But Thanos is easily the most powerful villain they’ve ever faced. If his plan succeeds, he will achieve ultimate power, and even if the Mad Titan doesn’t get his hands on all six Infinity Stones, he’s still a force to be reckoned with; just one has been enough to nearly end all reality in the past. In light of this, is getting a few new faces really going to be enough? Perhaps not. It’s possible that the only way for them to win is for Thanos to make a mistake.

  • This Page: Thanos’ Biggest Weakness

Thanos Is The Cause Of His Defeat In The Comics

Despite being one of the greatest threats in the Marvel Universe, Thanos has a long history of losing battles he should have won. In the comics, Thanos has repeatedly met with failure in his struggles against Captain Mar-Vell, Adam Warlock, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. What’s so curious, though, is how this happens; Thanos is usually able to obtain the means to defeat his opponents but chooses to hold back.

It was pointed out a number of times in Infinity Gauntlet that Thanos’ defeats were always due to his own mistakes. According to Vision, Thanos provided the Avengers the help they needed to win; the android believed that the Avengers would lose again if Thanos didn’t make another error in judgment. That’s exactly what happened; Thanos was coaxed by Mephisto into going easy on them, cutting off his access to some of the Infinity Gauntlet’s power in a bid to impress Mistress Death, giving the heroes a .05% chance of winning. This directly led to his defeat, with Adam Warlock and Silver Surfer uniting Galactus and the Elders of the Universe against him and being able to take the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos.

Though arrogance may appear to be the weakness that ultimately brings down Thanos in the comics, his true weakness is actually much more complicated than that. During Infinity Gauntlet, Adam Warlock’s connection to the Soul Gem allowed him to peer inside of Thanos’ soul. He was able to catch a glimpse of a shocking truth that Thanos hid even from everyone, including himself. Deep down, Thanos knows that he isn’t worthy of ultimate power, causing him to subconsciously make mistakes that will lead to his defeat.

Does Thanos Already Have The Power To Defeat The Avengers?

From the moment a smiling Thanos was seen in The Avengers’ mid-credits scene, it was clear that the Mad Titan would become the team’s ultimate enemy. Finally, that’s going to come to a head, with the foreboding Infinity War trailers making the scale of the threat Thanos poses to the world abundantly clear. Of course, he’s made all the more imposing by the fact The Avengers are “ill-prepared” after the in-fighting that took place in Captain America: Civil War.

And that’s where things get interesting. While Thanos is collecting the full set of Infinity Stones for a purpose, he doesn’t need them all to defeat the Avengers. Most of the released footage has shown him to be in the possession of two Infinity Stones - the Power Stone and the Space Stone - with a recent TV spot suggesting he’ll add the Reality and Soul Gems to his collection. Considering how previous Marvel movies have already shown us what those Stones are capable of, victory feels like it could be within Thanos’ grasp before he even finds the last two; were the Stones utilized correctly, Thanos would be unstoppable.

If this is true, the Avengers shouldn’t stand a chance… unless Thanos shares the flaws of his comic book counterpart.

Could Thanos’ Self-Doubt Defeat Him In The MCU?

Infinity Gauntlet is - in part - the inspiration for Avengers: Infinity War, although it’s not clear how much of the comics will translate to the movie. After all, while we have Infinity Gems and the Gauntlet, there’s not much to line up the comic to what we’ve seen of the movie. What we do know is that the film will delve deep into Thanos. He is the film’s lead character, with John Brolin providing an “empathetic” performance that delves deep into Thanos’ origin. Revealing that the all-powerful Mad Titan doubts his worthiness could be an smart twist that fits a lot of what’s been said by the filmmakers yet most fans won’t see coming.

Read More: Avengers: Infinity War Isn’t Adapting The Comic Story You Think It Is

As with the comics, could the Soul Stone hold the key to Thanos’ defeat? Adam Warlock won’t be around to uncover the truth hidden within Thanos’ heart, but if another character were to get their hands on the Stone, some version of the events in Infinity Gauntlet could unfold on the big screen. The Soul Stone is the only Infinity Gem whose whereabouts have yet to be revealed, which only amps up the mystery; it’s been teased as “the biggest threat of them all”, so it’s definitely feeling like it’ll be key.

What This Means For The Avengers Going Forward

Thanos’ defeat in Infinity Gauntlet had long-term consequences for the character that played out in subsequent storylines such as Infinity War and Infinity Crusade; Thanos went through a period of self-reflection and became a farmer. His ambitions of destroying the universe began to fade away - at least temporarily. Though Thanos never went as far as becoming a good guy, he did join forces with Adam Warlock against the Magus. That’s all unlikely to form part of the MCU, but should the loss happen there would still be a big impact.

The implications of such a defeat really hinge on when it happens. While Infinity War is the culmination of the MCU thus far, it’s not the end; next May is Avengers 4, originally announced as Infinity War Part 2, indicating that, whatever goes down in Avengers 3, it’s not the end of Thanos. If he’s going to be the root of his own problems, then that leads to one of two outcomes: Avengers 4’s time travel is a direct result of his self-defeating ethos; or it’s the 0.05% chance leads to him eventually conceding.

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Much of the hype for Avengers: Infinity War has centered on which Avengers will die, but the question of how its villain is defeated - and by whom - is just as potent. And while someone like Gamora or Nebula certainly make sense, perhaps Thanos’ own doubts are the best potential weakness

More: Avengers Theory: How Thanos Brings NOVA To The MCU

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