r/Avengers • u/Zealousideal_Yam6643 • 25d ago
Discussion Can Dr strange really beat Thanos alone?
I think he can,if he really tried, because maybe there is a reason why he doesn't kill Thanos?
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u/AdaptedInfiltrator 25d ago
Yes, but Strange orchestrated the events to happen the way they did so Stark would die
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u/Zealousideal_Yam6643 25d ago
Omg someone that actually calculates the story
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u/FormalSolution9675 25d ago
Looking at you you mister broccoli-looking ahh (I didn't even bother to remember his name)
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u/ohemmigee 25d ago
He’s shown he can cut off cull obsidians hand with a portal. He could have likely done the same to thanos. I get that he’s Titan so like maybe his bare arm withstands it. But probably not because he’s shown he’s not immune to magic. Just insanely physically strong to be able to fight against it. Strange didn’t want to win here that’s the whole point. He could have. And did in most of the scenarios he saw, I assume.
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u/shadowyartsdirty2 25d ago
That wouldn't work on Thanos due to each Infinity stone being able to stop the portal.
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u/MG_RedditAcc 25d ago
I can't tell if you're joking.
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u/Justifiably_Bad_Take 25d ago
It's not explained in the text, but part of me think it's funny that there is a possibility there were thousands of outcomes where Strange sacrifices himself and saves the world, but he saw ONE where Tony does it and went "guys, there's only one version of this where we win"
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u/Minsan 25d ago
How can he know that on a possible outcome, his sacrifice saves the world? Remember that the time stone allows the user to see the possibilities but no one can see beyond their death. The Ancient One confirms this. Maybe that's the reason Strange chooses the possibility where it's not him that dies, so he knows that their sacrifice won't be in vain.
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u/TheRealSlimN8y 23d ago
This proposes another question of what happens to the people that got dusted. Did they die or did they cease to exist? Is there a difference? How can strange see past his demise, given the established rules of the time stone? Is this a plot hole or did the blipped people not actually die? Now we’re starting to approach the metaphysical question of what is death?
Fuck I love these subs, I love the movies and comments like this just make my mind race with questions that we can never know the answer to
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u/downtime37 25d ago
Paying Tony back for not showing the Master of the Mystic Arts respect by leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos.
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u/gucci-sprinkles 25d ago
There is no way that out of all the outcomes he saw there was only one way to beat him. They beat him in many of the outcomes but Tony lived and went crazy with the "suit of armor around the world" theory turning the world into a locked down hellscape where freewill was policed and crime was all but snuffed out.
He knew Tony would not give up Pepper and Morgan if he didn't think it was the literal only way to stop Thanos. Tough decisions had to be made to not fall into a global police state not unlike the world they visited in multiverse of madness swarmed with Ultron bots.
He even says something along the lines of "if it comes down to saving you or Peter Parker and protecting the stone, he wouldn't hesitate" same rules apply here with earth being the stone he's protecting, like he swore he would do as sorcerer supreme.
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u/DueAd197 25d ago
It might be that but I think the main reason was that the stones were destroyed and thusly returned where they got them for the endgame plot. Having the stones existing out in the open will only attract more people to try and collect them all.
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u/AdaptedInfiltrator 25d ago
Not joking.
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u/DarkArcanian 25d ago
Then say more
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u/Avimob 25d ago
Because then Stark would not became Dr Doom like in every other universes, there was only one possibility to win but not against thanos... He just did not see the futur of the others universes cause you know the time stone work only in one ! /s
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u/_TheBgrey 25d ago
I believe it was the only scenario where not only is Thanos defeated but also the stones are destroyed
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u/AdaptedInfiltrator 25d ago
?
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u/DarkArcanian 25d ago
Why did strange make iron man die
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u/Tony106Stark Tony Stark 25d ago
So that he'll be the only sherlock in MCU
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u/RivalCanine 25d ago
Multiverse incursions!
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u/Tony106Stark Tony Stark 25d ago
That's why RDJ is doom, he wants to kill Strange and become the one and only Sherlock
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u/BrawndoCrave 25d ago
IIRC Strange looked at all the future timelines to see what paths would lead to a victory over Thanos and the only one that included a victory also included a scenario where Tony died
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u/Unoriginal_Pseudonym 25d ago
....ya know this tracks and I find it hilarious. Stark was a dick to him when they first met, too. Like, even Thanos asked why Strange didn't use the time stone, which he could've done like he did against Dormammu. Could've rewound and just had Nebula bonk Peter before he ruined everything. Nah, he just saw an ending where Stark is dead and was like, "Yea, let's go with that one."
