How Powerful Doctor Doom Is, Compared To Thanos

One of the most powerful antagonists in the Marvel Universe is Doctor Doom, and this will probably remain the case after his MCU appearance. Supervillain Victor von Doom frequently varies his strength levels according to the situation. It's intriguing to observe how he naturally stacks up against Thanos, who is unquestionably the largest and most formidable adversary in the MCU.

Thanos the Mad Titan, the main antagonist of the MCU's Infinity Saga, is introduced in the majority of the Marvel films that were released between 2008 and 2019. He wants to acquire all six Infinity Stones in order to "balance" and preserve the universe by wiping out half of all life. Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., is now probably being set up to be the last antagonist of the ongoing Multiverse Saga. Here are the usual power rankings for Doctor Doom and how he stacks up against Thanos.

Doom's power levels have never been as high as Thanos

On paper, Thanos has always been stronger and more powerful than Doctor Doom, and this will probably be the case on screen as well. Long before he obtained the Infinity Gauntlet and the six Infinity Stones, Thanos, who was born on the planet Titan, was shown to be a powerful and terrifying character. After all, at the start of 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos used just his bare hands and physical power to defeat and incapacitate the Incredible Hulk.

Similar to this, Thanos is a formidable fighter and unyielding conqueror who commanded a variety of armies when he was still dividing the galaxy's population in half, one planet at a time. Similarly, in the comics, Doctor Doom controls the whole country of Latveria as a dictator, with legions of his own Doombots and an abundance of resources at his disposal. Nevertheless, Doctor Doom is not quite as powerful as Thanos by nature.

In the end, Thanos was born with much more strength and ability because of his Titan physiology, whereas Doctor Doom was born a mere man of Earth. Nevertheless, Doctor Doom's real strength is found in his icy ambition and sharp intellect. As a result, Victor von Doom is constantly trying to use magic and science to gain more power in the comics, and it seems likely that this will also be the case in the MCU.

Because of his magic, Doom is still able to defeat Thanos.

Assuming that the Mad Titan lacks the Infinity Gauntlet and the necessary stones, Doctor Doom's sorcery skills are probably his greatest chance of defeating Thanos at battle. It seems that Thanos was most susceptible to magic, as demonstrated in the MCU. One of the earliest instances is in Avengers: Infinity War, where Thanos uses the Infinity Stones to restore control after Doctor Strange almost imprisons and incapacitates the Mad Titan.

Before deciding to give up the Time Stone, Doctor Strange was ultimately one of the final Avengers still present on Titan. After all, Strange understood that it was the only way to ultimately beat Thanos in Endgame since he could see into the future. In light of this, Avengers: Endgame itself offered yet another excellent illustration of how The Scarlet Witch's abilities almost defeated Thanos. In order to escape Wanda Maximoff and her debilitating chaos magic during the Battle for Earth, Thanos had to have his vessel fire down on his own soldiers.

Therefore, it makes sense that Doctor Doom's greatest opportunity to defeat Thanos would be his magical prowess as a skilled sorcerer. Even the Sorcerer Supreme in the MCU couldn't completely stop a Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet, so this would still be a difficult battle. Furthermore, under the correct conditions, Doctor Doom's technical prowess and magical abilities might be sufficient to push his might over the edge and make the combat fair.

How Doctor Doom Beat Thanos In The Comics

Interestingly, Doctor Doom executed Thanos with sound and brutality in the 2015 crossover of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić's Secret Wars comics. Similarly, the conditions were more than favorable for Doom. Only Doctor Doom's efforts are able to rescue bits of several dying realities and fuse them into Battleworld, a patchwork reality where Doom governs as "God Emperor" when the multiverse starts to collapse in Secret Wars.

Doom's daring move of stealing the Beyonders' almighty power through Molecule Man led to his becoming the savior of existence. He managed to preserve fragments of the multiverse, but he effectively made everything that was left bend the knee as well. Two lifeboats of heroes and villains, however, managed to save themselves without Doom's assistance, indicating that they were not as thoroughly brainwashed by his influence and were able to recall their prior reality. Among them was Thanos, who immediately opposed the reign of God Emperor Doom. Nevertheless, despite not having the Infinity Gauntlet at his disposal, Thanos greatly underestimates the entire scope of Doom's divine might.

The Mad Titan demands that Doom bend before him after condemning how he had been using his godly might in contrast to Thanos, who thought Doom used the Gauntlet with the same kind of strength that a deity should. But Doom responds by merely tearing Thanos' spine and skull from his body—a ruthless murder that apparently takes very little work. In light of this, this is a highly uncommon and remarkable instance in the comics where Doctor Doom was significantly outclassed, enabling him to effectively defeat Thanos.

It's possible that the MCU's Doctor Doom will eventually surpass Thanos in power, depending on how true 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars is to the original. But a battle with the MCU's Mad Titan would be difficult given Doom's usual strength levels. In any case, it will be interesting to see what kind of Doctor Doom the MCU offers when Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal finally makes its debut in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 (or possibly earlier with a potential appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps in 2025).