Thor vs. Thanos: Who Would Win & Why?

You’ve all probably seen both Infinity War and Endgame, two movies where the Avenger Thor actually had the upper hand against Thanos, the Mad Titan. Surely, Thanos won in the former with the help of the Infinity Gauntlet but lost his head (literally) in the latter. So, who actually wins in an all-out Thor vs. Thanos battle?

When enhanced with extra abilities, Thor could easily beat Thanos, but the same goes vice versa (if Thanos has the Infinity Gauntlet), which is why there is no real winner in this situation. Based on what we know from the comics, Thor and Thanos are very equal in terms of power.

Speaking of Thor vs. Thanos, there’s still a lot to be said. Throughout the rest of this article, we will look at their powers in more detail and see how the fight between Thor and Thanos would play out.

Thor vs. Thanos: Who is stronger?

Comparing Thor and Thanos is both difficult and easy at the same time. Namely, based on what we know from the comic books, Thor and Thanos have very similar powers and are generally considered to be of similar strength. This makes their comparison easier in the sense that they don’t require a thorough comparison because of the similarities, but also difficult because you cannot easily determine which one of them is stronger.

Thanos is a very powerful Eternal and has proven himself more powerful than most characters, even without external enhancements such as the Infinity Stones. He is immortal, has superhuman strength, speed and durability, he is practically invulnerable, can teleport and regenerate, he can manipulate matter, use telepathic abilities, manipulate energy and even fly; he also has superhuman intelligence.

As for Thor, he is a god and as such, he has a lot of the same powers his father, Odin, has. But he is still weaker than Odin. He is superhuman in most aspects (strength, durability, intelligence, longevity, etc.) but unlike Thanos, he is not immortal. He is practically invulnerable, but he does age and, like all the other Asgardian gods, will eventually die; it’ll just take him longer than your average bear to do so. The thin with Thor is that he has access to a variety of unimaginable powers that stem from Asgard, the best-known being the powers of Mjolnir, the Stormbreaker and the Odin Force. Thor can also use other forms of energy and blend with them, as he did with Power Cosmic.

As for the official numbers, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z (2010), lists their powers as follows:

As you can see, aside from their intelligence, Thor and Thanos are practically equal. Thanos could, thus, beat Thor with better preparation, but even that wouldn’t be a guarantee for him. If we’re talking about Thor and Thanos with their basic powers, we can conclude that the fight would end in a draw; the comics have also not been consistent here, having both Thanos and Thor winning fights on several occasions.

The catch here is that Thor has access to a wider array of powers than Thanos. Certainly, with the Infinity Stones Thanos is practically unstoppable, but the Mad Titan has proven himself to be a powerful foe even without them (King Thanos). On the other hand, Thor has potential access to a large number of Asgardian powers, which can give him an incredible level of power, in which case he would certainly overpower Thanos without much effort. There’s even the forbidden Warrior’s Madness, which can turn Thor into an unstoppable beast, in which case Thanos would hardly stand a chance.

So, to conclude – Thanos and Thor are very similar on a general level and it would be hard to give a straight answer as to their powers. On the other hand, when enhanced, Thor would probably – at full power – be able to beat Thanos at his best.