What explains the difference between Thanos on Titan and on Earth?

Question

While on Titan Thanos was noticeably beaten and even almost lost, on Earth (which fight took place moments later) he got rid of anyone like flies. Captain American was the only one who actually managed to lay a blow and even that took less than 30 seconds before he was punched away.

Stone wise, the only difference was that on Earth Thanos also had the time stone. But he used it only after beating everyone.

Does it mean the group on Titan are better/stronger/smarter heroes than the group on Earth? Keep in mind the group on Earth actually had more time to prepare because Vision detected Thanos' arrival in advance.

Alternatively, since the primary stone Thanos used on Earth was the power one, does it mean each further stone enhances the power one, i.e. the time stone gave further boost to the power one?

I know Thanos had the gauntlet on all the time on Earth, but he also got a chance to wear it during the battle on Titan.

Was it something else?

Answer 1

We know he didn't almost lose on Titan.

Dr Strange checked a myriad of possible futures, and in none of them did they defeat Thanos on Titan and end the threat. If Thanos was "almost beaten" in any meaningful way, then some change in what the heroes did would have moved the result over to "beaten".

The most generous possibility is that they could have, at best, made Thanos retreat on Titan, then come back prepared and win anyhow.

This is relatively strong evidence that on Titan, Thanos was playing around with the heroes, and even if they pulled off the tricks like Mantis' sleep ability Thanos would have just taken the gloves off.

Thanos knows that these beings are competent enough to defeat one of his underlings, but not powerful enough to stop the underling from taking the stone in the first place. So he has a good idea of how tough they are. He probably also knows the Guardians of the Galaxy competence level, as they have interacted with his children and agents in the past.

Given that, it is plausible that Thanos believes that nobody here is likely to be a real threat to him. He can afford to act like a world class expert at a sport playing with people who aren't even professionals. This is backed up by Dr Strange's conclusion, that no tactic could win, and they best plan is to let him have the stones, fullfil his plan, win, then retroactively undo it after he is out of play. Finally, defeat him when he's younger, less prepared, and the heroes are better prepared, and only by not defeating him but rather by taking the complete infinity gauntlet and vetoing his existence.

By the time Thanos gets to Earth in Infinity War, he both knows that this isn't some backwater planet, but actually has people rivaling those he fought on Titan. He doesn't have time to play and enjoy himself. He has reached the end of his life goal. Finally, he could have used the Time Stone to spend as much time as he wants practicing with the stones, but we don't have proof of that other than his surprising competence with the time stone.

Answer 2

I don't think it was a question of which team was the more powerful, but simply the circumstances of each fight.

The group on Titan had prepared a plan and were waiting for him to arrive to ambush him. Thanos was expecting to pick up the Time Stone from Ebony Maw. He didn't expect resistance and was surprised by what happened. Also while Thanos does almost lose the gauntlet, he ends up soundly beating them when he wakes up from Mantis's sleep effect.

When attacking the team on Earth the circumstances are very different. They were a group already tired from the main frontal attack. They were also scrambling to protect Vision from the surprise Corvus Glaive attack, and don't know what to expect. They have no clear plan and attack Thanos one at a time. Wanda is trying to protect Vision, while he is trying to persuade her to destroy the last stone. The rest of the team are not as powerful and reacting to what happens in front of them. Thanos by this point is clearly not in any mood to negotiate and simply deals with them one at a time.

I don't think its very helpful to discuss which Avengers are more powerful than others. Each team has heavy hitters, like Dr Strange, Vision, Wanda Maximoff, the difference for the team on Titan was coordination and surprise.

Answer 3

Along with what @iandotkelly said about the element of surprise on Titan, I would argue Thanos was not actually fighting to beat them initially, he was just enjoying the fight like he did when he fought the Hulk at the start of the movie. Only after Mantis almost caused him to lose the gauntlet did he get serious and swiftly beat everyone.

He didn't need to fight them one on one, he could have just used the reality stone to turn everyone inanimate in a second (perhaps with the exception of Doctor Strange), like he did to the Guardians of The Galaxy on Knowhere. Once he gets to Earth, his life's missions end goal is in his sight, all he needs to do is to get the last stone.

It's an emotional moment from him and he does not care about anything or anyone else besides getting the last stone and fulfilling his mission. He uses the space stone to trap Bruce in rock, crush War Machine's suite, trap someone in a tree roots, etc. instead of using the power stone to fight them one on one.