Could Ultron beat Thanos? Ever since Infinity War revealed the Mad Titan as Marvel’s biggest threat (up until that point — we’re sure Kang will cause worse headaches for The Avengers), fans have been wondering if Age of Ultron’s antagonist would have fared better if given half the chance. What If? episode 8 finally answers that question in a swift fashion.
With both Ultron and Thanos having similar goals — Ultron wanting to wipe out humanity to protect planet Earth, and Thanos wanting to eradicate 50% of all life for the betterment of the universe — there have been plenty of comparisons between the two. While there has been tons of back and forth between Marvel fans regarding the most powerful MCU villain, What If? episode 8 finally lays those fan theories to rest. So just who is more powerful — Thanos or Ultron?
Who Would Win? Thanos vs. Ultron
What If? finally settles the debate over who would win in a battle between Thanos and Ultron. The victor is revealed to be Ultron, and in an incredibly convincing fashion.
In episode 8, Ultron is shown to finally obtain an organic body — the one that would eventually belong to Vision in The Avengers’ sequel. After using it to decimate life on planet Earth with alarming efficiency, Ultron is visited by Thanos, with the Mad Titan looking to obtain the Mind Stone to complete the Infinity Gauntlet.
With Thanos shown to already have five Infinity Stones in the Gauntlet, he’s as powerful as he was Infinity War/Endgame, albeit without the ability to eradicate half of all life in a single snap of the fingers. However, despite Thanos’ power, Ultron almost immediately slices him in half with his laser-eyes, killing Thanos within seconds and taking the rest of the Infinity Stones for himself.
From there, Ultron is shown to be much more of a threat with the Infinity Gauntlet than Thanos ever was. Not only does Ultron set about decimating planet after planet — Asgard, Xandar, and even Ego are wiped out with little effort — he also kills Captain Marvel, before being able to hear The Watcher and figuring out the existence of the multiverse in the process. After this, Ultron sets off on a goal to reenact his apocalyptic goal on other universes within the multiverse, setting his sights significantly higher than Thanos was even able to comprehend.
While Thanos was the more memorable villain in the MCU, this portrayal of a victorious Ultron reveals him to be far more powerful than the Mad Titan could have ever been. It remains to be seen exactly how Ultron will be defeated — perhaps an alternate reality version of Thanos will be able to enact justice to continue this debate — though for the time being, it’s clear that if Ultron had achieved his goal in Age of Ultron, he’d have become the most powerful Marvel villain featured in the MCU thus far.
You can check out our review of the cataclysmic What If? episode 8 right here. Also, take a look at the supposed leaks for the series’ season finale.
