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We have seen plenty of examples of Earthlings (Terrans) who have obtained superpowers through various means:

  • Bruce Banner, became the Hulk after exposure to Gamma Radiation
  • Steve Rogers, gained super-human strength and abilities from a super-soldier serum
  • Inhumans, obtain superpowers through Kree (alien) interference

Have there been any aliens who have obtained superpowers via similar means? I'm not talking about aliens like Asgardians, Kree, Skrulls, etc who are naturally stronger and more resilient than Humans. I'm referring to any extra-terrestrial beings (of commensurate composition with Humans) that have been exposed to anything that left them with powers that others of their race would consider "super".

Answers from both the MCU and Comics are acceptable!

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    While not Marvel, would someone like Superman count? He's an extraterrestrial who gets his powers by being exposed to a yellow sun. However, he's not a "transformed" superhero, that's just how the biology of Kryptonians works. Just trying to get an idea of what you're looking for.
    – Thunderforge
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:14
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    @Thunderforge Not necessarily if you consider that everyone from Superman's planet would have the same powers, were they to come to Earth's solar system.
    – Zip Zap J
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:15
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    But if that's the case, I'm not seeing how that's different from any human who gets exposed to Banner's Gamma Radiation, or Parker's radioactive spider. Virtually all humans would react the same way, right?
    – Thunderforge
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:17
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    Something that might interest you -- back in the 1980s, I bought an RPG called "The Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set." In the section for rolling dice to create an original character, it said there was a 30 percent chance for each of the following: that your hero would be a Mutant (like the X-Men), an Altered Human (like Spidey or the Fantastic Four), or a High-Tech Wonder (like Iron Man or anyone else who relies on tools/weapons/etc. to win his fights). I think having your character's powers come from being an "Alien" or a "Robot" was only about a 5 percent chance apiece.
    – Lorendiac
    Jun 15, 2019 at 2:19
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    MCU's depictions of Asgardians in general imply Thor and Odin actually count here.
    – Izkata
    Jun 17, 2019 at 14:21

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I think that the best examples would be the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, made up of super-powered beings from many different planets (even Earth).

Among them were:

  • Gladiator, the last Strontian
  • Fang, a Lupak with "vast cosmological abilities"
  • Oracle (Sybil), a Shi'ar who possesses psychic powers

More examples would be from the Kree Starforce, who are super-powered above and beyond other Kree. Among them was Ultimus, an Eternal.

There are also the spaceknights of Galador. Most notable among them would be Rom.

Galactus grants the power cosmic to his heralds, most of whom were not from Earth. Among them were:

The Elders of the Universe, each the last member of an extinct race. They control an energy force referred to as the Power Primordial. Among them were:

Eon, and later Epoch, chooses a Protector of the Universe and grants them the Quantum Bands. Most of the Protectors have been non-human. The first of them was Glakandar the Stygian Starbender.

Raza Longknife is the last member of an unnamed species, wiped out by the Shi'ar. His bionic body parts grant him superhuman strength, enhanced agility, speed, and reflexes.

Rook'shir was a Shi'ar that wielded the Phoenix force.

As mentioned in other answers, the Super Skrull and Beta Ray Bill would also be excellent examples.

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  • You're missing the reference part of many links here (eg "[answers][26]" doesn't render as a link).
    – Laurel
    Nov 7 at 18:41
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I can think of three immediate examples:

  • Super-Skrull, a Skrull warrior, was given (through some means available to Skrulls) the combined powers of the Fantastic Four.
  • Silver Surfer, from Zenn-La, was given the Power Cosmic by Galactus (and by implication every non-human Herald).
  • Beta Ray Bill, a Korbinite, was given the Power of Thor.
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    Super-Skrull and Silver Surfer are great examples. And as mentioned Mark Beadles, Beta Ray Bill fits nicely too.
    – Zip Zap J
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:29
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    Thor is technically a candidate since he's an Asgardian (and thus not an Earthling) with powers that are beyond that of a normal Asgardian.
    – just_happen_to_know
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:36
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    Also Galactus would be a super-powered alien. And don't forget Thanos, although his power was tied to the infinity stones and not an innate part of himself.
    – fluffy
    Jun 15, 2019 at 7:32
  • @ZipZapJ in a previous comment, you wrote "Once Superman leaves the sun, the powers begin to fade." ... well, that's similar for Super-Skrull, he originally needed a constant energy beam from the Skrull homeworld. Don't know if it's still the case.
    – Cœur
    Jun 15, 2019 at 8:48
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Beta Ray Bill is a Korbinite (alien from the planet Korbin) whose:

life force and consciousness were transferred by scientists of his race into the body of an alien carnivorous equine-like beast that had been bionically restructured into a cyborg. Courtesy of highly advanced genetic engineering, the character possesses vast superhuman strength, speed, stamina and durability, and a highly extended lifespan.

Bill was also notable for his worthiness to wield Thor's hammer Mjolnir.

enter image description here

Bill was also depicted in statue form in the MCU in Thor: Ragnarok.

