Odin vs. Thanos (With and Without the Infinity Gauntlet)

Odin and Thanos are two of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

With this in mind, you may be wondering: who would win if they fought against each other?

If Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet, he would have a chance of defeating Odin. However, Odin can wield the Odinforce, which might give him the edge whether Thanos uses gauntlet or not.

Who is Odin?

Odin was the King of Asgard before passing this title to his son Thor. Odin was the father of Thor, Loki, and Hela. He was known as the All-Father, and considered one of the strongest Asgardians, a race of godlike-beings.

When he was introduced in the MCU, he was old and seemingly less powerful. However, his great powers were often referenced throughout the movies.

His exploits from earlier in life included conquering the Nine Realms, defeating Surtur, and defeating his daughter Hela when she turned against him and attempted to usurp the throne of Asgard.

Eventually, Odin ended up in New York City under a spell from Loki, who took Odin’s form and ruled Asgard in his place for a time. Once Odin recovered from the spell, he chose to remain on Earth in exile until the time of his death.

When that time came, his body disappeared as his soul passed on to Valhalla.

Who is Thanos?

Thanos was the primary antagonist toward the end of the Infinity Saga. Hailing from the planet Titan, he was an Eternal born with Deviant syndrome, causing him to look like the race of Deviants which the Eternals fought against.

Because of this, his own people shunned him. In an ongoing attempt to prove himself and bring balance, he set out to conquer worlds and destroy half the universe’s population.

This plan succeeded once he acquired the Infinity Stones, as he destroyed half of all life with a snap of the fingers. However, the Avengers learned to time travel and undid the damage, finally facing him in the Battle of Earth.

In this battle, Tony Stark (Iron Man) snatched the stones from Thanos, using them to snap the Mad Titan and his minions out of existence.

Odin’s Strengths

Though Odin was near the end of his life in the MCU, his seemingly frail form held almost limitless sources of power.

As the God of Wisdom, he was one of the wisest and most intelligent beings in the Marvel Universe.

Like all Asgardians, Odin possessed enhanced levels of strength, speed, stamina, near-immortality, durability, and agility. But he was the strongest Asgardian alive, meaning his superhuman abilities went beyond any of his own people.

He healed quickly from any injuries he did sustain, though this power was finite as he could not regrow organs.

Thanks to his long life, Odin acquired centuries, if not millennia, of experience in battles. Not only that, but he almost never lost any of these battles as he traversed the known universe, bringing the Nine Realms into submission.

Odin could also teleport, to affect time and reality, and manipulate matter. He could even strip others of their powers, as he did with Thor.

All of these abilities are impressive in their own right, but Odin’s greatest strength was his Odinforce. This magical force was the embodiment of all his strength, wisdom, and knowledge.

Using the Odinforce, Odin augmented all of his abilities to practically infinite levels. Though he is a force to be reckoned with even without it, he is nearly unbeatable while wielding the Odinforce.

Thanos’ Strengths

Thanos was anything but weak and frail during his appearances in the MCU.

As an Eternal and a Deviant, he possessed superhuman levels of strength, speed, agility, stamina, and durability. Thanks to the Deviant syndrome, his strength was almost unlimited, and he was nearly impossible to injure.

He also possessed a powerful mind that was impervious to telepathy and mental manipulation. At the same time, he could read others’ minds and play mind games with them.

Thanos was intelligent, using his advanced aptitude to win battles, create improved weapons and physical enhancements, and find new strategies to accomplish his purposes.

He could manipulate matter and had various weapons at his disposal.

His most powerful strength was the Infinity Gauntlet. This, when housing all or some of the Infinity Stones, gave him additional powers that he didn’t have on his own.

For example, the Reality Stone allowed him to create any reality he wanted. The Time Stone allowed him to go back in time. And the Power Stone gave him strength far beyond his own.

The stones also enhanced his own individual powers. When they were all together in the Infinity Gauntlet, they allowed him to snap things out of existence.

Odin’s Weaknesses

Odin had few weaknesses, but even he was not completely invulnerable.

