Who was the strongest Charmed One?

[peytonmarie]

Her power was the only one able to kill her sisters. All she had to do was say "Heart," and they would die. Piper couldn't use her powers on her sisters and Phoebe's power was Levitation, Empathy, and Premonitions, not exactly lethal weapons.

Pretty disturbing the way people conflate strength and lethality.

[charmedislife]

Mar 12, 2016 13:22:43 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

This has been discussed ad nauseum, but I saw this at a different site and simply had to share because I agree with it so much.

It started with this one:

SUBJECT: Paige was the strongest Charmed One

Her power was the only one able to kill her sisters. All she had to do was say "Heart," and they would die. Piper couldn't use her powers on her sisters and Phoebe's power was Levitation, Empathy, and Premonitions, not exactly lethal weapons.

But this response is the one I really like.

SUBJECT: Re: Paige was the strongest Charmed One

You're right but not quite why you think...

Prue was magically the most powerful witch. Her powers alone weren't that amazing but her magic itself was the strongest as she was the eldest of the most powerful generation of witches to date. Likewise, without magic or powers, she was the deadliest fighter.

Piper's powers were the strongest of the 4 sister. Her freezing power couldn't stop witches but her combustion power could (as seen with both Billie & Christy). While her powers could vanquish most demons, it was still hit-or-miss with upper-level demons. BUT, regardless, they'd still cause major harm to any (even the likes of the Source and the Triad).

Phoebe's powers made her the most formidable against any foe. Her premonition power let her know of any major danger while her empathy let her tap into the powers of anything with any type of emotion. Her levitation was just an added bonus. BUT, she made her sister immune to her greatest power so....she's out of the running.

Paige, however, is the most powerful because she's the most well-rounded AND more than just a witch. She had the magic of a Charmed Ones, fighting skill that could match the likes of Phoebe but came with many, many more powers than all of them combined. As a whitelighter, Paige had access to powers that were suppose to be reserved for pacifists who were pushed to brink BUT she could use those powers as she pleased. Whitelighters are amongst the most powerful beings in the show but can't use their powers as stopping demons is a witch's destiny. Paige, however, is a living, breathing loophole in that she's a whitelighter who is also a witch.

Don't get me wrong. I find it annoying that Paige is the most powerful purely by being a whitelighter. But...well, themz the breaks.

Of course, the only thing I disagree with this is that Paige is *not* a witch - she had no witchly powers, only whitelighter ones - even her summoning powe wasn't a witchly power; it was a form of a whitelighter one. She was a living whitelighter who could cast spells and make potions.

I disagree with your disagreement about Paige not being a witch. Paige is a hybrid witch. She has powers of both. Paige’s power was the same as Prue’s she had the power of telekinesis but it worked in a different way. White lighters cannot orb objects or move them via orbing but Paige could move them telekineticly with her mind.

[Esmeralda]

Jan 9, 2020 7:39:35 GMT -5 charmedislife said:

Mar 12, 2016 13:22:43 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

This has been discussed ad nauseum, but I saw this at a different site and simply had to share because I agree with it so much.

It started with this one:

SUBJECT: Paige was the strongest Charmed One

Her power was the only one able to kill her sisters. All she had to do was say "Heart," and they would die. Piper couldn't use her powers on her sisters and Phoebe's power was Levitation, Empathy, and Premonitions, not exactly lethal weapons.

But this response is the one I really like.

SUBJECT: Re: Paige was the strongest Charmed One

You're right but not quite why you think...

Prue was magically the most powerful witch. Her powers alone weren't that amazing but her magic itself was the strongest as she was the eldest of the most powerful generation of witches to date. Likewise, without magic or powers, she was the deadliest fighter.

Piper's powers were the strongest of the 4 sister. Her freezing power couldn't stop witches but her combustion power could (as seen with both Billie & Christy). While her powers could vanquish most demons, it was still hit-or-miss with upper-level demons. BUT, regardless, they'd still cause major harm to any (even the likes of the Source and the Triad).

