Summary
Thor is widely regarded as one of the strongest characters in theMarvel Comicsuniverse. As one of the most famous members of the Avengers, the character has reached incredible heights in many different comic book timelines. Of course, that’s to be expected of a character who is a superpowered god that possesses the power of summoning lightning.
However, Thor hasn’t always won every fight he’s gotten himself into. He’s faced opponents several times, whether they be heroic allies or mastermind supervillains, who have bested him in combat, one way or another. These ten characters in Marvel Comics history may even surprise readers when they find out that they have won against the mighty Thor.
Thor’s Rival Has Brought Greece-d Lightning
Aliases
Hercules Panhellios, Herakles, Herc, Defender of Olympus, Giant-Killer, Prince of Power
Godlike strength, superhuman speed, invulnerability, regeneration, immortality
Team Affiliations
Gods of War, Avengers, Secret Avengers, Heroes for Hire, Defenders, Argonauts
When They Fought Thor
ThorVol. 1, #126
Hercules and Thor have been rivals throughout their comic book histories, given their numerous similarities as children of pantheonic leaders (Zeus and Odin, respectively). In fact,Hercules' original introduction in the comicswas in a joint issue with Thor, though their fight in that issue was halted by Zeus with no winner.
However, in issue #126 of Thor’s very first solo run, Thor and Hercules rematch when they’re fighting over Jane Foster’s love. It’s an evenly-matched fight, but Thor’s power is suddenly drained by Odin, letting Hercules get the upper hand. As a result of defeating Thor publicly, Hercules is swarmed by fans and Hollywood agents, while Thor is able to keep the girl.
Gamma physiology, transformation, super-strength, super-durability, healing factor, telepathic resistance
ThorVol. 1, #385
Hulk and Thor have fought plenty of times in their Marvel Comics pasts, as perhaps the most combative members of the Avengers. In the very firstAvengerscomic, Loki mind-controls Hulk into fighting Thor, only for Thor and Hulk to team up and defeat Loki. However, the two get to fight for real in issue #385 of Thor’s original comic book run.
Thor has the upper hand against Hulk at first until Hulk threatens an innocent woman so Thor abandons Mjolnir and fights him for real. Thor struggles to defeat Hulk without his hammer and is eventually beaten into submission as the Hulk leaves. Thor realizes it’s better to let his fellow Avenger go free, given the destruction caused in the wake of the battle.
Gamma physiology, conscious transformation, super-strength, healing factor, energy absorption
Power Elite, Hulkbusters, Avengers, Thunderbolts
Portrayed in the MCU By
Harrison Ford (Captain America: New World Order-onward), William Hurt (The Incredible Hulk-Black Widow)
HulkVol. 2, #5
Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross is notorious for turning himself into the Red Hulk after his daughter is killed by Abomination.What sets Ross' Red Hulk apart from Banneris that he’s able to transform consciously, rather than Bruce’s uncontrollable transformations. In issue #5 of this comic book series, Red Hulk has just defeated Banner when Thor confronts him.
This fight becomes one of Thor’s toughest matches, as Red Hulk is able to resist a lot of Thor’s strongest attacks. Red Hulk is even able to lift Thor into the air while the thunder god is holding Mjolnir, a loophole to the enchantment that only the worthy can lift. In the end, Red Hulk throws Thor (and Mjolnir) on the moon and leaves him in the moon dust.
Wanda Maximoff, Living Darkhold, Emperor of Magic
Powers
Witchcraft, Chaos magic, clairvoyance, energy manipulation, flight, reality warping, resurrection, telepathy, teleportation
Uncanny AvengersVol. 1, #4
It may not be so surprising to see Scarlet Witch at odds with another Avenger, given the sorceress' tendency to toe the line between hero and villain. However, despite Marvel Comics fans online insisting that Wanda isn’t strong enough to defeat Thor, this comic book from 2013 proved otherwise when Thor is mind-controlled by the Red Skull.
While Scarlet Witch wasn’t alone in facing off against this Thor, as she had Avengers like Captain America and Havoc. However, in this issue, she’s able to finally defeat Thor by using Chaos magic to send the Norse god into space. For what it’s worth,Elizabeth Olsen seems to agreethat Wanda is more powerful than Thor even in the MCU.
Gamma physiology, transformation, super-strength, body-switching
AvengersVol. 1, #296-297
At this point, it seems like Thor actually struggles to fare well against all kinds of Hulks. Jennifer Walters is no exception, given that the lawyer-turned-superhero has tended to do lots of incredible things in the comics, whether it’s defeating villains like Psycho-Man or breaking the fourth wall and intimidating the comic book writers.
