Summary

• Thanos, Kang, and Doctor Doom are all major villains in the Marvel Universe, with Thanos having been the most powerful due to his possession of the Infinity Stones.
• Kang the Conqueror is the biggest threat to the Avengers in the MCU, with the Council of Kangs seemingly preparing to directly destroy the Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
• While Thanos destroyed half of all life in the universe, Kang and Doctor Doom have also committed heinous acts, making it difficult to determine which villain achieved the worst feats. However, Doctor Doom could have the most compelling origins and a greater longevity as an MCU big bad.

Thanos the Mad Titan, Kang the Conqueror, and Doctor Doom are all major villains in the Marvel Universe. While Thanos and Kang are already part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as overarching villains, it's likely only a matter of time before Doctor Doom follows suit. However, one has to wonder which of these foes is the most powerful.

In the MCU's initial MCU's version of Doctor Doom, especially with both a Fantastic Four reboot and Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon. Here's a comparison of all three villains in the MCU (or soon to be), and where they rank regarding power levels, origin stories, worst acts committed on-screen, and more.

Related: How To Watch the Marvel Movies In Order (By Release Date & In Order Of MCU Timeline Events)

Who Is Most Powerful? Kang, Thanos, Or Doctor Doom?

Winner: Thanos

Comparing each villain at the height of their powers and traditional resources in the MCU (but using the comics in the case of Doom), it's firstly important to note that all three big bads possess genius-level intellects. That certainly explains their positions as overarching villains as some of the most prominent foes both on the page and on screen. They always have a grand plan or scheme in the works. However, Thanos does appear to be the prevailing winner in of sheer power and ability thanks to the Infinity Stones.

Kang and Doctor Doom are incredibly powerful in their own right. While Kang is a master of time with all kinds of futuristic technology at his disposal thanks to his Time Sphere and neuro-kinetic suit, Doom himself is an equal master of both sorcery and science as seen in the comics. Doom also gained god-like power when he reformed reality into the realm known as Battleworld seen in 2015's Secret Wars, becoming its God Emperor (who also ripped Thanos' skull and spine from his body during the event). However, Doom's power and the world he created were only temporary -as was Thanos' death- and not part of Doom's typical power-set.

However, it does seem as though Thanos is still the victor considering all that can be done while wielding the Infinity Stones. Likewise, even if he didn't have the Stones and Kang and Doom were without their typical technology and weapons, Thanos' superhuman Titan physiology is on par with the Incredible Hulk. It would likely give him the upper hand against the two humans, darkly brilliant and resourceful as they may be.

Which MCU Villain Is The Biggest Threat To The Avengers?

Winner: Kang

In of which villain serves to be the biggest threat to the Avengers, one could argue that Kang the Conqueror is the front-runner based on what's been seen in the MCU thus far. After all, the threat of Thanos was limited to a singular universe once he gained all the Infinity Stones, and he only clashed with the Avengers once they got in his way. Likewise, the goals of Doctor Doom in the comics are rarely focused on the Avengers themselves.

Even Doom's transformation into God Emperor Doom during Secret Wars was his way of preserving a dying multiverse, albeit one where he was put in a position of absolute power and rule. While it's not known if the MCU's Secret Wars will follow the same narrative so closely, it would mean that both Thanos and Doom would be altruistically motivated in their own eyes. Conversely, all the collected Kang variants known as the Council of Kangs are seemingly preparing to destroy the Avengers directly, fearing that they will destroy everything they've established within the greater multiverse as was seen at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania:

None of us... killed him. They did. They're beginning to touch the Multiverse. And if we let them... they will take everything we built. So let's stop wasting time.

While the Avengers typically go after the villain to stop or undo their sinister plans such as with Thanos, the Council of Kangs has seemingly assembled for imminent war with Earth's Mightiest Heroes now that the multiverse has been accessed by heroes as seen in Phases 4 and 5. As such, a massive army of time-traveling conquerors could certainly be considered to be the biggest threat to the Avengers themselves. It also stands to reason that the Council's manipulations to the multiverse will pose a high degree of danger to its ongoing stability.

