[Endgame spoilers of course] So the strongest Avenger in MCU should really be...

[KJS]

Honestly, Thor getting fat doesn't mean that he's weaker, considering that his physical strength probably doesn't have much to do with exercise, given how few things there are too cause him to even come close to exerting himself enough to count as exercise. Thor was still close enough to Thanos in strength to maintain a blade lock with him where Thanks was only gradually able to push him back, which is better than Hulk did, so unless Guardians of the Galaxy 1 era Thanos was busy weaker than Thor Ragnarok or Avengers Infinity War era Thanos, that seems to indicate Thor may have actually gotten stronger in the intervening years.

I agree.

And I see no reason for Thanos being weaker in 2014 than he was in 2018. Fully-grown men don't generally change strength over the course of four years - unless, of course, they've trained and visibly gained muscle, which Thanos hadn't by 2018.

More to the point, four years is a MUCH smaller fraction of Thanos' life than the average man. Judging by how much Titan had deteriorated since he left - and, presumably, given that he was already an adult when he did leave - he may well be thousands of years old. Four years certainly wouldn't have made much of a difference.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

However, Endgame Thor’s Lightning was a joke compared to Ragnarok and Infinity War.

They also pretty much say Thor’s not 100% in the movie multiple times.

Honestly, looking at Thor’s performances before hand after his power-up, Endgame Thor looks bad in comparison.

[Godzilla2099]

I thought Captain Marvel is the obvious choice. Surprised this is even a debate

- Travels at Lightspeed
- Lifted a spaceship with ease
- All guns from Thanos's Ship didn't scratch her
- She destroyed Thanos's Ship like paper
- Thanos was strong enough to KO Hulk and tear apart a Vibranium Shield. When she headbutt Capt Marvel, she didn't even flinch
- Getting hit with a power stone and a quantum explosion only stalled her.
- Thanos had the gauntlet with all the stones when he fought Captain Marvel. He barely got a chance to use one of the stones

Scarlett Witch was lethal but that's because he was pissed off. Strange is up there too.

However, we've seen no real weaknesses or struggles with Captain Marvel

[The Arbiter]

However, Endgame Thor’s Lightning was a joke compared to Ragnarok and Infinity War.

They also pretty much say Thor’s not 100% in the movie multiple times.

Honestly, looking at Thor’s performances before hand after his power-up, Endgame Thor looks bad in comparison.

Mentally not ok, is how I took that. Not physically.

Like... a dude suffering from PTSD and depression prooobably shouldn't be handed the keys to a weapon that can alter reality. He may have tried recreating Asgard or his mother or just plain screwed up instead of keeping his cool and just staying on task.

[Cyke]

Well, Thor's also 5 years out of practice, regardless. Whereas in Ragnarok he struggled just to make his fingers sparkle (until obviously Odin gave him the pep talk to focus), and that was Thor in his mental prime.

Mental state? Check. Physical state? Check. But skill erosion is real.

[Killerbee911]

Honestly, Thor getting fat doesn't mean that he's weaker, considering that his physical strength probably doesn't have much to do with exercise, given how few things there are too cause him to even come close to exerting himself enough to count as exercise. Thor was still close enough to Thanos in strength to maintain a blade lock with him where Thanks was only gradually able to push him back, which is better than Hulk did, so unless Guardians of the Galaxy 1 era Thanos was busy weaker than Thor Ragnarok or Avengers Infinity War era Thanos, that seems to indicate Thor may have actually gotten stronger in the intervening years.

The movie via his fellow Avengers seem to think he wasn't in good shape not to get killed by the Gauntlet. The Sheer fact that his body got fat which means he didn't work to maintain his build means a decline of some sort.

We can put this way Thor in infinity war first strike near killed Thanos with the gauntlet on, The Thor in endgame went back forth with him nearly got killed with his own axe. The Thanos in endgame might be more in his physical prime but 9 years later he still beat the crap out of the Hulk with no stones so he was still in amazing shape. The Thor that showed up infinity war probably kills Thanos by himself in Endgame. No reason to think the Thor from infinity war does not put the axe in his chest again.

[The Arbiter]

The movie via his fellow Avengers seem to think he wasn't in good shape not to get killed by the Gauntlet. The Sheer fact that his body got fat which means he didn't work means a decline of some sort.

We can put this way Thor in infinity war first strike near killed Thanos with the gauntlet on, The Thor in endgame went back forth with him nearly got killed with his own axe. The Thanos in endgame might be more in his physical prime but 9 years later he still beat the crap out of the Hulk with no stones. The Thor that showed up infinity war probably kills Thanos by himself in Endgame.

I... doubt that assesment very much. In IW, he had suprise on his side. Thanos simply wasnt prepared for Stormbreaker to beat his blast. He had all of 5 seconds to assess the threat Thor possessed.