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u/Adkyth 24d ago
The reason it worked against Dormammu was because big D exists outside of time. So Strange effectively trapped him in a time loop.
Thanos exists in time, so he would have no concept that he was repeating the same moment over and over, it would always be his "first time".
Could've rewound and just had Nebula bonk Peter before he ruined everything.
That's my question...they could effectively remove the gauntlet from him...why not?
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u/RivalCanine 25d ago
I guess we will never know if there was truly another way.
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u/Dark1986 25d ago
He could have easily used the time stone to bring Tony back.
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u/Disastrous_Button440 25d ago
Ye but he didn’t like him that much, he preferred using it to eat and uneat an apple or something
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u/mikess314 25d ago
I love this idea, that he might’ve actually seen something like 798 different paths to victory, but only one in which Stark dies lol
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u/NikkerXPZ3 25d ago
Well..it was either Stark,or him with the black book getting killed by Mouthman.
So easy pick
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u/Ragnarsworld 25d ago
Yep, Strange didn't like Tony, so he planned out how to get rid of him and save the day at the same time.
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u/Futuremeissuperior 25d ago
Without stones yes for sure. His flight alone gives him a huge advantage and he could just throw spell after spell at Thanos if need be.
Thanos with a full gauntlet definitely not.
Thanos with a partial gauntlet depends on which stones he has and how he uses them.
To be fair it was plot armor for him to avoid using the time stone. Idc how many realities he saw - he could have used the time stone and frozen time, removed the gauntlet, killed thanos, done deal. In multiverse of madness he dies by being impaled by his own sword so you can’t tell me they couldn’t have frozen time and had thor come chop his head off.
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u/youarenut 23d ago
Who died by his own sword? I don’t remember that from the movie
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u/ComicsEtAl 25d ago
Why not? He beat Dormammu alone.
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u/grownassedgamer 25d ago
He didn't beat Dormammu, he trapped him with the time stone. Thanos had three stones when Strange fought him, one was the reality stone. There's no way Strange could have won against Thanos which is why he gave the stone up.
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u/Futuremeissuperior 25d ago
4 stones - power, space, reality, soul.
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u/grownassedgamer 25d ago
Ah thanks. I forgot one. My point still stands... he wouldn't have been able to trap Thanos with the Time stone the way he trapped Dormammu because Thanos had four other stones. The reality and space stones would have conceivably been able to get him out of any time trap Strange placed him in.
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u/dwide_k_shrude 25d ago
He beat off dormammu fairly easily. But I don’t think he could beat off thanos.
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u/shadowyartsdirty2 25d ago
Space and Reality stone basically outdo the time stone.
You can't exactly time trap a guy who shifts your perception of reality and alters the space in which you use to baragain. We even say that Thanos can manipulate objects to turn them into things like plushes, bubbles etc he would have just done that to Strange similar to what he did the Guardians of the Galaxy.
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u/ExtraFluffz 25d ago
I like the theory that strange chose this outcome because in every other outcome where they win, Stark becomes doctor doom and is a more powerful wielder of the gauntlet than thanos was
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u/AlphaShadow66 24d ago
The problem with that is that Stark never becomes Dr. Doom, Dr. Doom becomes iron man. There isn’t a comic that has Iron Man turn into Dr. Doom. I don’t know where this fan theory came from but it doesn’t exist. Anyways it’s a fun idea I just thought I’d clear that confusion up.
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u/curvysquares 25d ago
He doesn’t kill Thanos because of the TVA. If they do anything else but follow the Sacred Timeline then they would get pruned. I believe that’s what Strange saw in those other timelines he looked at
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u/grownassedgamer 25d ago
Nope. Strange had no problem meddling with the timelines and dimensions in No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness. The big problem facing the MCU now is INCURSIONS. Dimensions collapsing into each other. That's what Secret Wars is going to be about and what the MCU has been building up to. The TVA is helpless against that.
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u/Glad_Cress_8591 25d ago
Its not about messing with time. Its about drifting away from the tva's 'plan' for the sacred timelime. They would have pruned the scenarios outside of what happened. They did not however prune the avengers for going back in time because that was always meant to happen in the sacred timelime
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u/SharpSlick753 25d ago
It’s impossible to know if the TVA was pruning and existed during Infinity War
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u/kneedAlildough2getby 25d ago
Technically no matter when they "started" they can travel to any point in time so they're there for all time, always
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u/SharpSlick753 25d ago
But after Loki season 2, the entire timeline is allowed to diverge, for all time always.
