Thanos' Most Humiliating Defeats in Marvel Comics | Screen Rant
Few villains have succeeded at accomplishing their evil plans as Thanos has in the pages of Marvel Comics. However, the Mad Titan hasn't won every fight he's taken part in, as sometimes, he's been on the end of brutal and humiliating defeats. In fact, Thanos has even been killed in some really gruesome ways in his efforts to attain power or dominate his opponent.
Famously, Thanos sought out and acquired all six of the Infinity Stones and snapped half of life from existence. The snap is arguably the single most destructive action to happen in main Marvel Comics continuity, as the Mad Titan's attempt to please the physical embodiment of Death led to the billions of lives lost across the cosmos. While his snap would be reversed, the Infinity Gauntlet saga cemented Thanos as Marvel's ultimate villain - which was on full display when he did the same thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War. Although, even the greatest villains fall. Here are five times Thanos was defeated in the comics.
In one of the most gruesome scenes in modern Marvel Comics, Thanos' hubris cost him his life against Doctor Doom.
In the Secret Wars event by Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, Ive Svorcina, Chris Eliopoulos, and Idette Winecoor, Thanos sought to challenge Doctor Doom's rule of Battleworld, as the Fantastic Four adversary had become omnipotent after the collapse of the multiverse. Thanos tried to get Doom to bow before him and called him names - which was a very bad idea - leading to the masked supervillain ripping the Mad Titan's spine directly from his body. Doctor Doom completely destroyed him.
Following the reformation of Marvel's multiverse, Thanos would return and be cast into the void of nothingness and was accidentally freed by Galactus. While he didn't stay dead, Thanos learned messing with Doctor Doom is a big mistake - especially when he's got the powers of a God.
Drax the Destroyer finally got revenge on Thanos in one of the most violent ways imaginable.
In the comics, Thanos is responsible for the greatest tragedy in Drax's life, as he killed his wife and stole his daughter after he believed he was detected while scouting Earth. Drax would gain superpowers after Thanos' own father, Mentor, created a being who could take on his son and win. Since then, Drax had been on a personal quest to get revenge and kill Thanos.
In Annihilation #4 by Keith Giffen, Andrea Divito, Laura Villari, and Cory Petit, Drax would get a jump on Thanos and lunge his fist through the Mad Titan's chest, ripping his heart out in the process. For both comic book readers and fans of the MCU, it was hard not to feel good for Drax for finally killing Thanos and getting his much-deserved revenge.
Among his most embarrassing defeats, Thanos was taken down by Squirrel Girl. The teen hero knocked him out cold in a hilarious one-shot showcasing the boisterous character's real power.
In the humorous story, GLX-Mas Special (2006) by Mark Waid, Matt Haley, George Jeanty, Drew Geraci, and Sotocolor's L. Molinar, Squirrel Girl and Tippy-Toe face off against Thanos as he secures a device called the Pyramatrix, which he intends on using to take over the universe. While it's not shown how Squirrel Girl defeats Thanos, the comic later shows her standing above the out-cold Eternal. Even the Watcher notes Squirrel Girl saved the Multiverse and that the Thanos she beat isn't a clone or a robot - it's the real deal.
Hilariously, Squirrel Girl tells Uatu she "can't believe that me and Tippy-Toe took out the real Thanos!" While it might have happened off-panel, Squirrel Girl is one of the few heroes who battled Thanos and came out victorious, even if it was all played for laughs.
Gamora has more reasons than most Marvel heroes and villains to want to murder Thanos. After all, she was taken from her homeworld and raised to be an assassin by the Mad Titan. When she donned a new secret disguise as Requiem, not only did Gamora impale her adopted father with a massive sword, but she chopped his head clean off his body.
In Infinity Wars #1 by Gerry Duggan, Mike Deodato Jr., Frank Martin Jr. and Cory Petit, it's revealed the mysterious Requiem was actually Gamora, who was desperate to repair her soul after believing part of it was locked away in the Soul Gem. When she meets with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, she drops Thanos' head in front of them, revealing she's killed her father. To make matters worse, she also kills Star-Lord after he stands in her way of retrieving the Infinity Stone.
While Thanos was eventually resurrected (nobody truly stays dead in comics besides Uncle Ben), Gamora's defeat of her father was quick and brutal. Clearly, he trained her well in killing even the most powerful threats.
One of the supervillain's greatest battles is when he was teleported to a future where Thanos wins. In the reality, Thanos fights against King Thanos, as the winner believes they'll come away with Death's hand.
In Thanos (2018) by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, and Antonio Fabela, the two versions of Thanos exchanged heavy blows, but the present-day Thanos ultimately knocked the weaker, older one to his knees. In a shocking scene, King Thanos begged Thanos to finish the job and kill him. However, Thanos decides instead to take the Time Stone from his future self and use it to return to his own timeline. In doing so, the timeline where Thanos wins ceases to exist and King Thanos is left with Death as he slowly fades into nothing. King Thanos briefly thinks he won but soon realizes the recently departed Thanos gained the victory, as he stands by Death and is overcome by darkness.
Despite achieving his ultimate goals and killing everyone who's ever challenged his rule, Thanos still wasn't able to get Death's love and attention. It's a dramatic ending for the Mad Titan.