7 Marvel Characters That Could Single-Handedly Defeat Thanos

By Brian McCormick | More Articles September 18, 2015 04:51 PM

Marvel has been teasing Thanos as a major villain in their Cinematic Universe since the post credit scene in The Avengers was released. We know he is extremley powerful, we know he is a mastermind, and we know an epic war is coming. While some previously expected Thanos to be the main antagonist in The Avengers 2 (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Marvel had bigger plans in mind. Avengers: Infinity War is scheduled to be released May 4, 2018. We don’t know much about the movie yet, but you can bet on Thanos being a prime instigator. As the name suggests, there will be epic battles in the Infinity War. The war will likely be split between Thanos and his pawns vs. the Avengers. It may take all of the Avengers and more to defeat Thanos… but shouldn’t there be some characters in the Marvel Universe powerful enough to defeat him alone? It probably wouldn’t make the cut for a feature length movie, but we thought, who could take on Thanos single-handedly and come out the victor?

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.

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