Phoebe's powers made her the most formidable against any foe. Her premonition power let her know of any major danger while her empathy let her tap into the powers of anything with any type of emotion. Her levitation was just an added bonus. BUT, she made her sister immune to her greatest power so....she's out of the running.

Paige, however, is the most powerful because she's the most well-rounded AND more than just a witch. She had the magic of a Charmed Ones, fighting skill that could match the likes of Phoebe but came with many, many more powers than all of them combined. As a whitelighter, Paige had access to powers that were suppose to be reserved for pacifists who were pushed to brink BUT she could use those powers as she pleased. Whitelighters are amongst the most powerful beings in the show but can't use their powers as stopping demons is a witch's destiny. Paige, however, is a living, breathing loophole in that she's a whitelighter who is also a witch.

Don't get me wrong. I find it annoying that Paige is the most powerful purely by being a whitelighter. But...well, themz the breaks.

Of course, the only thing I disagree with this is that Paige is *not* a witch - she had no witchly powers, only whitelighter ones - even her summoning powe wasn't a witchly power; it was a form of a whitelighter one. She was a living whitelighter who could cast spells and make potions.

I disagree with your disagreement about Paige not being a witch. Paige is a hybrid witch. She has powers of both. Paige’s power was the same as Prue’s she had the power of telekinesis but it worked in a different way. White lighters cannot orb objects or move them via orbing but Paige could move them telekineticly with her mind.

And I disagree with your disagreement about my disagreement.

No, Paige is not a hybrid witch. The show wanted us to think she was one - and she thought she was one - but because she didn't have any hybrid powers (her summoning power is NOT a hybrid power since the REAL witchlighters - Wyatt and Chris - don't have it - they just had standard witch powers and standard whitelighter powers, which is what made them witchlighters. If they had the same power, I'd agree with you, but they don't, so I don't.), she's not. She's a living whitelighter who could do anything any living being could do - cast spells (like the non-magicals in 'Animal Pragmatism) or make potions. She's also a Charmed One because she's descended from Melinda Warren and she could move things with her mind, but she made having a whitelighter for a father more important than having a Warren for a mother, what I count as the worst mistake on the show outside of not leaving Leo in Season One where he belonged or leaving Cole (who also proved that hybrids with hybrid powers in Charmed didn't exist since he didn't have any hybrid demonic powers) in Season Three where he belonged. There's no such thing on Charmed as hybrids, so Paige can't be a hybrid witch, instead she's the only known living whitelighter but not a witch.

She could also sense her charges and hear the Elders' jingle, something Chris could never do with the Charmed Ones, also proving that she's not a witchlighter like him or Wyatt - she's a living whitelighter - she may even be a living Elder - but she's not a witch - being a witch on Charmed was no longer important the second she could orb.

But welcome to the Café anyway!

[rebooted]

Since their powers came from their emotions.

The most powerful was Paige because she was able to control and accept her emotions and destiny

[codebox]

Depends, each sister's had a different area they excelled at. Obviously if we're going by raw power Prue and Piper win without a doubt. Prue's telekinesis practically kills anything during her run. Being used at their main offense a lot of the time, especially during Season 1. By season 3 it was advanced enough where she could control and manipulate her own movements, like in the wrestling episode or walking up a walk in the training sequence in Blinded by Whitelighter.

She's also the one who studied the Book the most and was quick to thinking when it comes to solving demonic solutions. Every time they'd read the book Prue most of the time would be the first to conclude a vanquish or solution to the demon of the week or threat. (some exceptions are Phoebe depending on the circumstance) We also see what overtime does to Prue's powers in Morality Bites, enough to cause massive waves of explosions with the wave of her hand. She could even levitate many objects at one time..

She never really mastered Astral Projection though, but it could be used defensively depending on where she is. And combined with her developed Martial Arts skills she's easily the best offensive fighter of the four sisters and excels in every area of offense. Where she lacks is we don't exactly see her cast many spells aside from the obvious Power of Three solution or the occasions where she does use a spell to vanquish a demon. And Piper was clearly the best with potions. Prue's only major weakness was her sense of pride obviously, which could lead her to make a reckless decision if she got carried away.