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    I didn't know that was Beta Ray Bill's origin! Always suspected he was just some freaky-horse-looking alien that could wield Mjolnir.
    – Zip Zap J
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:25
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Kallark is a Strontian individual who went through an enhancement process which massively improved his already impressive physical abilities to become Gladiator, Praetor of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard.

Speaking of the Shi'ar, Deathbird was a Shi'ar who was born with a form of atavism, which gave her claws and allowed her to fly.

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  • Both excellent examples, and good answers to my question. I also considered adding Mutants to my list, and I would say Deathbird fits into that category. Kallark is interesting since his page specifies he was part of a group that underwent enhancement. Very cool, thanks.
    – Zip Zap J
    Jun 14, 2019 at 20:27
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All great answers so far; two omissions:

  • The original (male) Captain Marvel (or Mar-Vell), a Kree warrior who accumulated various extra powers along the way, including a "cosmic awareness" by an entity called Eon, which turned Marvel into the "Protector of the Universe". Captain Marvel was a key figure in the first comics war against Thanos, and he was arguably one of the first comics characters to die "for real" (i.e. not to return) from cancer.

  • The Nova Corps, an intergalactic military/police force, arguably created along the lines of DC's Green Lantern Corps. Powered by the Nova Force, they have found their way into the MCU, too.

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The Elders of the Universe

The Elders of the Universe are probably the closest thing to what you want; they are a group of individuals, each belonging to a separate alien race. All other members of their races are extinct, and so they consider one another brothers, though none are related (except Voyager, who is related to the Grandmaster). Each one possesses immortality.

I can't remember how each one gained immortality, but it stands to reason the rest of their races didn't, as they are extinct, after all. Later, the Grandmaster won complete immortality for all the Elders after beating Death in a game. They all have different powers; the only one they share, to my knowledge, is immortality and maybe super-strength.

The Elders of the Universe first began calling themselves such sometime before the Earth was formed, meaning their races were spacefaring long before anyone else, except the Celestials (obviously) and most likely the Watchers, Builders, and Progenitors.

They are generally neutral or evil, in terms of behavior towards Earth's heroes, and they are most famous for: keeping the Infinity Gems during the Thanos Quest, for the Grandmaster repeatedly playing games involving Earth's heroes, for the Thing and She-Hulk beating up the Champion, and for the Collector, who has collected some crazy stuff over the years, including Earth-1610's Mjolnir.

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    The Elders were described as having gained their immortality due to their total obsession on one particular activity, such as the aforementioned Grandmaster with his fixation on games and competition, the Champion for his love of contests of physical strength and unarmed combat, and the Collector with his collection. They were so obsessed that they willed themselves to stop aging and not die so they could continue with their individual obsessions.
    – Keith Morrison
    Dec 12, 2019 at 21:45
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Rocket Raccoon

Normal raccoons can't shoot guns, fix starships or think. They can steal, but they have no affinity for prosthetics.

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  • That's a (genetic) experiment. But since he wasn't born that way, yea, this should count.
    – Mast
    Jun 17, 2019 at 8:56
  • Was he an Earth raccoon? ;)
    – Zip Zap J
    Jun 17, 2019 at 12:34
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    Naw, he was a trash panda!
    – Jammin4CO
    Jun 17, 2019 at 15:17
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The earliest example from Marvel Comics is probably the original Captain Marvel, the Kree captain Mar-vell who comes to Earth. Originally, he mainly used technology for superheroics, though his Kree physique was superior to a typical earthling. Later, he gained true superpowers in various incidents, eventually gaining cosmic 'nega-bands' that give him energy powers, and soon after, the alien Eon gives him 'cosmic awareness'.

enter image description here

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  • <pedant> Axtually, the original Captain Marvel was a human (boy) and got his powers from the Rock of Eternity </pedant>
    – kingledion
    Jun 18, 2019 at 13:48
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    @kingledion: <pedant> Except he was never in Marvel Comics. :-)
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    Jun 20, 2019 at 7:24
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Two that come to mind (pun intentional) from the silver age are the Overmind and the Stranger, each of which was a sort of composite being made from the population of his own planet.

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I'm rather surprised no one has mentioned Thanos's "other" adopted daughter, Nebula.

"You kept winning, and every time I lost, he replaced another part of me."

She is superhuman in a number of ways, due to her cyborg condition. As depicted in the MCU, she is stronger and faster than human, has mental enhancements (due to computer implants), at least one artificial eye that sees things invisible to biological sight -- that ought to be plenty to qualify her.

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If you're after truly "unique freaks", then the original Guardians of the Galaxy* from the distant future might not qualify, but here we go!

Wikipedia sums it neatly: "...team members are Martinex T'Naga, a crystalline being from Pluto; Captain Charlie-27, a soldier from Jupiter; and Yondu Udonta, a blue-skinned "noble savage" from Centauri-IV (the fourth planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B). Each is apparently the last of their kind and they are forced to unite as a team against the actions of the Badoon, an alien race which attempts to conquer Earth's Solar System."

(I'm not including Major Vance Astro, because he is 100% 20th century human stock born on Earth.)

After these, fiery Nikki from Mercury and the mysterious cosmic entity known as Starhawk join up.

*(Now often referred to as "Guardians of the Galaxy 3000" to differentiate them from the famous movie guys)

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