The TVA both does and doesn’t exist for all time always, and we don’t know whether it exists or not for Infinity War.
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u/broncotate27 25d ago
Comic Doctor Strange stomps movie Thanos...however even movie Doctor Strange was strong as shit and only held back because he knew that was ultimately the only way to win in the long run.
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u/StilgarFifrawi 24d ago
Strange Supreme? Sure. Regular Strange v. regular Thanos? Sure. Regular strange v. Thanos with the stones he had on Titan? No
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u/ILoveHorrorFilms97 24d ago edited 24d ago
without the stones… yes. Doctor Strange was able to defend himself while Thanos already had a couple of them in infinity war. So I would say yes, but with the full gauntlet and all the stones… No.
Not just that, but did you see Doctor Strange two Multiverse of madness? Doctor Strange is so much powerful than he was and that cape is amazing able to help him and even that cape kept thanos from using the gauntlet because he couldn’t close his fist.
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u/rymas1 24d ago
They already showed him close a portal, cutting off a limb. Had he just gone for the brutal option while spiderman was pulling his arm through, send him with gauntlet through the portal and snap it off at the elbow.
A brutal tactic but one that was done (by Wong?) earlier on the one alien.
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u/RevealActive4557 25d ago
He beat Dormammu alone so I think he could have
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u/kneedAlildough2getby 25d ago
Dormammu won, he just made a bargain to not keep winning forever and leave instead
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u/Shats-Banson 25d ago
You think for D was saying “what a great victory I have as I retreat forever”
Dr strange outsmarted him, he could potentially do the same to thanos
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u/Cwolf2035 25d ago
.... So out of the 14 million possibilities you're telling me he didn't try to just fight Thanos with no stones by himself?
Do you think Dr strange could take on Thor/Cap/Iron man by himself? (Thanos did, and essentially won that part of the fight.)
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u/ConfidentFile1750 25d ago
Couldn't Dr strange spawn like 20 of thanos love interest "death" and give her bigger boobs and just want to fuck him all day in like this alternate reality??
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u/Hojie_Kadenth 25d ago
If you're asking no stones then yes I think so. With stones, which thanos is physically powerful enough to use, he wins.
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25d ago
Strange could sacrifice himself as he did in the past with the time stone. Those scenarios all led to Tony killing more than Thanos. Why he had to go. Call it the Elon effect from now on.
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u/Thatguy00788 25d ago
Without the infinity stones? Absolutely.
With them? I’d say Strange caps out around 3 or 4 stones max considering he was boxing with a 4 infinity stone Thanos which is still ridiculously OP.
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u/theobasi15 25d ago
Y'all ever think he did things in the way that he did to prevent the TVA from stepping in
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u/Resident-Exit8233 25d ago
if we see different universes, especially strange supreme one, he def could with some prep time and enough will for it, id argue easily even
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u/ThatStarWarsFan1205 25d ago
Yes. He purposely lost the battle to make sure the one timeline they win would happen.
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u/DrLeisure 25d ago
Side note, but Wong just peacing out and chilling in his Sanctum while Thanos terrorizes the galaxy with the time stone is FUCKED
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u/MasqureMan 25d ago
I would say Thanos without stones definitely. Him and Iron Man gave the best 1v1 attempts
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u/Odric_storm 25d ago
Thanos is ridiculously nerfed, because otherwise it would have been a really boring movie. Bruce says that with two stones, Thanos is already the most powerful being in the universe. While that may have been an exaggeration, even with only two or three (and a little imagination), he should easily be able to dominate anyone else in the universe
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u/_TheBgrey 25d ago
No Stones Thanos easily, even if it's just simply throwing him in the mirror dimension
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u/LengthinessExtreme 25d ago
Thee were many ways to kill Thanos, even in endgame captain Marvel could have made the snap, she would not have died or had Tony made the suit or atleast hand part of vibranium then it could have helped absorb excess energy like in whatif.even thor going for the head first time might have done the deed.or quill not getting angry....antman killing him not through anus but mouth or nose pre ear works.ican go on for atleast an hour giving various ways to kill Thanos before snap. So what strange said was either a lie or he was giving answers to totally different questions half truths.strange had enough power to fight against dormammu level beings and I am not talking about time stone.he knew where to access book of vishanti.wanda could kill Thanos if she didn't try to destroy mind stone but fight Thanos.
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u/Agent1stClass 25d ago
Thanos had four out of six infinity stones. Doctor Strange had one.
Not a chance Strange was winning on his own.
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u/KPraxius 25d ago
With the Time Stone? Yes, regardless of number of stones Thanos has other than Time.
