It's not really a cop out. It's the whole point of "What If".
Maybe Odin was having an off day? Maybe Thanos was surprised or sucker punched? Maybe whoever-it-is just had a battle off screen and was tired during the next one? Maybe, like you said, they're not as powerful in this universe?
The infinity stones are paper weights in other worlds. They never told us why.
There's infinite possibilities, but nikkas want it all spoon fed and simplified into a single number like a DBZ power level or they get mad. I'm just here for good story and characters.
