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Originally Posted by The Might
He is the most powerful overall.
Eonwe is the greatest as far as fighting with weapons is concerned.
Tulkas is the greatest wrestler.
But Melkor was the greatest of all.
But you are right, by using his powers to corrupt and for other evil purposes he did lose certain powers, for example he was no longer able to change his form and was "stuck" in the shape of an evil lord.
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Yes, Tolkien says that Melkor is the most powerful many times. But I can't think of any particular instance where he proves this. Tulkas is said to be a great wrestler and this is proven by him defeating Melkor. But does Tolkien ever give an example of Melkor exerting all his "power" over the other Valar? What kind of power is it? In that world, power seems mostly to refer to the ability to
1) wage war successfully
2) be successful in personal combat
3) create/shape the world
Melkor seems to be inadequate in all these things. He loses many, many wars in the Sil. He loses a fight to Tulkas, and makes a seemingly poor showing against Fingolfin, though he does eventually win. And as I remember, he never really took part in creating the world, since he was off in the void searching for the flame while the other Valar were creating the earth. So what has Melkor ever done to deserve the title of "most powerful Valar"?