As for Piper, her freezing power wouldn't count in a direct fight because of the immunity, but defensively was useful, as long as the demon wasn't upper level or didn't resist it, but it could protect her from oncoming project based moves and could freeze more than one. Otherwise she wasn't really known for offense until she could explode, as she has barely any combat moves to speak of. Piper's biggest strength obviously comes from potion brewing, as she made the most potions out of any of them and excels because of her cooking skills. Her exploding power was the most offensive and would insta kill any demon that didn't resist it. Though honestly I feel at times it was more of the show lazily using it as a "Insta Win" card, than the power being that powerful. Still it could deflect projectiles and destroy buildings at times. However we've also seen on witches like Christy that it doesn't vanquish them (unless she wasn't trying?)

Paige is a tough on, she excels over every sister in versatility. She has Prue's telekinesis, so virutally anything she does besides manipulating her body and combat skills she's equal to Prue, but her whitelighter side allows her to teleport people anywhere she wants, she could just orb them to a volcano with a call of her voice. She's also like Prue in that she excels in finding quick solutions to solve demon problems due to her studying the book and even was good at creating potions herself.

And Phoebe, she's obviously the weakest. lol The only thing she excels in is spellcasting (though this was mostly an early season talent that seemed to be practically ineffective later due to her priorities taking over her skillset. Eventually she would just use potions by necessity or kick and enemy. And Empathy could work, but we only ever see her deflect projectiles with it. She could channel powers, but can she channel moves like orbing or telekinesis? As for Piper, she could only do that because of the environment they were in, plus the girls took the Empathy blocking potion, we do see her overwhelming Cal Greene in the future with it, but it required direct physical contact and all three sisters can just keep her away from them) And Levitation is outlcassed by Prue and while it is defensive, it can't exactly kill and enemy outright, it just allowed her to combine her martial arts with it and often time she'd crash into a walk and doesn't seem to have any direction control over it other than hovering in place and kicking) And while Premonition obviously gives her intuition, it wouldn't be enough for Paige's versatility, Piper's explosions or Prue's offense.

It's hard to say who's the strongest definitively. But I would go with Paige if you consider the possibilities of her teleportation, and she excels in the most areas compared to the rest of them. While Prue and Piper proved the offense, but Piper's is only raw power with explosions, while at least Prue's telekinesis could vary in usage, such as defense (knocking away projectile based moves or levitating her body, manipulating her movements) or offense (sending enemies flying or attacking them with objects and martial arts eve martial arts in Astral Mode)

[Melinda Halliwell]

Yeah, I'd say, Paige was the strongest sister because of all the powers she had and what she did with them.

[Elle Em]

It really depends on what is meant by strongest. In terms of actual lethality of powers, Paige has the most abilities, and they are also the most varied. Piper's explosion power functioned as a mostly always instant win button. Prue's telekinesis, astral projection, and fighting skills were impressive but outclassed by Paige once she came into her own. Phoebe could see the future and also possessed fighting skills.

In terms of each of them being in sync with the idea of magic and solving problems creatively, Phoebe showed a knack for writing spells and coming up with sometimes unconventional solutions. Piper was the best at potions. Prue seemed to most often come up with solutions with Phoebe being a close second, and Prue also had the best instincts. Paige had a willingness to experiment and often thought in an out-of-the-box way.

Then you also have to take into account their personalities. Prue's powers were originally driven by anger, and then she seemed to cool off as the show progressed and leaned into being connected to magic. We don't know if this would have lasted, though, had she lived longer. Piper never accepted magic fully and resented it. Phoebe had a love for it at the beginning that sadly faded over time. Paige didn't connect with it as much at the beginning, but seemed to later accept it as a permanent part of her identity.

They're all strong in different ways. Prue's got plenty of strengths, but her pride got her killed. Piper can defend herself against almost anything, but isn't so great at creative problem solving or being in tune with magic. Phoebe let her later selfishness get in the way of her potential.

So overall I guess I'd say Paige, even though she did occasionally get herself into trouble that she later had to be rescued from. She had the best of a lot of her sisters' abilities with the most varied powers.

