After six years of build-up in various post-credits scenes and MCU subplots, Thanos had a lot to live up to when he finally took on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Infinity War. Against all odds, the character managed to exceed expectations thanks to Josh Brolin’s nuanced performance and the sheer cosmic power that the Mad Titan demonstrates during the action scenes.
The threequel is told from Thanos’ perspective as he drops in and out of the Avengers’ lives on his journey across the universe collecting Infinity Stones. The Mad Titan has some unforgettable encounters with iconic Marvel superheroes.
The Hulk: Their Initial Fight
The Mad Titan is immediately established as a formidable force of nature in the opening scene of Infinity War when he and his cronies undo Thor: Ragnarok’s happy ending and decimate most of the Asgardians aboard the Statesman. The Hulk tries to fight Thanos but gets epically loses their fight.
Thanos’ brute force matches the Hulk’s and he’s a much more proficient fighter, so he dispatches the green meanie in no time. Fortunately, Heimdall has just enough life left in him to send the Hulk to Earth to warn people. There’s no better way to introduce a Marvel villain’s strength than to have them effortlessly beat up the Hulk.
Captain Marvel: Wrestling Over The Gauntlet
Fueled by the Space Stone, Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful Avengers, and one of the only heroes who could hold their own in hand-to-hand combat with the Mad Titan.
After smashing his fleet out of the sky, Carol Danvers very nearly defeats Thanos singlehandedly. But quick-thinking Thanos grabs the Power Stone from the Gauntlet with his other hand and uses it to punch her away.
Vision: Killing Him For The Mind Stone
Thanos leaves behind a path of destruction in his quest to retrieve the Infinity Stones. He has to destroy Xandar to get the Power Stone; he has to kill the Collector to get the Reality Stone; he has to sacrifice his own adopted daughter to get the Soul Stone; and he has to rip a hole in Vision’s forehead to get the Mind Stone.
When there’s no more time to spare, Wanda Maximoff scuppers Thanos’ plan by reluctantly killing Vision herself and destroying the Mind Stone. Unfortunately, Thanos has already acquired the Time Stone from Doctor Strange, so he just turns back time, briefly brings a confused Vision back to life, and yanks the stone out of the android’s head himself.
Doctor Strange: Giving Up The Time Stone
Doctor Strange has a visually stunning fight with Thanos in which he throws every spell in the book at the purple baddie, but his most memorable moment with the MCU’s greatest villain is much darker and graver.
When Thanos is about to kill Tony Stark, Strange reluctantly gives up the Time Stone. He tells Tony, “There was no other way.” According to the 14 million possible futures that Strange observed, allowing Thanos to win while Tony survived to invent time travel and save the universe was the only way they could (eventually) defeat the Mad Titan.
Black Panther: Their Fight In Wakanda
After Thor fails to kill Thanos, all the other Avengers on the battlefield take a crack at one-on-one combat with the Mad Titan to no avail in heartbreaking slow-motion scenes.
When Thanos shoves Steve Rogers aside with a shockwave from the Power Stone, T’Challa jumps in to take a shot at his throat. But he’s not fast enough and Thanos instead grabs him by the throat and throws him to the ground. This impact reverberates some kinetic energy from the Shuri-designed Black Panther suit, but it has no effect on Thanos.
Scarlet Witch: “I Don’t Even Know Who You Are.”
Since the Thanos that terrorizes the Avengers in Endgame has traveled forward in time from 2014, he has no idea why all the resurrected superheroes hate him so much.
When Wanda Maximoff tells him, “You took everything from me,” in reference to Vision’s death, Thanos simply replies, “I don’t even know who you are.” Wanda quips, “You will,” before showing off the full extent of her powers.
Thor: “You Should’ve Gone For The Head.”
All throughout Infinity War, Thor claims that his fate is to kill Thanos and that once he gets a new weapon forged, putting an end to the Mad Titan’s plan will be easy. However, he makes one fatal error when he finally comes after Thanos with his new ax Stormbreaker. Out of vanity, he only wounds Thanos so he can enjoy tormenting him before finishing the job.
This allows Thanos the mobility to snap his fingers and make half of all life in the universe disappear in an instant. The gravity of this mistake sent Thor into a painful depression in Endgame, which he manages to overcome when he goes back in time to Asgard circa 2013, has one last conversation with his mom, and realizes he’s “still worthy.”
Captain America: When He Almost Singlehandedly Got The Gauntlet Off Thanos’ Hand
Cap summoning Thor’s hammer in Endgame and using it to pummel Thanos was certainly a rollicking movie moment, but the duo’s most memorable encounter is in Infinity War.
As the Mad Titan is about to complete his collection and carry out his plan, Cap makes a last-ditch effort to singlehandedly remove the Gauntlet from his hand. Thanos looks genuinely surprised and impressed at Steve Rogers’ sheer might. Unfortunately, it’s still nothing compared to his own.
Iron Man: “I Am Inevitable.” “And I... Am... Iron Man.”
Tony Stark has a handful of memorable encounters with Thanos, like when Thanos reveals he’s familiar with Tony and when Tony pays off Ivan Vanko’s line from Iron Man 2 about making God bleed. But easily the most memorable is their final confrontation.
As Thanos is about to snap his fingers and rewrite the universe, Tony tries one last time to stop him. When it seems like he’s failed, it’s revealed that the Iron Gauntlet absorbed the Infinity Stones, allowing Tony to do a finger-snap of his own that wipes out Thanos and his armies and restores peace in the universe.