7 Most Powerful Marvel Characters Killed By Thanos

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Thanos is considered one of Marvel’s most compelling villains. He first appeared in the 1970s in an issue of Iron Man and quickly became a major threat in the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. He fought powerful heroes like Captain Marvel, Adam Warlock, and Silver Surfer, and his obsession with Mistress Death highlighted his belief that life is meaningless. While he’s become known for seeking powerful weapons to eliminate half of all life in the universe for Death’s sake, there’s a lot more depth to his character. Over time, Thanos has been the central villain in major Marvel storylines, starred in his own comic book series, and gained even wider recognition thanks to his appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thanos is famous for being incredibly dangerous, even wiping out entire planets in his quest for power. To emphasize just how powerful he is, Marvel has had him defeat and kill many well-known heroes, demonstrating the extent of his threat. Here are seven of the most powerful Marvel characters Thanos has killed, solidifying his reputation as one of the most deadly beings in the universe.

7) Quasar

Quasar, though once an Avenger, never quite became a well-known hero, but he’s incredibly powerful. His power comes from the Quantum Bands, which function similarly to a Green Lantern ring. These bands let him travel faster than light, build objects out of energy, and connect with powerful cosmic entities – originally Eon, and now Epoch, who took over as his guide. He was a strong cosmic hero, but tragically, Thanos killed him during the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. Thanos destroyed the Quantum Bands and then finished Quasar off with energy blasts from his eyes.

6) Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch is poised to become the Sorcerer Supreme and is consistently one of Marvel’s strongest heroes. While incredibly powerful with her reality-bending and magical skills, she can also be vulnerable. Thanos has defeated her multiple times, most famously in Infinity Gauntlet, where he redirected her own energy blasts and used them to destroy her. This happened back in 1991, before Wanda had fully developed her current reality-altering abilities, but even then, she was a formidable opponent, making the event particularly impactful.

5) Sersi

Over the years, the Avengers have included many powerful heroes, but Sersi stands out as one of the most formidable. As an Eternal, she possesses incredible strength, speed, and agility, can control cosmic energy, is nearly indestructible, and can fly. She also has limited telepathic abilities. What truly sets her apart, though, is her ability to alter matter – to change anything into anything else. She’s a powerhouse of cosmic energy with complete control over the materials around her, making her exceptionally powerful. Despite this, her death during Thanos’ Snap was surprisingly unremarkable. She simply vanished before Captain America, and Thanos wasn’t even aware he’d killed her.

4) Namor

Namor is Marvel’s original antihero and one of its most powerful mutants. As king of Atlantis, he possesses incredible strength, speed, can withstand almost any attack, and can fly. He’s powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with even the strongest Avengers teams. A true powerhouse, Namor often walks the line between good and evil based on his own whims. Both heroes and villains respect and fear him, but he was easily defeated by Thanos during the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. Namor managed to land a couple of blows, but Thanos simply touched his chest during the second attack, causing a rapidly growing, deadly fungus to overwhelm and suffocate him.

3) She-Hulk

She-Hulk is incredibly powerful, but often overlooked. Like her cousin the Hulk, she received her powers from gamma radiation through a blood transfusion, giving her immense strength, invulnerability, and a rapid healing ability. She’s even become immortal thanks to the Green Door. While she shares the Hulk’s potential for limitless strength, she’s generally better at controlling her emotions, which keeps her power levels lower. Although Thanos fears the Hulk, he showed far less concern for She-Hulk, as demonstrated in Infinity Gauntlet. She fought alongside Namor and met the same fate – being killed by the Mad Titan’s touch, which caused a deadly fungus to rapidly spread across her body.

2) Thor

Thor is one of Marvel’s strongest heroes, with incredible powers amplified by his hammer, Mjolnir. Despite his strength, Thanos has consistently defeated him, even when Thor was at his peak – like during ‘Warrior Madness’ when his power tripled, or in the ‘Blood and Thunder’ storyline (a classic from the 1990s). Thanos has even killed Thor in stories such as Infinity Gauntlet, where he turned him into glass and shattered him, and in ‘Thanos Wins,’ which depicted a future where Thanos eliminated all life on Earth, including Thor. While Thor can battle the Mad Titan effectively, Thanos generally prevails.

1) Iron Man

While Iron Man isn’t the strongest hero in the Marvel Universe, he’s still incredibly powerful. His advanced suits of armor are a major threat, and his intelligence allows him to constantly invent new weapons and tactics. He’s a remarkable hero, and was the first to confront Thanos. However, Thanos has killed him repeatedly over the years. In Infinity Gauntlet, Iron Man was decapitated by Terraxia, a being created by Thanos – I consider this a death by Thanos’s hand since Terraxia wasn’t truly independent. But his most brutal defeat came in “Thanos Wins,” where the Eternal Titan ripped him in half.

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2025-11-29 20:19