After the events of The Infinity Saga, one-upping the villain of Thanos might seem hard, and while Kang the Conqueror might do just that, which would win in a fight? Thanos was a universe-scale threat, not just because of the tools he was able to amass, but the brutal will with which they were used. The Snap left lasting marks that the MCU is still reeling from. 

But in the tradition of comics, there’s always a bigger fish, and the one they’ve chosen is Kang The Conqueror. Loki and Ant-Man: Quantumania have given a taste of the time-and-dimension-hopping villain, but how does he actually stack up against the reality-bending Titan? Is this actually an escalation in power? Would Thanos or Kang win in a fight?

Thanos’s Full MCU Powers & Abilities Explained

Standing at 6′7″ and weighing in at 985 lbs, it’s Thanos! Last son of the dead planet Titan, Thanos sports an impressive list of abilities. His Titan biology makes him denser and stronger than a human of the same build. But what does that actually look like? As of 2023 powerlifter Jimmy Kolb holds the world record for bench press at 1,350 lbs and weighs 326 lbs. At that ratio, Thanos could bench an astounding 4,078 pounds, over two tons. This physiology also gives him enhanced constitution. A study of elite boxer Frank Bruno showed that his punches hit with a force of 1,420lbs, and it’s assumed he can take a hit roughly equivalent. Using the same ratio as before, Thanos can punch and take a hit of 5,662 lbs, or roughly 200 times the force of gravity, and that’s before any augmentation. 

On the subject of augmentation, obviously the Infinity Stones must be mentioned. Each of the stones imparts a unique ability to whoever wields it. The Power Stone grants strength, enough for Thanos to beat down The Hulk without breaking a sweat. And that’s only considering physical prowess. Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality, all together grant the wielder literal omnipotence. Everything he can do with the various stones is well documented in Infinity War, culminating with him eliminating half of all life in the universe. 

And aside from his kit and constitution, Thanos has plenty more going for him. He’s a brilliant strategist and tactician with an intellect to rival the best of the Avengers, incredible skills with hand-to-hand combat, and multiple armies at his command. With or without his Gauntlet, The Mad Titan is a force to be reckoned with.

Kang The Conqueror’s Full MCU Powers & Abilities Explained

Standing at 6′3″ and weighing in at 230 lbs, Kang! At the outset, Kang is just a normal human, and his body can only do what a normal human body can. But just as it would be foolish to disregard Tony Stark because of his lack of powers, so too is Kang a serious threat. Just like Stark, his true strength is his mind.

If Thanos is smart, Kang is orders of magnitude smarter, being able to build himself a suit of neuro-kinetic armor granting him abilities rivaling the Infinity Gauntlet. He can react to attacks faster than human reflexes can, flick away hits that would crush a frail human body, generate force fields and directed energy blasts, and utilize telekinesis to name a few. 

If that’s impressive, his strategic acumen has one more treat in store: The Council of Kangs. Thanos has armies, but mostly droves of nameless, faceless goons. Kang has an army of…him. Where Thanos’ power and ambitions appear to stop at the 616 universe (aka the “main” Marvel Universe), Kang has amassed an infinite number of himself from across the multiverse, each one just as strong, just as smart as the last. And don’t forget that Loki established that multiple sets of Infinity Stones exist. They may not function inside the TVA, but they surely work somewhere, and if so, Kang can use them.

Would Kang Or Thanos Win Without Their Equipment?

In this round, everything is stacked towards Thanos. His superior size, strength, and constitution all work in his favor. True, Kang is the smarter of the two and can hold his own for a while, but he can’t last forever. Bruce Lee was famously asked who would win in a fight between him and Muhammad Ali. Lee, despite being the much more skilled fighter, said he wouldn’t stand a chance. He’s smaller, faster, knows more moves, and could hit Ali a hundred times before he could throw a single punch. But the issue isn’t who has more skills, but the specific skills. Ali was a boxer, and his training was in how to take a beating and hit like a truck. Sure Lee could hit him a hundred times, but Ali just needed to hit him once for the fight to be over.

The same is true here. Kang knows dozens of martial arts, knows strategy so complex even Thanos would reel at it, but it doesn’t matter all that much. All Thanos has to do is survive, take the hits, and wait for Kang to tire himself out or make a mistake. The second that happens, his strength overpowers Kang.

Victory: Thanos

Who Would Win If Fully Equipped Thanos & Kang Fought

This is where things become much more evenly matched, at least for now. The Infinity Stones allow complete control over reality. Anything Kang can throw at him, Thanos can deflect, block, redirect, transform into a cloud of butterflies, etc. It seems unstoppable. But Kang’s knowledge of the quantum world is nothing to scoff at. The MCU has established that the rules are different there (time, space, and reality itself function differently), and since Kang’s suit is built from quantum tech, he’d be an even match.

Even if Thanos can gain the upper hand, Kang’s true strength is in The Council; an infinite number of Kangs with vast knowledge of the multiverse banding together to eliminate any threat to them and their plans. All of a sudden, the positions are reversed. Thanos can kill a hundred Kangs, but there will always be more, and eventually one of them will get it right.

Victory: Kang