Is Psykos the strongest female character in One Punch Man? Explored

Modified Dec 25, 2024 20:02 GMT

One Punch Man and the strength of Psykos in the series (Image via Shueisha).

Fans have often wondered if Psykos is the strongest female character in One Punch Man. This is a question they have because of the power that Psykos displays during the Monster Association arc and how she surpasses most characters in the series. While there is no denying that her merged version with Orochi is an absolute powerhouse, that doesn't make her the strongest.

Tatsumaki is the strongest female character in One Punch Man and that is shown when she fought the Orochi-merged version of Psykos, managing to get the upper hand in their combat. The esper of the Hero Association was not only stronger from a raw power point of view but also in terms of intelligence. She kept a cool head and came up with a strategy to defeat while Psykos was blinded by the strength she had.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.

Explaining why Psykos is not the strongest female character in One Punch Man

Psykos fighting Tatsumaki in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

The first aspect that has to be taken into account is that Psykos on her own was nowhere near Tatsumaki's level when they fought in the Monster Association arc. If people consider her strength without merging with Orochi and the help of God, she is not even close to reaching the level of the powerful esper, although that is only a testament to Tornado of Terror's strength.

There is also the fact that Tatsumaki didn't want to go all out against Psykos during their battle because if she did, the other heroes could have gotten collateral damage. Therefore, it is clear that she wasn't fighting at full strength for a good portion of their battle, highlighting the difference in class between these two characters, even if the Monster Association advisor gained significant power-ups.

This is further emphasized that Psykos, even after fusing with Orochi and gaining extra power from God, described Tornado of Terror as a "monster." That is certainly ironic when considering she is a monster herself and also points out that there was still a massive gulf in power, making Tatsumaki the strongest female character in One Punch Man.

More details about this

Psykos' final form while fighting Tatsumaki (Image via Shueisha).

While Tatsumaki has the upper in terms of being an esper, she also proved to be a better tactician during their battle. Psykos benefitted greatly from regeneration but was also pretty arrogant as she was overwhelmed by the power that was flowing through her, which gave the hero time to discover where the enemy's true body was and strike there.

Strength cannot only be measured by raw power but also by how is executed and Tatsumaki proves to be the superior in that regard. That is perhaps due to her years' worth of experience with her powers while Psykos was still adapting, although Tornado of Terror also had some accumulated injuries while also worrying about her sister Fubuki and the other heroes.

Final thoughts

The place for the strongest female character in One Punch Man was always going to be between these two ladies and Tatsumaki proved to be a lot more powerful during their battle. This was a direct moment when their strengths were compared and Tornado of Terror proved the superior fighter.

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Edited by Madhur Dave