The worlds of Marvel Comics and DC both have their own version of intergalactic tyrants that are hellbent on death and destruction. Marvel’s version is the Mad Titan named Thanos, while DC has an evil New God in the form of Darkseid. Of course, both Thanos and Darkseid have fought the main superhero groups of Marvel (Avengers) and DC (Justice League) multiple times while giving their members trouble. But if Thanos and Darkseid were to fight, who would win?
Darkseid is likely to win in a fight against Thanos, even if he is in the form of his avatar. That’s because Darkseid is so much stronger and has more powers and abilities when compared to Thanos. The only chance that Thanos has is if he fights an avatar while using the Infinity Gauntlet.
The thing about Darkseid is that he scales on a much higher level than a lot of Marvel villains, as he is actually on a tier slightly above Superman in DC. In that regard, he is an incredibly powerful villain that is much stronger than the Mad Titan. Of course, in his true form, he is so much more powerful. That said, let’s look at this battle in greater detail.
Strength
Thanos, due to his incredible physiology as a remarkably strong Eternal, is one of the strongest physical specimens in the world of Marvel Comics. The upper limits of his strength are not exactly known, but he has been able to contend with some of the physically strongest characters in Marvel Comics. We are talking about going toe-to-toe with the likes of Thor and the Hulk, who are two of the biggest guns that the Avengers have. In that regard, Thanos is indeed a strong character that could overpower any other powerhouse the good guys have to offer.
Darkseid is a New God, and that means that he is an incredibly strong character with a physiology that could match the strength of some of the most physically gifted characters in DC. Of course, we are talking about the likes of Superman, who Darkseid has been able to overpower more than a few times already. He can also contend with the strength of someone like Doomsday, whose display of strength rivals or even exceeds Superman’s own strength. And because he is the very embodiment of pure evil in the multiverse, his true form is far stronger than what his avatars have been able to show.
The truth is that Darkseid’s avatar is already strong enough to take down Superman, and that means that he is simply stronger than Thanos, whose strength probably isn’t close to Superman’s own strength, which is capable of moving planets and destroying moons.
Thanos 0, Darkseid 1
Durability
Thanos is one of the most durable characters in the entire Marvel Comics universe, as he can withstand some of the most powerful attacks that the Avengers can muster up. The fact that it usually takes the entire Avengers to take down Thanos is the only thing we need to know to understand just how durable and resilient he is. Of course, this is due to the fact that he does have a physiology that is quite impressive. In Marvel Comics, Thanos is now nigh-invulnerable, and that means that it is incredibly difficult to damage him.
Darkseid is one of the characters that are said to be quite invulnerable to damage as he can take punches and attacks from the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman without getting too damaged. Nevertheless, individual members of the Justice League, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, have been able to damage him a few times already. In fact, there was a point in time when Darkseid was defeated by Doomsday himself. Still, he is one of the most durable and resilient characters in DC.
If Darkseid used his true form, he should be invincible. However, if we are only talking about his avatar here, then Thanos has shown that he is more durable in his many encounters with superheroes and powerful entities alike.
Thanos 1, Darkseid 1
Speed
Despite his size, Thanos is deceptively fast due to the fact that he has very strong legs that allow him to move faster than most other characters in Marvel. However, Thanos was never fast enough to keep up with some of the fastest characters in his own universe, and that means that he isn’t really the quickest character. As such, characters with speeds that are greater than Thanos can speed-blitz him. Still, what we are sure of is that he is a lot faster than regular human beings and is quite agile for his size.
Darkseid is one of the fastest villains in the DC universe, even though he doesn’t really rely on his speed a lot. In fact, in his battle with Zeus, he was able to move so fast that Wonder Woman said that she had never seen a battle happening at the speed that they were fighting. Of course, Wonder Woman has seen her fair share of speedsters and is known to be quite fast herself. The fact that she was impressed by Darkseid’s speed is a testament to just how fast this large entity is.
Thanos is fast only when compared to human beings. But Darkseid is faster than Wonder Woman and could potentially move as fast as Superman. That means that he is one of the fastest villains in DC.
Thanos 1, Darkseid 2
Powers and Abilities
In most cases, we often look at Thanos as a brute that doesn’t have any powers or abilities. But that isn’t true because, even if he didn’t have the Infinity Gauntlet, he still has a host of different powers and abilities that he could use. In fact, he can project energy blasts with concussive effects that are strong enough to knock down someone like the Hulk. He can even form barriers using the mental link he has with his mystical chair. On top of that, Thanos has abilities like matter control and telepathy, although those abilities aren’t really top-tier in terms of how powerful they are.
Darkseid, as the very embodiment of evil, has a cosmic power called the Omega Effect, which is the source of most of his powers. As such, he can use the Omega Effect to produce his Omega Beams, which are able to home into a target and blast them with a power that is stronger than Superman’s heat vision and keep up with Speedsters. In fact, his Omega powers are strong enough to destroy entire planets. Darkseid is also capable of unassisted flight and has the power to manipulate gravity to a certain degree.
Yes, Thanos’s powers are impressive, but they pale in comparison to what the Omega Effect allows Darkseid to do. And we’re not even talking about Darkseid’s true form here.
Thanos 1, Darkseid 3
Alternate Forms
Thanos has almost always been associated with the Infinity Gauntlet, which allows him to control the Infinity Stones masterfully. As such, he has the power over some of the different aspects of the universe itself as the stones, when they are used all at once, can manipulate reality and even destroy, shape, and recreate the universe if he wants to. That is why Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet is one of the greatest threats that the Marvel Comics universe has ever seen, as he is basically a god.
Darkseid, in his true form, is actually a multiversal entity that exists in conjunction with all of the different universes of DC. The different versions of Darkseid that we see in the many different DC universes are actually just the avatars of the true Darkseid, which exists outside of any universe and is someone that is multiversal in terms of his threat level. In fact, Darkseid is the very embodiment of evil in the multiverse. As such, the true form of Darkseid is someone that can threaten all of the universes all at once, and that means that he is incredibly powerful.
While Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet is a universal threat that is more than enough to defeat an avatar of Darkseid, the true form of Darkseid exists well beyond the universe and is a multiversal threat. A threat to the multiverse is far more serious than a threat to the universe.
Thanos 1, Darkseid 4
Thanos vs. Darkseid: Who Wins?
As you can see, the only thing that Thanos has over Darkseid is his durability, and that’s because we are talking about Darkseid’s avatar instead of his true form. However, an avatar of Darkseid is already stronger and more powerful than Thanos. The only chance that Thanos has over Darkseid’s avatar is to use the Infinity Gauntlets because that is the only time he could match the power of a New God. However, Darkseid, in his true form, is an entity that is well beyond the confines of Thanos’s powers even if he had the Infinity Gauntlet, and that is why Darkseid is stronger than him.
