Even though Thanos is supposed to be the most manipulative villain and the greatest mastermind of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is not completely invincible. The world witnessed Thor’s vigorous attempt to kill Thanos in Infinity War and also saw the defeat of the Mad Titan through Iron Man’s sacrifice in the MCU’s Avengers: Endgame. But if we talk about comics, Thanos is not shown to be so powerful and unbeatable there. Thanos has been defeated and even killed several times in comic stories. In fact, Thanos has suffered more defeats in comics than in films. Contrary to popular belief, Thanos is defeated by many characters in Marvel Comics, including his old enemies, and even sees the triumph of a character like Gamora.
Adam Warlock, whose hints of coming to the MCU were found at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is undoubtedly the biggest character overlooked in the film adaptation of the original Infinity Gauntlet comics. Adam Warlock is one of Marvel’s most powerful characters and was initially known as just “Him”. Jim Starlin’s Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 shows Thanos stealing the Soul Stone and imprisoning Adam inside the Soul World. Later, when Spider-Man sets him free, Adam turns Thanos to stone without wasting any time and ends him there. In this way, Thanos loses his life.
If we talk about even more scary deaths, comic book readers definitely remember the story of Drax, another very loved member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Drax’s story in the comics is slightly different from that of Drax in the MCU. Here, his motive is clear—to avenge the death of his family by Thanos. It was to find and kill Thanos that Drax was created by his grandfather, after Thanos devastated their home planet. The two are connected and can feel each other’s presence, yet it was not easy for Drax to reach Thanos. But in Keith Giffen’s Annihilation #4, after a long chase across a hundred galaxies, Drax finally kills Thanos in an extremely horrible way. He literally rips Thanos’ heart out. Even the Mad Titan cannot bear such a cruel death.
The confrontation between Thanos and Doctor Doom in 2016’s Secret Wars #8 shows that Thanos not only fights superheroes, but also clashes with other villains. But the Doctor Doom here is not the common Doctor Doom. This is a version of him who has god-like powers and has become almost omnipotent. Thanos also proves to be quite weak in front of him. When Thanos, always full of vanity, calls him a “weak god” and a “hypocrite”, Doom removes his spine while remaining absolutely still. Surprisingly, Thanos still doesn’t respond much. Seen this way, both of Thanos’ deaths in the MCU seem far superior to his comic book fortunes.
Even though Thor misses out on killing Thanos at the most crucial moment in Avengers: Infinity War, the story takes a completely different turn in Dan Jurgens’ Thor #25. When Odin intervenes, he gives Thor a special armor that has the power of the Odinforce that the Asgardian kings receive. With this powerful armor, Thor becomes equal to Thanos. The two have a fierce fight, and in the end, Thanos turns into a burning corpse.
Truth be told, Squirrel Girl has achieved feats in the Marvel canon that are surprising for any superhero. Known as the “Invincible Squirrel Girl”, the character has defeated powerful enemies such as MODOK, Doctor Doom, and even Thanos, who are known to be much more powerful than her. In Dan Slott’s GLX-Mas Special, when we see Thanos lying on the ground, the Watcher tells the victorious Squirrel Girl, “I can confirm that this is really another real Thanos, not a robot, clone, or fake form.” Because only the results of the fight are shown, it is not clear how Squirrel Girl defeated him. It’s also unclear whether Thanos is dead or just lying unconscious, but it certainly doesn’t take much for Squirrel Girl to defeat him. Even if Thanos is alive after such a bad defeat, his honor and status have completely vanished. This is how Marvel Comics answers those who want to know how similar the MCU’s Thanos is to comics’ Thanos, or who just want to see that the bad guy finally gets his due.
