Stephen Colbert: Late Show Friday Night Fights tackles Thanos vs. Santa

Who would win in a fight between Santa Claus and the “Mad Titan” Thanos from the Marvel universe? This is the kind of thing Stephen Colbert thinks about in his spare time, and he’s brought the debate to The Late Show.

In a little game called “Friday Night Fights,” the late-night host pits two nouns together in a Twitter poll. “Two nouns enter. One noun leaves,” he joked before introducing his friend and producer Paul Dinello on stage to debate the choices.

Santa is, of course, jolly ol’ St. Nick who is able to be everywhere for every child on Christmas, and his back-up includes “an army of elf slaves, sentient flying deer, and the Coca-Cola corporation.” In the other corner is Marvel comics villain Thanos, a hulking, all-powerful entity who can bend space, time, and reality itself through the use of his Infinity Gauntlet.

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Santa has been played on screen by various actors, including Tim Allen (The Santa Clause), Tom Hanks (The Polar Express), and John Goodman (SpongeBob SquarePants, Futurama, and more). Only a few have lent their voice talents to Thanos in various animated offerings, but Josh Brolin plays him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of films.

On Saturday morning, 53 percent of just under 40,000 votes thought Santa would win in a fight. Cast your vote in Colbert’s poll.