Drax Not Fighting Thanos Was Surprising, But Made His Story Better

Despite the character’s comic book origins, Drax the Destroyer from Guardians of the Galaxy has never fought the MCU’s Thanos one-on-one in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the MCU, Drax is an alien who takes everything literally, and whose wife and child were murdered by Thanos before the events of Guardians of the Galaxy. As a result, Drax has a strong vendetta against the Mad Titan. In the comics, Drax is an Avatar of Life, basically an artificial human created with the sole purpose of destroying Thanos, a very different origin story and power level from how he’s been depicted in the MCU.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax’s entire character hinged on wanting to kill Thanos, and was the entire reason Drax became involved with Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy team. Then when Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame came out, many were looking forward to seeing Drax have his opportunity for vengeance against Thanos, but there was very little opportunity. Drax fought against Thanos twice in Infinity War, being dispatched instantly the first time, and only restraining Thanos alongside other heroes during their second fight. During Endgame, they never fought directly at all.

Drax’s story arc in the comics and the movies is about how he lost loved ones to Thanos, and wants to get vengeance. But even though Drax kills Thanos in the comics, it wouldn’t have worked as well with the MCU Drax. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it becomes clear that the Guardians are Drax’s family now, and this provides him motivation outside of solely seeking revenge. Though it’s clear in Infinity War that Drax the Destroyer is still dealing with the grief of his loss, he learns after his first encounter with Thanos that thoughtlessly rushing in also risks the lives of his team – if only because he blames said team for getting in his way. As such, Drax’s focus seemingly moved from mindlessly seeking revenge above all else to trying to make sure the Guardians were safe while also ensuring Thanos could hurt no one else as he did Drax – something that didn’t require him to personally face the Mad Titan. Though this drew him away from facing Thanos, it served to flesh out the character more, and also ensured that the MCU Drax arc wasn’t entirely tied to the MCU villain.

Would Drax Have Won A Fight Against Thanos In The MCU?

While it may have been disappointing to not see Drax destroy Thanos, Drax in the MCU is a very different character from Drax in the comics. Drax the Destroyer in Marvel Comics is supremely powerful, one member of a short list of characters who have killed Thanos in a one-on-one fight. His MCU counterpart isn’t weak, but pales in comparison to the comic book version. It’s unlikely the MCU’s Drax could stand up to Thanos, especially since Thanos already had the Infinity Gauntlet and multiple Infinity Stones every time the two met. Had Drax and Thanos fought entirely one-on-one, it’s unlikely Drax would have survived, which would have ultimately hurt the overall Guardians of the Galaxy plot and group dynamic.

While much of Drax’s life hinged around wanting to personally kill Thanos, his arc is far more interesting diverging from this storyline, and showing how finding family in the Guardians ultimately serves to heal the warrior from his trauma, not just killing his enemy. Though it would’ve been very satisfying to watch one of the characters who had suffered because of Thanos for the longest kill him, Drax in the MCU developed in a way where this would have only come off as a little forced. Drax’s personal arc had grown to give him priorities other than Thanos’ demise – even if the Infinity Saga showed he still wanted to murder him – and was also far weaker than Thanos every time they would’ve had the chance to fight. For now, Drax’s story isn’t over yet, as the character is set to appear one final time in the MCU Phase 5 with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 before the character is retired. Drax the Destroyer has been an audience favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his introduction, and ultimately his arc is made more interesting by it not following the lines it initially seemed he was destined to go down.