10 Strongest Marvel Villains Hulk Has Smashed In A Fight

Few Marvel Comics characters are as defined by their fights as the Hulk. At base level, Marvel’s green gamma monster is a potential planetary threat and, on his best day, a cosmic-level entity capable of killing the universe, as in Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk. All based on the simple premise: the angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he becomes.

That said, Bruce Banner’s rogues’ gallery across the Marvel Universe is no joke. Over decades of comics, he’s faced cosmic tyrants, gamma-powered rivals, and reality-bending enemies, and he’s been the last one standing, more often than not.

As a result, Hulk’s victory isn’t guaranteed in every encounter. But with his triple combination of brute force, stubborn endurance, and pure rage, the Hulk has put these villains in a proper smashing, even at their strongest. With that in mind, this piece ranks the strongest villains the Hulk has put down.

9 Wendigo

Paul Cartier’s Wendigo crosses paths with The Hulk in The Incredible Hulk #181, after the green-skinned giant is lured to Quebec to break Paul’s Wendigo curse. What begins as a dutiful promise to save someone becomes a bloody battle that marks Wolverine’s first-ever appearance in Marvel comics.

Still reeling from the tranquillizer’s effects, Banner’s fight against the indestructible, immortal Wendigo turns into a three-way face-off when Wolverine interferes and immediately sinks his claws into the green guy’s hide, unaware of the situation. Deciding to go after the easier target, Wolverine and Hulk both turn their attention to Wendigo.

In one move, Hulk picks up Wendigo and smashes it through the forest grove, while Wolverine delivers what should have been a final blow with a slash that sinks into the monster’s throat. As an immortal being, it isn’t enough to put Paul down permanently; it’s enough to ensure the curse transfers to another: Georges Baptiste.

8 Bi-Beast

Created by the Bird People as a specially advanced android with two heads, Bi Beast’s ill-fated relationship with the Hulk begins as soon as they meet. In The Incredible Hulk #169: Calamity In The Clouds, Banner battles against Bi-Beast on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the latter decides to destroy the Earth.

After a fight against the Harpy ends with Banner’s defeat and kidnapping, both suddenly find themselves on Sky Island, where they encounter the two-headed android. What follows is a series of events that lead to a fierce battle between the Hulk and Bi Beast, destroying Sky Island and Bi-Beast itself.

Though the monster android resurrects in another body as a fail-safe, every subsequent encounter with Banner’s Hulk across Marvel comics has been painfully one-sided, in favor of the green giant. In The Incredible Hulk #632-633, not even a combination of Bi Beast and Wendigo, both said to be a thousand times stronger, could avoid a Hulk beatdown.

7 Absorbing Man

Created through a scheme by the trickster god Loki, Absorbing Man, aka Carl Creel, faces the Hulk’s unyielding rage in The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 2 #59. Canonically, Creel’s powers let him absorb the properties of any material he touches.

This seemingly simple ability is precisely what made him one of the strongest mortal enemies of the god of thunder, Thor. Against Hulk, in an attempt to break out of captivity, Creel forces Banner and Pamela Grayson to break him out of prison, threatening the life of a little girl as a hostage.

The breakout events see Hulk deliver a rather one-sided pounding to the criminal before he is able to fight back. The battle marks the first of several encounters between Absorbing Man and the Hulk, the most brutal of which sees Creel absorb a whole island and still lose to Banner’s monstrous strength in The Incredible Hulk #261.

6 The U-Foes

The U-Foes are a villainous group designed to counter the Hulk. Each member has a skill in their toolbox geared toward a Hulk encounter. Vector repels matter telekinetically, Vapor turns into any gaseous form, X-Ray generates and projects radiation and can fly, and Ironclad has a metal body and controls his own density.

Their skills were put to the test in Incredible Hulk #276, where it is revealed that Bruce Banner had gained control of his Hulk transformations. The U-Foes ambush him, and a fight ensues. X-Ray then forces Bruce to revert to his human form by channelling negative gamma rays, knocking him out with vapor and imprisoning him.

