KMC Forums - Thanos VS Tyrant scans

quote: (post)
Originally posted by long pig
How is Thanos able to stand up to people as powerful as Tyrant and Odin and such?

His durability is closer to Juggernauts than Supermans it seems.

Thanos' durability is perhaps his greatest physical asset. Before his resurrection at the hands of Mistress Death, Thanos was an extremely tough nut to crack. He once fought the Magus to a standstill, and displayed no injuries after being knocked down. In a later battle, he withstood the combined assault of the Thing and Thor with no apparent injury. His durability is somewhat abnormal among Titanian Eternals, but not unique among Earth Eternals. The HBOTMU Book of the Dead openly states that Thanos had increased his own innate durability to a level exceeding even that of the deceased Zuras, former leader of the Earth Eternals, and the mightiest of their race. Since Thanos, for all intents and purposes, possesses most of the traits associated with Earth Eternals as opposed to the Titans, for reasons of clarification I will refer to those Eternals who possess the cosmic life-force as Cosmic Eternals. Thanos obviously fits into this category.
Upon being returned to the realm of the living by Death, Thanos was the recipient of a new version of his previous body. This new body is said to possess even more might than his original. Like most cosmic Eternals, Thanos needs no air, food or water to survive. He is unaffected by exposure to a hard vacuum, and most extremes of temperature. It is unknown exactly how much effort it would have taken to truly injure Thanos' new body, but the effort would have to be immense. Thanos withstood a major thrashing at the hands of Odin, ruler of the Norse Gods. The battle between them wrecked a fair portion of the city of Asgard, and Thanos seemingly received a few bumps and bruises over the course of the fight. The difficulty with which he rose to his feet right before the fight was stopped, however, indicates he may have acquired more serious injuries then could be detected with a cursory glance. However, after a few minutes he appeared as healthy as usual.
This is, of course, a trait common to most cosmic Eternals, as they have
the ability to control the molecules of their own body to the point where they are invulnerable to conventional injury. Whatever injuries Thanos
had sustained had been healed within a few scant minutes after the battle had concluded.

A later tussle with the Galactus-spawned Tyrant again showcased Thanos' remarkable durability. Thanos managed to withstand a prolonged battle with this ultra-powerful being, who had shrugged off the combined assault of the Silver Surfer, Beta-Ray Bill, Terrax, Ganymede, Jack of Hearts, Morg, and Gladiator. At the climax of the battle, Tyrant generated an energy discharge so potent that it atomized a fair portion of his fortress. However, much to Tyrant's surprise, Thanos climbed free of the glassy earth virtually unharmed.

Truly, Thanos is indeed one of the most durable physical beings in the known universe. However, things changed drastically when mistress Death banned him from ever again entering her realm, making him immortal. Such a decree was a curse to Thanos, who's only real desire had been to be at Death's side.

A similar condition was extended to the Elders of the Universe. Recently they were banned from entering Death's realm by any means, and could not be killed. Even after being atomized and devoured by Galactus, the Elders survived. They immediately reformed inside Galactus, and nearly killed him before being removed.

Of course, in his more recent appearances it seems that Thanos and Death are once again on "good" terms, and statements he has made a few times during these appearances confirm that he could once again be killed. But again, it would take a LOT to kill Thanos, as the previous examples have shown.

Note: It has been theorized that Thanos can tap into his reserves of cosmic energy to increase his durability even further. While it has not been proven, several incidents have shown evidence for this claim. Chief among these examples is the battle he waged against a doppelganger of himself, created by the Magus ( 'Warlock and the Infinity Watch' #9 ). At the climax of this battle, Thanos appeared to supercharge his strength and durability with a nimbus of cosmic energy.