Marvel Reveals A Dark Answer to Whether Thor or Hulk Would Win In A Fight

One of the longest-standing debates in the Marvel fandom has been the question of who would win in a fight between Thor Odinson and The Incredible Hulk. As two of the Avengers’ biggest powerhouses, Thor and Hulk’s respective power levels (strength, stamina, durability) are often too close rank decisively; in the finale to the Avengers: Twilight event series, Thor and Hulk have to take things all the way in a fight to the death – and there can only be one winner. 

Avengers Twilight #6 sees Luke Cage’s new Defenders team (led by an elderly Steve Rogers) locked in a furious final battle with The Red Skull. In his clandestine takeover of America, Red Skull brainwashed Hulk into being his one-man Weapon of Mass Destruction. With an enraged Hulk on the battlefield, there’s only one person who can counter the threat: Thor. 

Thor and Hulk battle (quite literally) across America, from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles. During the fight, Thor manages to get through to Banner, who tragically confirms that he is little more than an echo now, and slave to Red Skull’s hijacking of his Hulk form. Bruce’s consciousness is haunted by all the people he’s killed and places he’s destroyed while under Red Skull’s thrall. Banner has one message for Thor:  kill him before Hulk’s rampage destroys so much more. Thor holds off as long as he can – until he’s battered and bloody, and his armor is broken – until he has to make a final, drastic decision to give Banner what he wants. 

How Thor Kills Hulk, Explained

To finish the fight, Thor uses the one advantage in power he has over Hulk: his mystical hammer Mjolnir. Thor flies Hulk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and traps him there by placing Mjolnir on his chest. As Marvel fans know, Mjolnir’s enchantments make it impossible for anyone but Thor (or someone equally “worthy”) to lift. With the hammer pinning him, and Thor choking the remaining air out of him, Hulk eventually runs out of oxygen and drowns. The death is confirmed in the epilogue to Avengers: Twilight, in a scene where Tony Stark (who also dies in the final battle with Red Skull) runs into Bruce Banner in the great beerhall of Vahalla. 

Marvel lore has always been spotty when it comes to defining the limits of Hulk’s power. The debate varies with different versions of Hulk (the prime 616 version, the “Ultimate” 1610 version, and this “Twilight” version). On the whole, it’s generally accepted that Hulk does not have unlimited ability to breathe underwater – to the point that the 2022 event series Maestro: World War M had a major twist reveal that Hulk’s powerful future self variant (Maestro) had developed the ability to breathe underwater, allowing him to defeat a shocked Namor in the underwater setting of Atlantis. 

…That’s all to say, Avengers: Twilight might be an alternate reality, but the way that Thor killed Hulk feels like it’s very much in line with Marvel canon. 

Avengers: Twilight is now available to read at Marvel