Thanos Shrugs Off Black Bolt's Blast At Point Blank Range
[ranking: 1]
The 2013 miniseries Infinity was brutal. Thanos straight up ruins fools on his path to his son, but perhaps none more viciously than Black Bolt. The King of Attlian faces the Mad Titan in one-on-one combat and doesn't last long.
Though Black Bolt's voice can (and has) destroyed planets, it can do nothing to Thanos. Thanos picks up Black Bolt and questions him on his son's whereabouts. Black Bolt unleashes a powerful scream right in Thanos's face... and it does nothing (except kind of ruin Thanos's clothes). Thanos proceeds to slam Black Bolt's head into the ground until he lies lifeless. Hulk's massive bones would easily be shattered by Black Bolt's screech.
Thanos Defeats The Cosmic Entities
[ranking: 2]
The most impressive feat in the Infinity Gauntlet story arc is not Thanos's triumph over the Avengers, as he's able to thwart Earth's Mightiest Heroes with ease after collecting the Infinity Stones.
What's more impressive is his systematic defeat of the cosmic entities. One by one, he knocks off Chronos, Master Order, Lord Chaos, Galactus, Stranger, Epoch, Mistress Love, and Master Hate. It all culminates with his showdown against Eternity - the very embodiment of reality - whom he also defeats, essentially taking the omnipotent being's place.
King Thanos Keeps The Hulk As A Pet Dog
[ranking: 3]
In Thanos #15, we see the Mad Titan millennia in the future after he's become the King of the Universe. If there's any question about his dominance over the Hulk, that question is answered by his subjugation of the Angry Avenger.
Granted, it's thousands of years in the future, and both are old with big gray beards, but Thanos has Hulk on a leash and feeds him Captain America - you can safely say he's proven himself greater and more terrible than Bruce Banner.
Thanos Kills Bruce Banner And A Mjolnir-Wielding Silver Surfer
[ranking: 4]
In the 2018 Thanos series, the Mad Titan is sent into the future to meet his older self, ruler of the cosmos. The arc is called Thanos Wins, and it's aptly named.
After defeating virtually all the universe's heroes, Thanos sits on his throne of bones, with Hulk leashed at his side as an attack dog. In Thanos #17, Silver Surfer comes to put an end to this. Not only does the Surfer manage to calm Hulk enough to return Bruce Banner, but he's wielding Mjolnir, so his proclamation that he's going to put an end to Thanos seems at least feasible.
Unfortunately, there are two Thanos, and as the Surfer is distracted by the younger, the old King Thanos sneaks up behind and blasts a hole through both Bruce Banner and the Surfer, killing them.
Thanos Stops Thor's Hammer Cold
[ranking: 5]
Hulk tries (and fails) to pick up Mjolnir, and he also gets smashed in the face with Thor's mighty hammer and is sent flying. Well, what happens when the God of Thunder unleashes his hammer on Thanos? Not much.
Odinson faces off against the Mad Titan in a few issues of Thor's late '90s run, and one comic depicts just how powerful Thanos is. Thor talks a tough game and throws Mjolnir at Thanos who just says, "Yeah, nope," stopping the cosmic hammer dead in its tracks.
Thanos Beats The Silver Surfer To Death
[ranking: 6]
If the Silver Surfer can kick the Hulk's ass (which he does on numerous occasions), then by the transitive property, anyone who can defeat him can do the same to grumpy Bruce Banner.
Enter Thanos. The two actually meet on numerous occasions, and Thanos bests the Silver Surfer each time. But their most memorable is in Cosmic Powers Unlimited #1. When the Surfer comes to Thanos, telling him he's been named Death's consort, Thanos is not too pleased. Considering he's in love with Lady Death, it wasn't wise of the Surfer to share this bit of info with him. Thanos succinctly beats the Silver Surfer to death, and carries his lifeless body to Death as a slap in her face. Child's play.
Thanos Blasts Galactus Through A Wall
[ranking: 7]
While it doesn't sound particularly impressive for a guy to simply blast another guy through a wall by comic book standards, when a mortal being does it to an immortal cosmic entity, it's a little more impressive. Thanos and Galacatus face off on more than one occasion, with each coming out victorious over the other.
