Warning: contains spoilers for Avengers: Mech Strike - Monster Hunters #1!
A new redesign of Thanos makes the defeat he suffered in the MCU's Avengers: Endgame impossible, but this new tactical advantage comes at a price, as the Mad Titan is reduced to a pawn in Doctor Doom's most recent play for mystical supremacy.
In the ongoing Avengers: Mech Strike - Monster Hunters, Earth's Mightiest Heroes are going up against versions of their classic villains transformed into monstrous new forms. An ancient artifact known as the Eye of the Kraken has allowed Doctor Doom to transform his allies, leading to powerful new forms for Venom, Loki, and the Green Goblin. While Thanos has yet to appear in the comic series, Marvel's marketing has been very explicit about the transformation he'll undergo as Doctor Doom's "masterpiece."
As depicted in Marvel HQ's video trailer 'Monster Files: THANOS' and the comics' animated tie-in Eye of Doom, Thanos has received a towering redesign as 'Monster Thanos,' upgrading his abilities. Doctor Strange's summary of his new abilities stresses his physical strength, making it clear he's stronger than any of the other transformed villains on Doom's roster. Thanos was already a powerhouse villain capable of taking down the Hulk, and the recent Avengers: Mech Strike - Monster Hunters #1 from Christos Gage, Paco Diaz, Dono Sanchez-Almara, and Cory Petit states that the Eye of the Kraken has tripled each villain's power while also affecting their brains, making them more bestial in both appearance and tactics. However, the most shocking part of Thanos' transformation is that it includes the Infinity Stones, now part of his physical being.
It's unclear as of yet how the Infinity Stones will enhance Thanos' powers, given they would usually grant him control over all of time, space, and reality - making mere strength an afterthought. It's possible that something about the Eye of the Kraken or Thanos' new form will prevent him accessing their full power (that would certainly be in Doctor Doom's interests), but it's clear that their razor-sharp new forms will make them dangerous as melee weapons even before the Mad Titan attempts to utilize their cosmic might. In Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Junior's Iron Man is able to defeat Thanos by stealthily stealing the Infinity Stones with his own gauntlet, but now that they're part of Thanos' body, that tactic won't fly.
Thankfully, the Avengers have their own monstrous mech armor to help them stand a chance against the threat posed by Doom and Thanos, with several heroes still to debut their new looks and powers, including a powerful new version of Spider-Gwen. However, with Doom apparently keeping Thanos in reserve until he's needed, and the Infinity Stones embedded in his hulking fist, the Avengers will need to be at their best to take down this terrifying version of the Mad Titan.
Avengers: Mech Strike - Monster Hunters #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.