Thanos is without a doubt the most powerful villain that the Avengers have ever faced. At the start of Infinity War, the Mad Titan shows just how much of a step up he is from the superhero team’s usual villains when he kills Loki, who was the antagonist of the first Avengers film, with little to no effort.
In fact, to date, Thanos is the only MCU villain that required not one but two movies to beat. Using the power of the Infinity Stones, which he channeled through his infamous gauntlet, he was able to erase half of all life in the universe using only the snap of his fingers. At his prime, Thanos was so powerful that the Avengers actually needed to go back in time (sort of) in order to beat him.
As if the Mad Titan from the movies wasn’t strong or scary enough on his own, though, the comics have just taken things up another notch. In Thor #6, the villain reveals that he’s no longer using a gauntlet to channel the power of the Infinity Stones, but rather a hammer. Yes, you heard that right: he has a weapon that can put both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker to shame.
In the comics, Thor is shown a vision of his own death. And that vision, readers discovered, was Thanos wielding an Infinity Hammer leading an army of undead superheroes.
It looks like the comics are setting this vision up to be the main event of the series. Could the movies follow a similar trajectory, though? Perhaps, Thanos is – after all – expected to return in some shape or form soon. And if he does, a power upgrade could certainly be in order.