Once Upon a Time rapidly evolved into the darling of the ABC Network as both nostalgic adults and fantasy-enamored youth flocked to the re-imagined fairy tales in the modern world. Part of the show’s allure stemmed from the familiar stories and the need to find out just how every tale might pan out each week, but an even larger aspect that quickly grew the fan base was simply the characters themselves.
Inspiring, cunning, brave, and highly flawed, the characters of Once Upon a Time were a times more of a trainwreck none of us could turn away from, even when seasons became cringe-worthy and more commercialized than clever. The hardest heart could be kind and the most innocent and loving could be cruel. Fans never knew if their favorite character might be a hero or a villain any given week.
Much of the show’s character development rested upon each character’s strengths and weaknesses. Characters who demonstrated phenomenal, even supernatural strength, might be the weakest of all when it came to their emotions. Meanwhile, those who appeared meek surprised us all as they turned a corner in the name of love or justice. While many fans mourn the show, they will always hold onto the incredible stories and the characters, both weak and strong, who made them so unforgettable.
From the bravest heroes who turned bad to the villains who gave it up and surprised us all, here are the 13 Strongest (And 12 Weakest) Once Upon A Time Characters, Ranked.
25. Strongest: Rumplestiltskin
He is the original bad boy of the series and his power has never been doubted.
Mr. Gold, also known as Rumplestiltskin, walked a long gray line between good and evil, constantly causing everyone to guess where his alliances truly lay throughout the entire span of the series.
Robert Carlyle portrayed this character so masterfully that the Beast simply couldn’t be written off, with rumors of his demise routinely being greatly exaggerated.
The one thing that keeps Gold from being a stronger character? His own greed and fear. Rumple is his own worst enemy.
24. Weakest: Prince Philip
As far as prince stories go, the tale of Prince Philip is a little unorthodox. Sure, he awakens Aurora with a kiss, but not only is he frozen in time but he also ends up being the Yaoguai, a terrible beast.
Twice he’s been bested by evil witches and both times he had to be rescued by someone else.
While many fans enjoyed this reversal of the woman in the refrigerator trope, it did paint a less heroic version of Philip than the Disney one would have us believe.
Then again, in the original telling of Sleeping Beauty, the prince is a creep, so perhaps it’s still an improvement.
23. Strongest: Baelfire
It’s difficult to leave a parent, particularly one who is dependent on you, lies to you daily and enforces the belief that your own mother abandoned you.
Baelfire, who grew up to be Henry’s father, managed to do just that, leaving behind a world of magic when his own father refused to do so. Once he landed in our world, Bae adhered to a less stringent moral code, adapting to life as a thief, but it wasn’t as if he had a lot of choice without any parents or a job.
While Bae’s physical strength is average, his strong ethical compass is what gains him a spot on the list of strongest characters.
22. Weakest: Jiminy Cricket
A man who should have been listed among the strongest characters when it comes to ethics is actually one of the weakest people in Storybrooke.
He has no magic or physical strength.
Not only is Jiminy responsible for attempting to poison his own parents, no matter how wretched they were, and inadvertently transforming an innocent couple into wooden dolls, but he was also complicit in some pretty dark plots. He gave poor counsel to Henry just because his mother ordered him to do so.
For someone who is meant to be a conscience, Jiminy isn’t as strong as he should be.
21. Strongest: Blue Fairy
Time and time again, the Blue Fairy proved to be one of the strongest people in the history of the show.
Though she’s supposedly the most powerful creature in all the land, she is not without limitations– or mistakes as it was she who ultimately instilled the idea of the Storybrooke curse.
She also translates the spell to summon the Black Fairy without meaning to do so, prompting viewers to wonder how someone nearly omnipotent could not only make so many mistakes but could also be so hard on other fairies. Still, she does come to the rescue often and her powers are nearly unrivaled.
20. Weakest: Cinderella
Although Cinderella has a kind heart and usually has a positive attitude, she’s easily one of the most boring and helpless characters on the show.
Indebted to Rumpelstiltskin with her baby, she doesn’t seem to be able to do much for herself at all.
While other princesses turn into strong fighters for justice or at least their own families, Cinderella just isn’t very impressive.
It’s not that she’s a terrible person, but the odds are stacked against her if she’s going to be this milquetoast. She’s one of the fairy tale characters whose story the show didn’t mess with much.
19. Strongest: Ursula
The sea witch of Little Mermaid fame always got a bad rap when she was the most powerful thing in the ocean. With all of that power and charisma, Ursula should have been an incredible plus-sized force to be reckoned with. Many authors have re-imagined her tale with these twists.