However, in these twoAvengerscomics, Jen is even able to defeat her fellow Avengers, Thor and Black Knight, while mind-controlled by Dr. Druid (who is ultimately also being controlled by Ravonna Renslayer). Upon learning what she did after being freed, Jen departs from the Avengers to confront her guilt at fighting her allies.
Johnny Blaze, Brimstone Avenger, Spirit of Vengeance, Bonehead
Transformation, super-strength, invulnerability, regeneration, hellfire generation, magic, soul manipulation, penance stare
Midnight Sons, Savage Avengers, Thunderbolts, Defenders
Gabriel Luna (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider-Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance)
AvengersVol. 1, #214
Ghost Rider is often underestimatedas a Marvel hero, given that he usually runs in different circles than Thor and the other Avengers. However, issue #214 of the originalAvengersseries saw Johnny Blaze possessed by the demon Zarathos, causing him to go on a violent tirade that alerts the Avengers, who show up to stop him.
Unfortunately, Ghost Rider is no easy fight for the superhero team, consisting of Captain America, Thor, Tigra, The Wasp, and Iron Man. While Thor initially gets the best of Ghost Rider, the spirit of vengeance is able to ride Mjolnir and crash into Thor, knocking him out and escaping as the Avengers regroup from their embarrassing defeat.
Empathy, telepathy, astral projection, precognition, regeneration
AvengersVol. 1 #114 & #123
For some, hearing that a villain with few powers like Mantis has defeated Thor may come as a shock. However, MCU fans know how underestimated she is, given that Mantis was nearlyable to incapacitate Thanos inAvengers: Infinity War. She’s done similar tricks against the god of Thunder, as seen in severalAvengersissues from the early 1970’s.
In issue #114, Mantis and Swordsman join the Avengers, though their allying is a ploy from the Lion God to kill Black Panther. During the ensuing fight, Mantis and Swordsman initially side with the Lion God and are able to best Thor with Mantis putting him to sleep. Issues later, she does the same in another confrontation with the Avengers.
Super-strength, super-speed, healing factor
ThorVol. 1, #337 & #338
Beta Ray Bill is designed to be Thor’s biggest rival, as a Korbinite warrior who is surprisingly revealed to be worthy of Mjolnir. After being sent by Nick Fury to investigate a rogue spaceship, Thor is fought by Beta Ray Bill in the character’s debut appearance, a fight which results in Thor losing Mjolnir, and Beta Ray Bill claiming it as a spoil of war.
Issues later, Odin demands that the two rematch for the right to keep the hammer, and this time, Beta Ray Bill wins again, claiming the hammer as his. However, he returned it to Thor anyway and got himself a new weapon, Stormbreaker, and later became an ally to Thor and other Asgardians like Sif, even joining a hammer-wielding superhero team, the Thor Corps.
Squirrel powers, super-strength, healing factor
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe,#1
Squirrel Girl has been shown to be incredibly overpoweredfor comedic purposes. The superhero fluent in squirrel language has defeated the likes of Thanos, Wolverine, and Doctor Doom, so fighting and winning against a character like Thor should be expected at this point.
In the annual comic,Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe, Doreen Green is confronted with evil clones of the entire Marvel universe. She’s even been shown to be worthy of lifting Mjolnir, a feat only few Marvel heroes can boast about. In fact, the only hero that Doreen has actually struggled to defeat is, funnily enough, a variant of herself.
Kryptonian physiology, super-strength, super-speed, super-vision, heat vision, flight, invulnerability, teleportation
Justice League, Sinestro Corps, SuperCorp, The Authority, Legion of Super-Heroes
Portrayed in the DCEU By
Henry Cavill (Man of Steel-Black Adam), Nicolas Cage (The Flash), David Corenswet (Superman-onward)
JLA/Avengers,#2
It shouldn’t be a surprise that one of the strongest superheroes ever created has defeated Thor, but it might be simply due to the fact that Marvel and DC have very rarely crossed over. The four-issue miniseriesJLA/Avengersfeatured a lot of fights between characters from Marvel and DC, one of the most anticipated being Thor’s spat with Superman in issue #2.
In all fairness, the fight between the two pushed both heroes to their limits, as Superman struggled to counter Thor’s hammer. However,Superman is able to best the Avengerbefore declaring that it was the hardest fight of his life. Still, this was one time and was a product of storytelling choices, so maybe Thor can defeat Superman under a different writer’s watch.
