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The Hulk and Thor have bickered back and forth about who the strongest superhero is. Sure, The Hulk claims he is the strongest of all time but is he correct in his assessment? What would happen if the Norse god and the radiated scientist got into a fistfight? Is Thor’s god-like power more impressive than Banner’s rage-induced superstrength? It’s not as simple as you might think.

Who has the strongest base strength?

Strength can’t be measured in just one way. There is sheer power, base strength and bursts of energy. Everyone can probably agree that The Hulk most likely has the most powerful bursts of power, but when it comes to base strength, Thor is absolutely the winner.

Several examples show off his base strength. First of all, Thor is the Norse god of thunder and the most powerful Norse god there is. In one comic volume, Thor arm wrestles Hercules and manages to throw the entire planet out of orbit. It’s also known that Thor can break ropes of adamantium, adamantium is what Wolverine’s claws are made out of, and it’s said to be denser than vibranium. Vibranium is what Captain America’s shield is made out of.

Thor has greater control over his power than The Hulk and has a higher base strength than The Hulk, but The Hulk does beat him out in one category. The different types of force, however, makes it a little challenging to figure out who the ultimate winner is.

Is The Hulk’s strength unending?

While Thor may have The Hulk beat when it comes to base strength, it can be argued that the Hulk’s overall strength continues to rise as he gets angrier. No one has ever figured out where the endpoint is, just yet. Therefore, it can be surmised that The Hulk’s strength doesn’t have a limit, making him the strongest.

A cosplayer as The Hulk poses during New York Comic Con
The Hulk cosplay | Mike Coppola/Getty Images

But wait, Bruce Banner only becomes The Hulk when he gets angry. If you consider the fact that The Hulk spends the majority of his time as Bruce Banner, his strength isn’t really all that impressive. He can’t turn it on and off at will, meaning, unless he’s pretty peeved, his power is just that of an average human being, albeit a super smart one.

CBR also notes that The Hulk is still controlled by Banner. Since Banner is allegedly within The Hulk, calculating how many people are going to be hurt, then the Hulk can never reach optimal power, out of Banner’s fear that he will hurt innocent people. In short, The Hulk’s power may be limitless, but he is limited by Banner’s conscience.

Stan Lee already revealed the truth

Stan Lee would have been the definitive source of information about the strength of comic heroes. While Lee passed away in November 2018, he did share his thoughts on the strongest comic book hero back in 2016. According to Cinema Blend, Lee was a guest on a YouTube channel back in 2016, and he shared his thoughts on who was stronger.

The then 14-year-old interviewer jumped right in and asked Lee who he thought would win in a fight, Thor or The Hulk.  Lee had clearly given the topic a lot of thought, he noted that while The Hulk is incredibly strong, he is a mere mortal, after all. Because of his mortal status, Thor could rough him up pretty good. Most fans assume that Lee all but confirmed that Thor, a Norse god, is way stronger than The Hulk, regardless of his superhuman powers.

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