During all these years, the Marvel Universe has created hundreds and even thousands of characters.
Especially villains are not someone anyone would love, but some fans do fancy the villains as they are intrigued by them.
Now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, or MCU as we call it, don’t love every villain in the comic book.
However, a particular villain stands out as one of the most popular, even more popular than some superheroes. And that is – Thanos.
If you are not a die-hard Marvel fan, you probably might not have heard of him before. But ever since the 2018 movie, Infinity War, hit the screens, suddenly all you hear is people talking about Thanos.
And should we talk about everybody wearing the fancy jeweled Infinity gauntlet? Probably not!
Such was the hype of Thanos and still is, making him one of the MCU’s most prominent and famous characters.
A lot of queries and questions started flooding in after his appearance. Fans got curious, and their questions and curiosity knew no boundaries.
So, often when it comes to Thanos, topics are constantly discussed among the fans. From talks about his powers to his origins, he has always become the talk of the town.
When it comes to Thanos, there’s one thing that fans are always curious about: whether he is the most powerful Eternals or not.
So, to answer your questions and kill your curiosity, we have come up with this article. Here, we have included everything there is to know about this mighty villain and his powers.
But first, let us know a little about who the Eternals are and how Thanos is connected to them.
Who were the Eternals?
As we all know, the Marvel Universe is full of mysterious and unique beings. Among them, there are some called the Eternals.
The Eternals were a race of near-immortal artificial beings created by the Celestials. The Celestial was capable of restoring and destroying the world and wielded vast powers.
So, to power the Celestial seed inside the planet, the Eternals were sent to multiple worlds to protect and help evolve sentient lifeforms.
All these things about the Celestial seeds and lifeforms can get confusing. So, to put it more simply, the Eternals were more like beings with superhuman powers which secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years and reunited to battle the evil Deviants.
Funny enough, the monstrous Deviants and apex race of near-immortal beings were also genetically engineered by the Celestials themselves.
Surprisingly, the most notable villain, Thanos, is also an Eternal and probably the strongest.
So, curious about how he is one of them? Let’s dig right into it!
Why is Thanos the strongest Eternal?
There were ten Eternals, and with time, the number grew larger. Thanos is also one of them.
Being a mutant member of the race of superhumans known as the Titanian Eternals, Thanos had some crazy powers and strengths that made him the most powerful Eternals.
Thanos possessed abilities that were common to the Eternals. However, because of his mutant Eternals heritage, bionic amplification, and power bestowed by the entity, Death, Thanos had amplified strengths.
In the end, Thanos was easily the most powerful Eternals, who easily manipulated cosmic energy.
We do know now that he is indeed the most powerful Eternals. So what are his powers and strengths?
Here, we have discussed some of his most prominent powers and abilities.
His Powers and Abilities
Just because he was born an Eternal, it gave him immense powers already, but along with such superhuman powers he had other abilities that made him the strongest.
Powers
Titanian Eternal Physiology:
The Titanian Eternals were the subspecies of the Eternals. They were from the planet Titan. Thanos being a Titanian Eternal had a massive and heavy body.
He was born with the capacity to synthesize cosmic energy. His powers were increased as a result of being resurrected by Death itself.
He was even deemed as a Universal threat level and also had been a one-time reality ender. The Cosmic Level threat, Thanos, was even sent to the core cell of the Galactic Gulag.
Superhuman Strength:
With superhuman powers, Thanos possessed immense superhuman strength. The full strengths of these powers are still unknown.
Because he was resurrected by Death itself, his strength was beyond the limits and on par levels even surpassing some of the physically strongest Eternals.
With his massive strength, he was able to beat some of Marvel’s mightiest superheroes like the Hulk, Thor, and others.
Even the strongest being such as the mighty Tyrant and a Phoenix Force empowered Thane, couldn’t hold a candle against this mighty villain.
Superhuman Agility:
It is no surprise that Thanos possessed immense physical strengths. Just look at his great size and bulk body!
Despite that, Thanos had great agility, balance, and bodily coordination that were enhanced to levels that were beyond the natural physical limits of any normal being.
With such incredible agility, he was able to dodge a power-gem enhanced Champion of the Universe.
Superhuman Reflexes:
Talking about reflexes, Thanos’s reaction time was on a whole another level. Even for a being his size, the superhuman reflexes that he possessed were beyond normal.
Just like his abilities, even his reflexes were about average for an Eternal.
Superhuman Stamina:
By now, having impressive stamina was no surprise for Thanos. Even during intense battles, Thanos showed no signs of fatigue.
With such stamina and powers, Thanos was able to wipe out nearly half of the universe with just a snap of his fingers.
Immortality:
Just like other Eternals, Thanos was not immortal but was immortal in the sense that he was immune to almost all the known diseases and infections and also immune to the effects of aging.
