The Infinity Gauntlet is notorious among Marvel fans. Those fans recently got to see their first glimpse of the Infinity Gauntlet in action in Avengers: Infinity War, and it was terrifying. The legendary Gauntlet enabled the Mad Titan Thanos to snap his fingers and impose his will on the entire universe, making him nigh unstoppable and causing audiences to worry about the Avengers' fates.

The Infinity Gauntlet is one of those weapons that comes along when a comics writer wants to menace an entire universe full of superheroes and superpowered weapons. Boasting virtually limitless power, the Infinity Gauntlet can alter the shape of reality with a mere snap of the fingers. It trumps (nearly) everything else in existence, as it is armed with six Infinity Stones-- Time, Reality, Space, Mind, Power, and Soul. Each stone grants Thanos specific powers, ranging from time travel to energy beams, but all together they grant him dominion over the universe itself.

When it comes to movies like Infinity War, superpowered weapons become more important than ever. As fans watched, they were likely wondering what, if anything, could possibly defeat Thanos when he wielded the Infinity Gauntlet.

We scoured all of comics history (DC, Marvel, and a couple in between) to find what fictional weapons, if any, could stand up to the big gold glove. Just to really show you how powerful the Infinity Gauntlet is, we also included a few famous superhero weapons that could never hope to beat it.

Here are 8 Weapons That Could Totally Beat The Infinity Gauntlet (And 7 That Would Be Worthless). 

15 Beat: Lanterns’ Power Rings

If you've heard anything about the Lantern Corps power rings, you've likely heard them in the same sentence as "the most powerful weapon in the universe," so it shouldn't surprise you to see them here. There has never been any specified limit to the power of the Lanterns' rings-- since each power ring depends on the strength of a specific emotion from its wielder, there's really no telling how powerful the rings could become with the right user.

The powers the rings grant include a protective life-support suit, flight, energy beams, and virtually any construct the wielder can think of, made from an unspecified kind of solidified light.

It makes sense that the most powerful weapon in DC's universe would square up against the most powerful weapon in Marvel's universe, the Infinity Gauntlet. Both of the weapons rely on the strength and imagination of their wielder to be effective in battle, and while the Infinity Gauntlet has a wider range of powers, there's really no telling what the power rings' limits are.

It's not guaranteed that a Green Lantern could defeat Thanos while he had the gauntlet, but there would also be no guarantee that Thanos would win. Because the outcome is in doubt, that means the Lantern could prevail, so it makes the list.

14 Worthless: Iron Man’s Suits

We can back this entry up with cold hard facts from Avengers: Infinity War. Fans know that Iron Man's suits can't do much against the Infinity Gauntlet, because they watched Tony Stark use his most technologically advanced suit to fight Thanos while he wielded the gauntlet.

Thanos didn't even have all of the Infinity Stones at this point, but he was more than a match for Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Mantis, and Drax the Destroyer all at once. Imagine what he could have done at full power.

Iron Man's suits are cutting edge technology in the Marvel universe (at least outside of Wakanda), but they don't have the overwhelming power of even one Infinity Stone, let alone several combined.

In a straight-up fight, Iron Man could never stand a chance against an opponent with the Infinity Gauntlet. Unlike the weapons on this list that could give the gauntlet a run for its money, Iron Man's suits are too bound by manmade technology. They don't have any spirits of wizards or Asgardian magic or time travel to help them-- they're pretty much just rockets and lasers.

You can't beat Thanos with just rockets and lasers, and we know this, because Tony tried.

13 Beat: Stormbreaker

Fans who saw Avengers: Infinity War should have expected this one. Thor's Stormbreaker is a weapon forged for the kings of Asgard, a weapon that can cleave through anything, be it gods, monsters, titans, or the power of the Infinity Gauntlet. T

hor makes a dramatic entrance in Infinity War and immediately changes the face of an entire battlefield as he waits for the Mad Titan Thanos to arrive. When he finally does, Thor buries his lightning axe in Thanos' chest, a seemingly final blow. The problem is, with the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos is able to rewrite reality with his last breath.

Thanos basically says it himself: if Thor had aimed at Thanos' head, it would have been an instant elimination, and would have won the battle.

Thus, we can pretty much empirically say that Stormbreaker is a weapon that can defeat the Infinity Gauntlet. Audiences watched Stormbreaker fly through the Infinity Gauntlet's energy beams without breaking a sweat. It may not have all the crazy powers of the Gauntlet, but it can match it blow for blow, and as long as its wielder aims for the head, there isn't much anyone can do to stop it.

