How Goku From Dragon Ball Super Could Beat The MCU's Thanos

When it comes to hypothetical battles between fictional characters, the gold standard is almost always Goku, the Super Saiyan protagonist of the "Dragon Ball" series. Meanwhile, thanks to the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Mad Titan Thanos has earned considerably more regard among mainstream viewers as a formidable and nigh-unbeatable foe. These two, for one reason or another, are both considered to be among the strongest beings in their respective universes. Thus, it only makes sense to pit them against each other, even if only in our imaginations.

However, there is one major problem with this matchup: the Infinity Gauntlet. Unlike most heroes and villains, Thanos' trademark weapon, the Infinity Gauntlet, has the potential to make him an unstoppable entity with godlike powers. As seen at the end of "Avengers: Infinity War," a simple snap of one's fingers while wearing the gauntlet (fully equipped with its power source, the Infinity Stones, of course) is enough to wipe out half of all life in the universe.

Generally speaking, Goku is far stronger than Thanos without the Gauntlet. As the universe's strongest warrior, Goku could destroy entire planets with a gesture. However, none of the feats he is famous for include anything that would trump a reality-warping weapon such as the Infinity Gauntlet. Even so, the fight is not hopeless for Goku. Looking into his more recent past, we see one clear way that Goku from "Dragon Ball Super" could beat Thanos.

The hierarchy of gods in the "Dragon Ball" universe has been in constant flux since the original author, Akira Toriyama, introduced the character Kami. Early on, Kami was seen as being at the top of the food chain. As time went on, however, Toriyama created new gods that outrank Kami, including King Kai, the Supreme Kais, Beerus, and finally, Zeno, the ultimate deity of the "Dragon Ball" universe.

In traditional Goku fashion, our hero manages to make fast friends with the surprisingly child-like Zeno. This leads Zeno to gift Goku with something very special, a button that will summon Zeno to Goku's location immediately upon being pressed (via Dragon Ball Wiki). If Goku happens to be in a bind when he presses the button, Zeno will gladly help Goku by literally erasing the problem in question out of existence. This has only happened on one occasion in "Dragon Ball Super," when Goku summons Zeno to erase the unstoppable lesser-god-gone-mad Infinite Zamasu at the end of the "Future" Trunks Saga.

While it is not 100% clear if Zeno has any control over beings from outside his universe, it is possible that he does. However, the same cannot be said for the Infinity Stones, which only work in "their native universe" (via Inverse). On top of that, there are interdimensional beings whose powers exceed that of the stones, meaning that Zeno could very well be more powerful than all the stones put together.