Once Upon a Time did, not only making her one of few people of color on the show but also a villain with a tragic backstory who betters herself and those around her.
Her defiance of the darkness that other villains could not fight makes her one of the strongest characters.
18. Weakest: Sheriff Graham
Easily taken out by Regina the moment he started regaining his memories, Graham did her bidding in Storybrooke.
Regina holds his heart hostage, making him a victim of her control and assault.
Though he was stronger as the Huntsman who afforded Snow White her freedom, Graham’s ineptitude as sheriff is magnified as we witness other similarly non-powered characters manage to evade Regina for years.
After Hook gets his heart back, fans especially wondered how Graham couldn’t have received a better conclusion to his story.
17. Strongest: Granny
Always there with a crossbow and some major attitude, Granny is one of the most steadfast characters in Storybrooke.
When it’s revealed that Widow Lucas is also the fierce protector of her granddaughter Ruby, who happens to be a werewolf, she transforms the old kindly grandmother fairy tale trope into something new and exciting on the show.
Although Granny often butts heads with her headstrong granddaughter, as guardians often do, her heart is almost always in the right place. She’s someone everyone would want on their team.
It’s just too bad that her character didn’t get any deeper episodes following that initial revelation.
16. Weakest: Magic Mirror
We can’t help but pity Sidney, the Genie of Agrabah, who fell in love with the Evil Queen and did her bidding with the hopes of winning her heart.
We also despise him for taking out the person who granted him his freedom in the process: King Leopold.
Sidney Glass never learns his lesson, going as far as to punish them both by vowing to never leave her side, causing him to become the Magic Mirror.
It’s one of the cleverest spins on a fairy tale in the series but it’s also the complete desecration of the beloved Robin Williams Genie everyone knew and loved.
15. Strongest: Ruby
When you realize that you’re both a beauty and a beast, it can have some traumatic effects. When Ruby discovered she was a werewolf after destroying her boyfriend, a lot of terrible things could have happened. Luckily, with her Granny’s help, she grew from the tragedy and learned to use her abilities to her own advantage.
Ruby is also the character who gave Snow shelter, and she frequently comes to the rescue in her wolf form.
When Ruby fought alongside Dorothy and later saved her life, she further proved how strong she was.
14. Weakest: King George
Fairy tale kings are often benevolent and kind, but a few can be cruel– and King George is a prime example. His desire for power and any heir at any cost in order to save his own disgraced kingdom from bankruptcy proved that his selfishness outweighed any responsibility he felt as the king.
George proved to be a cunning but weak character over and over again.
He poisoned Snow to render her infertile, framed Ruby for atrocious crimes, and carried out other vengeful plots.
King George never displays a drop of remorse and follows a two eyes for an eye philosophy, making him one of the weakest people in town.
13. Strongest: Henry Mills
Throughout the saga of Storybrooke, Henry Mills has demonstrated almost completely unwavering faith in goodness prevailing and in the trustworthiness of others.
Not only has he (mostly) avoided the temptation of evil, but he’s also rooted for those whom others abandoned as hopeless cases. He is the reason why the curse ultimately broke, even if his mother was the vessel through which it did, because he brought her there through his own faith and determination.
Henry has also demonstrated other powerful abilities as the author and an adult, but it was Henry’s childhood that really shone.
12. Weakest: Pinocchio
Who didn’t love August, the wooden man who really believed what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?
While Pinocchio’s father expected him to take care of Emma, it’s a high burden to ask a child to carry. Even if Pinocchio eventually found his way to Emma to help encourage her along, he still represents one of the weakest characters.
He lies, pursues pleasure over responsibility and turns into wood as a result of his weaknesses.
Pinocchio becoming a real boy again was also a weird, if not weak, moment.
11. Strongest: Mulan
She’s as brave, selfless and true as they come, even when it comes at great personal cost. Mulan has rescued several characters, some multiple times, and proves to be the most honorable of them all, keeping her word even at great difficulty.
Mulan is a fierce opponent in battle, besting most people she comes across, and the fact that she gave up Aurora without attempting to infringe upon her happiness, even after helping the princess become a better person, proves that she’s one of the strongest characters on the show.
She is one of the many characters fans wished to see more of in the show.
10. Weakest: Dopey
Dopey is a tree. Okay, he may not always be a tree, but when you are a tree you are pretty much the weakest character in a show.
Dopey is almost a complete background character without any real power.
Although we pity him because he’s often berated by his fellow dwarves for his ineffectiveness, the fact remains that he’s one of the weakest characters in Storybrooke.