Thanos was able to die. However, he was bound to return no matter the severity of his injuries, as he was banned by Death itself from entering its realm.
Nigh-Invulnerability:
Death increased his ability to resist any injury to a greater degree, making him highly invulnerable.
He possessed an impressive level of resistance to a physical injury, even compared to other Eternals. With such ability, Thanos was able to withstand point-blank blasts and planet-destroying attacks easily, without any harm.
Regenerative Healing Factor:
This ability is possessed by almost all the Eternals. Thanos also had this ability. Despite his incredible durability, it was still possible to injure Thanos.
However, the injuries would heal in no time as he was able to regenerate damaged tissue with great speed and efficiency.
Unlike the Eternals, Thanos’ healing powers aren’t as developed as theirs. He can regenerate most of the tissues but is unable to regenerate missing organs such as the heart.
Energy Manipulation & Projection:
Among many powers, Thanos showcased great versatility in the use of his energy projection abilities.
He was able to project pure energy as a concussive force, magnetic energy, disruptor beams as well as infrared heat beams from his eyes.
Striking opponents with his optic blasts, using his mental link to his techno mystical chair to form powerful energy shields and barriers.
Although Thanos sported a sleeveless dress, he had some good tricks up his sleeves.
Telepathy:
Any villain would possess this superpower and why not, it’s cool.
Thanos had psychic powers such as telepathy. His mind was invulnerable to most forms of psychic attacks.
Thanos was able to successfully defend himself against psychic assaults from Moondragon and Mantis. He was able to shut done Maker’s mind and even made Hulk attack his fellow Avengers.
So, you won’t be able to play mind tricks on him. No hypnosis as well.
Matter Manipulation & Control:
Just like energy manipulation, Thanos was able to manipulate matters on the atomic level just like the Earthborn Eternals.
Once he was also able to turn Skrull Skragg into stone. He used his matter manipulation ability on Moondragon to purge the muscle-controlling parasites implanted by Annihilus from her body.
Magical Capabilities:
Believe it or not, Thanos was also skilled in magic, as he was able to curse Deadpool with immortality.
Flight:
Yes! he was also able to fly.
Teleportation:
Thanos could easily transport himself across unknown distances, using his link with his techno- mystical transport chair.
When he was stranded in space with Terraxiam, he was not able to fly or teleport, because his chair got destroyed in the struggle.
Abilities
Super-Genius Intelligence:
The Mad Titan was certainly one of the most intelligent villains in the universe. Thanos had the most dangerous ability in his mind, as his intellect.
He was a genius in virtually all known fields of advanced science and had created technology that far exceeded contemporary Earth Science.
He was also good at adapting to new battle scenes as he was able to beat Champion of the Universe with his intellect as he even tricked Champion into destroying a whole planet.
Skilled Unarmed Combatant:
Thanos usually avoided physical combats but he was a very skilled, highly formidable hand-to-hand combatant who had been trained in the Arts of War on Titan.
He was specifically skilled at using a combination of his physical and energy manipulation abilities during combat.
This may come as a surprise to you as he was also a very skilled swordsman, being able to overwhelm a Mjolnir-wielding Silver Surfer.
Mystical Knowledge:
He also had great knowledge of arcane and mystical lore.
Equipment
Robotic Drones:
Having such vast knowledge of advanced science, Thanos designed several different types of robotic drones to serve his needs.
These drones carried out tasks such as maintenance, manual labor, record keeping, and even security. They did come in various shapes and sizes depending on their purposes.
Even the mightiest villains fancy some convenience!
Time Machine:
Thanos also owned a time machine, which he referred to as a “Time Probe”. However, the status of this Time Machine is unknown.
Weapons
Stasis Rifle:
It was an experimental weapon capable of generating a cube of pure force, which enveloped the target and placed them into near complete physical stasis.
The stasis cube was able to hold insane, power-gem-enhanced Thunder God Thor. The experimental version of this weapon carried a charge that was enough for only one blast.
His powers and abilities along with his weapons and equipment provide enough proof of why he is the strongest Eternals in the Marvel Universe.
So, now the question may arise; if he is the strongest has anyone defeated him or even killed him yet? Luckily, we are here for you as we knew this question was likely to come up.
Is Thanos dead?
The Marvel movies follow a different story while keeping the core and some big and small elements of the original comics.
This is the reason for even Thanos’s death being a matter of confusion. Even in the movie, there are not one but two different versions of how Thanos died.
Movie Version
In the movie, The Endgame, one of Thanos’s versions, retired one who destroyed the Infinity stones and was killed by Thor by losing his head to Thor’s Stormbreaker.
The second one was his 2014 self who traveled into the future where he and his army were dusted by Iron Man’s Infinity snap.
