historian said:
I should also add that I agree w/Alzrius that there, at least theoretically, could be a being more powerful than Thanos merged w/HOU
Well, that wasn't really the point I was trying to make, but I certainly do think that that is true (just look at The Brothers from the Marvel vs. DC crossover. Those guys are, from what I can tell, meant to be the absolute top of the power-chain).
(If I recall the purple guy was unable to correct a fundamental flaw in the fabric of reality even post-merger).
To be perfectly fair, Thanos
did correct the flaw in the universe, it's just that doing so necessitated destroying the universe and then re-making it, exactly as it was, from scratch; a process that took all of Thanos's power after becoming the Heart of the Universe. Luckily for him, that also included remaking himself as well (without that power).
Although I find it very difficult to identify a fictional character offhand who would take him down (maybe The Source from DC?).
See "The Brothers" above.
That said, I found it interesting that Thanos kept making veiled allusions that the being who previously had that much power (how and where were left nebulous) was, in fact, God; but also that God could not (or would not; presumably because of the price involved in power expenditure) correct the flaw in the universe, and so deliberately manipulated Thanos into doing so.
Of course, we could speculate that the HOU is truly a limitless artifact and that Thanos really could have done anything but 'couldn't' bring himself to will certain things to happen - this though raises some of the 'paradoxes' of omnipotence (i.e. could an omnipotent being create a rock that he couldn't lift, etc.).
I prefer to think of it that true omnipotence, in the most literal sense of the word, doesn't exist. There's just being who have such vast amounts of power that, on our measurement abilities, it becomes hard to see how they aren't all-powerful (to each other, though, the differences would be clear). Just imagine how the amoeba thinks of us (we'd be human Celestials).
Upper_Krust said:
However if Thanos was able to destroy the Living Tribunal who can himself destroy an entire reality; it does pose some circular arguments.
Only from a certain point of view. Thanos could (and I think did) have more sheer power than the Living Tribunal when he was one with the Heart of the Universe. The Living Tribunal can destroy the entire universe. Thanos did, and the Tribunal as well, so obviously he's more powerful than that. However, raising the bar by saying he could "destroy multiple realities" is assigning him power he doesn't have...either due to limitations on his power as is, or because the Heart of the Universe is itself limited to just the Marvel Universe.
The trouble is using the proper terms to quantify how much power one has. Thanos with the Heart of the Universe can do more than destroy a reality, but not so much as to destroy multiple ones...so he's more than the Living Tribunal, but less than the power your list gives him there.
Regarding Hunger; I always thought the entity was drawn far too 'cartoon-like' to represent a serious threat. I mean it was just a big black smilie face. Compare that to the Anti-Life equation from Cosmic Odyssey and theres a world of difference.
I thought Hunger looked cool when he was just addressing the reader. The way the panels with him were nothing but blackness with those vicious yellow eyes and somewhat-insane grin, and that he was actually talking to use, was rather intimidating. It was only when he moved into action that he seemed less threatening...like a large blob of black pudding with a face.
