Myths, Religions & Legends Power Ranking TOP100
I wrote a book ranking the most powerful gods, monsters, and heroes from world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength! Of course, the rankings reflect a great deal of my own subjective judgment, but the reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the lore and episodes of each mythology, so I think it’s a book that will feel reasonably convincing.
This time I’d like to introduce some of the characters featured in the book’s ranking. Of course, many more characters appear in the ranking beyond those introduced here, so I think anyone interested in mythology, religion, and legend will enjoy it!
Rank 29: Jormungandr (Norse Mythology)
Overview
In Norse mythology, the world is said to consist of nine realms, and the realm where humans dwell is called “Midgard.”
Jormungandr is an enormous serpent monster known as the World Serpent, said to encircle the outer sea of Midgard in a single coil.
From this legend, it is also often called the “Midgard Serpent” (Miðgarðsormr). It possesses an extraordinary size and strength that would allow it to squeeze the entire world in its coils if it wished, and it caused tremendous havoc in the final battle of Norse mythology (Ragnarök).
In the end, it fought an intense battle with Thor, the mightiest war god of Norse mythology, and was killed after being struck three times by Mjolnir.
However, Jormungandr possessed lethal venom, and Thor, having been exposed to that poison during the battle, died shortly afterward — making this iconic Norse battle end in a mutual kill.
Reason for This Ranking
It’s a creature where you could almost say “It’s HUGE, no further explanation needed!!” — something that can squeeze the entire world in its coils simply cannot be weak.
While it resembles enormous serpent monsters like Yamata no Orochi from Japanese mythology and the Hydra from Greek mythology, the scale is incomparably different. Though there is much uncertainty about the exact size of the world in the myths, based on Earth’s proportions, Jormungandr is estimated to be at minimum several thousand kilometers long (possibly even tens of thousands), which means that without the gods stepping in to defend the world, Jormungandr alone could easily destroy it.
Furthermore, since it killed Thor, the mightiest war god of Norse mythology, its venom must be potent enough to kill any god. And while no other enemy has ever survived a single blow from Mjolnir, Jormungandr was struck three times — demonstrating a toughness that is among the greatest in all mythology.
An almost incomprehensible size, devastating venom, supreme toughness — considering these factors, it’s clear that Jormungandr stands head and shoulders above others in the destruction-god tier, which is why I placed it at this position in the ranking.
