Thanos Met His Match
Sometimes the ending was brutal, other times hilarious. Either way, readers watched legends rise by finally pulling the curtain on the untouchable Thanos’ reign.
Adam Warlock
Back in 1977, Thanos had Spider-Man and the Thing cornered. Then came an impossible twist—Adam Warlock’s spirit broke free from the Soul Gem. His phantom hand grazed Thanos, and the so-called unstoppable Titan froze into stone.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Adam Warlock (Cont.)
For years, that statue stood as proof the mighty Titan could be stopped. Mistress Death eventually brought him back in 1990, but Warlock’s strike gave him lasting weight in Marvel stories. Later on, his Infinity Watch leadership kept him tied to Thanos forever.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Captain Mar-Vell
In Captain Marvel #33, Thanos flaunted godhood through the Cosmic Cube. ISAAC and Mantis shaped Mar-Vell’s understanding of its hold over Thanos, but destroying the Cube was his act alone. Led by cosmic awareness, he shattered it, leaving Thanos powerless as the artifact went inert.
Captain Marvel #33 Review by Brevincampbell12
Captain Marvel Mar Vell (Cont.)
Thanos fell, and Mar-Vell’s name soared. Fans suddenly had a cosmic protector worth rooting for. Death, the figure Thanos adored, literally turned her back on him after this. In a way, a war for the stars ended not with fireworks but with the villain humiliated and powerless.
Captain Marvel #33 Review by Brevincampbell12
Drax The Destroyer
Kronos, a Titan Eternal turned cosmic entity, remade Arthur Douglas into Drax with one mission—end Thanos. In Annihilation #4 (2006), that mission peaked. Drax lunged, tore through the Titan’s chest, and yanked out his heart in a scene framed with poetic intensity.
Annihilation Omnibus By Keith Giffen Overview by Adis Nukic (CaptainBosnia93)
Drax The Destroyer (Cont.)
Thanos was about to betray Annihilus and free Galactus when Drax struck. Ironically, the kill jeopardized the resistance by removing the one figure who could reverse the destruction. Other heroes ultimately stopped the invasion, but Drax’s brutal strike remained Marvel’s most visceral Thanos takedown.
Annihilation Omnibus By Keith Giffen Overview by Adis Nukic (CaptainBosnia93)
Lockjaw
Of all Marvel’s champions, it was a drooling bulldog who pulled the rug. Lockjaw gathered the Infinity Gems with his beastly teammates, outwitted Thanos, and teleported him off the board. Reed Richards, the stretchy leader of the Fantastic Four, secured the gems later, but everyone remembered the mutt who saved creation.
Lockjaw #1 | COMIC BOOK UNIVERSITY by Comic Book University
Lockjaw (Cont.)
Marvel spun a softer note: brains and artifacts over brawn. Younger readers were delighted by the silliness, and the tale lives on in collected editions. With Frog Thor swinging in and Lockjaw stealing the stage, the bulldog’s reputation only grew louder.
Lockjaw: Avengers Assemble: Book Review by Joel Swagman Reviews
Hulk Marvel Zombies
Thanos, usually Marvel’s master planner, barely blinked in Marvel Zombies (2005). On Earth-2149, he was killed off-panel during a chaotic zombie feeding frenzy. Hulk was among the ravenous horde, though the comic leaves the details vague. Later issues showed this same Hulk devouring Galactus.
#105 Marvel Zombies 2005-2009; 2011 by Oreo Brewer
Hulk Marvel Zombies (Cont.)
The kill flipped cosmic drama into grotesque parody. Marvel’s horror run turned strategy into appetite, and fans lined up for more. Written by Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead fame, the series became a bestseller. Extra perk? It inspired toys and sly MCU Easter eggs.
The MARVEL zOMNIBUS is BACK! by Gem Mint Collectibles
Anwen Bakian
Introduced during Secret Wars in 2015, Anwen Bakian wielded the Death Stone, a one-off counterpart to the Infinity Gems. With it, she obliterated Thanos in a single blow. The stone never returned to core continuity, serving more as a dramatic flourish than a lasting change.
Revisiting SECRET WARS 2015 by Jonathan Hickman by Gem Mint Collectibles
Anwen Bakian (Cont.)
