God tier · Cosmic
Doctor Manhattan vs Thanos
Thanos has the Infinity Gauntlet. Doctor Manhattan already knows how the fight ends.
Tale of the tape
| Watchmen | Universe | Marvel |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmic | Tier | Cosmic |
| Complete control over matter and perception of all moments in time at once | Strength | The Infinity Gauntlet and a strategist’s patience |
| Detachment from humanity makes him indifferent | Weakness | Overconfidence once he holds absolute power |
| 1–2 | Record on Versus | 2–2 |
The Arena
Thanos came to Mars because his stones had detected a being of strange power living alone there, a power that existed in every moment of time at once. He found Doctor Manhattan sitting in a glass palace he had built from the red sand, staring at the stars. The blue man did not look up.
“You knew I was coming,” Thanos said. Manhattan’s voice was calm, almost bored. “I know you are here. I know you are leaving. I know the moment you will snap your fingers, and I know what happens after.” Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet. The six stones glowed. “Then you know you cannot stop it.”
Manhattan finally looked at him, his white eyes empty and endless. “It is already stopped. You simply haven’t reached that moment yet.”
Round One
Thanos used the Power Stone, a blast of purple energy that would have destroyed a planet. Manhattan disassembled himself into particles, let the blast pass through the space where he had been, and reassembled a moment later, unharmed. Thanos used the Space Stone to trap him. Manhattan teleported out of the trap before it closed.
Thanos frowned. He used the Reality Stone, rewriting the world around Manhattan into a cage of crystal. Manhattan looked at the crystal, understood its atomic structure completely, and rearranged it into a field of flowers. Thanos stared at the flowers growing in the Martian sand.
Manhattan had not attacked once. He did not seem interested in attacking at all.
The Turn
Thanos used the Time Stone to freeze Manhattan in a single moment, a trap that had held gods. But Manhattan did not exist in single moments. He experienced all of time simultaneously. Freezing one moment meant nothing to a being who was already standing in every other.
He stepped out of the frozen moment and stood beside Thanos. “You are going to try the Mind Stone next,” he said. Thanos, who had been about to use the Mind Stone, hesitated. “It will not work. I have no mind in the way you understand it.” Thanos used it anyway. Manhattan was right.
Thanos clenched the gauntlet and prepared to snap his fingers.
The Finish
Manhattan reached out, very gently, and touched the Infinity Gauntlet. He understood its structure, the way he understood all matter: the metal, the stones, the energy flowing between them. And he simply disconnected them. The six stones fell out of the gauntlet one by one and dropped into the red sand.
Thanos stared at his empty glove. For the first time in his long life, the Mad Titan had nothing. Manhattan picked up the stones, examined them with mild interest, and handed them back to him one by one. “I have already seen what you do with these,” he said. “It doesn’t make you happy. Nothing does.”
Thanos sat down in the sand beside the glass palace, holding the stones in his enormous hands, and looked at the stars for a very long time. Manhattan sat beside him. Neither of them spoke. For two beings who could do almost anything, they had a great deal in common: neither of them knew what they wanted.
The verdict
Doctor Manhattan wins
The Infinity Gauntlet controls reality, but Doctor Manhattan perceives every moment at once, has no mind for the Mind Stone to control, and understands matter so completely that he can simply take the gauntlet apart.
- Time perceptionManhattan sees every move Thanos will make before he makes it.
- Matter controlHe disassembles the gauntlet itself.
- ImmunityTime and mind powers have nothing to grip on him.
How the rematch could go differently: A Thanos with the full Infinity Gauntlet who snapped instantly, before Manhattan could act, might rewrite reality first.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Doctor Manhattan and Thanos?
Doctor Manhattan wins. The Infinity Gauntlet controls reality, but Doctor Manhattan perceives every moment at once, has no mind for the Mind Stone to control, and understands matter so completely that he can simply take the gauntlet apart.