How powerful is Live action Gandalf?

[Stigmazilla]

Who is the most powerful character Peter Jackson's Gandalf could defeat in a fight? How would he fair against the following? Achilles (Troy), Leonidas (300), Captain America (MCU), Darth Vader, Harry Potter, Kylo Ren riding the Indomidis Rex?

[Pendaran]

Kylo Ren riding the Indomidis Rex

To quote the internet, y u do dis.

[Sharpandpointies]

He beat the Balrog, for what it's worth. Including the falling, sword-fighting, lightning throwing, etc. Jackson did get a lot of that part correct.

[The Arbiter]

Who is the most powerful character Peter Jackson's Gandalf could defeat in a fight? How would he fair against the following? Achilles (Troy), Leonidas (300), Captain America (MCU), Darth Vader, Harry Potter, Kylo Ren riding the Indomidis Rex?

He could probably fight those first 3 opponents at the same time and win judging how he dismantled the Fellowship in like 3 seconds.

Vader might be a quick draw situation, unless you figure his "tanks a punch from Balrog and doesn't die" level toughness allows him to survive long enough to win more often then not.

No clue with Potter - double extra no clue if it's book Potter.

Kylo riding the dino might be the coolest thing ever thought up by human minds and Pendaran is clearly jealous he didn't think of it first. Gandalf probably explodes from sheer awesome overload.

[Pendaran]

Kylo riding the dino might be the coolest thing ever thought up by human minds and Pendaran is clearly jealous he didn't think of it first. Gandalf probably explodes from sheer awesome overload.

I see someone is campaigning pretty hard to be a restaurant shaped blight on humanity again.

[sunofdarkchild]

His big feat is fighting the Balrog to a draw.

I find most of his feats in the Hobbit trilogy to be more impressive than the rather limited magic he did in the LOTR trilogy. Touching an object with his staff often causes a large piece to break off or produces a large explosion.

Of the list of possible opponents, the only ones I think have a chance are Vader and Ren. The others are what may be 'peak human' for their universes, but that is not enough against the guy who took out the Balrog and rendered Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimly helpless in an instant. Compraing the force to Gandalf's powers is very difficult, but I think if it comes down to a contest of wills then Vader would win.

[nj06]

Is this live-action Harry Potter as well? What were some of his best offensive/defensive abilities? Did he ever learn to transmute things?

[daBronzeBomma]

Isn't Gandalf the Grey a lower-tier angel? Like his dad is literally Eru (God with a capital G)? I was always confused why anything short of another wizard-angel like Saruman the White was even remotely a challenge for him on Middle-Earth ...

[TheLastDalek]

Isn't Gandalf the Grey a lower-tier angel? Like his dad is literally Eru (God with a capital G)? I was always confused why anything short of another wizard-angel like Saruman the White was even remotely a challenge for him on Middle-Earth ...

Isn't he limited by the mortal form he takes on though?

[Sharpandpointies]

Isn't Gandalf the Grey a lower-tier angel? Like his dad is literally Eru (God with a capital G)? I was always confused why anything short of another wizard-angel like Saruman the White was even remotely a challenge for him on Middle-Earth ...

Couple of reasons.

1. The Valar didn’t want a war of powers because of what happened the last two times (crap got broke, big time). So Gandalf (Olórin) wasn’t permitted to go all nutso with power (same with the other four);
2. The Valar didn’t feel this was their problem to fix anymore, for a few reasons (one being the aforementioned ‘crap got broke’, the other two being a tad more complicated); it was up to the people of Middle Earth to fix, another reason to tell Gandalf and the other wizards to keep things on the DL;
3. To help accomplish this, they stuffed Olórin (and the others) into mortal, if powerful bodies to limit them. The Istari didn’t have their full Maiar abilities, they aged, they could become weary, they could be killed etc. It limited them. Gandalf The White was sent back far more close to being Olórin than Gandalf the Grey has been, presumably because he had proved he was fighting the good fight (and because Eru himself seems to have gotten involved at that point).
But still not fully ‘himself’, and not the equal of Sauron.

[Sharpandpointies]

Isn't he limited by the mortal form he takes on though?

He was somewhat stuffed into that form (and going by Tolkien’s account, was kinda scared of going).

[k von doom]

He could probably fight those first 3 opponents at the same time and win judging how he dismantled the Fellowship in like 3 seconds.

I'm only going by the movies as I haven't read the books and know nothing about Gandalf's literary origins but did Gandalf really 'dismantle' those three? It looked more like, after a single attack from Legolas/Gimli they stopped and Aragorn was blinded by the light. It's not as though he outfought them.