Thanos vs Knull: How powerful is the Venom 3 villain?

Ladies, gentlemen, and extradimensional gases! Welcome to the Dexerto’s Fictional Fighting Federation (DFFF), and tonight, we bring you the greatest sporting event on this or any other plane of the multiverse, Thanos vs Knull!

In the purple corner, the terror of Titan, the supervillain who put the Avengers down with a snap of his fingers — Thanos, the mad Titan! He used to fight for universal balance, but tonight, he battles for your entertainment!

And in the black corner, hailing from the deepest, darkest void in space, the God of Symbiotes, the sinister slime who makes Celestials cry and galaxies wail – Knull! You may not have seen him in a superhero movie yet, but trust us, by the time Venom 3 is out, you’ll know his name, and tonight, you and Thanos get a taste of Knull’s incredible power!

Brace yourselves; this one could go all night! So what are you waiting for? Let’s get ready to RUUUUUMBBLLLLE! Oh, what? Oh, sorry, first we’ve got the weigh-in. 

Thanos’ powers

Marvel Studios

Note: As per DFFF rules, no weapons are allowed in the ring, so Thanos will be without his Infinity Gauntlet

Measuring an imposing 8″ 3 and weighing 447 kg is a heavyweight by anyone’s estimation. He’s got an impressive fighting record as well, having previously bested the Hulk, Captain America, and the entire Nova Corps. Can he hope to compete with Knull? Well, let’s take a look at those powers:

Super strength: The Mad Titan is, without a doubt, one of the strongest villains in the MCU, having easily gotten the better of some of Earh-616’s toughest fighters. We’ve seen him kill Asgardian gods with his bare hands, break the supposedly indestructible Bands of Cyttorak, and tear through Vision’s vibranium head with his big purple sausage fingers. 

Superhuman endurance, stamina, and healing: During the Infinity War, Thanos went from battle to battle without showing any signs of fatigue or tiredness. The Mad Titan also managed to walk away from getting hit in the chest by Stormbreaker (Sure, he was wounded, but he survived), so he’s a pretty tough cookie. It helps that he seems to have some form of healing factor, which allows him to regenerate from less serious wounds and injuries. 

Superhuman speed and agility: While not on the same level as The Flash, Thanos demonstrates his blistering speed several times during the events of Infinity War. He dodges several blows from the Hulk, catches Thor off guard, and is so fast that even Tony Stark’s most advanced armor couldn’t keep up with him. When you combine that with his impressive agility, you’ve got a fighter who floats like a butterfly and stings like a semi-articulated truck. 

So let’s get ready to RUUUUUMBBLLLLE! (Editor’s Note: No, we have to do Knull now).

Knull’s powers 

Marvel Comics

Weighing an incredible whatever he wants to and measuring a towering… well, he’s a shapeshifter, so again, whatever he wants… Knull might not have much of a record onscreen, but in the comics, he hammered Thor, killed a Celestial, and even defeated the Silver Surfer. Basically, Knull’s a champ in the making, and he’s got the powers to prove it:

Super strength: Knull may look weedy, but he’s packing plenty of muscle under that black goo. In the comics, we’ve seen him decapitate Celestials and wrestle with Thor, characters who are normally considered the strongest in the universe.

Symbiote physiology: As the God of Symbiotes, Knull doesn’t have a body in the strictest sense of the word. He’s a big pile of black snot, which gives him some amazing powers. He can regenerate from serious wounds, shapeshift, and create weapons from nothing, giving him immense durability and stamina. Basically, he’s very difficult to hurt, and even if you can hurt him, it will not keep him down for long as he’s functionally immortal. 

Marvel Comics

Divine being: Knull isn’t some jobber claiming to be a god (I’m looking at you, Loki). He’s a literal capital ‘G’ god. As a result, he’s got divine powers, which put him in an entirely different weight class than most other beings in the Marvel universe. 

As the God of Symbiotes, he can manipulate something known as the Living Abyss, which he uses to create symbiote matter, Symbiote Dragons, and other powerful weapons. This also gives him complete dominion over all symbiotes, allowing him to remotely control any and all symbiotes in the galaxy. 

Darkness manipulation: Knull is capable of manipulating dark energy and focusing it into powerful energy blasts.

Time travel: Knull isn’t bound by petty three-dimensional thinking. He exists whenever and wherever symbiotes exist and can use them to travel through time. 

Flight: Knull can fly. Did you expect a god to walk?

Can we rumble now? (Editor’s note: Yes!). Finally! Let’s get ready to RUUUUUMBBLLLLE!

Thanos vs. Knull

Marvel Studios

Sorry, Thanos fans, but you probably realized this during the weigh-in: the Mad Titan (and certainly the MCU version of him) is at a massive disadvantage here. 

Knull just has too many tricks up his sleeve for Thanos to deal with. Even if we presume that Thanos is stronger and faster than Knull (which is debatable), he just can’t deal with his regeneration and energy manipulation powers.

I just don’t see how the Titan puts Knull down. It’s not much of a surprise, is it? After all, Thanos needed the Infinity Gauntlet to become a god, but Knull simply is one. So, sorry, but Knull takes it in the first round by knockout… don’t blame me! Blame the writers who made Knull so overpowered!

Of course, if this was comics, Thanos or he had the Gauntlet? Well, that would be an entirely different story. If you love Marvel and want more of our hot takes, check out our ranking of all the MCU movies. We’ve also got an extensive guide to the Marvel movie timeline and individual guides about all the upcoming Marvel movies, including Fantastic Four, Captain America 4, and Avengers: Doomsday!