Her strike brought the story’s climax to a close by ending Thanos for that arc alone. Marvel framed it as proof that even newcomers could carry cosmic weight. When the finale reset the Gems, the tale folded neatly into the 2015 reboot, which left the Bakian family absent thereafter.
The SECRET WARS Omnibus by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus | Marvel Comics by Gem Mint Collectibles
Gamora
In Infinity Wars Prime (2018), Thanos thought he would dominate the story, but Gamora surprised everyone. She was disguised as Requiem, a masked identity she adopted to hide her plan. With one strike, she beheaded him. Artist Mike Deodato Jr staged the scene for maximum shock, and the entire event began there.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Gamora (Cont.)
That moment recast Gamora as more than a Guardian—it made her a cosmic anti-hero, charting her own path. With Thanos gone, the focus shifted to her choices and the weight of her father’s legacy. Fans debated the permanence of the kill, though Marvel eventually brought him back.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Squirrel Girl
In 2005, a lighthearted holiday comic showed Squirrel Girl defeating Thanos with her army of squirrels. Uatu the Watcher appeared and said it was the real Thanos, not an illusion. Later, She-Hulk Vol. 2 #13 noted clones existed, adding playful doubt without erasing the original win.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl OHC Deluxe Edition Vol 1 Review by COMICSNCULTURE
Squirrel Girl (Cont.)
What started as a gag transformed into legend. Marvel doubled down by making her the hero who could beat anyone. Fans adored the impossibility, and sales of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl kept the joke alive. Her Thanos win later fueled toys and endless convention chatter.
Doctor Doom
The 2015 Secret Wars comic gave Doctor Doom supreme control over Battleworld, a stitched-together planet of fragments. Thanos, cocky but lacking his Infinity Gauntlet, stepped forward. Doom ended the encounter instantly by ripping out his bones. Writer Jonathan Hickman scripted the shock to rattle readers.
Secret Wars #1 - MARVEL COMICS - REVIEW by PixelTalk
Doctor Doom (Cont.)
Doom’s quick destruction of Thanos made his authority absolute on Battleworld. It also revealed Thanos’s arrogance when stripped of his famous glove. Although Thanos came back once the story ended, fans continue to argue whether it was Doom’s real strength or only his borrowed powers that made it possible.
Thane
Thane, the secret son of Thanos, once gained the Amber of Living Death—a power that traps victims in endless torment. After the Infinity storyline, he used it on his father by freezing him between life and death. Ebony Maw, a manipulative ally, led this betrayal.
Thane (Cont.)
Thanos’s defeat in Infinity #6 also showed Thane’s power. The amber prison left the Titan alive but immobilized, marking a rare moment where he was truly helpless. Later comics freed him by confirming the storyline centered on Thane’s potential rather than lasting cosmic change.
Infinity Part 1: Comic Book Review #44 by Comic Book Corner 2.0
Nebula
Thanos once had absolute control thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove that makes its wearer godlike. In Infinity Gauntlet (1991), he left his body exposed. Nebula, his abused daughter, struck fast—stealing the glove. Adam Warlock later took it to keep reality from breaking apart.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Nebula (Cont.)
Nebula’s short hold on the Gauntlet uncovered the drive that defined her character. That betrayal became her most significant moment, one that changed her future direction. Both comics and Marvel movies leaned on this rivalry and moved her from a background figure into a headline role.
Marvel Comics Review: The Infinity Gauntlet Deluxe Edition by Graphic Policy
Death
Lady Death, a cosmic figure who personifies the end of life, once cursed Thanos in 2016’s Thanos comic. The illness stripped his invincibility and left him vulnerable. This storyline highlighted their toxic connection while reminding readers that Death herself doesn’t answer to him.
Thanos #1 Comic Review - Short Stack by Comic Plunder
Death (Cont.)
By turning against Thanos, Death became more than his obsession—she became his undoing. The story leaned on myths where love is never answered. Her quiet appearances only heightened her eerie mystique, which left fans to wonder if she’d ever reveal her true intentions.
Thanos #1: Thanos Returns! by Comic Book Weekly
