Though Thanos earned new popularity in the MCU, he had been stomping around in the comics and causing trouble for decades, proving his power over various hard hitters in the Marvel universe, including Adam Warlock and even Eternity itself. However, he is not invincible. There have been several characters who have managed to overcome the Mad Titan and come out victorious, with Thanos never returning for a rematch. There are also many characters who he has outright avoided fighting as he knows that they would overpower him.

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These characters range from cosmic beings and actual embodiments of universal concepts to street-level heroes with surprising mettle.

10 The Sentry Is Simply Too Powerful

The Sentry flying at the reader during Marvel's Civil War

Sentry is obscenely powerful. Marvel rarely uses him because it seems nothing can kill him by the canon’s own logic. Even characters who bend reality and control molecules cannot match him. While Thanos has never fought Sentry, if he ever did, his plan would most likely be based around getting Sentry as far away as possible like he did when he fought The Gladiator. As powerful as Thanos is without the Infinity Gauntlet and the Infinity Gems, he rarely becomes overconfident and knows when he cannot overpower an opponent.

9 The Living Tribunal Dwarfs The Infinity Gems

the living tribunal

The Living Tribunal is a character not often referenced in the comics but plays a huge role on the multiversal scale. He is the judge who determines what actions can and cannot take place in reality. With the snap of his fingers, he can rewrite reality to his liking. He simply "turns off" the Infinity Gems and commands the respect of every other cosmic level deity in Marvel. Characters such as Galactus and Eternity bend to his whim without question. No power in the multiverse could give Thanos the edge he would need.

8 Doctor Strange Is The Sorcerer Supreme For A Reason

Strange lifts up a finger in Endgame

Doctor Strange is almost a god in his own right. He has total command over magic that completely dwarfs most cosmic powers. It would be the height of hubris to target the Sorcerer Supreme with anything aside from a full set of Infinity Gems. Strange’s power has allowed him to battle gods and beings far beyond mortal comprehension. Even in the films, armed with four Infinity Stones, Strange held his own against Thanos and only "lost" the fight to play out the correct timeline and save Stark’s life.

7 Doctor Doom Has Earned His Place Among The Gods

Doctor Doom from Earth-200784 singing to the Human Torch in Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #25

There isn’t a corner of the Marvel universe that Doctor Doom hasn’t invested in. Technology, the power cosmic, and the realms of magic, Doom has built a brand of being a universal threat who causes every hero to worry when he appears. In their only encounter, Doom dispatched Thanos with ease even with the Infinity Gauntlet by using the Molecule Man’s power to make himself a god who even overpowered the Infinity Gems.

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Doom’s greatest asset is his ability to plan. Much like the Mad Titan, Doom never faces an opponent unless he knows he can defeat them.

6 Squirrel Girl Defeated Thanos In A Fight That Was Never Shown

Squirrel Girl stands over Thanos after defeating him

In what is probably the most surprising turn of events, Squirrel Girl has beaten the Mad Titan as well as many other Grade A villains of the Marvel universe. Since his defeat, Thanos has never faced her for a rematch, making her qualify for this list. Since the fight is never shown, fans have not yet learned what kind of terrifying power a character named Squirrel Girl possesses to defeat a being who has killed gods. Regardless, the people of Earth can sleep soundly knowing that their bushy-tailed champion guards them from disaster.

5 Franklin Richards Creates Universes For Fun

Franklin Richards feature

Franklin Richards is a mutant with the power to create and control realities. While the full scale of his powers is unknown, he could be a powerful contender to the Infinity Gauntlet. Aside from that, not even Thanos’ Eternal physiology could protect him from any form of attack from Richards. If he so wished, Richards could simply remove Thanos from existence and end the fight entirely. Thanos’ abilities become less impressive in the face of someone who can innately control reality.

4 Deadpool Cannot Die, So He Wins By Default

Deadpool & Death kiss Marvel

Deadpool is a surprising rival to Thanos only because he interferes in the Mad Titan’s endeavors to gain Death’s favor. Death became enamored by Deadpool since his healing factor prevents him from dying. So, Thanos recruited the sorcerer T-Ray to take care of him. After cursing Deadpool with immortality, no amount of harm Thanos caused could beat Deadpool. His entire body could be disintegrated, and Deadpool would reform and revive. This means that by default, Thanos can never definitively beat Deadpool. Thanos accidentally created an opponent he can never, ever kill.

3 Thanos Avoids Gladiator At All Costs

kallark war of kings gladiator

When faced with a battle against the vanguard of the Shi’ar royal guard, Thanos saw no other chance at survival than to teleport him millions of light-years away. Gladiator’s power is based on his confidence, meaning that he has no definitive scale for power. So, without something as powerful as the Infinity Gauntlet, no amount of power could stop Gladiator if he were having a particularly good day. Despite being an Eternal, a super-advanced human offshoot species, Thanos’ strength pales in comparison to Gladiator’s enhanced Strontian physiology.

2 Dormammu Exists On An Entirely Different Level

Dormammu the Last Annihilation

Dormammu is more than just a villain for Doctor Strange, as he is an otherworldly being who may not even follow the same concept of mortality as those in reality. This means that Thanos may not be able to "kill" Dormammu.

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Additionally, in the comics, Infinity Gems/Stones only work in their home dimensions. Therefore, if Thanos were to battle Dormammu in his Dark Dimension, his stones would be useless, and his great cosmic powers would be trivial compared to Dormammu’s centuries of magical prowess. Even outside of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu’s power exists on an entirely different level.

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