Superman Vs. Thanos: How the Justice League Characters Would Handle Thanos
With The Avengers doing battle with Thanos in theaters at this very moment, Avengers: Endgame is answering a lot of the questions about just how Earth’s mightiest heroes would defeat a mad Titan with all of the power in the universe. More than likely you’ve seen that fight take place for yourself, but even if you haven’t, you’re probably thinking, “What would it be like to see the Justice League take on Thanos in a battle for the universe?”
It’s a scenario so awesome and so fun to think out that we just had to tackle it. Using the line-up from the recent Justice League movie, we’ve come up with a scenario in which the team members you saw in DC’s big team-up film will challenge the greatest threat in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Using their powers and abilities, we’re about to see if the greatest team in DC Comics history can take down Thanos in their own way. But before we get to the main event, let’s take a look at what sort of scenario would lead to this all out conflict.
Why Would The Justice League Ever Challenge Thanos?
As we’ve learned in the new Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer, there’s a really good chance The Snap has torn the fabric of the multiverse, allowing all sorts of stuff to bleed through the edges of reality. So let’s just say that the actions of Thanos have not only opened a gate between worlds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also the worlds of DC and Marvel.
This would, hypothetically, see this third version of Thanos, still crazy and mad for power as always, crossing over onto DC Comics’ home turf. With the full power of the Infinity Gauntlet in his grasp once more, he’s ready to conquer a new world that’s not so familiar with his ways. Which leaves the Justice League with a hell of a puzzle to solve.
Given their collective skill set, and the potential battleground of Metropolis/Gotham at their usage, the playing field just might be level enough for the Justice League to take on Thanos in an effective fashion. Which means it’s time to run through the team’s individual profiles, and how they fit into the fight.
How Batman Would Fight Thanos
On the ground level, Batman would be the best hero to start out with in terms of the Justice League’s roster. Not only is Bruce Wayne’s alter ego not super-powered, and thus the most physically vulnerable, he’s also the best person to get the ball rolling.
Batman’s greatest resource is the fact that he’s the world’s best detective. He researches the hell of out a subject, finds it weaknesses, and uses them for his own gain. So much like he’s done with the Justice League itself in the past, Batman can dig deep into Thanos’s legend and origins, as well as the abilities of the Infinity Gauntlet and its individual stones.
Once he found the relevant information in this new world, Batman would then be able to provide strategic analysis to his team, possibly dream up some new gadgets (including a substitute gauntlet to put the stones into, should the original be destroyed) to help the team with their efforts, and help formulate the exact plan to back Thanos into a corner. And he could even use the help of a very valuable team member to create his strategy.
How Cyborg Would Fight Thanos
Victor Stone, also known as Cyborg to his Justice League teammates, is a genius of unparalleled ability. With a high IQ, and all the cybernetic enhancements one could require to use such an IQ to their advantage, Cyborg has an arsenal of weapons that could stand up against Thanos’s efforts, and he even has an ace up his robotic sleeve.
As far as Cyborg’s robotic arsenal goes, he has various gadgets that could slow down Thanos and whatever else he can throw at the Justice League. With a whole bunch of weapons built into his cybernetic body, most famously including a sonic canon, Cyborg could help clear the way for the rest of the team by using sonic waves to break apart objects that Thanos or his children might hurl at the group.
With his incredible smarts, as well as the cybernetic enhancements that Cybog has built into his person, he is also a very valuable tool in determining the strategy needed to take down Thanos. Team his cybernetic analysis abilities with Batman’s detective work, and you’ve got two pretty big brains looking to take out a Mad Titan. Of course, a lot of brawn is going to be needed to take down Thanos, which is where the next member of our team comes in.
How Aquaman Would Fight Thanos
There’s one particular scene in Avengers: Endgame that probably would make anyone, Avenger and audience member alike, wish that Arthur Curry was present to use his powers as Aquaman. While Doctor Strange did a pretty good job controlling the waters that threatened to flood the battle in the remains of the Avengers compound, one could imagine Aquaman doing even better, as controlling water is kind of his sweet spot.
But should this fight in the DC Universe take place in the waters between Metropolis and Gotham, as shown in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, all it would take is the Trident of Poseidon for Arthur to very easily change the state of play. Not only would he be able to control the waters, but he’d also be able to summon various sea creatures that could give Thanos a hard time in his efforts to stump the Justice League.
Of course, this would also mean that should he be able to summon them, and should they be agree to join the cause, Arthur Curry could summon the armies of his Atlantean kingdom to come to the surface and spank Thanos raw. Which has us thinking of another member of royalty in the Justice League that could bring their own army, as well as special skills, to help things along.
