Thanos prepares specifically for a lot of fights. Other times, Thor and the Hulk and even the Surfer have caught him off-guard and had much more even fights with him. He also got owned hard by Odin.
That really isn't true. The Surfer has always been made foolish by Thanos. As has Hulk the few times they've met. Thor has the best record against Thanos, but if I can recall, his best was giving him a fight. Thanos beats thor. Thanos is above any top tier and herald easily, and obviously he will loose to a skyfather like Odin, however, people seem to write off the odin fight, saying thanos got stomped, when in reality, it shows thanos' durability level, he didn't get stomped. I know that fight page for page, panel for panel.
He didn't get Owned hard by Odin. I've seen him take worse. I don't understand how people took that fight as him getting stomped. Odin blasted Thanos. Thanos STOOD THERE, and took it. Thanos then blasted Odin, and the silver surfer did as well. Odin tanked both of it, with ease. Next we see of it, Odin blasts thanos again, causing him to stumble back. Surfer attacks from above, the fustration in Odin's face (or annoyance lol) is shown, as he then blasts, and one shots the surfer. Now it's thanos and odin. Thanos runs in, and decked him with an amped punching, causing (i believe) his head to turn, Odin then countered with a back hand that sent thanos stumbling back. They mock each other, then Thanos blasts odin again, causing Odin to shield his face, again, nothing thanos has is bothering odin more than a mosquito would to us. Odin then makes rocks and **** come crashing down, Thanos blocks it with his energy shield. Thanos entraps odin in pure energy, which Odin escapes from about instantly.
They taunt a bit more, and at this point, Odin finally summons Gungnir. NOW, at this point, Odin has YET to put Thanos on the ground. and they are BOTH in fine fighting shape. That IS clear. Odin blasts thanos, sending him flying into buildings and ****. Odin starts to talk, "so fall all enemies of asgard" yada yada, thanos emerges from the rubble quickly, "you boast premature Odin, for Thanos yet stands". Odin then blasts thanos again, a concentrated blast. Thanos slowly wades through it, and grabs the spear. They both jump up it seems, up into the air where it is assumed Odin is attacking again. They land, Odin tells thanos he was a worthy opponent, asks thanos if he yields. Thanos slowly gets up, taking him 4 panels to do so. And tells him no, to Odin's surprise. Thanos then charges up his hands and is ready to keep fighting, then they intervene.
Thanos was clearly outmatched, but to anyone who says thanos got owned hard must have read a different fight. He didn't have the offense to hurt odin really, but his durability kept him in the fight. Not to mention before odin summoned gungnir, his blasts weren't effecting Thanos that much. Thanos was loosing, and was going to loose had they continued, but for the time they fought, Thanos held is own, and aside from the end where he struggled to get up, he was pretty fine the entire fight. i am sorry, but to state that in their fight he got owned, well that is simply incorrect, plain and simple