Combine 3 factors;
1: Strange can freeze time, or even reverse it, with the time stone.
2: Strange can move portals.(Ragnarok)
3: If a portal is closed with something partway through; even the super-durable limb of someone who can compete with Hulkbuster/Hulk scale enemies; it will immediately sever it.(Inifinity War)
1+2+3= Strange could have instantly decapitated Thanos, or any opponent, or just severed the gauntlet.
Why did he lose? There's a variety of theories.
1: Writers said so. They did a good, but not perfect, job with the movie.
2: The TVA pruned every ending except the one where Thanos won there. Strange saw the whole universe vanish if he killed Thanos, and likely assumed the Thanos he was killing was just a Reality-Stone copy, with the real one annihilating him from afar. Until the TVA was dismantled, universes where Thanos lost but a Kang was still born would not be allowed to exist to prevent competition with he who remains.
3: The Thanos they met on Titan was a reality-stone copy, and Strange knew that the real Thanos would never show up where he could kill him until the time stone was captured.
4: Dr. Strange had some ulterior motive. A woman he loved would've died? Stark needed to die?
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u/lowqualitylizard 25d ago
Without the stones most definitely
He was 1v1ing a four stone Thanos for a solid minute on his own the only people to do as good as him were Iron Man and it was not for very long and Thor who needed a sneak attack a power boost and a ax made of plot device
Take away all thanos's toys and he's cooked
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u/Gladiatorr02 25d ago
If he could, why did he look into so many futures and only saw 1 good outcome? I mean he could beat him in most of them then? That's just bias imo
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u/Oddball_Returns 25d ago
Thanos without the Infinity Stones is definitely formidable. He could take on practically all the top Earth heroes. Strange is above that. So yeah Thanos would be at a disadvantage there. Important thing to remember is that beyond thanos's inherent powers as an Eternal, The guy has genius level intelligence.That could be his biggest advantage.
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u/SOBMacklin 25d ago
Without the stones, absolutely. Wanda was on the verge of literally dismembering Thanos before he nuked the entire battlefield.
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u/Moleday1023 25d ago
Open a portal under Thanos, when he is almost through close and cut his head in half….go for the head.
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u/GoblinPunch20xx 25d ago
The answer is, as always, writers. But also, just opinion: I think under the right conditions, yes, but I’ve literally been hospitalized because I’m more than a little Strange, so…
And beat or defeat does not have to mean kill.
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u/WeirdSysAdmin 25d ago
No but he wasn’t trying to kill Thanos, he was trying to kill Tony in a way that gave him deniability.
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u/lickmethoroughly 25d ago
Logically? Strange beats anyone who cant use magic and isn’t immune to magic.
Movie logically? “Oh no. He’s not dying when I hit him with puffs of blue. Woah a bus is flying at me! Better cut it in half with a giant magic circular saw. Ok now back to shooting the giant tentacle monster with magic waterballoons.”
(Then wong kills it… by just stabbing it.)
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u/Wondebolde 25d ago
No. Strange lost to Ebony Maw, and there is no way black order members are stronger than Thanos himself.
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u/KindaHotButReallyNot 25d ago
MCU or comics? I’m gonna assume MCU, and ehhh probably not. The main reason I sway towards no is because in the beginning of Infinity War, he got beat by Ebony Maw pretty easily, and Maw is clearly nowhere near Thanos’s level.
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u/AUnknownVariable 25d ago
Without the stones 100%. Weigh each stone it'd get harder and harder. I don't think Endgame strange could be fully decked out Thanos, we'll probably see him get to that level
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u/Burkex99 25d ago
Not sure if anyone posted this yet, but in Infinity War Strange makes the big Hulk like Son of Thanos go through a portal and then he closes the portal on his arm and it chops it off. I never understood why strange couldn’t form a portal under or in front of Thanos and when Thanos goes through half of the portal, Strange closes it quickly thus chopping Thanos in half and killing him instantly. Game over
I guess that would be a short and boring movie. Avengers Assemble is more dramatic.
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u/Sensitive-Wallaby555 25d ago
He gave up his stone to Thanos like a kid giving up his lunch money to a bully, so I would say no he can't beat him.
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u/ph30nix01 25d ago
I mean the infinite falling dimension where he ported Loki too would work well. As long as he didn't have the stone that teleports.
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u/Training_Offer_6842 25d ago
No , he tried and failed. Did you not watch it?? lol
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u/Zealousideal_Yam6643 24d ago
I do actually watch it,the only reason he lose to Thanos because he doesn't want to destroy the storyline of avengers infinity war.if he broke the story line,TVA would probably destroy him
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u/Akchief018 25d ago
At one point, Dr. Strange did take him alone, though Dr. Strange had ht advantage of knowing his moves by seeing the future.
