Who Was The Most Powerful Thanos Variant In The MCU?

One of Marvel’s most formidable villains, Thanos, appears in seven distinct variants across the MCU movies. Have you ever pondered which one is the most powerful? 

Hint: It’s NOT Thanos from “Avengers: Infinity War.” 

Today, we’ll take a deep dive into the strength of each Thanos variant – And stick around: the final answer awaits at the end!

1. Good Thanos – Ravager Thanos

Appearing in “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” This alternate Thanos rocks the scene in Marvel’s animated series on Disney+.

Known as Ravager Thanos, this big guy swaps galaxy domination plans for a Ravager badge, thanks to T’Challa’s influence.

Unlike his Earth-616 version, Ravager Thanos shows off less durability and raw power. He fights hard but gets overpowered easier, especially by former allies.

Thanos fights bravely against the Collector’s crew, almost getting taken out. 

With Nebula’s help, he survives, showing a softer side as a dad and hero, far from his universe-threatening days.

2. Zombie Thanos (2021)

Thanos crashes the party in the ending scene of “What If… Zombies?!”, with a full collection of Infinity Stones on his gauntlet (ah yeah, excepting the Mind Stone).

The details are not clear, but we can assume that Thanos gets a zombified makeover after catching a Quantum Virus on Earth according to the timeline of Infinity War.

So, is this Thanos variant strong?

Firstly, if he is strong enough, he could have escaped from the zombies.

Second, as we have seen, the strength and fighting style of Captain America still remains around 70%. Arguably, so do the Titan abilities of Zombie Thanos. 

Besides, his gauntlet is nearly full of Infinity Stones. But… Thanos is still the Zombie, and how can you utilize the power of those stones when just moving around and munching?

So, to score this variant, I will give him “Zombie power” on “Total Strength.”

3. Thanos vs Iron Man – Gamora (2021)

In the “What If… Iron Man Crashed into the Grandmaster?” episode, the remarkable scene where ‘Tony Stark defeats Thanos’s army’ reappears… but in a different way.

The movie gets us back to Thanos in 2012, after the event of Avengers in New York. Tony, after being taken to Sakaar’s Death by Gamora to meet Thanos. 

Then, the story comes to its… plot twist? 

Gamora suddenly betrays Thanos, then she defeats Thanos in just a snap!? 

(I thought Dr. Strange said there is “only one way to win”? Stark’s sacrifice seems less pivotal)

Anyway, being single-handedly killed by Gamora quickly shows that this variant of Thanos is not too strong (even though he has his own army right behind him).

4. Thanos vs Ultron (2021)

When you find Thanos’s appearance in the previous section underwhelming, “What If… Ultron Won?” presents a strikingly different outcome. 

The narrative unfolds a scenario where Vision, now under Ultron‘s control, fully activates a global nuclear apocalypse.

As life on Earth is decimated, Thanos arrives on the planet to seize the final Infinity Stone. 

In this encounter, Thanos, nearly completing the Infinity Gauntlet, confronts the ruthless Ultron, who possesses the Mind Stone. 

The result is: Ultron won… immediately, with a single laser strike.

This swift defeat can be attributed to Thanos’s overconfidence and underestimation of his enemy. 

He rushes to Earth, disregarding the fact that Ultron has commandeered the planet with the formidable power of the Mind Stone. 

Contrary to Thanos seen in Infinity War, who had dedicated nearly 12 MCU movies to do intelligence on all the Avengers – This “What if…” Thanos is woefully unprepared. 

Ultron quickly capitalizes on Thanos’s oversight, catching him off-guard and effortlessly eliminating him.

Thus, when evaluating Thanos’s power in this instance, it’s clear he possesses immense strength with his Gauntlet – but just half-empty of power (literally).

5. Multiverse of Madness Thanos (2022)

We’ve witnessed how Thanos is nerfed in the “What If…” universe; now, let’s turn our attention to the formidable display of the Mad Titan’s power on the cinema screen. 

In “Doctor Strange: the Multiverse of Madness,” we encounter an alternate destiny for Thanos on Earth-838, a stark departure from his widely known demise on Earth-616.

Thanos’s ambition to halve the universe’s population is stopped on Earth-838 by the Illuminati’s action.

Thanos of Earth-838, bearing resemblance to his Earth-616 counterpart in terms of immense Titan power, meets an unexpected defeat at the hands of the Illuminati with Dr. Strange wields the Book of Vishanti.

Regarding his power, Thanos, in war armor and with his dual-edged sword (partially broken), lacks only the Mind Stone and Time Stone in his Gauntlet.

Nonetheless, even with the remaining Infinity Stones and his Chitauri army, Thanos causes widespread destruction and still forces Dr. Strange to unfold his final card.

When compared to the events of “Avengers: Infinity War,” it’s evident that Thanos accomplishes roughly 70% of his goal. 

Consequently, underestimating his strength in this universe would be a mistake.

6. Infinity Thanos (2017)

Showcasing the infamous Thanos: Infinity Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018). This timeline highlights his quest for the Infinity Stones and his journey culminating in the Snap. 

Thanos is motivated by his belief in the necessity of balancing the universe’s resources by eradicating half of all life forms. 

His Titan physiology grants him superhuman abilities, but the Infinity Stones elevate these to divine levels, allowing him to manipulate reality, control minds, and alter time.

This surpasses his inherent Titan powers.

Moreover, what sets this version of Thanos apart as the sole entity capable of achieving his grand ambition is his own compelling narrative of legitimacy. 

In “Infinity War,” adding to his ideal of balancing, sacrifice of Gamora really turns his perspective over. 

We are going to dig into this detail later on. 

To conclude: In “Avengers: Infinity War,” Thanos wields the Infinity Gauntlet’s full power, uniquely capable of defeating the Avengers and achieving his vision.

7. 2014 Thanos (2019)

2014 Thanos appears in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). And unlike “Infinity War,” where his ultimate goal is gathering the Infinity Stones, now, he just desires to defeat the Avengers. 

So, what is the difference between these timestamps? 

Since this moment, he seeks to ensure his victory by aiming to destroy and recreate the universe – WITH ALL COST.

About the strength, it is arguably that 2014 Thanos is better than his variant in “Infinity War,” despite having the Infinity Stones and achieving his goal.

First off: 2014 Thanos is a younger version of the Mad Titan before he successfully acquires all the Infinity Stones (absolutely: “the younger, the bolder”).

Now this point: 2014 Thanos does not possess any of the Infinity Stones initially, purely relying on his natural Titan abilities and military strategy. 

This Thanos is arguably more ruthless and determined, as he has not experienced the losses and challenges his future self faces in “Infinity War.” 

He is merciless and more willing to engage in battle, seeing the Avengers not as nuisances on his path but as direct threats to his new plan.

After getting to the future, he attempts to seize the Infinity Stones gathered by the Avengers to execute his revised plan. 

He is considered as the strongest Thanos’s version; however, his goal is yet to be achieved. 

Eventually, Tony Stark, wearing the Nano Gauntlet, uses the stones to snap Thanos and his invading army out of existence, sacrificing himself in the process. 

So, what do you guys think? Is there any Thanos variant you want to add to this list? Share with us!