12 Worthless: Hawkeye and Green Arrow’s Bows

This is kind of a no-brainer, really, and also a pretty decent explanation of why Hawkeye didn't appear in Infinity War.

We're going to put it simply: you can't beat an almighty titan with a regular bow, even if you do have a bunch of snazzy trick arrows.

Green Arrow and Hawkeye are fun superheroes who bring tons of skills to the table, but they'd have trouble beating Thanos, even without any Infinity Stones. When Thanos has the Infinity Gauntlet, with the six most powerful objects in the universe strapped to it? Forget it.

The Power Stone alone would be too much for Green Arrow and Hawkeye to deal with. Yes, their bows each pack a punch (especially seeing as Hawkeye was clearly based on Green Arrow), with arrows that explode or electrocute or ensnare or what have you, but sometimes tricks are just no substitute for raw power.

There's a reason Hawkeye didn't join his friends in the fight against Thanos, and there's a reason Green Arrow wasn't as much of a priority as, say, Cyborg in the recent Justice League movie. Superhero cinematic universes tend to build towards galactic threats, terrifying world-ending conflicts. A guy with a bow and arrow may be fun to watch, but he doesn't really have a place among gods and titans.

11 Beat: The Sword of Superman

The Sword of Superman is pretty weird. Introduced in a 1984 Pre-Crisis Superman issue, it has since disappeared from pretty much all DC canon because it makes almost no sense.

Created by Elliot S. Maggin, the Sword of Superman was supposedly created during the Big Bang itself, long before Superman or even Earth existed. Somehow, the light of all creation coalesced into a sword that had Superman's symbol on it, and its existence explains why everyone in the universe knows who Superman is-- because they've heard the legend of the sword, or something.

Anyway, the big glowing sword flies down to Superman to help him during a fight with a villain (and not even a particularly strong one). After it somehow helps him defeat the villain, it offers to grant Superman virtual omniscience and omnipotence-- yeah, the sword offered to grant him powers.

Did we mention the sword was sentient? The sword was sentient.

Superman ends up rejecting all that power, because he thinks he's already powerful enough for some reason, but the point stands: the sword would have granted Superman virtually identical powers to those of the Infinity Gauntlet. With Superman wielding it, he would likely have handed Thanos his butt.

10 Worthless: Wonder Woman’s Lasso

Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth is a great tool. Known primarily as a device that forces those ensnared in it to tell the truth, it also happens to be indestructible. It appears to be of whatever length Wonder Woman needs it to be, and it can even encircle large amounts of people at once and make them all tell the truth.

However, none of that would stop the powers of the Infinity Gauntlet. Even if we include the Lasso's original powers of causing those caught in it to submit to its wielder, the Infinity Gauntlet has powers that protect its user from mind control.

In the end, the Lasso of Hestia would be pretty much useless against the Mad Titan and his Infinity Stones. It's a perfect lie detector and a great way for Wonder Woman to win people to her cause.

Like the character, the lasso was created by William Moulton Marston as an allegory for the dominance of women over others. Marston also helped invent one of the early prototypes for the lie detector test, so it should be no surprise to see a similar device in his comics. While the weapon itself wouldn't compete with the Infinity Gauntlet, in Wonder Woman's hands it could perhaps have convinced Thanos to give up his evil desires.

9 Beat: Mother Boxes

Mother Boxes featured prominently in the recent Justice League movie that everybody promptly forgot about, and fans may remember that when three were combined they could easily destroyed Earth.

Mother Boxes are essentially small supercomputers with a vast array of powers that includes (but is not limited to) teleportation, healing, transfer energy, rearrange matter, control machines, and even evolve sentient beings. The denizens of Apokolips are the only ones who can make Mother Boxes, and since Apokolips is ruled by Darkseid, you know that means the stuff they make is powerful.

The upper limits of Mother Boxes' powers are not fully known, as they seem to be catch-all devices that can do just about anything that needs to be done.

Similar to the Infinity Gauntlet, the possibilities with Mother Boxes are virtually endless. Not only that, in several storylines (including the DCEU), combing Mother Boxes makes them exponentially more powerful, so get enough of them together and they could almost certainly give the Gauntlet a hard time.

Just imagine: Darkseid and a sea of Mother Boxes against Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Who would win? It could go either way, and for that reason, Mother Boxes make the list.

8 Worthless: Captain America’s Shield

As it turns out, not everybody must yield when Captain America throws his mighty shield.

