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7 Marvel Characters That Could Single-Handedly Defeat Thanos


Avengers Endgame gave Marvel fans some of the best superhero battles ever!  Thanos went 1 v 1 against the likes of Captain America, Thor, The Scarlet Witch, Iron Man and even Captain Marvel.

Although these individual battles were short, who would have won in a drawn-out fight? Scarlet Witch seemed to be besting Thanos before he called for reinforcements.

Below are the characters who could, in their comic book versions, fight toe to toe vs Thanos and win.

If you are looking for even more OP characters, you might be interested in: The 10 Most Powerful Comic Book Characters in the Marvel Universe

Thanos' appearance in The Avengers post credit sequence.

  1. Phoenix Force Jean Grey

    Jean Grey is a powerful character in her own right, but when combined with the Phoenix Force, her powers are awesome and nearly unmatched. The Phoenix Force is an amazing entity that is a representation of the universal life force. As a hungry Phoenix, the being flew to a galaxy and simply devoured an entire star, which also killed billions of people in the stars vicinity.

    The Phoenix Force Entity can destroy and regrow the existence of the universe itself, as well as control the powers of life and death. It can make intergalactic flights through hyperspace and bend the universe onto itself to form black holes. The Phoenix Force Entity is one of, if not the most, powerful and immortal beings in the entire Marvel Universe. The Silver Surfer rated the Phoenix Entity as an extinction level threat, and the Marvel Wikia gives it the the maximum level rating for intelligence, strength, speed, durability, energy projection, and fighting skills. 

    While the Phoenix Entity could destroy Thanos without much of a thought, Jean Grey would have a harder time. The entity itself is not easily controlled or told what to do. If the Phoenix Force mission or purpose was aligned with Jean in removing Thanos, it could be done. Thanos could have an opportunity to disrupt her, as the Phoenix Force operating through Jean is vulnerable to psychic and physical attacks, since Jean is a human and mortal.

  2. Silver Surfer

    Galactus, a powerful planet eater, was ready to consume the world Zenn-La. At the last minute, Norrin Radd, a native of Zenn-La, appeared and pleaded for Galactus to spare his planet. Galactus agreed to Radd’s plea and transformed him into a herald to seek out other planets for Galactus to devour. Henceforth, Norrin became the Silver Surfer.

    The Silver Surfer has “the power cosmic”, which lets him alter the fabric and energy of the universe. Through this power, he has incalculable levels of strength that rivals even the most powerful of characters. While not strictly immortal, the Silver Surfer is nearly indestructible and impervious to almost all attacks. He also has the power to detect entities light years away, making it difficult for sneak attacks. His detection abilities even let him see through time and into the future. He can move beyond the speed of light.

    The Silver Surfer is capable of surviving a black hole, and it would be no great surprise if he survived an attack by Thanos. Thanos has powerful survivability, and has curbed the Silver Surfer’s attacks in the comic books, but depending on the conditions, the Silver Surfer could be capable of destroying Thanos.

  3. Galactus

    The Silver Surfer was merely a herald who was given powers by this bad boy. Galactus is on a whole new level. Galactus is the solve survivor of the Big Bang, and is invulnerable to just about everything.

    Galactus can re-structure molecules, convert matter into energy (you know E=MC^2), and can send energy through space and time. The catch? Galactus has to eat planets to keep his energy levels up. It isn’t easy being all powerful… at least on an empty stomach.

    Galactus has fought and beaten Thanos numerous times in the comic book realm. Although Thanos has occasionally pulled a well timed attack on Galactus, he still requires the infinity gauntlet and some prep time to defend against a well fed Galactus.

    Thanos can take a hell of a beating, but against a motivated Galactus… probably not.

  4. The Hulk

    “There ain't many around who can describe what it feels like to get hit by the Hulk. Simple fact bein' there ain't many around who can survive to tell the tale. There ain't no pain at first. It's like he hits ya so damn hard ya actually leave yer own body. It's when ya come back that ya feel the pain. An' ya realize yer goin' toe-to-toe with a walkin' earthquake. ” - Wolverine

    The Hulk has been beaten by Thanos numerous times in the comic books. Despite this, Thanos repeatably mentions in the comics that the Hulk is one of the few characters he actively avoids conflicts with. 

    Hulk’s survivability is nearly unmatched. He is impervious to nuclear threats, energy blasts, and extreme temperatures exceeding one million degrees Fahrenheit! The Hulk’s potential to beat Thanos lies in his unbelievable strength. Hulk’s strength is beyond measure and can scale infinitely with his rage.

    According to the Marvel Wikia, Hulk has a higher level of durability than Thanos. Thanos could certainly beat the Hulk when he isn’t very angry. If the Hulk was able to be enraged enough early on, or become agitated and survive Thanos’ first round of attacks, his immense power could compete and destroy or incapacitate Thanos.

  5. Odin Borson

    While the Hulk would have to put up a hell of a fight to defeat Thanos, Odin would have a much easier time. Odin has some serious OP abilities, including super strength, super speed, and super durability. Perhaps Odin’s greatest asset is his vast wisdom and intelligence. He is known as a god of wisdom and has vast knowledge of the ancient and arcane.

    Odin has what is called “the OdinForce” or “Odin Power”. This power lets him do amazing things like transport an entire alien race to another dimension, read minds in other galaxies, and stop time or travel through it.

    In the comic books, Odin was able to defeat both the Silver Surfer and Thanos without breaking a sweat. Odin’s incredible abilities as a tactician allow him to outplay Thanos, while stopping him with his incredible OdinForce powers.

    When it comes down to it, Odin just needs a good reason to kick some Thanos butt…

  6. Kronos & Drax the Destroyer

    Kronos is one bad-ass dude. In his origin story, he meddled with a scientific experiment dealing with cosmic energy. The experiment failed and caused a massive explosion, consuming himself and Titanos. The accident caused his mind to merge with the universe. This gave him the ability to achieve virtually anything by simply willing it to be so.

    Kronos’ power includes being ability to manipulate the souls of the dead, exerting various levels of control over the ebb and flow of time, using interstellar teleportation, and has god like strength, durability, and energy projection skills. 

    click to enlarge

    Kronos also created Drax, the Destroyer (Portrayed by Dave Bautista in Guardians of the Galaxy). Kronos took Arthur Douglas’ spirit and imbued it into a new powerful body. Drax was created by Kronos for the sole purpose of defeating Thanos in combat.

    While a powerful being, Drax superhuman strength varies. At one point he was strong enough to compete with the Hulk and Thanos. Drax has amazing survivability, and can withstand the rigors of the vacuum of space nearly indefinitely. He has the ability of cosmic awareness, and can track Thanos’ movements.

  7. Beyonder

    “I pretend nothing! I am SUPREME!! In my native realm I WAS the universe!” - Beyonder

    Including Beyonder in this list isn’t even fair. Beyonder whomps Thanos like a kid stomping on a plastic action figure. Thanos is toast.

    The Beyonder is an ancient being belonging to the race known as “Beyonders”. He was sent to Earth by a group of evil geniuses trying to get a hold of some vibranium (the stuff that makes up Captain America’s shield). 

    The Beyonder’s capabilities are off the power grid. He has the ability to manipulate reality. For him, simply wishing something to be makes it true. He can morph himself into anything with any characteristics he wants. His strength is incalculable and can match any foe at his own desire. For all practical purposes, he is an omnipotent being with no inherent weaknesses. In the comic book realm he lost his powers to Doctor Doom for a period of time, but he survived and regained his strength.

    Beyonder would be able to defeat Thanos at the mere desire to do so; however, there really isn’t any motivation for him to get involved.

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