[forbuss]

Unpopular opinion: S6 Phoebe is the most powerful Charmed One. We got to see her tap into demons, and even her sisters powers (Piper when she was a Valrykie) and use them against them. In theory, if she wanted to, she could access Piper and Paige's powers.

[timeandspace]

Mar 12, 2016 13:22:43 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

This has been discussed ad nauseum, but I saw this at a different site and simply had to share because I agree with it so much.

It started with this one:

SUBJECT: Paige was the strongest Charmed One

Her power was the only one able to kill her sisters. All she had to do was say "Heart," and they would die. Piper couldn't use her powers on her sisters and Phoebe's power was Levitation, Empathy, and Premonitions, not exactly lethal weapons.

But this response is the one I really like.

SUBJECT: Re: Paige was the strongest Charmed One

You're right but not quite why you think...

Prue was magically the most powerful witch. Her powers alone weren't that amazing but her magic itself was the strongest as she was the eldest of the most powerful generation of witches to date. Likewise, without magic or powers, she was the deadliest fighter.

Piper's powers were the strongest of the 4 sister. Her freezing power couldn't stop witches but her combustion power could (as seen with both Billie & Christy). While her powers could vanquish most demons, it was still hit-or-miss with upper-level demons. BUT, regardless, they'd still cause major harm to any (even the likes of the Source and the Triad).

Phoebe's powers made her the most formidable against any foe. Her premonition power let her know of any major danger while her empathy let her tap into the powers of anything with any type of emotion. Her levitation was just an added bonus. BUT, she made her sister immune to her greatest power so....she's out of the running.

Paige, however, is the most powerful because she's the most well-rounded AND more than just a witch. She had the magic of a Charmed Ones, fighting skill that could match the likes of Phoebe but came with many, many more powers than all of them combined. As a whitelighter, Paige had access to powers that were suppose to be reserved for pacifists who were pushed to brink BUT she could use those powers as she pleased. Whitelighters are amongst the most powerful beings in the show but can't use their powers as stopping demons is a witch's destiny. Paige, however, is a living, breathing loophole in that she's a whitelighter who is also a witch.

Don't get me wrong. I find it annoying that Paige is the most powerful purely by being a whitelighter. But...well, themz the breaks.

Of course, the only thing I disagree with this is that Paige is *not* a witch - she had no witchly powers, only whitelighter ones - even her summoning powe wasn't a witchly power; it was a form of a whitelighter one. She was a living whitelighter who could cast spells and make potions.

[timeandspace]

Piper. Her exploding power with the ability to freeze time is unmatched although i do i think Paige is second mainly because her being able to orb helped the charmed ones so much.

[Esmeralda]

Oct 23, 2020 11:37:01 GMT -5 timeandspace said:

Piper. Her exploding power with the ability to freeze time is unmatched although i do i think Paige is second mainly because her being able to orb helped the charmed ones so much.

I think Piper's power to speed up molecules until they exploded (it had nothing to do with combusting molecules - that's what Phoebe did both as P. Russell and as the Queen of the Underworld - which is when SHE had the strongest power) was the strongest power but she was NOT the strongest Charmed Ones - her always feeling sorry for herself shows that. I don't think any of them was very strong, but of the four, Prue was the strongest, as shown how weak her sisters were once she was dead. Once she was gone, they became almost totally dependent on their men who were the strong ones, not them.

[ljones]

Piper couldn't use her powers on her sisters

The only power Piper couldn't use on her sisters was her freezing ability. She couldn't even use it on other witches. Why should it matter who was the strongest or how strong any of them were? All they had to do was use their brains in order to defeat their enemies.

[Aaeiyn]

Oct 27, 2020 11:18:46 GMT -5 ljones said:

The only power Piper couldn't use on her sisters was her freezing ability. She couldn't even use it on other witches. Why should it matter who was the strongest or how strong any of them were? All they had to do was use their brains in order to defeat their enemies.

It doesn't matter.  Just a fun a thought experiment

In response to the OP, IMO, I genuinely believe Paige is the strongest due to her versatile abilities.  I think Phoebe is a close second with how her Empathy powers work in S6.