Scarlet Witch


While Wanda has been a part of the MCU ever since Phase 2’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, the concept of Scarlet Witch as an entity was only introduced at the beginning of Phase 4 with WandaVision. The MCU decided to introduce the Scarlet Witch as an entity, retconning Wanda’s powers as magical rather than just something created by the Mind Stone. Wanda had been one of the strongest MCU characters from the beginning. Even still, her appearances throughout the Infinity Saga did not do the character justice compared to how strong Wanda is in the comics. Marvel’s Phase 4 fixed that by focusing on Wanda’s reality-warping abilities, which were elevated by the events of WandaVision and the Darkhold. By the time Doctor Strange meets Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Scarlet Witch was already one of the strongest beings in the entire multiverse. The Scarlet Witch killed the Illuminati in a matter of minutes without breaking a sweat, the same Illuminati team that was able to defeat Earth-838 Thanos. The Scarlet Witch could end a fight against Thanos in the blink of an eye, even if Thanos has the Infinity Stones, simply by bending reality around Thanos’ body as she did against Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange 2.

Zeus


The Marvel gods are generally characters who could defeat Thanos, and now Phase 4 has introduced one of the strongest MCU gods – Zeus. Not much was shown regarding Zeus’ powers in Thor: Love and Thunder, with the Russell Crowe character serving more as a plot obstacle in Thor’s journey than as a hero or villain. That said, Zeus had his signature Thunderbolt in Thor: Love and Thunder, a magical weapon that would make Thanos struggle. Both Infinity War and Endgame showed Thanos having a difficult time against Thor, the God of Thunder, and its two weapons – the Mjolnir and Stormbreaker. Zeus seems to be on par with Thor in the MCU, meaning that a fight between Zeus and Thanos would most likely not end well for the Mad Titan. Zeus could fight Thanos both from a close distance and long range thanks to the Thunderbolt, and it would probably not take long before Zeus could hurt Thanos.

Gorr The God Butcher


While Gorr himself is not particularly powerful, the Thor: Love and Thunder villain became a menace to the universe upon acquiring All-Black the Necrosword. When wielding the Necrosword, Gorr received superhuman strength, superhuman stamina, superhuman intelligence, and the ability to travel through other dimensions. Gorr the God Butcher made a name for himself by going on a god-killing spree throughout the universe, and while most of it happened offscreen, Thor: Love and Thunder established Gorr as one of the most powerful villains to have been featured in the MCU – if not the most powerful. Gorr was able to fight Thor and Mighty Thor at close range, meaning that he would be able to do the same against Thanos quite easily. Thanos’ sword and armor would not be able to stop Gorr and the Necrosword, and not even the Infinity Stones would be of much help against an adversary who could travel to other dimensions and cast Shadow Monsters to fight on his behalf.

Hercules


Hercules was introduced in Thor: Love and Thunder’s post-credits scene, and while his power level in the MCU is still unknown, Hercules is one of the strongest Marvel heroes in the comics when it comes to sheer physical abilities. Hercules would win in hand-to-hand combat against most heroes and villains in the comics, and if the MCU brings that to the big screen, then Hercules is sure one of Marvel’s Phase 4 characters who could have defeated Thanos. Unlike the Hulk, Hercules could have beaten an Infinity Stones-less Thanos in hand-to-hand combat relatively easily. That said, when it comes to a Thanos powered by all six Infinity Stones, Hercules might not have too much of a chance.