Magneto vs. Thanos: Who Is More Powerful & Who Would Win?

Magneto and Thanos are two of the most iconic villains in the Marvel Universe. Both are incredibly powerful, with abilities that reach almost the realm of the godlike. Thanos, the Mad Titan, is known for his destructive energy-manipulating abilities and indomitable physique. Magneto, the Master of Magnetism, is known to be among the most powerful mutants to ever walk the earth. With everything said, if it ever came to a battle between Thanos and Magneto, who would be more powerful, and who would win? 

Thanos would win in a battle against Magneto. He is not the more powerful of the two; however, he is the stronger one. Due to his physiology Thanos can tank incredible amounts of damage and has mostly walked away unharmed from being damaged by the mightiest cosmic beings n the Marvel Universe. Magneto, on the other hand, is a human, so his powers and abilities largely rely on his physical state. Magneto can’t keep up with Thanos, and Thanos would eventually outlasts him in a battle. Magneto has nothing to finish off Thanos since we’re not quite sure whether Magneto would be able to manipulate Thanos’ gear and affect him on a molecular level. 

Now that we’ve covered that Thanos would eventually deal with Magneto, it’s time to see why. The key to understanding this unique matchup is to analyze the powers and abilities of both characters so you can see why we came to our conclusion. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Powers and abilities

Thanos is an Eternal / Deviant hybrid, making him the most powerful specimen of his species. He has vast physical, mental, and energy-manipulating powers beyond most other characters’ scope. Due to this, he is known to be among the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics. 

Thanos possesses vast mystical abilities and is quite versatile when it comes to using them. He can project concussive force, infrared heat beams, and disruptor beams from his eyes. He can also form powerful energy shields, barriers, and force fields, capable of knocking down the likes of the Hulk and Thor and defeating multiple Silver Surfer incarnations with a single blast. He could also graze Galactus’ armor and blast the Devourer of Worlds off his feet. 

Thanos likewise excels when it comes to telepathy, and he has demonstrated on numerous occasions that he can, to some extent, manipulate matter. He is quite a powerful magic user, and on several occasions, he showed that he could control elements decently. And these are all powers without the Infinity Gauntlet taken into account. 

Magneto is known to be among the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe. He is classified as an Omega-Level mutant, and his powers are considered to be planet-breaking. Magneto possesses complete control over all forms of magnetism, allowing him to manipulate any metal to induce a variety of effects.

He can manipulate an entire planet’s electromagnetic field, move mountains, change the course of rivers, and threaten to devastate the world with floods and earthquakes. Magneto’s power is comparable to that of Phoenix, and he can simultaneously use his magnetic abilities in more than one way. 

Magneto is known to be able to create incredibly potent forcefields capable of withstanding damage from Thor, Hercules, She-Hulk, Iron Man, Dr. Doom, and other superpowered characters in the comics. With his magnetism control, he can utilize his powers in a variety of defensive ways, including creating magnetic armor.

When it comes to offense, Magneto is capable of destroying the organism from the inside with his matter-control or simply disintegrating it with his powerful blasts of magnetic rays. He also has some control over electromagnetic spectrum manipulation and can potentially manipulate gravity. 

With everything said, it’s clear that both Magnet and Thanos are powerhouses with incredible abilities. It’s not that often that Thanos loses in this category, but alas, it happened. In terms of powers and abilities, Magneto’s powers are so encompassing and can be used for such a variety of effects that we can’t help but give the first point to him. 

Points: Thanos (0:1) Magneto

Strength and stamina 

Due to his advanced Eternal / Deviant physiology, Thanos can lift up to 100 tons and possibly beyond since the full scope of his physical strength is not exactly understood well. He can count himself among the physically strongest characters in the Marvel Universe.

Thanos is stronger than an average Eternal and far stronger than your average superpowered being in the Marvel Universe. His physiology likewise affords him incredible levels of stamina. Thanos is highly resistant to fatigue toxins, and he can fight for a long time at maximum capacity without getting tired or feeling the effects of fatigue. 

Thanos’ great strength translates well to combat, as his hits can devastate even the most durable beings. 

Through his magnetism, Magneto can control extremely heavy objects. He can levitate them, bend them, crash them. In short, he doesn’t have to rely on his physical strength most of the time, which is good since his physical strength is lacking at best. Magneto can lift around 190 lbs, which is to say, he can lift his own body weight. At the end of the day, he is a human, and his mutant genes do not extend to an enhanced body.

