Marvel's Hulk might be the strongest there is, but he's not invincible.
The big green guy and his human alter ego, Bruce Banner, have battled heroes and villains
alike since his debut in 1962.
And while Hulk may be the strongest, it's only natural that he's still taken a few big
losses along the way.
Here are some of the more notable fights that go in the Hulk's L column.
But, just one warning to those who've given the Hulk a decisive beatdown: he always comes
back angry — and you wouldn't like him when he's angry.
Thor
In 2001's Incredible Hulk Annual, Thor, fresh off of a battle of his own, decides to help
local authorities stop the Hulk's rampage.
The Asgardian equivalent of a sucker-punch — a thunderbolt straight to Hulk's face
— gives Thor an early edge, but the brawl continues across multiple dimensions before
a winner emerges.
Ultimately, however, it's Thor's biology, not his battle prowess, that puts him ahead.
While the Hulk is distracted by local wildlife, Bruce Banner takes control of the Hulk's body.
However, the otherworldly atmosphere doesn't have enough oxygen for a regular human, and
Banner passes out, leaving Thor victorious.
Deadpool
It's hard to believe, but in one of Deadpool's very first solo appearances, he picked a one-on-one
fight with the Hulk.
And won.
In 1997’s Deadpool #4, Wade Wilson learns that his healing factor is breaking down,
and if that goes, the cancer that plagues his body will make a quick and fatal return.
Even worse, there's only one cure: a sample of the Hulk's gamma-irradiated blood.
Tracking down the Hulk is easy.
Getting a sample of his blood isn't.
Deadpool's swords don't make much of a dent in the Hulk's thick green hide, and Deadpool
doesn't stand a chance in a straight-up brawl.
But Deadpool's not just crazy — he's also smart.
When the Hulk leaps straight towards him, Deadpool points an old broken pipe right at
the charging beast.
Hulk impales himself, and Deadpool collects a blood sample from the monster's bleeding
wound before the Hulk can recover.
Eventually, the Hulk frees himself by pulling the pipe out of the ground, but not before
Deadpool makes an extremely speedy getaway.
Juggernaut
Cain Marko, better known as the Juggernaut, has super-strength and super-endurance.
But his most notable power is that once he's in motion he's literally unstoppable.
That ability came in pretty handy in The Incredible Hulk #402, when the Hulk took over a government
agency called the Pantheon and immediately headed to South America on a peacekeeping
mission.
There, Hulk ran into a casually dressed Juggernaut, who immediately launched an attack.
Hulk spent most of the fight distracted — he didn't recognize Marko in everyday clothes
— and yet seemed to have the Juggernaut put away when Marko sank in a pit of quicksand.
But nothing can stop the Juggernaut, not even Mother Nature.
Juggernaut burst out of the trap, put Hulk in a sleeper-hold, and went on to beat the
stuffing out of his opponent.
Batman
That's right: Batman went toe-to-toe with the Hulk, and claimed victory in the process.
It all happened in DC Special Series #27, an intercompany crossover that came out in
September of 1981.
Using a false identity, Bruce Banner sneaks into a job at Wayne Enterprises, which was
manufacturing a brand new gamma radiation gun.
Banner hoped the device could get rid of the Hulk once and for all, but before he could
find out, the Joker attacked.
Bruce hulked out just as Batman arrived, and it wasn't long before they were duking it
out in a Wayne Research laboratory.
That the two of them would get into a fight isn't surprising.
What is surprising is the simplicity of Batman's plan: a pellet of sleeping gas and a well-timed
kick to the gut, and the Hulk goes down.
And that wouldn't be the last time the Hulk faced off against a member of Marvel's distinguished
competition...
Superman
In 1996, the DC and Marvel universes squared off in a four-part miniseries appropriately
called DC vs. Marvel.
One of the series' best gimmicks was that it gave fans the ability to vote on who would
win in each superpowered showdown.
While the Marvel Universe ended up on top once the dust cleared, when Superman beat
the Hulk at the polls, he laid the smack down on the printed page as well.
It's not even close.
While the Hulk lands a few good punches, a heat-vision barrage and a well-placed strike
to the jaw is all that the Last Son of Krypton needs to put him down.
The only silver lining for Hulk fans?
The version of the Hulk featured in DC vs. Marvel had previously traded some of his strength
in order to keep Bruce Banner's intellect.
But if the Hulk had been at full power?
Maybe it would've been a different story...
Hawkeye
If the Hulk has a weakness, it's Bruce Banner.
The easiest way to put down the jade giant is to stop Banner before he transforms.
That's how Hawkeye deals with the Hulk in Marvel's mega-event series Civil War II.
When a young man named Ulysses prophesies a Hulk-fueled disaster, superheroes gather
on Bruce Banner's doorstep and ask the scientist to turn himself in.
Before Banner can comply, however, Hawkeye — who claims that he saw Banner's eyes flash
green — lets loose an arrow, killing Banner instantly.
But, for what it’s worth, Banner did ask him to do it if he ever felt he might hurt
innocent people.
So...hooray for the good guys?
The Hulk
In the Future Imperfect storyline, the Hulk takes on his own worst enemy — the Hulk.
And as you might guess, it doesn't go so well.
Set about 100 years in the future, Future Imperfect explores a world where war has wiped
out heroes and villains alike.
The Hulk, now calling himself the Maestro, rules the world with an iron fist, thanks
to a combination of Bruce Banner's intelligence, nuclear-powered strength, and a century's
worth of pent-up rage.
Rebels use a time machine to bring the present-day Hulk into the future, hoping that the strongest
one there is can stop a warlord who's even stronger.
Unfortunately, the Maestro knows all of the Hulk's moves and then some, and easily defeats
his younger counterpart, ultimately snapping the Hulk's neck.
The Hulk eventually recovers and confronts the Maestro again, and while he still can't
physically defeat the despot, he does end up winning.
Using the same time machine that propelled him into the future, Hulk sends the Maestro
back to the gamma explosion that created him in the first place.
The Maestro is incinerated at the exact same time the Hulk is born, leading to a victory
for the good guys — and two decisive Hulk beatdowns in one epic story.
Now if that's not epic enough for you, strap yourself in for the Hulk's most diabolical
foe yet.
That's right, we're going to talk about the time the Hulk was defeated by...
Puppies
Over the years, S.H.I.E.L.D.
has tangled with the Hulk numerous times, and as one of the most important and technologically
advanced peacekeeping agencies on the planet, it only makes sense that they'd put that experience
to good use.
In 2013's The Indestructible Hulk Special, S.H.I.E.L.D.
unleashed its latest, greatest, and cutest anti-Hulk weapon: a crate crammed full of
puppies.
See, while the Hulk might be a monster, he's not heartless.
The onslaught of adorable little furballs eased the Green Goliath's nerves and forced
a transformation back into the Hulk's mild-mannered alter-ego, Bruce Banner.
Not very scientific, but it got the job done.
So the next time you're facing off against a giant, green rage monster, don't forget
to bring a couple of cute doggos along.
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