Cap's shield is certainly a useful weapon, with offensive and defensive capabilities thanks to its vibranium construction, but it just isn't on the same level as a weapon that could destroy the entire universe.

Using his shield, Cap could probably stall Thanos pretty effectively--since vibranium absorbs vibrations (and in the MCU, is the strongest metal there is), it could probably do a pretty good job of absorbing or deflecting the Infinity Gauntlet's energy beams. The problem would come from its offensive side.

The shield just wouldn't be able to bother Thanos much. Yes, it could defend Cap well enough, but there isn't much it could do in the way of actually defeating the Gauntlet.

The most Captain America can do with the shield is throw it really hard, and it takes more than that to beat someone wielding the most powerful weapon in existence.

Thanos could go back in time, teleport, blast the shield out of the air, or even change all of reality before Captain America's shield could do anything to hurt him while he had the Infinity Gauntlet. It might be useful in saving lives from the gauntlet's blasts, but the shield couldn't actually defeat it.

7 Beat: Mandarin’s Mystical Rings

The Ten Rings of the Mandarin earn their way onto this list because they function similarly to the Infinity Gauntlet itself.

Much like the separate Infinity Stones that sit on the Gauntlet, the Mandarin's rings each have separate powers-- though unlike the gauntlet, that's because each ring houses the spirit of an ancient warrior. Let's do a quick rundown of the powers the rings grant the Mandarin: with his rings, he can manipulate light, darkness, and gravity, produce fire, ice, and electricity, disintegrate matter, fly, change the air around him, mentally paralyze others, and emit sonic blasts. That's not even the full list--the ten rings grant more powers than that.

Now, admittedly, the Ten Rings might still have trouble going up against something like the Infinity Gauntlet. The Gauntlet can match most of the rings' powers, and likely at a much stronger rate. But like we've said before, this isn't a list of weapons that definitely would beat the Infinity Gauntlet, but a list of weapons that could beat it.

If the Mandarin used his rings correctly and caught Thanos unawares, he would have a shot at defeating the Mad Titan.

It's too bad that the only MCU Mandarin we've seen was a fake who was really named Trevor and wouldn't have known what the rings were.

6 Worthless: Wolverine’s Claws

Wolverine's claws are powerful weapons. They're made of adamantium, the hardest metal in the Marvel comics universe. It's a metal so unbreakable the only way to even bend it is to heat it up and melt it down. Because of this, Wolverine's claws cannot be worn down or broken, so they're always razor sharp and ready to go.

Ask Thanos if he cares how sharp Wolverine's claws are. He doesn't, because he has a weapon that can destroy Wolverine instantaneously, whether his bones are metal or not. Wolverine may have real tough bones and real sharp knuckles and heal real fast, but it just wouldn't make a difference to Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet.

The Infinity Gauntlet could destroy even adamantium without any trouble at all.

Wolverine's not the smartest of superheroes, nor the sneakiest, and in a frontal assault Thanos could fold him like a paperclip. It would be like bringing a damp piece of paper to a gun fight; it just wouldn't help much. If Thanos took on Wolverine without any weapons, Wolverine would stand a real chance-- given his claws and his healing factor, he could probably hang in the fight long enough for a chance to mortally wound the mad Titan. But when Thanos has access to all the Infinity Stones? The fight would be over before it begun.

5 Beat: Destroyer Armor

The Destroyer may not have been too impressive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but its comics counterpart packs a much stronger punch. In the first Thor film, the God of Thunder doesn't have too difficult a time putting the Destroyer out of commission once he gets his hammer back. But the fact that it took Mjolnir (a weapon that might have made it onto this list if it hadn't been usurped by Stormbreaker) to take down the Destroyer should tell you just how serious the suit of armor is. In the film, the Destroyer is like a guard robot, an automaton that Odin uses to guard the halls of Asgard.

In Marvel comics, however, the Destroyer is a bit more complicated. It is akin to a living suit of armor, one that exponentially increases the strength, speed, and fighting capabilities of its wearer. The most impressive thing about the armor is that its power level grows with the power of its wearer, meaning that its strength is nearly limitless. On top of its physical abilities, it can also fire deadly energy beams.

With an average human inside the Destroyer, it probably wouldn't do much against Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. But with an Asgardian? Or the spirits of multiple Asgardians (something Odin once did in the comics)? The Destroyer becomes a fearsome threat, on par with Stormbreaker itself.

