A new Big Bad is on his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite Kang being the consistent threat throughout the Multiverse Saga, terrorizing both Loki and Ant-Man, he’s no longer in the picture. Behind-the-scenes issues led to his departure, but the unfortunate situation presented a unique opportunity for the powers that be at Marvel Studios. With an opening at the top, they decided to bring Robert Downey Jr. back into the fold. Instead of playing an evil version of Tony Stark, though, he would take on a new role, one that has the potential to change the MCU for the foreseeable future.
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No matter how hard Doctor Doom comes out of the gate in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, he’s going to find himself being compared to the MCU’s original Big Bad, Thanos. The Mad Titan still gives Earth’s Mightiest Heroes nightmares, and part of the reason for that is that he continues to find ways to weasel his way into Marvel Studios projects. Here’s every version of Thanos in the MCU, ranked by power.
6) Age of Ultron Thanos
The fun of the What If…? animated series is that it explores realities in which major MCU events unfold differently. In “What If… Ultron Won?”, Tony Stark’s AI kills the Avengers and achieves his goal of razing the Earth. Thanos arrives shortly after Ultron’s rise to power, seeking to acquire the Mind Stone. However, before he can get a word out, the robot slices the Mad Titan in half and takes all of the gems for himself. Thanos puts up a brutal effort in his second What If…? appearance.
5) Ravager Thanos
As for his first, Thanos finds himself on the right side of history in “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” Rather than being a maniac hellbent on wiping out half the galaxy, he gives that up, joins Star-Lord’s crew, and becomes a Ravager. While he doesn’t pull off any impressive feats, he’s still pretty capable, aiding his team in fighting the Black Order and stealing one of The Collector’s artifacts.
4) Earth-838 Thanos
The Mad Titan returns to his old ways in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. After arriving on Earth-838, the titular sorcerer learns about his variant’s corruption by the Darkhold. The alternate version of Strange seeks out the evil power in an effort to stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones and snapping his fingers. In the end, the Illuminati take care of him using the Book of Vishanti, but it seems like he puts up a decent fight before throwing in the towel.
3) Sacred Timeline Thanos
In the post-credits scene for The Avengers, Thanos shows his face for the first time in the MCU and flashes a smile that promises big things are coming. It takes a while for him to get off his butt, but when he does, there’s nothing that can stop him. He decimates Xandar, burns Knowhere, kills a bunch of Asgardians, and knocks the Avengers around. Complacency becomes his downfall, though, as he tries to live a peaceful life after dusting billions.
2) 2014 Thanos
When the Avengers travel back to 2014, they get that timeline’s version of Thanos up to speed, and he isn’t happy about his variant’s demise. Wanting to do things the right way, he heads to the Sacred Timeline and demolishes the Avengers compound. He also spends plenty of time on the battlefield during the Battle of Earth, flexing his muscles as he secures the Nano Gauntlet. However, his hubris lets him down, as he doesn’t realize that his biggest threat is a mere human wearing a metal suit of armor.
1) Zombie Thanos
“What If… Zombies?!” lives up to its name by introducing a world full of undead heroes and villains. Things go from bad to worse during the episode, and just when it looks like the dust is settled, Zombie Thanos arrives on Earth. He doesn’t get to show off until Marvel Zombies, but when he does, it’s impressive. Black Panther has to sacrifice himself just to save the world from what’s easily the most dangerous version of the Mad Titan yet.
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Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
