Who Can Beat Thanos With and Without the Infinity Gauntlet?

Thanos is arguably one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Without the Infinity Gauntlet, he is nearly unstoppable, but not unbeatable.

Even with the Infinity Stones at his disposal, plenty of MCU characters can score a victory over the Mad Titan. Knowing that Thanos is capable of losing a few fights, you may wonder who can beat Thanos with and without the Infinity Gauntlet.

1 – Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)

Scarlet Witch is often regarded as the strongest Avenger, given her ability to use Chaos Magic. And with that magical ability, Thanos would be no match for Wanda Maximoff.

Even before she mastered her powers, Maximoff put up a decent fight against Thanos in Infinity War and in Endgame.

Maximoff is also one of many characters on this list who can defeat Thanos even if the Mad Titan is wielding the Infinity Gauntlet.

While Thanos can alter time and reality with the Gauntlet, Maximoff has the same ability without it. Sure, Thanos could snap and the Infinity Gauntlet will do his bidding, but only if Maximoff doesn’t render the move ineffective.

2 – Thor

In Infinity War, Thor had an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos beaten. Had he either decapitated Thanos there or severed the arm carrying the Gauntlet, Thanos never would have executed the Blip.

Thor specifically created Stormbreaker as the weapon capable of defeating Thanos, and he needed to absorb a star’s energy to energize the ax.

This enabled the God of Thunder to create the most powerful weapon in the MCU, a clear upgrade over his destroyed Mjolnir.

With Mjolnir, the comics also showed us the Asgardian can defeat the Mad Titan. Thor: Volume 2 #25 revealed that with special armor and a weapons arsenal, Thor could defeat Thanos. Ultimately, however, he used Mjolnir to claim victory over Thanos.

3 – Doctor Strange

Stephen Strange showed incredible foresight in Infinity War, having seen the one instance where the Avengers defeat Thanos.

This shows that Strange only needs to peek into the future to see how he can defeat the Mad Titan. Once Strange sees himself winning, he only needs to take action that will lead to his “endgame.”

Strange’s foresight isn’t the only way he could defeat Thanos. Even if he didn’t have time on his side to go through each potential “endgame,” he could still emerge victorious.

Having mastered the mystic arts, Strange only needs to draw power from celestial beings and use some creativity that his genius intelligence grants him.

For example, he can trap Thanos in an illusion. Strange can even do away with the Mad Titan by banishing him to another dimension.

4  – Hela

The Goddess of Death is even more powerful than Thor, who needed Ragnarok to happen to ultimately defeat her. So if the God of Thunder can defeat Thanos, Hela would destroy the Titan.

Hela was so powerful, she crushed Mjolnir using only her hand. So if she could crush a weapon forged for only the few worthy of wielding it, Thanos would be no match for her without the Infinity Gauntlet.

With the Gauntlet, Thanos has a better chance of defeating Hela, but the Asgardian could kill him with a single touch.

The Mad Titan could end Hela by snapping, just as he could with any other hero on this list. But if Hela’s fast enough to get a hand on his shoulder, Thanos doesn’t stand a chance.

5 – Black Panther (T’Challa)

Hailing from Wakanda, Black Panther has so much technology at his disposal that it wouldn’t be hard for him to create a suit and weapon powerful enough to take Thanos.

Such tech could help T’Challa separate the Infinity Stones from Thanos if the latter fought wielding the Gauntlet. Even if Black Panther couldn’t get the stones away from Thanos, the Mad Titan’s only chance at winning this would be if he snapped T’Challa from existence.

But Black Panther fights with so much passion, he would find a way to keep Thanos from getting a snap off in time.

This would force the Titan to continually retaliate and land devastating blows on T’Challa. But that would just energize Black Panther more, to the point that he wins this battle.

6 – Star-Lord (Peter Quill)

While Peter Quill’s actions in Infinity War ultimately led to the Blip, when you’re half-celestial, you can overpower the strongest villains in the MCU.

The demigod may prefer his blaster, but he also has plenty of celestial powers to defeat the Mad Titan and withstand the power that Thanos can derive from the Infinity Stones.

Once again, Thanos can end Star-Lord in a single snap. But an angry Quill would relentlessly attack the Titan, preventing him from getting a snap off.

