How Doctor Doom killed Thanos

The most famous moment between Doctor Doom and Thanos lasts only a few panels. In Secret Wars #8 (2015), Thanos marches an army on God Emperor Doom's capital, mocks him as a false god, and Doom kills him with one hand. Here is how they got there, what happened the first time they fought, and why neither fight settles who would win a fair one.

For the full odds against every version of Doom, see Doctor Doom vs. Thanos; this article is about the comics.

1. Doom grabs for the Gauntlet

   Infinity Gauntlet #4 · 1991 · Jim Starlin and George Pérez

   Thanos holds all six Infinity Gems. Doom joins Earth's heroes in their assault, and when Thor knocks Thanos down, Doom leaps in to take the Gauntlet for himself. It blasts him away, and his armor is the only reason he survives. A clear win for Thanos, though Thanos had the power of the universe on his hand.

2. One hand

   Secret Wars #8 · 2015 · Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić

   Thanos survives the end of the multiverse with the Cabal, wakes on Doom's Battleworld and marches an Annihilation Wave on Doomstadt. He attacks God Emperor Doom, who now holds the power of the dead Beyonders. Doom kills him with one hand, tearing out his spine. A clear win for Doom, though Doom had the power of everything that was left.

Neither fight tells us much about a fair one. Both were won by whoever held the cosmic power, which is exactly why this site's rules take it away: no gems, no gauntlet, no Beyonders, no allies, no preparation.

• Sorcery. Thanos is a scientist and a warrior; he has never been a sorcerer. Doom has been one for decades, and as Sorcerer Supreme in 2024–25 he held Earth's highest mystic office. Magic is the clearest path to beating someone far stronger than you.
• Armor that has already survived the worst. The suit took a blast from the complete Infinity Gauntlet and kept him alive (Infinity Gauntlet #4).
• A mind to match. Thanos is a strategic genius. So is Doom, and Doom has spent sixty years out-planning Reed Richards.
• Will. Thanos famously undermines his own victories: Adam Warlock's verdict at the end of Infinity Gauntlet (#6) was that part of him never believed he deserved to win. Doom has no such doubt.

• A Titan's body. Thanos is far stronger and tougher than Doom's armor was built to handle, and he fights hand to hand with relish.
• Centuries of war. He has fought across the galaxy, against Thor, the Hulk and the Avengers together.
• Patience. Doom's great advantage over most enemies is that he thinks further ahead. Thanos does too.
• Hard to keep dead. Doom killed him on Battleworld, and he came back after the multiverse was rebuilt.

The full Doom vs. Thanos page has the odds for all 13 versions of Doom on this site. The short version: the borrowed-power Dooms win easily, with the Power Cosmic Doom of 1967 at 90% and the Beyonder-powered Doom of 1984 at 99%. The weaker film Dooms are long shots, with the 2005 film's Doom at 8%. Classic Doom sits in the middle at 35%, which is why this fight is worth arguing about.

Thanos rarely fights alone. In the team calculator, try Thanos with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, his Black Order generals, or the whole Cabal with Namor and Black Swan.

Josh Brolin's Thanos died in Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Marvel had not confirmed him for Avengers: Doomsday when this was written, so a screen meeting is anyone's guess. The comics have given us two, and they are worth reading: start with our list of Doom comics to read before Doomsday.