In Immortal Hulk #46, after thinking Hulk was dead, he was resurrected and fully repowered. X-Ray’s anti-gamma rays transformed Hulk into a Red Hulk variant, and he returned at full strength, badly injuring Ironclad. When Vapor turned into sulfuric gas, Hulk used it to blind Vector, and a frightened Vector had to send Hulk away.

5 Juggernaut

The Hulk has had multiple encounters with the X-Men over the years, but one of the most brutal displays of Hulk’s superiority was in World War Hulk: X-Men #3. When 3 of the Brotherhood's strongest mutants and the X-Men tried to take on the Hulk, their efforts yielded no fruit.

In the issue, Hulk tore through the mutants to reach Charles Xavier, taking down Warpath, Wolverine, and eventually Colossus. He defeated Strong Guy by bringing an explosion down on him and overloading his energy-absorbing ability. When Juggernaut joins the fray, Hulk takes him out using his own powers against him.

4 Abomination

The Abomination is Hulk’s foremost foe and ultimate rival, always trying to prove himself superior. He is supposedly twice as strong as the Hulk and even beat him in their first encounter; nonetheless, the Hulk’s strength scales with his rage, and the Green Behemoth has defeated the Abomination several times.

He knocked out the Hulk in his first appearance but was put in his place not long after. In the next issue, Tales to Astonish #91, the Hulk immediately recovered, got up, and punched the Abomination into space, putting him in the Stranger's line of sight, a powerful cosmic entity.

3 Red Hulk

The Red Hulk, a.k.a. Thunderbolt Ross, is one of Hulk’s most menacing, obsessive, and tactical villains. The Red Hulk has superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. Additionally, when enraged, his skin generates intense heat strong enough to melt Spider-Man’s webs. He can absorb gamma radiation and, unlike the Hulk, maintains his strategic mind and consciousness when he transforms.

He first appeared in Hulk #1 (2008), where he killed Abomination. In Issue #4, a big Green-versus-Red fight is set up; while Red Hulk beats Hulk early on, Hulk defeats him later, and the story ends with Red Hulk unconscious as Ross and Samson lament his failure to beat the Hulk.

2 Red King

The Red King ruled Sakaar with an iron fist, the planet where Hulk is shipped off and forced to fight in an arena as a gladiator. Red King isn’t a typical Hulk foe; he relies on advanced technology and armaments, along with his army, to maintain a firm grip on his kingdom.

In Planet Hulk, he orchestrates a series of battles to wear down the Hulk physically and mentally, to no avail. The story culminates in a final confrontation where the Hulk showcases his superiority, both physically and as a leader. The Red King fights Hulk in a massive mechanical battle suit, but Hulk ultimately defeats him through sheer force and rage.

1 Onslaught

As one of the X-Men’s most powerful and terrifying villains, Onslaught required a combined effort from the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Namor, and Doctor Doom to defeat. In Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, the X-Men arrive first to fight Onslaught, but they are quickly overwhelmed. Fortunately, reinforcements arrive shortly after.

The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Namor, and Doctor Doom show up to help, but it doesn’t amount to much at first. After a lot of trial and error, Doom hatches a plan: Vision phases over Rogue and flies at Onslaught at full speed. This strategy weakens Onslaught’s defenses enough for Hulk to do what he does best.

Hulk asks Jean Grey to shut off the Banner part of his brain, making him completely savage. Hulk then launches a barrage of attacks at Onslaught, and they exchange blows so devastating that they create shockwaves. Hulk punches him so hard that it shatters his exoskeleton, splitting Bruce and Hulk into two separate bodies.

This fight cemented Hulk as the strongest there is. Though he couldn’t defeat Onslaught, he beat him so badly that, according to Gambit, it altered reality. Their exchange was so intense that debris and heroes were blown back, making it one of Hulk’s most impressive feats of strength.