Apocalypse Vs Thanos: Who Would Win In A Fight?

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the most vicious, brutal, and prominent villains is Thanos, a super villain so mighty that religious sects have worshiped him as a god. In the same universe exists another villain who is just as revered and feared, Apocalypse, who believes in one thing above all else: the survival of the fittest. So, what would be the outcome if the Mad Titan was to face En Sabah Nur in a no-holds-barred contest?

Even without the Infinity Stones Gauntlet, Thanos would be too powerful for Apocalypse. Apocalypse is a Planetary Threat Level villain, whereas Thanos is a Cosmic Threat Level villain. If we add the Infinity Stones Gauntlet to the fight, Apocalypse gets annihilated without so much of a fight.

Of course, there are many who might hold a different opinion about the outcome of this fight, and they are well within their rights, but entertain my discussion for a little longer and see why even though Apocalypse is considered to be an immortal, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Thanos. Beware, this article will contain spoilers.

Who Is Apocalypse?

Known as En Sabah Nur, Apocalypse is one of the world’s first mutants who appeared as a central villain for the original X-Factor team and is now a recurrent villain for the X-Men and their spin-off teams. His story began in Ancient Egypt, born with the mutant X-gene and abandoned by his own people to starve to death as a baby in the harsh, unforgiving desert by the settlers of Akkaba.

A gray-skinned infant with blue lips and a bizarre appearance, he was found by Baal of the Sandstormers who saw the child’s potential power and will to survive. The Sandstormers took him for their own, Baal giving him the name En Sabah Nur, meaning The First One, and teaching him to be strong in order to survive the desert as a child as that was the creed by which the Sandstormers lived by. This idea, that the strong will survive, would shape Apocalypse’s actions throughout time.

Around this time, time traveler Kang the Conqueror arrived in Egypt and assumed the identity of Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Knowing who En Sabah Nur was destined to become and where he was, Rama-Tut sent General Ozymandias and an army to destroy the Sandstormers and find the young boy. En Sabah Nur and Baal were injured and sought refuge in a cave and before Baal died, he revealed advanced alien technology hidden in the cave, left behind by the Celestials.

Swearing to take revenge on Rama-Tut, En Sabah Nur entered the Pharaoh’s city posing as a slave and drew the romantic attention of Ozymandias’s sister, Nephri. On seeing his true appearance as a mutant, Nephri rejected him and turned to her brother for protection. Heartbroken, En Sabah Nur’s rage caused his mutant abilities to fully emerge, and he went on a rampage and renamed himself Apocalypse.

Apocalypse would later use the Celestials’ technology to hibernate for long periods of time, becoming more and more powerful when awakening. He was also known to have traveled around the world during these ancient years, appearing to various primitive cultures as their death god.

Ultimately, it was revealed that Apocalypse had never been able to use the Celestials’ technology without their notice, and Apocalypse believed that they would soon exact their retribution. Apocalypse sought death as an escape route, but the Celestials appeared, resurrecting him in order to spirit him away for their judgment.

Who Is Thanos?

Known as the Mad Titan, Thanos is a super villain born on Saturn’s moon Titan and a descendant of the Eternals race but carrying a Deviant gene, which explains his physical appearance. He is obsessed with Mistress Death and has waged genocidal crusades in an attempt to appease her. Most famously, he has attempted to dominate the universe by wielding the Infinity Gauntlet.

However, Thanos was not born a psychopathic murderer, as, during his school years, Thanos was a pacifist and would only play with his brother, Eros of Titan, and pets. Regardless, by adolescence, Thanos had become bedazzled with nihilism and entropy, worshiping and eventually falling in love with the physical embodiment of Mistress Death.

The physical embodiment of Death is Thanos’ greatest love and greatest inspiration. A Goddess of immeasurable might, who holds sway over life itself, Death and her quiet judgment of the universe have inspired, intoxicated, and overwhelmed the Mad Titan for as long as he has traversed the universe.

As both god and ruler of the Endless Resurgence empire, Thanos controlled his people through an assortment of force and dread, viewing freedom as an upset of balance in the universe, a void of randomness and chaos. He saw death as an end to uncertainty, and so, he loved it.

Unsurprisingly, many civilizations did not appreciate Thanos’ brutal leadership. Thanos dealt with such insurgency brutally, having his soldiers, the Ravens and the Bombardiers, and his sons, such as Gallowglass and Ronan the Accuser, subdue any dissent.

He also commands The Black Order, a team of aliens that the Mad Titan refers to as his children. The group, including Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Black Dwarf, and Supergiant, help him seek and destroy entire planets.

Since Thanos maintains a dispassionate approach in his quest for order, it is logical to presume that all living beings have been listed among his enemies. However, as the superheroes of Earth (particularly the Avengers) and their allies have presented the greatest and most difficult impediments to Thanos’ goals, they are the highest on his list of adversaries.

Apocalypse Vs. Thanos

Apocalypse is considered an Omega-Level mutant, meaning he possesses powers with limitless potential. His abilities include:

• Power Absorption: Apocalypse usually selects other mutants to be his new host every time he transfers his mind and soul. By doing this, he retains all of his previous powers, in addition to gaining the new host’s abilities as well, by having their powers fused into his essence.
• Telepathy: Apocalypse can shield minds from telepathy, detect psychic communications, and seemingly control a telepath through an active telepathic signal.
• Telekinesis: He can move and levitate anything with his mind.
• Technopathy: Sometimes when Apocalypse uses his powers, electrical appliances nearby will begin to malfunction.
• Accelerated Healing: Apocalypse gains the ability of instantaneous healing through his new host body.
• Mutant Enhancement: Apocalypse can access and enhance other mutant’s x-genes to augment their powers and abilities to the maximum degree.
• Teleportation: Apocalypse can teleport himself and various individuals to anywhere he chooses.
• Essence Transference: Apocalypse is able to transfer his body from one host to another, abandoning one when it has aged or when he wishes to gain another ability. 

Thanos is a Cosmic Level Threat villain whose abilities include:

• Titan Physiology: As a mutated Titan, Thanos possesses immeasurable levels of strength, reflexes, durability, regenerative healing, endurance as well as near-immortality. 
• The Infinity Stones Gauntlet: Upon acquiring all six stones and wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos becomes nigh-omnipotent and even gains the power to force living beings to just die without hesitation or resistance, regardless of their power level.
  The six infinity stones are:
  • Power Stone: Control the fabric of Power.
  • Space Stone: Control the fabric of Space.
  • Reality Stone: Control the fabric of Reality.
  • Soul Stone: Wield power over the soul and the cycle of life and death.
  • Time Stone: Wield control over time and bend it to your will.
  • Mind Stone: Wield control over the hearts and minds of other beings.
• Genius-Level Intellect: His long life allowed Thanos to refine his intellectual aptitude to the highest degree, making him exceptionally intelligent.
• Master Swordsman: Thanos is an extremely skilled swordsman, using a double-edged sword as his main weapon whenever he’s not using the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Master Martial Artist: Thanos wields supreme fighting prowess and millennia’s worth of fighting experience, easily making him one of the deadliest fighters in the universe. 

It may seem as though their abilities are somewhat similar after listing them but the experience level that the Mad Titan brings into this fight is untouchable and as much as En Sabah Nur might try to put up a fight, he cannot resist a bloodthirsty Thanos, especially if the stakes are the winner gets rewarded by Mistress Death.

Verdict: Thanos 1 Apocalypse 0