turn anyone into a living god.
Healing Ability
There are two very different definitions of healing abilities in film. One version of the healing ability can be seen in the X-Men movies and is beneficial to the characters of Wolverine and Deadpool. The other as shown in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is used in a more selfless way.
Deadpool and Wolverine are both mutants with a healing factor. It allows them to take a lot of damage from gunfire or bladed weapons and keep on fighting with little to no time to heal. In Star Wars this power is presented as a way to heal the injuries of others by transferring a certain amount of force energy into the wound. If enough of this power is used, it can even save someone from death as Ben Solo used enough force energy to resurrect Rey at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
Time Manipulation
The power to travel through or manipulate time is surprisingly not a very common power in superhero movies. Without the use of technology, time manipulation has been used in Doctor Strange, Richard Donner's Superman, and Zack Snyder's Justice League.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stephen Strange does have to rely on the time stone in order to use this power, but through training has learned to master time manipulation. The sorcerer used it to create a loop in time to trap Dormammu in the Dark Dimension before the creature begged Strange to release him. Superman in Richard Donner's 1978 film and The Flash in Zack Snyder's Justice League depend on their super-speed in order to travel through time. In both films, the heroes end up losing and use time travel to save everyone.
Telekinesis
Sometimes known as psychokinesis, the power to mentally move any person or object is both impressive and horrifying all at once. Two popular superheroes that use this ability are Jean Grey from X-Men and Wanda Maximoff from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
These two characters have demonstrated how scary this ability can be when both characters are pushed to the limit, such as what is seen with Wanda's vengeful nature toward the Mad Titan or Jean Grey being overwhelmed by the Phoenix Force. Those who have telekinesis in the real world would not to be messed with when considering their unimaginable power.
Teleportation
Teleportation is the best superpower to have because it allows one to travel to any location instantaneously without the need for a portal. This ability is shown in the Wizarding World films and in the superhero genre with Nightcrawler of the X-Men franchise.
In the Wizarding World, teleportation is called apparition. It's flashy and all-around strange when it happens but not recommended for those who have weak stomachs. Nightcrawler from the X-Men series can also teleport and take others with him. It's safer and probably won't cause motion sickness. Instantly going anywhere in the blink of an eye is a superpower that very few wouldn't want to have in the real world.