Avengers: Infinity War - 10 MCU Heroes Strong Enough To Face Thanos

In 2018, Avengers: Infinity War will fold together every corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing dozens of powerful characters into one big cinematic event that will find Earth's Mightiest Heroes battling Thanos to determine the fate of the universe.

The cast list - without even considering the folk we don't know about - is huge, containing the likes of Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thor, but who, out of this esteemed bunch of heroes, will prove most valuable when it comes to laying down the smack?

The recent trailer showed us that Spider-Man doesn't fare very well while Iron Man looks to be in serious trouble, but thankfully, the MCU's hero list is expansive, diverse, and contains more than enough individuals worthy of stepping up to face Thanos.

For the purpose of this list, Thanos will not have collected all the Infinity Stones and put them on the Gauntlet just yet - otherwise, there wouldn't be a fight. Thanos would win. Instantly.

Maybe he has one or two, but for the most part, we're focusing on raw combat ability, just to make things more interesting.

Captain America's shield has proven capable of withstanding a powerful blow from Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, so assuming Steve Rogers is outfitted with a similar vibranium accessory (y'know, "get this man a shield"), he should be able to stand up to Thanos for a while.

The power in that Mjolnir strike has to be on the same level - or a higher level - than a punch from Thanos, meaning that as long as Steve can use his shield wisely and keep front toward enemy, he can block punches, kicks, and jabs, returning a few of his own inbetween.

Whether Steve's punches will have any effect on Thanos, we don't know, but he's a skilled, experienced fighter, so even if his attacks are too weak to register, he'll be able to keep the Mad Titan occupied while a stronger hero dishes out the pain.

But if he's just fighting and defending with his own two hands - i.e. he lacks a shield, or something else as strong as vibranium - he won't last anywhere near as long.

Yes, he's a lot smaller than Thanos so he should be able to dodge and avoid some attacks, but one punch from this opponent could break Steve's bones. Plus, since Steve can't fly like a lot of other heroes, his manoeuvres are limited, and he doesn't have many escape options if he's struggling.