7 – Drax the Destroyer

Drax may not match Thanos in power, but given the Destroyer’s history with the Mad Titan, a chip on his shoulder is all he needs to prevail.

Drax’s family was among the many people Thanos killed. So if Drax had a chance to battle Thanos, with and without the Infinity Stones, expect the enraged Destroyer to use that pent-up anger to fuel him to victory.

8 – Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

As a high school student still coming into his own with his powers during Infinity War and Endgame, Spider-Man is one of the true surprises on this list.

But he was also one of the few characters who came close to stealing the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos.

Parker’s speed, coupled with his ability to target the Infinity Gauntlet from long-range with his webs, gives him a chance against one of the MCU’s most notorious antagonists.

9 – Iron Man (Tony Stark)

In Endgame, Thanos may have overpowered Tony Stark, but it didn’t stop Stark from finding a way to get his hands on the Infinity Stones. One snap was all it took to end Thanos.

While the stones’ radiation killed Stark, there are also ways that he could win without sacrificing his life.

Stark’s genius intellect is perhaps his greatest superpower, as it enabled him to build such technologically-advanced Iron Man suits. This would allow him to create a suit powerful enough to defeat an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos. 

Once Stark has the technology ready to take on the Mad Titan, he’s not losing this fight. But as we saw in Endgame, even if Stark’s suit doesn’t grant him physical strength to match Thanos, he could still win the battle.

10 – Gamora

Gamora may be a surprise addition to this list, but when you know your enemy, the chances that you can defeat that enemy rise substantially. And since few characters in the MCU know Thanos better than Gamora, she could pull off the feat.

While Thanos is a master strategist who, with proper prep time, could defeat anyone, the Mad Titan is also prone to overlooking those he’d never suspect would betray him. Gamora is one of those characters he believes he could trust, but she would show him otherwise.

11 – Nebula

Nebula is another character Thanos could let his guard down with–perhaps more so than Gamora, since he dismantled and destroyed most of her body, rendering Nebula more cyborg than Luphomoid.

Given the amount of torture he subjected her to, Nebula would have the willpower to overcome her adopted father. And she likely knows his tendencies better than even her adopted sister, Gamora.

We saw this motivation shine in The Infinity Gauntlet comics, where Nebula tore the Infinity Gauntlet from and defeated Thanos.

12 – Hulk (Bruce Banner)

In Infinity War, Thanos easily defeated the Hulk after an initial struggle. But this doesn’t mean you should think Thanos would win this fight every single time.

In Endgame, Bruce Banner and the Hulk merged and became a dominant duo. With Banner’s brains and the Hulk’s brawn, Thanos would have a tougher time winning this round.

Banner would know how to take the Infinity Gauntlet off Thanos. And the Hulk portion of Banner would take it from there.

13 – Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)

Before Nick Fury disintegrated following the Blip, he paged Captain Marvel. This showed audiences that he believed Carol Danvers could help the Avengers defeat Thanos.

Even if Danvers couldn’t defeat Thanos one-on-one at the time, we also haven’t yet seen the extent of her powers as Captain Marvel.

If Thanos fought Danvers who knew the true extent of her powers, he would have a tough time winning this fight. There are no guarantees that she wins this battle outright, but her odds would increase substantially.

14 – Captain America (Steve Rogers)

Even with supersoldier serum coursing through his veins, Cap would either stalemate or lose to Thanos. But when Steve Rogers became worthy enough to wield Mjolnir, his powers went beyond the serum. 

With Mjolnir, Cap could match Thanos blow for blow, which gives him a chance to overpower the Mad Titan.

Further, Cap’s vibranium shield could also inflict damage if Thanos is focused on dealing with Mjolnir. If Cap can keep the Mad Titan’s attention averted toward combating Mjolnir, he could win this battle.

15 – Vision

As with Hulk, Thanos defeated Vision in Infinity War. But during the flick, Vision was never as healthy as he was in Age of Ultron. 

Seeing Vision at his peak in Age of Ultron, it gives us an idea of how the fight could play out if the two went against each other in a one-on-one setting.

Vision derives his power from the Mind Stone, and one of the distinguishing powers the Mind Stone gives Vision is the ability to move through objects and living things. That power alone would give Thanos a hard time.