Thanos Have To Wait For These 7 MCU Characters’ Death To Start Gathering The Infinity Stones, And Why
Throughout the MCU’s Infinity Saga, we have learned that Thanos is the ultimate enemy that the Avengers have to face to protect Earth and the whole universe. Possessing immense power and unrivaled intellect, the Mad Titan proves to be the biggest threat for Earth-s mightiest heroes to fight against so far. He can easily beat the Hulk in a one-on-one battle, dispatch an entire Avenger squad in Infinity War, and oust the trio of Iron Man-Captain-Thor effortlessly in Endgame without an Infinity Gauntlet. Oh, and have I mentioned that he also has an entire army on his side?
However, as strong as Thanos is, there are still formidable MCU characters that even he has to look out for. In fact, the Mad Titan has to patiently wait for these characters to meet their demise first to execute his plan to reduce half of the universe’s population. Let’s take a look at these 7 powerful beings in the MCU, and how their deaths allowed Thanos to attack Earth to get the Infinity Stones.
#1. Ultron
Source: Marvel
Created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the villain is the embodiment of artificial intelligence gone berserk in real life. After seeing the bad deeds that humanity has done, Ultron deems them as the biggest threat to Earth, and decides to wipe them out of existence. As an AI himself, Ultron can transfer his mind into any device or metal body, which makes him almost impossible to kill, and nowhere on Earth is safe from the villain.
It’s also notable that the Avengers only defeats the premature version of Ultron in 2014, which was far from his full potential. In the Marvel animated series What If…? Episode 8, a fully upgraded Ultron who has successfully acquired Vision’s Vibranium body can effortlessly split Thanos, who has 5 Infinity Stones at the time, in halves with just one movement. If Ultron manages to defeat the Avengers and face Thanos when he has reached his full potential, the same outcome might happen on the big screen as well.
#2. Ronan the Accuser
Source: Marvel
Ronan first appears in Guardians of the Galaxy as one of Thanos’s lackeys, but with his ability alone along with the Power Stone in hand, he has enough firepower to take on the Mad Titan himself, who didn’t have any gem at the time. However, the villain made the wrong choice by choosing to attack Xandar first to prove himself, and ultimately paid the price, getting defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy.
#3. Ego the Living Planet
Source: Marvel
Thanos got the Guardians of the Galaxy to thank, as they defeated not one, but two of his most formidable opponents en route. Ego is another entity in the galaxy that has the power to match the Mad Titan, as he’s a Celestial, one of the most powerful beings in the universe. With the immense power at hand, Ego’s ultimate goal is to conquer the whole universe by devouring his children’s life force.
A fully powered Ego would have caused Thanos so much trouble with his ever-expanding influence, however, the Guardians have done the Mad Titan a big favor by destroying Ego’s core at the end of Volume 2.
#4. The Ancient One
Source: Marvel
Initially the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, The Ancient One is the ultimate protector who keeps otherworldly beings from reaching the planet for hundreds of years. Her mastery in both the Mystic Arts and the Dark Dimension power allows her to wield immense magic spells, and along with the Time Stone at hand, she would prove to be a tough cookie for Thanos to beat. Unfortunately (and very fortunate for Thanos), the Ancient One was killed by Kaecilius in Doctor Strange, but at least her apprentice also did a pretty good job fighting against the Mad Titan one-on-one in Infinity War.
#5. Hela
Source: Marvel
Right from the moment Hela easily crushes the mighty Mjolnir with her bare hand in Ragnarok, we already know that she would be a possible candidate to take on Thanos. Along with her crew, Hela effortlessly dispatches the whole Asgardian army, and single-handedly wipes out the Valkyrie force, and even Thor’s power combined with the Hulk, Loki and Valkyrie weren’t even enough to stop her. In the comics, she’s immortal, can raise others from death, and grant her allies immortality as well, and then there’s her wide range of magical abilities to boot.
Luckily for Thanos, the Goddess of Death got defeated by Surtur, another being who’s even more powerful than her.
#6. Surtur
Source: Marvel
At the start of Thor: Ragnarok, the Muspelheim demon didn’t look that impressive, as Thor effortlessly defeated him while having some fun. However, when his crown is put into the Eternal Flame, Surtur becomes ridiculously powerful, he can single-handedly destroy the entire Asgard in one swoop, along with Hela and the rest of her army. To put it simply, with Surtur in his final form, Thanos doesn’t have a chance against the giant. However, Surtur is seemingly vanished along with Asgard, so the Mad Titan can let out his sigh of relief.
#7. Odin
Source: Marvel
There’s a reason why Thanos has to patiently wait for Hela, Surtur, and the All-Father to meet their demise to finally launch his plan to attack Asgard. With Odin at full power, the Mad Titan wouldn’t stand a chance. The fact that the mighty Odin just conveniently sits out most of the affairs in the Infinity Saga doesn’t sit well with fans, as he’s an absurdly powerful character in the comics.
The All-Father is supposed to be the strongest Asgardian there is, wielding the mystical OdinForce at hand. In the comics, Odin can easily destroy a planet with a single hit, break the barrier of time and space with a maximum energy blast, and even effortlessly dispatched the Mad Titan once. However, Marvel Studios has done the character dirty by letting him pass away in Thor: Ragnarok, making Thanos’s conquest for the Infinity Stones much easier.
Do you think these characters above can defeat Thanos? Let us know in the comment.