Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe, but doing so puts a smile on his face. Being the main villain of the Infinity Saga, the most-watched on-screen fictional story arc of all time, Thanos has risen in popularity to become one of the first villains that comes to mind when people think of superhero adversaries.
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He has the strength to match the Hulk, the willpower to match Thor, and sometimes, even the intellect to match Iron Man. Whether it be in the comics or on the screen, Thanos is always shown to be a powerful figure. Here are 5 of the most powerful versions of him.
5 Thanos Original
The Main Mad Titan
- Universe: Earth-616
- Reason They’re So Powerful: Is the type of man willing to do anything to impress Death itself.
The eccentric, domineering, villains of villains who fell in love with death itself. Marvel Comics’ answer to DC Comics’ Darkseid. The Mad Titan himself has been a staple of the Marvel comic villain gallery for decades and has only grown in popularity ever since.
He was born as a part of a race of Homo Immortalis, better known as the Eternals, an advanced offshoot of humanity of greater glory and power. But Thanos was born with Deviant genes, which were responsible for his strange monstrous purple appearance and Mad Titan behavior. “Am I not Thanos? Did I not butcher the woman who gave me birth, who force-fed me into this hell called life?” Is one of this version of Thanos’ most famous quotes, describing the type of villain we’re dealing with here. Being incredibly bloodthirsty and megalomaniacal, an individual that Thanos was bound to be powerful enough to back up.
Which Marvel Character Could Beat Thanos Alone?
One thing that Marvel fans love to argue is who could take out Thanos on their own, and honestly, I think that list is probably a little longer than we may originally think. For instance, consider Rogue's special ability to absorb the abilities and life force of others. She could theoretically absorb Thanos for so long that he would cease to exist. Additionally, I think that Jean Grey (AKA The Phoenix) could take on Thanos as well. She has taken out entire planets at the drop of a hat, so Thanos would be nothing to her. Finally, I would argue that the Scarlet Witch could take out Thanos on her own under the right circumstances. Her powers let her bend reality and completely write people out of existence, so Thanos wouldn't be too much for her to handle. (Plus, the MCU actually confirmed Scarlet Witch could do that!)
Not only does he possess a genius level intellect, but his Power Grid stats show his strength, at durability to either be nearly or fully maxed out, with his speed maxed out if you include his teleporter, and his lowest stat being his fighting skills which are still at a decent level of 4. There’s a reason he became one of the most adapted Marvel villains from comics to TV and film.
4 MCU Thanos
The Cinematic Mad Titan
- Universe: Earth-199999
- Reason They’re So Powerful: His stoic righteousness and indomitable will.
Dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives. The heroes of the MCU learned the true power of Thanos in Infinity War, a movie lauded for being the first time an MCU film ended with the villain defeating the heroes and leaving as the winner of the story. Thanos made the best first impression a villain possibly could.
He is portrayed as a strong unknowable galaxy-conquering king-like figure throughout the MCU in little cameos here and there before we’re properly introduced to his character in Infinity War. Then, in his official character debut, he proves to be even greater. The first thing we see him do is subjugate Thor, effortlessly beat the Hulk in hand-to-hand combat, and kill Loki, a former main villain of the Avengers. His impressive feats only improve from there, with him increasing his abilities as he adds more stones to his Infinity Gauntlet and destroys every effort the Avengers make to stop him from rewriting the rules of the universe.
Even without the Infinity Gauntlet, a younger alternate-timeline Thanos proved to almost be an even match when fighting against Iron Man, Thor, and a Mjolnir-enhanced Captain America in Endgame. He really was a force of power.
3 Ultimate Thanos
The Ultimate Mad Titan
- Universe: Earth-1610
- Reason They’re So Powerful: Improved attributes and cosmic equipment.
The Earth-1610 Thanos. A brief history of this Thanos paints a picture of one of the most high-powered versions of the character. He uses the Cosmic Cube to dominate the universe like the conqueror he sees himself as. Even after its destruction, Thanos maintains enough to maintain his rule and subjugate all those he sees as below him. It takes the combined power of entities such as The Fantastic Four, who help them build a Cube that can be used to kill Thanos once he attempts to use it for further power and control the world.
Like other Thanos’, Ultimate Thanos has great Power Grid stats, with a little extra compared to a standard Thanos, having the highest possible strength and durability a Marvel character could have. He also possesses psionic abilities, allowing him to be aware of what is happening many solar systems away. He can blast out powerful dark energy. He seems to be capable of living forever, having the ability to resurrect from the dead, and is said to have not aged in thousands of years.
2 Thanoseid
The Darkseid Titan
- Universe: Amalgam Comics
- Reason They’re So Powerful: He’s a combination with a similar and extremely powerful entity.
It has been noticed that of all the characters Thanos could have possibly been inspired by, Darkseid is number one on the list. Whilst it is denied that Thanos is based off of Darkseid, it’s hard not to notice the similarities, especially since Darkseid came first. In the cultural zeitgeist, however, it is Darkseid who seems to be less popular, with Thanos’ MCU variant being much more well-known than Darkseid’s DCEU variant.
Both are monstrous, heavy-duty villains and megalomaniacal men on their own. When combined, they create an amalgam of pure chaos and terror, as seen with Thanoseid. Appearing as a main villain in the Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour, Thanoseid was shown to be an obliterating force of sheer carnage, possessing the abilities of both to the highest level. He is also noted as being a villain of the Thorion of the New Asgods storyline, a storyline which by name alone vibrates with the essence of high-tier planet-busting godly stakes.
This Thanos/Darkseid variant has also been seen teaming up with Doctor Doomsday, another powerful amalgamation of DC and Marvel villains.
1 Infinity Ending Thanos
The Thanos Above All
- Universe: Earth-TRN803
- Reason They’re So Powerful: He becomes the One Above All
The One Above All is perhaps the most infamously powerful entity in the Marvel universe, at times being the closest thing possible to Marvel’s one true God. With many different variants of many Marvel characters, one of their most powerful forms always comes about when they combine with the One Above All in some way. And Thanos is no different.
6 Game Villains Similar To Marvel’s Thanos
Marvel's Thanos is a much-loved villain, with some level of intelligent motivation behind his actions, and there are video game villains like him.
But whilst a combination with the One Above All is not a rare occurrence among powerful variants within the Marvel multiverse, the way in which this version of Thanos did it was a cut above the rest. In the Infinity Ending, Thanos hunts down many different powerful entities, such as The Living Tribunal and Lady Death herself, and absorbs their power. After beating The One Above All, he does the same, being the true one above them all in terms of his power.
Whilst other Thanos’ need all the Infinity Stones fitted into their Infinity Gauntlet to wield ultimate power and rewrite reality, The One Above All Thanos does not need to go through such lengths, having the abilities of an omnipotent force in this form.
- Release Date
- April 27, 2018
- Runtime
- 149 minutes
- Director
- Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Writers
- Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
- Producers
- Chris Castaldi, James Gunn, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine
Cast
-
Robert Downey Jr.Tony Stark / Iron Man -
Chris EvansSteve Rogers / Captain America -
Chris HemsworthThor -
Josh BrolinThanos
