Apocalypse and Thanos are two of the strongest supervillains in Marvel Comics. While one is an Eternal with a cult like army at his command, the other is an ancient mutant sorcerer who will stop at nothing until humanity is destroyed. The Marvel Cinematic Universe took a gamble with Thanos and 10 years later, it paid off splendidly. The Infinity War saga was one heck of a ride. The Avengers almost lost everything before one final stand helped them save the say in Endgame. But if it was Apocalypse instead of Thanos in Endgame, things would have turned out VERY differently.
Thanos mostly squares off against the Avengers while Apocalypse usually trades fists with the X-Men. Both of them have fought and won against powerful Marvel heavy hitters like the Hulk and Thor. But there’s a reason why we believe Apocalypse would have absolutely decimated Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on his own, a feat Thanos couldn’t achieve.
Unlike Thanos, Apocalypse Doesn’t Rely On Fancy Toys
The Mad Titan is a wonderful fighter. On his own, he easily subdued the Hulk and even the MCU Holy trinity – Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. In a one on one (or one on three) battle to the death, Thanos can take care of himself. But when he is overwhelmed, Thanos resorts to his fancy toys. Every fan would agree that without his Infinity Gauntlet and his Outrider army, Thanos would have never been able to defeat the entirety of the Avengers.
En Sabah Nur does not have a penchant for that much gadgetry. 5000 years of walking the planet has made him realize that he is his own greatest ally. The plethora of experience (and the mutant abilities and mystical knowledge) he has collected over the years is more than enough for him to take on the Avengers.
He Has Magic & Godlike Energy Manipulation Abilities
When you throw any kind of energy based attack his way, it only makes Apocalypse stronger. Many heroes of the MCU have energy based powers. Thor spews lightning. The Scarlet Witch uses chaos magic. Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and even Doctor Strange use energy attacks.
None of those attacks work on him because Apocalypse can absorb literally any attack to reinforce his own abilities. This literally takes away half of everything in the Avengers’ arsenal. His mastery over magic could rival even that of Doctor Strange’s. Apocalypse is the real deal.
The Four Horsemen Make The Black Order Look Like Wusses
The Black Order are Thanos’ generals that carry out his commands all over the galaxy. They look formidable but are nowhere near as strong as Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen. The Horsemen of Apocalypse are the main strike force of the mutant tyrant. Apocalypse personally chooses mutant heroes and villains to take on the mantle of Death, Famine, War, and Pestilence.
His understanding of Celestial technology allows Apocalypse to augment each of his Horsemen’s abilities to Godlike proportions. The Black Order may be strong but they don’t hold a candle to Apocalypse’s Horsemen.
A Whole Array Of Unique Abilities Thanos Wishes He Had
His original mutant ability was the ability to change his molecular structure. But this is a guy obsessed with evolution. Over the course of thousands of years, En Sabah Nur has increased his arsenal by leaps and bounds. He can heal himself instantly, change his size and density, and even has telepathy and telekinesis.
Access to Celestial technology and techno-organic viruses makes him impervious to damage and allows him to take over any form of technology and machinery.
MCU Avengers Would’ve Lost Had They Fought Apocalypse
He has so unique abilities that we have already lost count. The movie ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ maye have tarnished his good name but had he been in the MCU, En Sabah Nur would have wrecked the whole planet. And he could have done it without Thanos’ precious Infinity Stones.