How Wonder Woman Would Fight Thanos
Now let’s say that between Batman and Cyborg’s intellect, there are still some questions that the Justice League needs answered regarding how to defeat Thanos. Even with the best laid plans, there’s bound to be something that goes wrong. Should there be any further questions that need to be answered in the heat of battle, Wonder Woman could help get those answers very easily.
Using her Lasso of Truth, Diana can rope Thanos or a compatriot into a position where they have to chill out and answer her questions truthfully. Through interrogation, Wonder Woman could question Thanos about his strategy to sack the universe, and see if there were any other weaknesses the team could use against him. Plus, much like Mantis in Avengers: Infinity War, this could provide a moment to try and remove that pesky Infinity Gauntlet from his hands.
If all else failed, there are two other things that Wonder Woman could provide in the fight against Thanos. With an Invisible Jet at her command, she could easily launch a sneak attack on ground forces, or even Thanos’s gigantic ship, and take some key pieces off the board. Finally, if all else failed, the Amazonian princess in the Justice League’s ranks could try to raise an army of her compatriots from Themyscira, ready to flood the field with rage and combat against Thanos’ own army.
How The Flash Would Fight Thanos
The Flash is probably one of the best heroes to have in the case of the Justice League fighting Thanos, as he has a key ability that also came in handy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: time travel. With his usage of speed, and his ability to travel back and forth through time, Barry Allen would have two very different ways to help out his fellow Justice League teammates.
Should things go according to whatever plans Batman and Cyborg have cooked up, or if the strategies added by Wonder Woman also pan out, then Barry could just use his abilities as The Flash to be incredibly fast on the battlefield, taking out as many of Thanos’s forces as he could through agility and extreme velocity. He could even sneak up on Thanos if he’s lassoed up by Wonder Woman, in an effort to remove the Gauntlet by force. But should things not go according to plan, there’s always Plan B.
While it’s obviously not something to count on as a major strategy, should the plans drawn up by the Justice League team fail, Barry can always use his speedster ability to go back in time and warn the team of what works and what doesn’t. Though he’ll want to take some really good notes as to just how exactly the team gets their asses handed to them, as that sort of option takes a lot of energy and effort.
How Superman Would Fight Thanos
Here it is: the moment you’ve all been waiting for. With all of the other core Justice League members plying their trades, and bringing the fight to Thanos, it’s time to talk about what Superman’s role would be in defeating the mad titan. Besides, of course, Superman’s ability to smash and bash Thanos around quite a bit, which still leaves him pretty ready to bring Thanos to his knees, and quite possibly finish him.
With both his heat vision and freezing breath, the last son of Krypton could do quite a number on Thanos to get the Infinity Gauntlet off of his hand. Weakening the gauntlet, there’s a chance that Superman could get it off of Thanos, either intact or by destroying the vessel holding the Infinity Stones and scooping them up.
With a suitable vessel, Superman could easily use any sort of Infinity Gauntlet to snap Thanos and his armies out of existence. As a Kryptonian, there’s a good chance that the Gamma radiation that the usage of the gauntlet puts out won’t affect him in an adverse way. He might get banged up, and he just might take a lot of damage when using the Infinity Gauntlet, but Superman would be able that gauntlet no problem and not have to die in the process.
Could The Justice League Handle Thanos Better Than The Avengers?
So with all of their collective abilities, one final query slips into the minds of audiences all over: Could the Justice League handle Thanos better than The Avengers did in Avengers: Endgame? Quite frankly, to me the answer feels like a resounding yes, and it’s because of the approaches of DC Heroes versus Marvel Heroes. Boiling it all down to the fact that the world of DC Comics has a lot of Gods or godlike creatures involved, you can see how the Justice League would have the upper hand in fighting Thanos.
With a super team that includes Wonder Woman and Superman amongst its ranks, that’s a huge part of the battle fought right there. But with the extraordinary abilities of Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman, plus the extra brain power of Batman slotted into the team, these six heroes have a good chance of getting the job done amongst themselves.
Though it also helps that the armies of both Wonder Woman and Aquaman would have the numbers to help soften up Thanos and his own forces. Even in that respect, without the powers of the six members of the Justice League put together, the fight is pretty much lost. So with huge military ranks to fight the ground battle, as well as a pretty fantastic team of six heroes with powers and tactics beyond compare, it’s fair to say that the Justice League would have a handle on beating Thanos; especially with The Flash being able to run the time travel play if need be.
Of course, there are all sorts of caveats, variants, and conditions that can be added into the argument in order to change the arguments of how the Justice League would take on Thanos. But as it stands, this is the strategy that I believe would best suit DC’s legendary super team, and their best chance of saving the day. Should you have any notes or factors that you think should be taken into account, changing the playbook of the Justice League being pitted against Thanos, we encourage you, the audience, to comment below.
Should you want to do some additional research to support or refute this case, Avengers: Endgame is currently in theaters, with Justice League being available on home video, in all formats.
