User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 363: The Stories That Demons Read, Review and Commentary/@comment-1153699-20131207173113/@comment-24066070-20131211054535

But Natsu ain't stronger than Makarov or Gildarts. I think in terms of raw magical power that Makarov is stronger than any introduced mage so far, perhaps Zeref excluded. Of course the greatest power is plot armor, which beats all else (often to ridiculous extremes), but even Natsu won't beat Makarov or Gildarts or Erza (who has just as much plot armor as Natsu does).