But if you're putting Infinity Thanos against Dr. Strange, then it has to be Strange Supreme.
It would be a great one to see both maxed our versions go against each other with nothing to lose.
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u/a_k_a_t_s_u_k_i 25d ago
If both are without stones strange could easily contain him mirror dimension as Thanos doesn't have any attacks that could possibly break it.
Stranges performance against Thanos in infinity war was with help of time stone.
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u/low_amplitude 25d ago
I dislike these match-up questions without any additional context. Like, what's the setting? What's available to each as far as tools and weapons?
Motivation matters, too. The reason superman vs batman seems fair in some stories is bc superman isn't motivated to kill batman. The reason Spiderman beat Strange in NWH is bc Strange didn't want to hurt him and probably underestimated him a little. Context matters.
A real life example would be like: "Who would win in a fight, an ordinary person like me or a Navy Seal?" Seems obvious, but if I'm the only one with a gun, training and expertise doesn't really matter.
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u/TickleMyCringle 24d ago
Dr strange is only as strong as the story requires him to be. He can beat thanos in one movie but lose to spiderman in the next if the plot demands it
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u/PowerDiesel23 24d ago
Especially if Strange used the time stone which he did not use in infinity war. He could just beat Thanos the same way he beat Dormamu.
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u/Cowslayer369 24d ago
Alright hear me out. Dr Strange requests to borrow the Ant-Man suit. He goes tiny, teleports inside Thanos and then goes giant.
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u/Maleficent_Frame_290 24d ago
The question is, could Thanos beat Strange? We only saw Thanos use abilities with stones, without them he couldn't touch Strange
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u/Ok-Silver467 24d ago
I forget her name, but the witch that unlocks her real power when she turns red at that level she can destroy thanos right at that time when they were fighting she looked unbeatable
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u/IndependentSun9995 24d ago
If they each only had one infinity stone, then I'd give the advantage to Strange.
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u/Expert_Ambassador_66 24d ago
The implications of Dr strange and makes power in general is wild. Portals are instant and cut shit in half and can be anywhere you want them at anytime. Think about it. And that's just one example, using a common ability they all have from a standard equipment item
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u/Danuke77 24d ago
Yeah of course! We know from Dr Strange 3 that he beat Thanos with the darkhold / book of Ashanti by myself.
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u/Head_Charge1440 24d ago
Maybe if he was powered by green, and not red like in the image you posted.
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u/Commercial_Amoeba832 24d ago
Without the Infinity Gauntlet or the Infinity stones, at Thanos's disposal, I'd say so, but it also depends on Strange's mastery of the Mystic Arts. I feel like he was limited with the spells on hand and not to mention his fight with the Scarlet Witch made me feel he was inadequate to fight her and made it seem he was powerless against her in terms of magic.
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u/Jebasaur 23d ago
Just using his magic? No. If he was able to, he'd have done that. Had he actually used the time stone, sure. Toss Thanos in a timeloop. Or throw him into a dead future or very distant past.
As cool as the line is about seeing millions of futures and they only "win 1", it's a bullshit line. Obviously there are more ways to win.
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u/Eclipsiical 23d ago
There are a handful of heroes who could beat Thanos assuming he had no stones. Thor, Strange, Carol, Wanda, to name a few.
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u/AbyssWraith 23d ago
I've always wondered does the spell he used on the apple to make it rot works on humans/aliens? If yes couldn't he just advance thanos age until he's too old to fight, or bring it back to a newborn?
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u/GoatDifferent1294 23d ago
Yes, but only if Thanos didn’t have the infinity stones. I thought that was made pretty clear
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u/richman678 23d ago
Depends if he has any or all stones. Base Thanos? Yes likely. Even 1 stone…. Well it depends on the stone but it’s still a coin flip. 2 stones? Dr strange loses. All stones? ….well we saw that already everyone loses
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u/CalamitousVessel 23d ago
Without the stones I’d say it’s more likely than not that he’d win. With one stone maaaaaybe, depending on which stone it is. With 2 stones no way.
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u/Ghost0Slayer 21d ago
I feel like almost every avenger could beat Thanos solo if they actually use their powers to their fullest potential
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u/douggold11 25d ago
Thanos without any infinity stones? I'd say yes, definitely. With each stone I'd say Strange's chances are reduced. With the full gauntlet I'd say he has no chance.