In both DC and Marvel Comics, there are some immensely powerful individuals. Whether good or evil, some of them are so powerful that they can literally alter things from reality to history and so on. For DC, one of the most powerful individuals is easily Dr. Manhattan. With the launch of Doomsday Clock, Dr. Manhattan and other Watchmen characters have made their way into the main DC Universe.
For Marvel though, Thanos is easily one of their more powerful beings, especially while wielding the Infinity Gauntlet. Both characters are essentially Gods in their respective universes. However, one of them is at least a bit more powerful than the other. Looking at specific factors between the two, here is our layout of Dr. Manhattan vs Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet.
11 Enemy Power Level: Thanos
Dr. Manhattan is an incredibly powerful being. At the moment, he has faced off against several key DC heroes, and still managed to win. Though the Justice League is far more powerful than the likes of the Avengers, Dr. Manhattan hasn’t taken on many more powerful threats.
Thanos, on the other hand, has not only beaten the Avengers more than once, but also taken down incredibly powerful beings, including other Titans and even Gods. Though most people are smart enough to not even attempt to attack Dr. Manhattan, it doesn’t change the fact that Thanos has accrued much more and beaten far more powerful enemies than Manhattan has.
10 Main Inherent Power: Dr. Manhattan
Of course, Dr. Manhattan wins in this regard, since his powers are directly tied to him and his DNA. While Thanos is still incredibly powerful even without the Infinity Gauntlet, he is nowhere near as strong as Dr. Manhattan without the Infinity Stones. Likewise, the Gauntlet can be taken away from Thanos. Dr. Manhattan’s powers can’t be taken away from him.
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Because of this, Dr. Manhattan is easily the more inherently powerful between the two characters. Using just his mind alone, Manhattan can accomplish virtually anything that Thanos can with the assistance of the Infinity Gauntlet.
9 Main External Power: Tie
As far as their external abilities are concerned, both characters have very similar abilities. For example, each can travel through time, instantly end a life at will, deal devastating amounts of damage all at once, and even reshape things with incredible ease. Each of them can also survive in extreme conditions and are some of the most powerful beings in their respective universes. While there are a few differences and limits to what each of them can do, the two can still accomplish very similar feats, making this round a tie.
8 Allies: Tie
Both individuals also tend to operate as solo acts. That’s not to say that they’ve never had allies, but neither of them really depends on their allies for assistance. Dr. Manhattan typically has the support of the Watchmen at his back, though it does depend on the given moment. Likewise, Thanos has the Black Order at his disposal to assist him with his dirty work, though the group isn’t seen nearly as often as Thanos himself. Furthermore, both Thanos and Dr. Manhattan are easily the most powerful members of their respective teams, making their allies virtually useless against the other. Because of this, this round results in another tie.
7 Experience: Thanos
Not only is Thanos much older of a character than Dr. Manhattan, but is also utilized far more often. Dr. Manhattan debuted during Alan Moore’s Watchmen. After the series ended though, Manhattan wouldn’t be seen again until DC launched the Before Watchmen titles. From there, Manhattan would take another extended absence until the DC Rebirth One-Shot.
Unlike Dr. Manhattan, Thanos has appeared as a character every so often since his debut. Though he isn’t always as big a threat as he is in Infinity Gauntlet, he still made appearances from time to time that only developed him further. Over the years, Thanos has developed into a much different character than he initially started as. His adventures within the Marvel Universe have also only helped him get stronger and smarter, making him the obvious winner in this regard.
6 Personality: Dr. Manhattan
Though he may not hold much value for human life, Dr. Manhattan still has morals and values. Thanos, on the other hand, typically just seeks death and destruction at all costs. Though Thanos may have more experience as a character, Dr. Manhattan has certainly grown more in a much shorter amount of time.
One interesting parallel that has been drawn in Doomsday Clock is in the differences between Superman and Dr. Manhattan. Superman is an alien who views himself as a human being, while Manhattan is a human who has isolated and alienated himself. Seeing how distant Manhattan has come from his humanity makes for an incredibly interesting character arc, also winning him this round.
5 Strength: Tie
Strictly speaking, both characters don’t need to lift a finger to accomplish their goals. Dr. Manhattan can easily lift, move or disintegrate any object just by thinking about it. Likewise, Thanos, at most, has to simply snap his fingers for something to get done. Without the gauntlet, Thanos is still very physically strong.
Unfortunately though, there’s no way to truly compare his strength to Manhattan’s because there is no hindrance to Manhattan’s abilities. Even assuming Thanos has the power of the Gauntlet, he would be so far beyond his basic strength that there would be very little need for any physical confrontation. Since there is no way to accurately account for how strong either truly is, this round results in yet another tie.
4 Durability: Dr. Manhattan
Despite being one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, Thanos is still mortal. In fact, the Mad Titan was recently shown to have cancer, and was even killed by Gamora as part of the Infinity Wars event. Unlike Thanos, Dr. Manhattan cannot be killed.
Thanks to his unique genetic makeup, Dr. Manhattan is effectively immortal. Though his physical form can be destroyed, Manhattan can still reassemble himself in just a couple of moments. He has also been shown to not age no matter how much time passes. Because of his unique abilities, Manhattan is easily the harder to kill between the two, making him the victor of this round
3 Equipment: Thanos
Of course, Thanos utilizes a bit more equipment thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet. Without it, Thanos would be nowhere near as powerful as Dr. Manhattan. Likewise, neither character really relies too much on external enhancements or technology. Dr. Manhattan even relies on external things so little, that even clothes serve very little purpose for him. Though Manhattan certainly doesn’t need to become even more powerful, Thanos still has the advantage in this regard based on the sheer power that the Gauntlet provides alone.
2 Biggest Feat: Thanos
Looking at some of the biggest things the two characters have done over the years, it is pretty easy to see why Thanos is the victor in this scenario. Though Dr. Manhattan altered the entire history and reality of the DC Universe, Thanos, in a single instant, wiped out half of all existing life in the universe. In doing so, he demonstrated what is arguably the single most powerful action in comic book history.
Something like this should be no easy feat, yet, for Thanos, he literally just had to snap his fingers. At the moment, Dr. Manhattan has yet to come remotely close to an action of equal weight. Though Thanos was eventually defeated,things could have easily seen a different outcome and the Mad Titan’s actions would have been permanent.
1 Winner: Thanos
Without the aide of the Infinity Gauntlet, Dr. Manhattan could easily take Thanos down. Fortunately for Thanos though, the Gauntlet puts them on a much more equal playing field. Though this match is incredibly close, Thanos’ evil nature and more ruthless actions certainly give him an advantage.
Likewise, Manhattan’s limited actions within the comics also help swing the argument in Thanos’ favor. While Manhattan could someday prove to be more powerful than Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, for the time being, Thanos has proven to be slightly more powerful, making him the victor between the two.