Related: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Which MCU Villain Has The Best Origin Story

Winner: Doctor Doom

Thanos' origins were improved from the comics to the MCU, giving the Mad Titan what he believed was a righteous cause to save the universe rather than eliminating half of all life simply because he was a nihilist. Likewise, the MCU's Kang the Conqueror is a man quite literally at war with himself, mirroring the comics while also highlighting the versions of him seeking to save the multiverse from himself right alongside those who wish to conquer it. As such, the MCU has established that Kang is countless different villains all at once thanks to his variants.

However, the MCU has a chance to give Victor von Doom some incredibly compelling origins that could sur the on-screen versions of both Thanos and Kang. Having lost his mother in a deal with the devil Mephisto gone wrong, Doom dedicated his life to the study of both science and magic, becoming extremely proficient in both. While he can match wits with his greatest rival Mister Fantastic known as the smartest man alive, he's also a worthy candidate to become Sorcerer Supreme (something that has yet to be seen with past live-action Doctor Dooms).

Having extreme amounts of both vanity and ego, Doom truly believed taking over the world would bring a level of improvement and order only he could provide, beginning with his rule over the nation of Latveria. Doom's ego would then culminate with Secret Wars where he made himself both God and Emperor. Considering the rumors of an eventual Mephisto debut, the confirmed Fantastic Four movie in development, and Avengers: Secret Wars all coming to the MCU within the next few years, the core beats of Doom's multi-layered and dynamic origins could certainly be adapted for the screen.

Which MCU Villain Achieved The Worst Feats?

Winner: Three-Way Tie

It's quite hard to decide which villain has committed the most atrocious act. Thanos destroyed half of all life in the universe while also killing his own adopted daughter in the process of obtaining the Infinity Stones, not to mention violently killing Vision and half of countless worlds before the events of Infinity War and Endgame. Conversely, the Kang variant He Who Remains destroyed entire universes and timelines using the Time Variance Authority, preventing the rise of his fellow variants who themselves committed their own horrible acts such as the first Multiversal War, not to mention whatever the Council of Kangs has done as a united force.

In the comics, Doctor Doom didn't just save reality by creating Battleworld in Secret Wars. He also erased everyone's memories and past lives from the old multiverse to make them his faithful subjects. It also allowed him to replace Mister Fantastic by making Reed's wife Sue Storm his along with their kids in this new realm of his own making. He also once sent Mister Fantastic's son Franklin to Hell elsewhere in the comics, not to mention killing one of the few women he ever loved in his insatiable lust for more power.

Related: Every Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond)

MCU Villain Longevity Compared

Winner: Thanos (Perhaps Doctor Doom?)

Having been the overarching big bad across the 23 films that make up the Infinity Saga, Thanos has certainly had the longest tenure in the MCU thus far. Whether it was teases, references, post-credits cameos, and eventually full-on appearances wielding the Infinity Stones, the presence of the Mad Titan is quite vast. This includes his dark legacy following his death which has still been felt in the aftermath of the Infinity Saga thanks to the Blip and the five years that were lost by half of the universe.

The threat of Kang the Conqueror began with 2021's Loki season 1 during Phase 4 and will likely end with 2026's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in Phase 6, giving Marvel Studios only five years to set up the big bad compared to Thanos who had over 10 years including the set-up of the Infinity Stones he was after. While that doesn't necessarily limit his presence considering the increase of projects released by Marvel Studios annually, it still presents a greater challenge. Likewise, the threat of Kang is intrinsically tied to the multiverse. If the multiverse gets destroyed in Secret Wars as it was in the comics, there may be more of a definitive endpoint for Kang.

That being said, the eventual debut of Doctor Doom in the MCU is nothing but untapped potential. Even if Doom doesn't appear until after Secret Wars, the dark beauty of Victor von Doom is how versatile of a threat he can be to so many different kinds of heroes despite his initial creation as a Fantastic Four villain. It's quite possible he could outpace both Thanos and Kang in the MCU's future.