Dopey doesn’t have a very strong story line or any major important roles, which is really too bad since the Once Upon a Time team is known for spinning tales upside-down.
9. Strongest: Belle
All jokes about Stockholm Syndrome aside, Belle is one of the strongest characters in Storybrooke. Not only did she take on a monster without any special powers of her own, but she managed to love and forgive Rumpelstiltskin over and over again. Some might call this stupidity, and even if they are right, it reveals more about the contents and character of Belle’s heart more than it does about Gold’s scheming.
Belle is positive, adventurous and loving– a devoted mother and friend. It’s a rare moment when she can’t be counted on.
Even though Belle doesn’t have much physical or magical ability, she’s proven that her mind and mettle are enough.
8. Weakest: Anastasia
Although she eventually repents for her wrongdoing, Anastasia is still the Red Queen whose power-hungry ways destroyed lives.
Anastasia’s story mirrors Cora’s in how she escapes poverty and rejects her true love in favor of wealth and power.
From dabbling with magic to tossing Cyrus into the sea and other dastardly deeds, Anastasia’s willingness to work with Jafar all throughout Once Upon a Time in Wonderland made her undeserving of the White Queen title she eventually took beside Will, her White King, even if she did save his life.
7. Strongest: Peter Pan
Some villains do anything to protect their children while others, like Peter Pan, abandon them at any cost. That alone should land him a spot among the weakest characters, but his sheer invulnerability is what makes Peter Pan one of the strongest characters on Once Upon a Time.
Not only can none of the most powerful characters, from Regina and Emma to Gold, defeat him, but he is also one of the most terrifying foes they’ve ever faced in the series.
Pan is also one of the strongest adaptations of the show, rendering a beloved impetuous boy who never wanted to grow up into one of the evilest villains of all time.
6. Weakest: Owen Flynn
Owen Flynn, also known as Greg Mendell, is an obvious choice for a weak character since he possessed no magic on his own.
The loss of his father could have helped him develop into a true warrior for justice, instead of the vengeful and cruel man.
The show often depicts characters in painful situations but the complicated and most compelling part happens after the trauma when each character chooses who he or she will be.
Flynn, who put his trust in a madman and his bunch of Lost Boys, chose poorly.
5. Strongest: Cora Mills
In some ways, one could argue that Cora Mills is the weakest character, given how threatened she felt by a mere stable boy. But this is a woman who removed her own heart, not just obtain the power she’d never had but to give her own child a better life than she’d had.
One of the cleverest people in the entire series, Cora is always a step ahead and carries powerful magic that rivals Rumplestiltskin’s, the teacher and true love she gave up for the power she craved.
Rose McGowan’s portrayal of Cora was also one of the strongest on the show.
4. Weakest: Cruella De Vil
There is really no argument against Cruella De Vil as one of the weakest characters in the history of Once Upon a Time. Her willingness to destroy others for her own personal gain, without any growth or atonement, renders her a very one-dimensional character.
Her puppy persuasion powers are definitely underwhelming.
When viewers tuned in for the villain’s backstory, many expected some kind of “good gone bad” twist due to trauma, like many others displayed but alas, Cruella had always been a psychopathic devil.
3. Strongest: Regina Mills
Regina Mills is one of the most complicated characters ever written for a TV show. The evil queen we all loved to hate once upon a time, she was also a desperate infatuated youth who lost her love, and a fiercely protective mother.
Her evolution into someone who could truly turn over a new leaf for the side of good became one of the strongest themes of the show.
Soon her magical strength was surpassed by her own strength of heart– even if there are many fans who feel she never truly atoned for her crimes, leaving her many victims without justice.
2. Weakest: Dr. Frankenstein
While it’s understandable that Dr. Frankenstein desperately desired the love and approval his own father refused to give him, the methods to his madness are simply inexcusable.
Imagine if he’d been able to utilize that brainpower for something good, instead of succumbing to the darkness that his father instilled in him.
The proof of his weakness resides in Dr. Whale as well, his morally bankrupt Storybrooke counterpart who never shies from an opportunity to be selfish or even just gross.
1. Strongest: Emma Swan
It may be an obvious choice but Emma Swan is definitely the strongest character in Once Upon a Time. Not only does she have a sharp mind, decent fighting skills, and her own unique brand of magic, but Emma is so strong that she even barely transformed into a Dark One when the curse befell her.
Not only did she do her best to protect those she loved, but she sacrificed herself to do so.
Swan’s self-sacrifice and constant work for the side of good make her the strongest character on Once Upon a Time.
Who’s your favorite Once Upon a Time character? Let us know in the comments!