As mentioned, he was quite old during his time in the MCU. He was more frail and past his prime than his comic book counterpart, so he may not have been as powerful as he once was.

Even at his advanced age, Odin was more powerful than most Asgardians, who as a race are considered gods. So even if his strength was diminished, it was still nearly incomprehensible.

His greatest weakness was related to his greatest strength. Using the Odinforce had a troubling side effect: Odinsleep.

The Odinforce required an extreme energy output, and at times, Odin would go into a deep sleep in order to recover his strength. During these times, he would be mortal, which made him vulnerable.

Odinsleep would last for up to a week at a time.

Thanos’ Weaknesses

One of Thanos’ biggest weaknesses was his ego. The mad Titan was arrogant, causing him to underestimate his opponents.

His arrogance also prevented him from recognizing the flaws in his plan or trying to find other ways of accomplishing his goals.

Another weakness is that, without the Infinity Gauntlet, his powers are limited. We saw in the Infinity Saga that many other characters gave him all he could handle in a fight, and none were as powerful as Odin.

In a fight against Odin, Thanos would be forced to rely on the Infinity Stones, and even then, he might have trouble defeating the All-Father.

Odin vs. Thanos: Side-By-Side Comparison

Odin vs. Thanos: Who Wins?

If Odin and Thanos fought one-on-one, the battle may come down to whether Thanos wielded the Infinity Gauntlet. Let’s look at each scenario below.

With Infinity Gauntlet

If he used the Infinity Gauntlet and all six stones were present, it is possible that Thanos could defeat Odin by snapping him out of existence. This is likely the only way that Thanos could win this battle.

Granted, Thanos is no weakling. Even without the Infinity Gauntlet, he may be physically stronger than Odin–and with the gauntlet, his brute strength becomes nearly limitless.

That said, Odin has nearly unstoppable powers and abilities, so there’s a good chance he could come up with some way of separating Thanos from the gauntlet before Thanos could use it.

Odin is older, wiser, more experienced, and has Odinforce on his side.

This battle would be close. Thanos may come out on top using the Infinity Gauntlet, but Odin may win instead if he can get the gauntlet away from Thanos before he uses it–or if he finds a way to use Odinforce to protect himself from the gauntlet’s effects.

Without Infinity Gauntlet

Fan theories claim that Thanos didn’t attempt to gather the Infinity Stones and put his plan for the Blip in motion until after Odin’s death. The reason for this? Thanos knew he couldn’t defeat the All-Father.

As mentioned above, the fight would be close if Thanos had the Infinity Gauntlet working for him. Without the gauntlet, it wouldn’t even be a contest.

Odin would crush Thanos. All of his powers and abilities are stronger even when he is not wielding the Odinforce.

Despite his great strength, Thanos without the Infinity Gauntlet would be no match for Odin’s wisdom, experience, and magical abilities.

Odin vs. Thanos: Who Wins in the Comics?

In the MCU, we don’t get to see the full force of Odin’s abilities because he is old and frail. In the comics, however, his strengths and powers are on full display.

Of course, the comic book version of Thanos is also stronger.

We got to see one matchup between these iconic characters in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #25.

In this comic, Thanos is returning an incapacitated Thor to Asgard after the latter goes on a mad tirade through the universe. Not realizing this, Odin believes Thanos is holding his son hostage and orders his armies to fight Thanos and members of his Infinity Watch.

The battle doesn’t go well, and soon, Odin orders the armies to retreat, choosing to face Thanos head-to-head.

The characters compete in a battle for the ages, with neither managing to get the upper hand. Finally, Lady Sif intervenes, explains Odin’s misunderstanding, and Odin quickly ends the battle with an apology.

So, in this case, you could say the fight ended in a stalemate.

Conclusion

Odin’s powers are practically unlimited, but Thanos can snap an opponent out of existence with the Infinity Gauntlet.

In a fight without the Infinity Gauntlet, Odin would defeat Thanos. Even if Thanos was using the gauntlet, there is still a chance Odin would win by keeping Thanos from using it or using his own magic to block its effects.