Steppenwolf (DCEU) vs. Thanos (MCU)

[nj06]

Who wins a battle between Steppenwolf (Snyder-cut) and Thanos? Both characters have their armor and standard weapons. Thanos does not have any stones.

Steppenwolf

vs.


Thanos

Both have decent melee skills and I don't think its a stomp in either one's favor. Thoughts?

[nj06]

I think that Thanos' blade might be more durable, but Step's axe gives him an AOE attack. In terms of strength, I'm not sure who takes it. Steppenwolf can jump pretty far and in a battle like this, every advantage counts.

[big_adventure]

Thanos seems pretty far beyond Steppy in combat skill and has visibly better reaction speed. He also has a blade that slices and dices vibranium. I'd wager, therefore, on the vastly more compelling CGI dude for the win.

[nj06]

Thanos seems pretty far beyond Steppy in combat skill and has visibly better reaction speed. He also has a blade that slices and dices vibranium. I'd wager, therefore, on the vastly more compelling CGI dude for the win.

Help me out: what feats from Thanos make you think he has better combat skills and better reaction speed?

[big_adventure]

Help me out: what feats from Thanos make you think he has better combat skills and better reaction speed?

His destruction of the Hulk.

His domination of Thor, Cap and Iron Man at the same time.

I dont think Steppy can beat Thor or Iron Man 1v1, Thanos handles them pretty casually.

Thanos shows decent combat skill and speed - with quicker reaction time than IM, Cap and Thor along with equal or better skill in general. Steppy shows none of that. No real skill, no real quickness. Aquaman, who has no speed feats at all, gets the drop on him in combat. Steppenwolf is strong and tough. That's about it. Thanos is stronger and tougher than Hulk AND more skilled and quicker than Thor.

[Beadle]

Remember that treating the Hulk like a red-headed stepchild, while impressive, has an asterisk against it due to him having the Power Stone.

It’s a lot easier to break out the flashy-looking moves if your opponent poses very little threat to you and can’t block your hits because they’re stoopid-powerful.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Remember that treating the Hulk like a red-headed stepchild, while impressive, has an asterisk against it due to him having the Power Stone.

It’s a lot easier to break out the flashy-looking moves if your opponent poses very little threat to you and can’t block your hits because they’re stoopid-powerful.

I think it's been mentioned that while Thanos had the power stone he didn't use its power when fighting Hulk.

[greatmetropolitan]

Steppenwolf can at the very least catch arrows fired by Amazons, something he did at least twice, so his combat reflexes are above Thor and Thanos, who I don't recall having any particularly good reflex/reaction feats. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Skill wise he basically is stalemated by/can stalemate Wonder Woman, parrying her Doomsday-slicing sword with his axe.

For sheer strength I suppose it comes down to where you peg Aquaman and Wonder Woman with strength and durability. He can lay out Arthur with one hit and he and WW knock each other around without really seeming to be too injured.

Thanos' best strength feats are basically contesting/besting Hulk and Thor. Hulk has the space whale feat and nothing remotely on that level since. Thor's is likely the ship throw thing at the cosmic forge. I'd say based on that, Thanos is likely a chunk stronger than Steppenwolf, but it's not a total domination in a fight. He's got speed, oomph and durability enough to make it a fight, and the axe has AOE stuff. 6/10 Thanos?

[choptop]

I think it's been mentioned that while Thanos had the power stone he didn't use its power when fighting Hulk.

It didn't use it to power himself up any further but he probably did before Ronan power up from it he didn't have to renew it every time.

[nj06]

Steppenwolf can at the very least catch arrows fired by Amazons, something he did at least twice, so his combat reflexes are above Thor and Thanos, who I don't recall having any particularly good reflex/reaction feats. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Skill wise he basically is stalemated by/can stalemate Wonder Woman, parrying her Doomsday-slicing sword with his axe.

For sheer strength I suppose it comes down to where you peg Aquaman and Wonder Woman with strength and durability. He can lay out Arthur with one hit and he and WW knock each other around without really seeming to be too injured.

Thanos' best strength feats are basically contesting/besting Hulk and Thor. Hulk has the space whale feat and nothing remotely on that level since. Thor's is likely the ship throw thing at the cosmic forge. I'd say based on that, Thanos is likely a chunk stronger than Steppenwolf, but it's not a total domination in a fight. He's got speed, oomph and durability enough to make it a fight, and the axe has AOE stuff. 6/10 Thanos?

Interesting points. How do you think Aquaman's lifting of the submarine against the ocean compares to Hulk's space-whale feat and Thor's feat?

[nj06]

His destruction of the Hulk.

His domination of Thor, Cap and Iron Man at the same time.

I dont think Steppy can beat Thor or Iron Man 1v1, Thanos handles them pretty casually.

Thanos shows decent combat skill and speed - with quicker reaction time than IM, Cap and Thor along with equal or better skill in general. Steppy shows none of that. No real skill, no real quickness. Aquaman, who has no speed feats at all, gets the drop on him in combat. Steppenwolf is strong and tough. That's about it. Thanos is stronger and tougher than Hulk AND more skilled and quicker than Thor.

Can we say that Step has no real skill when he was able to take on Wonder Woman and Aquaman in combat?

[big_adventure]

Can we say that Step has no real skill when he was able to take on Wonder Woman and Aquaman in combat?

He achieved nothing against them, and they whacked him about with impunity.

[big_adventure]

Interesting points. How do you think Aquaman's lifting of the submarine against the ocean compares to Hulk's space-whale feat and Thor's feat?

That sub feat has been VASTLY overrated. I ripped it apart a while back and don't have the patience to redo it. Subs underwater don't weigh anything, being neutrally buoyant at cruise (though they DO have mass). They can be pushed with very little strength, really. Now, obviously Aquaman accelerates it towards the surface - but propelling himself through the water is a power Atlanteans have. It's not like he LIFTS the sub on dry land or anything. It's still impressive compared to real-world stuff, but not all that incredible compared to loads of other superhero nonsense.

[Beadle]

That sub feat has been VASTLY overrated. I ripped it apart a while back and don't have the patience to redo it. Subs underwater don't weigh anything, being neutrally buoyant at cruise (though they DO have mass). They can be pushed with very little strength, really. Now, obviously Aquaman accelerates it towards the surface - but propelling himself through the water is a power Atlanteans have. It's not like he LIFTS the sub on dry land or anything. It's still impressive compared to real-world stuff, but not all that incredible compared to loads of other superhero nonsense.

I can’t recall the feat off the top of my head, and I agree on the zero buoyancy thing, but don’t undersell the impressiveness of actually moving a sub. Particularly if it’s not in the direction in which the sub is pointing. Not because of weight, but shifting something with that much size at any sort of speed against water resistance / water drag (I can’t think of the correct terms but you get my gist) is no mean feat. And Aquaman’s ability to move through the water quickly doesn’t help him in dissipating the drag on the sub itself.

Not saying it’s on the level of the space whale stuff etc., but it’s not insignificant.

[nj06]

He achieved nothing against them, and they whacked him about with impunity.

He defeated Aquaman with two attacks, both while under water. While battling Wonder Woman in the tunnel he seemed to temporarily over-power her in their duel.