How Powerful Doctor Doom Is, Compared To Thanos

Doctor Doom is one of the most formidable villains in the Marvel Universe, and the same will likely be true once he makes his debut in the MCU. Victor von Doom is a supervillain whose power levels often fluctuate depending on circumstance. However, it is interesting to see where he inherently ranks compared to Thanos, objectively the MCU's biggest villain and one of its most powerful.

The overarching foe of the MCU's Infinity Saga, the bulk of the Marvel movies released between 2008-2019 set up Thanos the Mad Titan and his desire to claim all six Infinity Stones to "balance" and save the universe by erasing half of all life. Now, Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is likely being positioned to become the culminating villain of the current Multiverse Saga. To that end, here's where Doctor Doom's power levels typically rank, and how he compares to Thanos.

Thanos' Power Levels Have Always Been Greater Than Doom's

The Mad Titan Is Inherently Stronger And More Powerful

In terms of inherent strength and power, Thanos has always had the advantage over Doctor Doom on the page, and the same will likely be true on screen. Born on the planet Titan, it's been proven that Thanos was formidable and extremely dangerous long before he got his hands on the Infinity Gauntlet and all six Infinity Stones. After all, Thanos successfully incapacitated and brutally beat the Incredible Hulk at the beginning of 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, using nothing but his brute strength and bare hands.

Likewise, Thanos is also a skilled warrior and uncompromising conqueror, commanding all kinds of forces back when he was still halving populations across the galaxy, one planet at a time. Similarly, Doctor Doom rules as dictator over the entire nation of Latveria in the comics, commanding vast resources and armies of his very own Doombots at his disposal. That said, Doctor Doom on his own is hardly on the same inherent power level as Thanos.

At the end of the day, Doctor Doom was born a mortal man of Earth while Thanos was born with far greater strength and ability due to his Titan physiology. That said, Doctor Doom's brilliant intelligence and cold ambition are where his true power lies. As such, Victor von Doom is always looking to increase his power levels in the comics through various scientific and magical means, and the same will presumably be true in the MCU as well.

Doom's Sorcery Means He Can Still Go Up Against Thanos

Evening The Odds, But Still Very Challenging

Doctor Doom's magical ability as a sorcerer is likely the best way in which he would be able to stand a chance against Thanos (assuming the Mad Titan doesn't have the Infinity Gauntlet and the requisite stones). As seen in the MCU, magic appears to be where Thanos was most vulnerable. One of the first examples takes place in Avengers: Infinity War with Doctor Strange nearly having the Mad Titan bound and incapacitated before Thanos uses the Infinity Stones to regain the upper hand.

Ultimately, Doctor Strange was one of the last Avengers standing on Titan before choosing to give up the Time Stone. After all, Strange looked into the future and knew it was the only way to eventually defeat Thanos later on in Endgame. To that end, Avengers: Endgame itself provided another prime example where magic nearly took Thanos down at the hands of The Scarlet Witch. During the Battle for Earth, Thanos had to have his warship fire down on his own troops to free himself from Wanda Maximoff and her crippling chaos magic.

To that end, it stands to reason that Doctor Doom's magical ability as an accomplished sorcerer would be his best chance to take down Thanos. However, a Thanos armed with the Infinity Gauntlet would still make this a challenging conflict, as not even the Sorcerer Supreme could fully stop him in the MCU. Furthermore, perhaps a combination of Doctor Doom's magical ability and his scientific prowess would be enough to push his power over the line to make it a fair fight (under the right circumstances).

How Doctor Doom Beat Thanos In The Comics

Doom Had The Power Of A God (Secret Wars)

Interestingly enough, it was 2015's Secret Wars comics crossover by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić where Doctor Doom soundly and brutally killed Thanos. Likewise, the circumstances were more than primed in Doom's favor. In Secret Wars, the multiverse begins to collapse, and it's only through the efforts of Doctor Doom that fragments of multiple dying realities are saved and forged into Battleworld, a patchwork reality where Doom rules all as "God Emperor".

Doom becoming the savior of existence came from his bold act of stealing the omnipotent power of the Beyonders via Molecule Man. While he did save pieces of the multiverse, he essentially forced all that remained to bend the knee as well. That said, two lifeboats of heroes and villains saved themselves without Doom's help, meaning they were not similarly brainwashed by his power and remembered their preexisting realities. This included Thanos, who wasted no time challenging God Emperor Doom's rule. That said, Thanos massively underestimates the full extent of Doom's power as a god, even though he doesn't have the Infinity Gauntlet at his disposal.