After obtaining all six of the Infinity Stones, Thanos met with the Silver Surfer to flaunt his newfound power. However, Norin-Radd did his best to ignore the Mad Titan's mental probes and instead fought the superpowered villain. In an effort to destroy Thanos, reanimated in a stone body, Silver Surfer used his surfboard as a weapon and turned his opponent into rubble. However, since Thanos had the universe's most incredible powers in the Infinity Stones, the Surfer couldn't kill him so easily.
Ahead of the Infinity Gauntlet saga, Thanos met with the Silver Surfer and flexed his incredible powers on the former Herald of Galactus. The interaction was tense, as the Mad Titan tried to convince the Surfer that they were more alike than he could ever imagine - noting they were both exiled from their homeworlds. Silver Surfer, who sacrificed everything to save his home planet from Galactus, scoffs at the notion, claiming that Thanos was outcasted not because of nobility but because he murdered his mother. Thanos agrees to disagree.
In Silver Surfer #50 by Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, Tom Christopher, Ken Bruzenak, and Tom Vincent, Thanos toys with the Silver Surfer's mind, showing him bits and pieces of his life on Zenn-La. After Surfer interferes with Thanos' mental probes, the Mad Titan gets angry and slams the hero into the ground. Inside Surfer's mind, Thanos finds out the cosmic being looked up to his father, who had great plans for him. Once Surfer awakens from the manipulation and remembers his dad's scientific discoveries were fraudulent, he attacks Thanos, shooting him with a powerful blast of the Power Cosmic. As Thanos calls out his adversary for his emotions, Silver Surfer summons his surfboard and uses it to shatter the villain's body.
Using the Surfboard to slingshot through Thanos proved to be an effective attack. However, with the Infinity Stones in his possession, Thanos immediately reconstructs his body. Thanos taunts Silver Surfer about not being able to stop his father's suicide after being exposed as a fraud, which leads him to release another powerful blast, shattering Thanos again. This time, Silver Surfer turns each piece of the villain into ash. After destroying Thanos, he would return to Earth, falling through the Sanctum Santorum, beginning the Infinity Gauntlet saga. Obviously, Thanos would reanimate his body again after the defeat.
Considering Thanos couldn't be killed during his battle with Silver Surfer, the fact the cosmic hero managed to turn him into pieces twice is incredibly impressive. He might not have ended Thanos' reign, but he escaped his grasp and found his way to Earth, where he could warn its greatest heroes about the pending threat of the Mad Titan. Ultimately, Silver Surfer destroyed Thanos twice, a claim few can make.