In Thanos's 2003 series, he faces off against Galactus in defense of the universe. Galactus is consumed by Hunger, and Thanos has to snap him out of it. Even though Thanos essentially loses the fight, he does survive, and deals some damage of his own - something few in the Marvel universe could do.
Thanos Takes Down Beta Ray Bill And Ronan The Accuser Simultaneously
[ranking: 8]
During The Infinity Revelation, Thanos gets ample opportunity to prove his might, perhaps most impressively in a two-on-one fight against a Mjolnir-wielding Beta Ray Bill and Ronan the Accuser.
The two attack him from both sides, yet he contniually slaps them away. He eventually breaks Ronan's hammer as well, an extremely powerful universal weapon. He makes two warriors of galactic proportions look like children.
Thanos Bests Thor And Faces Odin In 'Blood And Thunder'
[ranking: 9]
In the Blood and Thunder storyline, Thor is driven mad by Dark Valkyrie and goes on a rampage. A number of heroes team up to try and stop the God of Thunder (led by Silver Surfer), but given Thor's might, they have to take drastic measures.
They enlist the help of Thanos (without his consent), who battles Thor, ultimately incapacitating him. He then travels with the Surfer and other heroes back to Asgard, where he's immediately attacked by Odin, to whom he actually loses. It's no failure to be bested by Odin, though. Merely surviving the attack puts Thanos in rare company.
Thanos Brings Hell To Titan
[ranking: 10]
With his beloved Death by his side, there's nothing the Mad Titan won't do. She returns with him to his home planet in Thanos Rising #5 to enact retribution upon his people who would not recognize him as their leader.
His armada attacks the moon from space, but Thanos decides to come to the planet himself to deal death in every direction. He blasts virtually all the survivors of the planet to dust, proclaiming himself God as he does so. Hulk destroys planets, but he has never even thought about destroying his own.
Thanos Kills Adam Warlock
[ranking: 11]
Adam Warlock is a very powerful cosmic hero in his own right. Warlock is so powerful, Thanos needs to collect five Soul Gems before he can take him down. Warlock is the protector of the Soul Gem (Soul Stone - this was the '70s before they mercifully changed the designation of the powerful ingots to Infinity Stones).
In Avengers Annual #7, Thanos joins forces with Warlock (though, his allegiance isn't genuine) to defeat Magus, Warlock's evil self. In the end, of course, Thanos turns on Warlock, felling him with a backhand followed by a cosmic blast to the chest. He then rips the Soul Gem out of Warlock's forehead, much like what he does to Vision in Infinity War.
Thanos Beat The Crap Out Of Hulk In His Own Mind
[ranking: 12]
In the four part Thanos Vs. Hulk, the Grumpy Green Giant gets nabbed by Annihilus and is trapped within his own mind. Seeking to intervene solely for his own purposes, Thanos infiltrates Hulk's mind to have a chat. Inside, he discovers two separate entities: Bruce Banner and the Hulk. The Hulk repeatedly attacks Thanos only to be repeatedly batted aside. While the Hulk manages to get a shot or two in, there's no question who the superior warrior is.
Thanos The Samaritan Survives A Blast From The All-Powerful Kosmos
[ranking: 13]
To say the character Kosmos is "all-powerful" isn't 100% accurate, but she is pretty damn close. She's an amalgamation of Beyonder and Molecule Man, two cosmic beings of universal powers.
So when Thanos rubs her the wrong way and takes a blast of cosmic proportions, his survival of said attack is noteworthy. This happens in his Samaritan story arc of the mid-2000s, in which he tries to live a normal life. But he's a mighty being, and power attracts power.
Thanos Eradicates Phyla-Vell
[ranking: 14]
Phyla-Vell is the retconned daughter of Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel. As such, she is an extremely powerful warrior, even considered by some to be the greatest warrior in the universe. Unfortunately, she met Thanos.
In Guardians of the Galaxy #24, Phyla-Vell assists the Guardians in their fight against Magus. They stumble upon a mysterious cocoon in their endeavors, and when that cocoon hatches, all hell breaks loose. A resurrected Thanos bursts forth and immediately disintegrates Phyla-Vell with a cosmic blast from his eyes. Yikes.
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