Magneto likewise has limited stamina. He can drain himself by using his powers at full scope rather quickly, which can lead to a loss of control over his powers or, simply, can lead to him not being able to utilize them. 

Thanos is clearly more battle-ready than Magneto in the physical sense in that case. The point goes to Thanos. 

Points: Thanos (1:1) Magneto

Speed

 Thanos can fly, teleport, and open various portals. He was known to be able to reach speeds above the speed of light; however, usually, Thanos’ speed is capped at 700 miles per hour, which makes him rather slow. In combat, he has enhanced reflexes, agility, and reaction speeds, and this is where he excels, as he can deliver lightning-fast punches, kicks, and slashes. 

Magneto, like Thanos, is able to fly and even astrally project in terms of movement speed, and flying Magneto is faster as he can reach orbital velocity speeds. This is mostly due to his manipulating the earth’s magnetic field and gravity. Magneto interfaces with magnetic field lines in his immediate surroundings rather than along it.

In terms of combat speeds, however, Magneto doesn’t have enhanced reflexes, agility, and reaction times, and here, currently, were not interested in how fast he can run away from a fight but rather how fast during the fight he is. Magneto would levitate for a good portion of the fight, but as soon as his powers weaken, he would be forced to land. 

This point goes to Thanos. 

Points: Thanos (2:1) Magneto

Durability

Thanos is one extremely durable character who, on several occasions, proved impossible to kill. This is partly due to his Eternal / Deviant physiology and party due to his extreme healing factor that can repair even the most severe damage imaginable. He has withstood, at point-blank range, planet-destroying attacks without any harm, dealt to him by the likes of Odin, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Black Bolt, and the other similar powerhouses from the Marvel Universe. 

Thanos’ skin is extremely durable and extremely hard to pierce. Thanos is likewise considered to be immortal in a sense because Death barred him from dying. Even if someone manages to kill Thanos, it’s only a question of time when he will return. 

Magneto can conjure up extreme force fields and magnetic armor, but this is pretty much it in terms of defense. He is limited by his human physiology and is known to be a glass canon. His offensive abilities are insane, but when it comes to his own physiological durability, without the help of his powers, he is easy to deal with.  

Points: Thanos (3:1) Magneto

Intelligence

Thanos is among the smartest characters in the Marvel comics. Despite his brawler status, Thanos can boast a super genius level of intelligence. He is cold, calculating, analytical, and an incredible planner. His millennia of experience fighting made him a perfect warlord and quite knowledgeable about different strategies and tactics, but his intelligence is what makes him feared and abhorred all over the Universe. Thanos had made plenty of discoveries and inventions over the years, and he figured out how to unlock Universe’s darkest secrets. 

Magneto is likewise one of the brightest minds in the Universe. He is classified as a genius per official sources. Magneto achieved impressive scientific feats, including creating artificial living beings, mutated humans with superhuman abilities, and genetically mind-controlled individuals. He has also developed advanced technology, such as magnetically-powered aircraft and spacecraft, robots, and machines that can neutralize mutant powers. 

Even though both Magneto and Thanos are incredibly intelligent, Thanos utilizes his intellect more often in the comics, especially when it comes to preparing various strategies to deal with his enemies. This point goes to him. 

Points: Thanos (4:1) Magneto

Combat Skills 

Thanos doesn’t have to stoop to using his physical abilities often due to the various destructive powers he has at his disposal, but he is known to be among the greatest armed and unarmed fighters in the Marvel comics. This is because he started training at a really early age and has millennia of experience fighting.

Magneto can hold his ground in a fistfight despite being a physical inferior. He has decades of fighting experience and can face some of the greatest Avengers in combat. He also regularly uses his powers to enhance his combat skills. 

Points: Thanos (5:2) Magneto

Thanos vs. Magneto: which supervillain would win in a fight? 

As you can see by analysis, even though Magneto is technically more powerful than Thanos, in theory, at least, he is not stronger than him and would most likely lose in the fight against Thanos. Most of the arguments supporting Magneto’s victory revolve around the fact that Magneto could imprison Thanos in some kind of metal prison or simply blast him with his magnetic rays.

People often forget that Thanos can endure these kinds of attacks for hours, days, maybe even weeks, while Magneto cannot afford to keep throwing everything in his arsenal at Thanos. As the hours pass and Magneto keeps his using his powers at their full potential, he gets weaker and weaker until he is forced to descend to the ground, and Thanos obliterates him. 

It wouldn’t be an easy fight, but Thanos would eventually outlast Magneto due to his physical advantages. Thanos wins.