Greetings comic book fans! Welcome to The Advanced Research & Multiverse Monitoring division of GAMbIT, or better known to most as A.R.M.M. Our job is to keep an eye on each of the major metahuman universes that may someday pose a threat to our own universe and Earth-1218. With that out of the way we are using these files to pit metahumans against each other in an attempt to find out whom may pose the greatest threats. So with that let’s get to our first match-up: The Incredible Hulk vs The Juggernaut.
Two of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe (Earth-616), both The Hulk and Juggernaut are beings of incredible destructive power. While both of these beings possess the strength to level an entire city block in mere moments, they could not be more different in terms of power and allegiance. This means that with the Earth-616 universe the pair have come to blows numerous times in various situations. But before we can find out which would come out victorious in a fair fight, and thus be the bigger threat to us, we need to look closer just who each character really is.
The Incredible Hulk
The green monster made his first appearance in 1962. The Hulk is the name given to the alternate form of Dr. Robert Bruce Banner who gained his incredible power following the accidental exposure to large doses of gamma radiation during a bomb test. After this event Dr. Robert Bruce Banner would become the Hulk when placed under extreme stress. He can trigger these changes into The Hulk, but often they happen against his will, usually complicating his desire for a normal life. As Banner, he has the strength and stamina of a normal human being, but as The Hulk, he gains all sorts of amazing abilities of which include:
- Superhuman Strength
As The Hulk his strength is potentially limitless thanks to the fact that it increases exponentially alongside his level of stress and anger. This essentially means that The Hulk get stronger the more mad he gets during a fight. When at his base Hulk state he can easily lift around 100 tons. With this enhanced strength comes his ability to leap incredible distances, having been recorded jumping hundreds of miles in a single bound, and once even nearly jumped into Earth orbit. This strength also comes in handy while running, but he doesn’t have limitless speed as the stronger he gets the more he will destroy the ground under his feet, limiting his possible top speed. This is why The Hulk is mostly seen leaping instead of running.
- Superhuman Durability
His powers also grant him his high resistance to nearly all forms of physical damage. This also translates to an incredibly high resistance to both extreme cold and heat. On top of that, The Hulk can withstand various attempts at mind control, nuclear weapons explosions, all sorts of poisons, and even most diseases. One special thing that many might not know is that The Hulk has a special gland that makes an “oxygenated per fluorocarbon emulsion”, that lets his lungs adjust rapidly between various depths without having to worry about decompression.
- Regenerative Healing Factor
If any damage from the things I already mentioned do mange to hurt The Hulk, his regenerative healing factor will immediately kick in. This healing factor is on par, if not better, than that of Wolverine. He has been shown to regrow entire limbs, various organs, and any tissue damage at an amazing rate of speed. And while gasses can knock him out, it takes and incredible amount of it as this healing factor will filter it out fairly quickly. Your best bet when dealing with the monster is to use sonic devices to take him of balance.
The Juggernaut
Cain Marko, better know as Juggernut is the adopted brother of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. His early days saw Marko build resentment of his step-brother over the fact that their father seemed to prefer the adopted Charles over him. The pair would eventually be drafted into the military and serve within the same unit. During a mission their squad began to take fire and Marko would end up deserting his unit. During this desertion, Marko would wander into a cave that housed the temple of Cyttorak. Marko would unearth the Crimson Gem in the temple and gain its powers, turning him into the Juggernaut. This mystic gem gives him a number of abilities that include:
- Enhanced Mystical Strength
Debuting in 1965, only a few years after The Hulk, Juggernaut shares a lot in common with the character. Much in the way Hulk’s strength is nearly unlimited, Juggernaut’s true strength is largely unknown. Once Juggernaut begins to walk or run in any given direction, there is no force on the planet that can stop his forward motion. While large objects like tons of rocks, buildings, and even plasma based cannons can slow him down, nothing has yet been able to stop him from advancing using sheer force. Cyttorak is a god and one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe, so it’s feasible that Juggernaut’s full power can’t be gauged.
- Enhanced Resistance
The energy bestowed on him from the Crimson Gem also grants Juggernaut an extremely high level of resistance to all forms of damage. As these powers are of a mystical origin and can be used to create mental shields around himself for even more added protection. With this force-field he was able to withstand huge explosions without so much as a scratch. This enhanced resistance translates over to Juggernaut being able to survive indefinitely without the need for food, water, or even oxygen.
So here we see two people with nearly unlimited power in their own right. But how would things turn out if these two were to battle for dominance within their universe. Luckily they have met in battle on a number of occasions and using a few of these we can gain some valuable data in out ongoing research.
One of their earliest battles comes in the pages of file: The Incredible Hulk #172. Here we see Hulk captured and the military trying to transport him into another dimension to save them from his rampages. But as they send him away they unwittingly open a portal that returns Juggernaut from a lost dimension, where he had been for some time. Hulk ends up returning and the two lumbering giants team-up to break out of confinement. But after the two escape Hulk sees Juggernaut try and attack a helpless family, intervenes, and their battle begins.
The Hulk has the early advantage as his strength is more than enough to throw Juggernaut around like a rag doll. But in this form Hulk lacks the intelligence of Doctor Robert Bruce Banner and fails to followup with Juggernaut. This mistake allows Juggernaut to land a cheap shot and thus gaining the advantage over the more wild and uncontrolled Hulk. But this does not last long as Stan Lee reminds us in the text that The Hulk gets stronger the more mad he gets.