4 Worthless: Batman’s Gadgets

This shouldn't really come as a surprise, but given that Batfans tend to think Batman can defeat anyone or anything with his bare hands, it probably needs saying.

Much like Iron Man, Batman may be a technical wiz, but his gadgets are still bound by more conventional interpretations of physics. No Batarang, no smokescreen, no Batvehicle would be able to stop Thanos with even one Infinity Stone, much less all six. Granted, Batman could probably outsmart Thanos somehow, but we're ranking weapons here, not heroes and villains, and Batman's gadgets simply would not be enough.

Just imagine the World's Greatest Detective as he uses his grapnel gun to swing around Thanos, who is holding in his hand a weapon that could reorder Batman's molecules in an instant.

Thanos could turn Batman into an actual bat before Batman's gadgets had any effect on the Mad Titan at all. Batman would need a much more powerful weapon than ropes and throwing bats to beat Thanos. Given Batman's experience fighting Darkseid (whom Thanos is based on), all he would really need would be the right tools. Maybe he should go talk to his super friend Superman, we think he's got a weapon or two that could do the trick.

3 Beat: The Helmet of Fate

One of the most powerful artifacts in the DC comics universe, the Helmet of Fate is what grants Doctor Fate, the agent of the Lords of Order, his power.

Kent Nelson, the most recognizable character to wear the helmet, had almost no powers of his own when he wasn't wearing it. Wearing the helm, he gains the powers of flight, invisibility, telekinesis, time travel, enhanced strength and speed, astral projection, future sight, and a whole host more. Not only is he also one of the more powerful sorcerers in the DC universe, Doctor Fate also has a legitimate claim to immortality while wearing the helmet. He's even had a limited series titled The Immortal Doctor Fate.

Stack all this up and you've got a weapon that could at least give the Infinity Gauntlet a run for its money.

In much the same way that the Gauntlet turns its wielder into a being that can reshape the universe at will, the Helmet of Fate turns its wearer into one of the strongest DC superheroes.

This is not to say the Helmet of Fate would easily defeat the Infinity Gauntlet in direct combat-- but it would at least give its wearer a fighting chance.

2 Worthless: Hellboy’s Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan is Hellboy's signature handgun, which is known for being very large and also for firing very large bullets. The gun is a powerful one, and its large caliber bullets allow it to penetrate through just about anything. However, while the Samaritan has been blessed by Catholics and its metal was forged from church bells and other sources of spiritual power, all of this would mean very little to the Infinity Gauntlet.

Just like Batman's gadgets or Iron Man's suits, the gun is still just a gun, and its bullets are still just bullets. The Good Samaritan may be able to penetrate most Earthly surfaces, but they'd still melt in the face of energy beams like the ones the Power Stone can fire.

If Hellboy managed to get a clean shot off at Thanos, the powerful bullets might have a chance of getting through his skin-- maybe. Thanos himself is a very powerful being, and Hellboy wouldn't have the easiest time taking him on in a fight even if he didn't have any Infinity Stones.

With the entire Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos would have no trouble withstanding a shot from a mere pistol, however large it is.

Hellboy's power comes from Hell itself, and he has his own ways of destroying worlds, just like Thanos, but he'd have to rely on other means to take down something as powerful as the Gauntlet.

1 Beat: The Heart of the Universe

In an alternate Marvel comics universe created specifically for a series called simply "The End," there exists something even stronger than the Infinity Gauntlet: The Heart of the Universe.

How could something be stronger than the Infinity Gauntlet, which can control reality, time, space, minds, and souls with its power, you ask? Simple. The Infinity Gauntlet allows its wielder to control the universe, but it is limited by its wielder's imagination and attention. The Heart of the Universe solves that problem, because its wielder doesn't just control the universe-- they become the universe.

In Marvel's The End storyline, Thanos (who else?) manages to become one with the Heart of the Universe. He is then attacked by eternal, cosmic beings like the Living Tribunal, Eternity, Infinity, and many others, but they can't do anything to stop him.

See, when Thanos merged with the Heart of the Universe, he became the entire universe, meaning that even immensely powerful beings like Eternity were nothing but a part of Thanos' greater whole. The Heart of the Universe may not be a part of Marvel's prime continuity (which resides in Earth-616, as opposed to The End's Earth-4321), but if it did, it could take on the Infinity Gauntlet and win handily.

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Did we miss any weapons that could overwhelm the Infinity Gauntlet from Avengers: Infinity War? Let us know in the comments!

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