Marvel’s Hulk has got to be one of the scariest superheroes out there. A man that can turn into a raging monster at will? Yeah, you definitely don’t want to be on the team that angers the Hulk! Unfortunately, the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t been too kind to Mark Ruffalo’s superhero, watering down his ferocity and even reducing him to a comedic relief at one point.
Of course, Hulk has had his fair share of moments where he was able to put his full strength on display – we cannot forget how he basically used Loki like a ragdoll now, can we? However, there were three moments in the MCU when Hulk lost to his opponents in a fair and proper 1v1.
Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk vs. the Hulkbuster
This duel takes place in Avengers: Age of Ultron after Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk becomes enchanted by Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) powers and goes into a state of uncontrollable rage. In an attempt to save society from Hulk’s anger, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man comes in activating his Hulkbuster armor.
Before getting down and dirty, Tony Stark, in the Hulkbuster suit, tried his best to calm Hulk down. Unfortunately, he ends up enraging the monster in front of him after he calls him “Bruce Banner.” What ensues is a horrible fight between the two friends, causing massive collateral damage.
In the end, Iron Man flies high into the sky with Hulk and throws him into a building that is under construction after scanning it for civilians. As he dropped Hulk into the building, he destabilized it with missiles and pushed him all the way down to the bottom.
While he begins to calm down, he is overcome with rage once again after seeing the South African Army. However, Iron Man gives him no time to react and punches him unconscious.
Thor vs. A Friend from Work
Thor: Ragnarok had no shortage of epic scenes which made us jump out of our seats with excitement. One of them is when Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is kidnapped and forced to battle it out in the Grandmaster’s arena on Planet Sakaar. While the God of Thunder is initially happy to learn that his opponent is Hulk, he soon realizes that his “friend from work” couldn’t care less about his well-being and was only focused on beating him to a pulp.
Thor tries to reason with Hulk at the start but the latter has been in this monstrous state for two consecutive years, meaning the reasoning part of his brain – Bruce Banner – was out of reach.
In the beginning, Hulk easily gets an upper hand on Thor since he doesn’t have his Mjolnir with him. However, tired of being thrown around, he awakens the God of Thunder within himself and quickly gets the upper hand. He is about to deliver the final blow when the Grandmaster intervenes and incapacitates Thor.
While there was no true winner in the scene, it’s safe to assume Thor takes the cake here, marking yet another 1v1 loss under Hulk’s name.
Hulk vs. Thanos in Infinity War
The small duel takes place at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, following the events of Ragnarok. As Loki (Tom Hiddleston) offers Thanos (Josh Brolin) the Space Stone, much to his brother’s dismay, Hulk ambushes the supervillain after hearing the iconic words, “We have a Hulk.”
While initially taken aback, it doesn’t take long for Thanos to gain the upper hand in the fight. With the combination of Thanos’ speed, combat, and strength, Hulk is overpowered by him almost too quickly.
Eventually, the superhero who is supposed to be one of the strongest amongst his peers, is knocked out cold. The villain is in no mood to stop there as he steps forward to finish the Avenger for good. Luckily, Heimdall uses his powers to summon the Bifrost which carries Hulk back to Earth. This marks the third time Hulk lost out on a 1v1 battle.
While things have not gone in his favor, Hulk’s story is far from over. With the MCU moving on to face bigger threats, we hope there is a redemption arc for him somewhere in the future and he is able to put his brute strength on full display, winning one duel after the other.
Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War are available to stream on Disney+.