Hulk once again gets the upper-hand and smacks Juggernaut away, this time separating him from his helmet. Thinking the battle once again over, Hulk begins to leave, but Juggernaut isn’t done and even without his helmet looks to land another cheap shot on Hulk. But before he can do this the X-Men (Marvel Girl, Cyclops and Xavier) show up and blast Juggernaut with their combined powers. Without his helmet Xavier and company take him down and allow The Hulk to leave of his own free will.
This battle is inconclusive and even though The Hulk showed the greater strength in the encounter, Juggernaut was the more strategic and was actively adapting to how the Hulk fought. But if we jump a few hundred issues forward the two behemoths take up arms against each other once again within our files labeled: The Incredible Hulk #402.
This time around The Hulk was part of the Pantheon, a group of decedents of the half-Asgardian god Agamemnon, and based out of the Nevada desert. Agamemnon takes a leave of absence and places Hulk in charge as team leader and on his first mission ends up getting attacked by Juggernaut. Much as it happened the first time around Juggernaut takes Hulk by surprise and manages to be in control for most of the encounter between the two.
Hulk is slow to realize who he is fighting because Juggernaut at this point in time isn’t using his traditional armor and helmet. Instead, he is in normal clothes, but seemingly still with all his power, if not more. Hulk gets a couple of good jabs in, but seems to be no match for Juggernaut, and just as he is about to land a death blow, the Red Skull orders Juggernaut to stand down, wanting Hulk taken alive.
While Juggernaut had the advantage, especially with his constant sneak attacks, it should be noted that this version of The Hulk was known as “Merged Hulk” and if oft considered his weakest incarnation. This was a version of Hulk that saw Dr. Robert Bruce Banner in full control of the monster. But this wasn’t the actual Bruce Banner, and instead a merging of three other personas (Savage Hulk, Grey Hulk, and Bruce Banner) after the memory of his dead mother convinced the there waring personalities to merge into one. While still capable of great feats of strength, this Merged Hulk lacked the emotional baggage that allowed his power to grow exponentially.
The Red Skull would brainwash Merged Hulk to use him and Juggernaut to take out The Avengers once and for all. Between the two behemoths they laid waste to The Avengers in short order, but Skull’s plan failed as Merged Hulk broke free from his control. When he realized what was going on, Hulk felled the Juggernaut with a single blow, knocking off his helmet. This encounter was more in Juggernauts favor, but it’s beginning to become clear that even at his weakest and most in control, Hulk can out-punch Juggernaut.
So, we’ve seen Juggernaut do well in two separate encounters, but each time things were halted by outside forces just as Juggernaut was ramping things up in his favor. So let’s look at one more major encounter where the two titans met on even terms to battle it out within the pages of what is known as World War Hulk.
At this point The Hulk was at his most powerful after the events of Planet Hulk, and now being known as War Bound Hulk. At the same time Juggernaut is working with Excalibur (a hero team) but after being informed of War Bound Hulk and his rampage, asks Cyttorak to grant him his full strength of which the god was siphoning, as Juggernaut was not doing his bidding at the time; What with being a good guy and all. Cyttorak seemingly granted Marko this wish and even has Juggernaut teleported to War Bound Hulk’s location to battle it out. Hulk had already been deep in battle, taking out X-Force and the X-Men just as Juggernaut enters the picture.
The initial battle is over quickly as War Bound Hulk destroys Juggernaut with ease. This was all part of Cyttorak’s plan as he wanted Juggernaut to feel humiliated and completely give himself over to Cyttorak and truly become the evil Juggernaut and serve him once more. Marko makes his choice and once again becomes the Juggernaut in earnest, once again taking on War Bound Hulk in battle.
Juggernaut unleashes on War Bound Hulk and begins to match him blow for blow and even remarks how he has beaten War Bound Hulk in the past. It should be noted that the power of Cyttorak is also essentially limitless and that can be seen for the second part of this encounter. Juggernaut is the only character the story that manages to physically push back War Bound Hulk as they compare strength. But this War Bound Hulk is a much different beast as he has become an expert in fighting from his time in the arena. Where he once fought with reckless abandon, at this time he was a much smarter opponent while still retaining his anger and emotional pain.
This comes into play as Juggernaut rushes War Bound Hulk using his unstoppable force. War Bound Hulk uses Juggernaut’s motion against him and deflects him away ending the battle. While Juggernaut did seem to hold his own here we are left never getting a conclusion as both characters go about their own business ending in a sort of stalemate. But it should be noted that War Bound Hulk did not win this encounter on strength alone as he did with everyone else he came across during his rampage.
The power of Cyttorak is often misunderstood within the Marvel Universe, but from everything we know it “could” grant Juggernaut enough strength to match The Hulk and any other being. In fact, this version of Juggernaut would likely be able to defeat all previous incarnations of The Hulk based on strength alone. While The Hulk could raise his power over time, Juggernaut, with the full power of Cyttorak available to him from the outset, could probably take him down before that happens. That being said, Cyttorak is an evil god and because of that can never be truly trusted. We should also note that The Hulk is currently the only person to stop Juggernaut dead in his tracks after being in motion. Sure, this version of Hulk was bestowed with the power of “War” thanks to Apocalypse, but he still stopped him.
Some out there may note that Trion Juggernaut could defeat any version of The Hulk, including War Bound Hulk, but this isn’t truly Juggernaut. While this Juggernaut is so strong that he can punch hard enough to tear through reality itself, he was completely possessed by three powerful entities and was not an independent character. In the end The Hulk gains the slight advantage in a one-on-one fight against Juggernaut.
Final Verdict: The Incredible Hulk (But only by a slight margin)
@Marvel. "Hulk." Marvel.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
@Marvel. "Juggernaut." Marvel.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
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