Kang vs. Thanos: Who Wins in the MCU?

MCU’s Phase 5 is officially starting with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The movie will likewise introduce us to the new primary villain in the MCU, Kang the Conqueror. We’ve all seen the trailer, and we’ve all witnessed the blast of powerful energy that Kang managed to conjure up. But what are his usual powers? Now would be an appropriate time to compare Kang with the most notable villain the MCU has seen so far, Thanos. Now at this moment, we aren’t completely sure what kind of powers and abilities Kang will even have in the MCU, but we can draw a lot from his comic book history. Having said that, if it comes to a battle between Kang the Conqueror and Thanos in the MCU, who wins? 

Thanos wins against Kang the Conqueror in the MCU with and without Infinity Gauntlet. His Titan physiology makes him stronger, faster, and more durable, and he is the more talented and skilled fighter of the two. If both of them had access to their main sources of powers, Kang his suit and Thanos his Infinity Gauntlet, this doesn’t change much for either of them. Thanos is, with his various manipulative powers and abilities that affect reality itself, still more powerful than Kang the Conqueror.

Now that we’ve covered that Thanos is still the top dog of notable MCU villains, it’s time to analyze exactly why. We’re going to give you a brief overview of the powers and abilities of both villains, and by the end of this post, you should have a clearer picture of which villain is superior. If you’re interested, stay with us and keep reading!

Powers and abilities

Nathaniel Richards, aka Kang the Conqueror, doesn’t have any special powers or abilities in the comics. He was a brilliant scientist living in the 31st century that managed to discover the existence of multiverses, and he used to opportunity to pillage both the past and the future and to mess with the timelines. He is the reason why Time Variance Authority was established. Now, primarily we can see that Kang the Conqueror has access to time-traveling and has the powers to manipulate time and space, although we can’t be sure to what extent. 

The main brunt of Kang’s powers and abilities lies in his powerful armor or suit, whatever you want to call it. It’s from the 40th century, meaning that it’s far more powerful than any piece of tech anybody in the MCU currently has. 

Kang’s armor gives him the ability to perform powerful energy blasts, open portals at will, use telekinetic force, and manipulate-space time to a larger extent.  

Now, let’s compare this to Thanos, and we’re going to allow him to have his most powerful piece of equipment in the MCU as well, the Infinity Gauntlet. Having access to two stones made Thanos the strongest being in the Universe – this was a comment made by Bruce Banner. Gamora, on the other hand, commented that Thanos with three stones equals a threat they cannot stop. In the end, Thanos had access to all six stones. 

All six stones gave Thanos the command over reality itself. He was capable of time manipulation, energy projection, and manipulation, spatial manipulation. Even something intangible as the soul, Thanos could manipulate due to his access to the Soul stone. He unlocked near-omnipotence by having all six stones, and he managed to snap half of Universe’s life from existence with the mere snap of his finger. I can’t really think of a feat more deadly and more destructive than this. 

It’s clear that whatever Kang can do, Thanos can do better. And while we still didn’t see the extent of Kang’s powers in the MCU, we can safely say that for now, Thanos wins this round. 

Points: Kang the Conqueror (0:1) Thanos

Strength and Stamina 

Kang uses his armor to enhance his human physiology, and while wearing it, he is capable of lifting up to 5 tons. It’s an unimaginable strength when it comes to human beings. And something that could wipe from the competition most other superhumans in the MCU. Due to his suit, he likewise has access to superhuman reserves of stamina, meaning that he won’t tire as easily.  

Thanos, on the other hand, doesn’t need special equipment, at least when it comes to physical feats. His Titan physiology makes him incredibly strong and capable of lifting up to 100 tons. Even in the MCU, Thanos displayed incredible strength feats, such as snapping Loki’s neck with one hand, crushing Tesseract, and overpowering Hulk. Thanos’ strength is simply in another league, and no level of tech can emulate that. 

His unique physiology likewise gives him access to near-unlimited reserves of stamina, meaning that Thanos can endlessly fight without tiring himself. 

With everything said, it’s clear that Thanos is physically stronger than Kang. 

Points: Kang the Conqueror (0:2) Thanos

Speed

We’re not sure how fast Kang would be in the MCU, but his armor (at least in the comics) gives him increased speed. He is also capable of teleportation, so when it comes to traversing large distances, he can always rely on his teleporter. Combat speeds are another matter, and when it comes to that, he is inferior. 