Put another way, IW Thor didn't out skill him or anything. He just tossed his weapon, at distance, in a straight line. It wasnt martial prowess that won him that fight. It was more like Thanos was simply caught with his pants down.

[Killerbee911]

I... doubt that assesment very much. In IW, he had suprise on his side. Thanos simply wasnt prepared for Stormbreaker to beat his blast. He had all of 5 seconds to assess the threat Thor possessed.

Put another way, IW Thor didn't out skill him or anything. He just tossed his weapon, at distance, in a straight line. It wasnt martial prowess that won him that fight. It was more like Thanos was simply caught with his pants down.

Thor hit him with a lightning bolt by surprise which knocks him back, Thanos got right back up,Saw Storm breaker clear coming and fire off Gauntlet in defense at Stormbreaker and ate it in the chest. I am failing to see what issue that prevent the same thing from happening again in endgame without some decline from Thor. Thor hitting him back with a lighting bolt and throwing storm breaker in his chest at speed he couldn't stop.

[BitVyper]

The movie via his fellow Avengers seem to think he wasn't in good shape not to get killed by the Gauntlet. The Sheer fact that his body got fat which means he didn't work to maintain his build means a decline of some sort.

I mean if we’re going that route, he doesn’t appear to have lost any actual muscle, so he’s obviously maintained enough of a workout to stay in shape, just not in peak perfect condition. I think what it actually means is that Marvel wanted to do some fat Thor jokes and didn’t think beyond that.

[rhyvurg]

I thought Captain Marvel is the obvious choice. Surprised this is even a debate

- Travels at Lightspeed
- Lifted a spaceship with ease
- All guns from Thanos's Ship didn't scratch her
- She destroyed Thanos's Ship like paper
- Thanos was strong enough to KO Hulk and tear apart a Vibranium Shield. When she headbutt Capt Marvel, she didn't even flinch
- Getting hit with a power stone and a quantum explosion only stalled her.
- Thanos had the gauntlet with all the stones when he fought Captain Marvel. He barely got a chance to use one of the stones

Scarlett Witch was lethal but that's because he was pissed off. Strange is up there too.

However, we've seen no real weaknesses or struggles with Captain Marvel

I wouldn't think too much of her lifting a space ship, it's mostly empty space inside anyway. Destroying Thanos' ship means nothing because we have no examples of anything else hitting it to say how much it could take. Also, she wasn't "stalled" by the power stone, she was taken completely out of the fight, she was done.

[The Arbiter]

Thor hit him with a lightning bolt by surprise which knocks him back, Thanos got right back up,Saw Storm breaker clear coming and fire off Gauntlet in defense at Stormbreaker and ate it in the chest. I am failing to see what issue that prevent the same thing from happening again in endgame without some decline from Thor. Thor hitting him back with a lighting bolt and throwing storm breaker in his chest at speed he couldn't stop.

This only proves my point. It's literally just him throwing his weapon. He could have done that just fine in Endgame despite his extra fat.

Difference between the two showings are all based on how Thanos reacts to the threats. Endgame, he has time to dodge, teleport, turn it into bubbles etc etc after the lightning but instead stands in one spot and goes "duuuhh beam not working" and gets hit. In Endgame we see him dodging, blocking and out fighting Thor in a martial way.

If Thor had been 400 lbs in IW he could have beat Thanos that SAME way. All he did was throw his axe.

[Fallman]

Infinity War Thanos was pretty broken up after killing Gamora. Heck, he pretty much let the Avengers kill him in Endgame. I don't think he was much focused on defense at the time.

Thor and Thanos kinda switched places mentally between those two fight. Infinity War Thor was at the height of power and focus while Thanos just wanted his quest to end, then Thanos was fully committed to killing everyone while Thor needed to shake off five years of depression and apathy.

If Endgame Thor had managed a clean shot on Thanos it probably would have taken his head off again, but Thanos was putting more than the bare minimum into defense this time.

Hmmn. Someone mentioned using the Bifrost to try a portal cut, but I don't think it can do that. We've never seen it open portals like a sling ring, it just throws you across the universe or snatches you up.

[The Drunkard Kid]

Infinity War Thanos was pretty broken up after killing Gamora. Heck, he pretty much let the Avengers kill him in Endgame. I don't think he was much focused on defense at the time.

Thor and Thanos kinda switched places mentally between those two fight. Infinity War Thor was at the height of power and focus while Thanos just wanted his quest to end, then Thanos was fully committed to killing everyone while Thor needed to shake off five years of depression and apathy.

If Endgame Thor had managed a clean shot on Thanos it probably would have taken his head off again, but Thanos was putting more than the bare minimum into defense this time.

Hmmn. Someone mentioned using the Bifrost to try a portal cut, but I don't think it can do that. We've never seen it open portals like a sling ring, it just throws you across the universe or snatches you up.