However, Thanos was eventually resurrected and collects all the Infinity gems once again. Using the gems he created the Infinity Gauntlet and made himself omnipotent.
Comic Version
Thanos was very much alive in the movies but in the comics, Thanos has been defeated and even killed several times.
Here are some of the characters from the Marvel universe who held powers to defeat and even kill the mighty villain.
Drax
Drax the Destroyer had a different comic book origin story. In the comics, Drax’s family was killed by Thanos and he was transported into an advanced body by the cosmic entity, Kronos.
His enhanced body had superhuman abilities like super strength, extreme resilience, and flight which was made for the sole purpose of killing Thanos.
In Annihilation #4, Drax fought his way through an army of insects and reached Thanos. On reaching him, Drax promptly punched a hole right through his chest and tore his bloodied heart, leaving him dead.
Thena
Among the powerful members of the Eternals, Thena was one of them. Like all the other Eternals, she had superhuman strength and speed which made her a worthy opponent against the Mad Titan, Thanos.
She was also able to manipulate and harness cosmic energy. Her lifeforce was supplemented by cosmic energy. However, her life force was already immensely strong given her Celestial augmented genetics.
And with the abilities to manipulate and alter matters, she was virtually a living Infinity Gauntlet.
Star-Lord
The team leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord had crushingly defeated Thanos using the Cosmic Cube, sending him into a coma.
This was an impressive feat because, unlike his cinematic counterpart, in the comic Star-Lord is not half Celestial and is only a little more powerful than a normal human.
In the MCU, he was much more powerful and could easily defeat Thanos using his Celestial powers, if he still had them. However, in the Infinity war, he played an important part in defeating Thanos, as he showed excellent planning and tactician skills.
Thor
One of the strongest combatants in the Marvel Universe, Thor had once given the Mad Titan a taste of defeat.
In 1998’s Thor #25, with the help of some Asgardian weapons created by Odin, God of Thunder, Thor was able to easily gain victory against Thanos.
Even in the MCU, he was considered to be one of the strongest characters. Despite that, he did;t have the best record against Thanos.
Nevertheless, he was able to kill Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War, when he drove the Stormbreaker right into his chest.
When Thnaos was significantly weakened during the Endgame, Thor was able to decapitate Thanos. Not many fans were impressed as this was depicted as an easy win considering Thor’s image as the strongest character in MCU.
Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock has yet to appear in the MCU but he is no stranger to comic fans as his existence was confirmed in the end credits for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.
According to the comics, he was one of Thano’s most prolific opponents. With his witty abilities, he was able to trick the Mad Titan into taking off the Infinity Gauntlet.
By taking the gauntlet from Thanos himself, Adam later used it to undo all of the death and destruction caused by Thanos and restored the universe to its original state.
Deadpool
Do you think Talk No Jutsu only works in animes? Well, you are wrong. Turns out that even in the Marvel Universe you can win over opponents using the power of talk.
Don’t come at us, as Wade Wilson aka Deadpool did manage to defeat Thanos simply by talking.
A part of this is true but Deadpool did use the powers he inherited from the Uni Force, which found him worthy to gain the abilities of the Uni Force; but it was mostly through talking that Deadpool was able to defeat Thanos.
In the comics, Deadpool was able to convince Death that Thanos was lying and that by wiping off half the world’s population, he was dishonoring Death.
Death left Thanos after being convinced by Deadpool, which sent Thanos into grieving. In a vulnerable state, Deadpool took the opportunity and easily defeated Thanos.
Well, of course, that would be absurd, the Mad Titan defeated by just Talks.
Wolverine
Many strange things happened in the Marvel Universe. Such was the What if edition.
During this edition, a new team of Fantastic Four was formed, consisting of Hulk, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Wolverine.
Wolverine battling the Mad Titan was already a silly idea, to begin with, and on top of that the four of them went out to space to fight with him.
Surprisingly, Logan managed to defeat Thanos by convincing him that he was an ally too. This gave Wolverine the chance to get close to Thanos and chop his arm that weilded the Infinity Gauntlet.
Without his greatest weapon, Thanos was left in a vulnerable state which Logan took advantage of and defeated him.
The amount of time Thanos had been defeated and killed and resurrected has made fans begin to question if he is really immortal or not.
So is Thanos immortal?
Yes, he is immortal but in a sense that he cannot die of disease, old age, or natural causes. He is incredibly long-lived and does age but slowly. Someday he will eventually die when Death takes him by herself.
So, for now, he is immortal, who will always come back and is cursed to live a manipulated life for eternity as he will never be accepted by Death.
In the comic, Thanos was brought back to life after being brutally killed. So, it is very much possible that they will find a way to bring him back into the cinematic universe sooner or later and fans cannot wait.
Well, no matter how many times the Mad Titan gets defeated or killed, he always comes back as the mightiest and the strongest Eternals of all time.