Thanos is capable of moving at great speeds despite his bulky size. He also had vastly enhanced reflexes, as we’ve seen in the MCU when he managed to react quickly to most attacks. He was seen catching Thor off guard, evading all of Hulk’s blows, and he demonstrated incredible agility even when fighting against far smaller opponents. Even with his special armor, Kang is simply not fast enough to keep pace with Thanos. He cannot possibly hope to evade Thano’s blows and catch him off guard to land one himself. Thanos is far faster than Kang. 

Points: Kang the Conqueror (0:3) Thanos

Durability

Kang, protected by his 40th-century armor, is far more durable than the average human being and can probably withstand massive blows without getting harmed himself. He is also practically immortal due to his time manipulation abilities. As a human from the 31st century, he ages much more slowly than the average human from our own time, and thus his abilities to withstand damage, toxins, poisons, and diseases are increased. He can never hope to stand up to Thanos, however. 

The main argument in favor of Thanos’ near-invulnerability is that he managed to wield Infinity Gauntlet without any serious consequences. Power stone that has the ability to destroy anything organic merely burned his hand. Thanos was also seen shrugging off attacks from the likes of Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Dr. Strange, and Scarlet Witch.

This means that seemingly no amount of weapons, energy-based attacks, magic-based attacks, flying debris, and other projectile weapons could harm him and keep him down for longer than a nanosecond. Thanos is among the most durable beings in the MCU, especially with his superfast healing factor, and there’s hardly anything that Kang can throw at him that he wouldn’t recover from fairly quickly. 

Points: Kang the Conqueror (0:4) Thanos

Intelligence

Now, this is a category where Thanos likely met his equal, as Kang is known to be a “genius of the highest caliber.” He discovered time travel, learned how to utilize the Time Chair, discovered the existence of the Multiverse, and was skilled and tactical enough to survive the Multiversal War. He is a physicist in the 31st century and has vast knowledge that no one from our timeline has access to. And speaking of inaccessible knowledge, his time-traveling abilities unlocked certain forgotten knowledge from the past. 

Since his birth, Thanos was hailed among the smartest of his kind, if not the smartest. His genius-level intellect allowed him to predict that Titan was about to be demolished by overpopulation. And it’s not the only thing that he managed to predict due to his perceptive ability and ruthless calculations. Thanos relies on his intellect and perceptive abilities to judge the character of everyone around him.

He uses his analytical skills to locate all six infinity stones. He is a manipulator and genius, and his tactical abilities are unparalleled. His emotional intelligence allows him to recognize lies and deception. He could see right through Loki’s schemes and right through Gamora’s lies.  

Despite Thanos probably being smarter between the two, both get the point simply because Kang unlocked almost all of his powers through intelligence alone. 

Points: Kang the Conqueror (1:5) Thanos

Combat Skills 

Kang the Conqueror can be considered to be a master combatant. He has incredible knowledge and skills in both armed and unarmed combat, and his armor-enhanced physiology allows him to be a formidable opponent. At least in the comics, for the MCU, we are yet to see his feats. 

Thanos is likewise a master combatant, but on a cosmic scale, and has far more experience and far more fighting styles at his disposal. Thanos mastered armed combat, he is frequently seen unleashing great destruction with his double-edged sword, and he managed to overpower some of the best martial artists that the MCU has to offer.

Thanos managed to obliterate Hulk in unarmed combat. He quickly countered and disabled Black Panther. It’s hard to go against Thanos while he’s unarmed, but in bladed combat, he is practically impossible to stop. This point goes to Thanos.

Points: Kang the Conqueror (1:6) Thanos

Kang the Conqueror vs. Thanos: Who wins in the MCU 

We don’t know the full extent of Kang’s powers in the MCU yet, but from what we’ve seen in the comics, Kang is simply not strong enough or powerful enough to hold his ground against Thanos. Despite his impressive reality-altering abilities and his cutting-edge armor, he really doesn’t have anything to go against Thanos. Thanos, without the Infinity Gauntlet, vastly overpowers him when it comes to physical strength, speed, and durability. Armed with Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos gains control over all powers that Kang has, but on a much larger scale. Ultimately Thanos wins in every scenario.