Going by Ragnarok, Bifrost definitely seems to suck you in like a tractor beam that transports you around the place, and getting shoved out of it partway through doesn't do any physical damage, though it can wonk you around in time and space.

I was definitely annoyed that a lifelong warrior (and therefore had presumably lost friends in battle before) who had just deliberately wiped out his own homeland with the intention of rebuilding just sat around and brooded about his failure for half a decade (even if that was probably the equivalent of a weekend compared to his total lifespan), and that none of the Avengers swung by to try and pep him up. To be fair though, I guess that it was just a more comedic version of the same kind of drunken funk that Valkyrie was in for the entirety of Thor's life, including after she decided to stop enslaving people to sell into death games in exchange for booze money.

As for his lightning, Thor was able to use his lightning to braid his beard before the final battle. Also, regarding his mental status, he fought Thanos after he managed to get a much needed pep talk from his dead mother and confirmed that he was still Worthy of Mjolnir (and therefore of being Thor), as well as after they had *just* managed to undo his self-perceived greatest failure and he is now getting a second chance at the guy who slaughtered half his people and then wiped out half the universe. Guy was in a much better headspace by then, and even a five year booze break would probably not be much in the way of making him rusty considering the thousand+ years of experience he has where he would probably only barely have faced anyone that was actually capable of actually making him even kind of begin to consider maybe straining himself.

[Captain Morgan]

Going by Ragnarok, Bifrost definitely seems to suck you in like a tractor beam that transports you around the place, and getting shoved out of it partway through doesn't do any physical damage, though it can wonk you around in time and space.

I was definitely annoyed that a lifelong warrior (and therefore had presumably lost friends in battle before) who had just deliberately wiped out his own homeland with the intention of rebuilding just sat around and brooded about his failure for half a decade (even if that was probably the equivalent of a weekend compared to his total lifespan), and that none of the Avengers swung by to try and pep him up. To be fair though, I guess that it was just a more comedic version of the same kind of drunken funk that Valkyrie was in for the entirety of Thor's life, including after she decided to stop enslaving people to sell into death games in exchange for booze money.

As for his lightning, Thor was able to use his lightning to braid his beard before the final battle. Also, regarding his mental status, he fought Thanos after he managed to get a much needed pep talk from his dead mother and confirmed that he was still Worthy of Mjolnir (and therefore of being Thor), as well as after they had *just* managed to undo his self-perceived greatest failure and he is now getting a second chance at the guy who slaughtered half his people and then wiped out half the universe. Guy was in a much better headspace by then, and even a five year booze break would probably not be much in the way of making him rusty considering the thousand+ years of experience he has where he would probably only barely have faced anyone that was actually capable of actually making him even kind of begin to consider maybe straining himself.

I feel like there's a difference between "losing friends in battle" and "half of all life in the universe was wiped out because I wanted to get a spiteful last word instead of going for the head/arm shot." As Rocket put it, he failed. So did everyone else, but most everyone else couldn't have done much more. Thor was the one guy who had the opportunity and failed to take it.

Fat shaming aside*, I can totally see that putting a guy in a bad funk for 5 years. I mean, the rest of the world was still breaking down in tears on a regular basis, and again, they couldn't have done anything to stop it.

*Which is bad, but I do gotta say I giggled when the large black woman next to me said "They took the only eye candy out of the movie and sucked out all the sugar." Some comedic timing is good even when it is bad.

[Tomzilla]

Perhaps Endgame Thor's mobility waned, but there's no evidence that his strength/power declined. For starters, consider his lineage. Odin wasn't exactly in great shape either, but his power commanded fear and respect just the same. Thor's physical shape in Endgame was meant to represent the decline in his self-worth -- not his physical strength. As Arbiter said, all Infinity War Thor did was throw Stormbreaker at Thanos. That's it. Stormbreaker did all the work. If Endgame Thor threw Stormbreaker at an unsuspecting Thanos, would it injure him? Yes, of course, it would. Hell, Thor batted Mjolnir with Stormbreaker, and it inadvertently knocked Iron Man out for several minutes.

(Let's give credit where credit is due: Thor, despite his bulk, was able to keep up with his friends when they charged into Thanos's army.)

Given how she fared against Thanos, Captain Marvel is currently the strongest Avenger. Thor and Hulk rival her strength; however, Carol is more durable, and her latent powers give her an advantage.

Thor, Scarlet Witch, and Doctor Strange are mighty in their own right. Thor's potential is enormous, and he could surpass Carol in time (maybe he learns rune magic in future films). Scarlet Witch's power is extreme, and if she attacks first, the fight is over. Unfortunately, Wanda is, when not bolstered by her psionic shields, about as vulnerable as any human, and she could be taken down by a speed blitz. Doctor Strange continues to improve with each subsequent appearance. It honestly looked like he was the one opening up dozens of Sling Rings from all corners of the MCU for Earth's army of heroes to walk through. I'm confident Strange will surpass everyone in due time.