Any Marvel fan can attest to the fact that Thanos is one of the strongest villains in the cosmos, even without the use of the Infinity Gauntlet, and one epic crossover series highlighted that fact by putting one of his forgotten powers on full display, and in doing so, proved that it is way stronger than many fans might know.
Thanos is an Eternal born with a Deviant strain, giving him his iconic appearance rather than essentially just looking like a regular human (like the other Eternals). Despite his apparent disfigurement, Thanos was widely accepted by his Eternal brethren, until it became clear that Thanos’ physical appearance wasn’t what made him stand apart–it was his mind. Thanos grew overly interested in universal higher-beings, especially the entity that he believed to be the greatest power in existence: Death. Thanos became obsessed with courting Death, and he devoted his life to winning her affection–thus leading to the many conflicts he would have with the life-valuing superheroes, the Avengers. All the powers and abilities Thanos was born with were used to their fullest extent against his enemies in pursuit of his dream–including one that apparently always packed way more of a punch than anyone really knew: Thanos’ eye beams.
Thanos’ Eye Beams are Strong Enough to Match Darkseid’s Omega Beams
In DC Versus Marvel #3 by Ron Marz, Dan Jurgens, and Claudio Castellini, the DC and Marvel Universes are colliding in tournament-style one-on-one combat orchestrated by two cosmic beings to decide the fate of both universes. Basically, there are two beings more powerful than any other, and one of them lords over Marvel while the other’s domain is DC. The thing is, though, that there aren’t supposed to be two of them, just one, and the fact that there are two is a cosmic mistake that needed immediate correction. So, to see which one would remain (along with their corresponding universe), the two beings pitted Marvel against DC, and whichever side won more fights would be allowed to remain–and one of those fights was Thanos vs Darkseid.
The comic didn’t linger on their conflict for too long, but it was just long enough to see something truly remarkable: Thanos’ eye beams were a match for Darkseid’s Omega Beams. It is fair to say that many fans–especially those who primarily follow the MCU–totally forgot that Thanos had the power to shoot lasers from his eyes. Well, this comic not only reaffirms that ability, but also establishes that it is insanely strong–like, on a multiversal level. Darkseid’s Omega Beams are strong enough to hurt Kryptonians, fast enough to catch speedsters, and powerful enough to obliterate entire worlds. Not only that, but the Omega Beams have a ‘lock-on’ aspect that ensures they never miss their target. Plus, practically anything Darkseid hits with his Omega Beams are not only immediately disintegrated, but then become subject to recreation with a mere thought–essentially making any victim of the Omega Beams Darkseid’s play-thing forever.
The Omega Beams channel an energy that Thanos’ eye beams shouldn’t be able to compete with, as Thanos’ power is one inherent in every Eternal (he just chooses to shoot them through his eyes) and aren’t connected to a multiversal powersource beyond mortal comprehension. But, beyond all apparent logic and reason, this issue clearly shows that Thanos’ eye beams are equally strong as Darkeid’s Omega Beams–meaning this forgotten power is way more powerful than Marvel fans have ever given it credit for.