Thor vs. Hercules: Which Marvel God Is Stronger? (MCU and Comics)
Thor: Love and Thunder introduced a new god and future Thor rival into the mix as Zeus himself called upon his own son, Hercules, to avenge him for what the Asgardian God of Thunder did to him. That means that it is inevitable that we will see a battle between Thor and Hercules in the future of the MCU, as this proves to be a battle of epic proportions. But which between these Marvel gods is mightier?
The battle will be very close, but Thor has the edge in terms of his powers and energy projection. Hercules is the superior god in terms of pure strength, but he doesn’t have anything else in his bag of tricks other than his raw physique. In that regard, Thor has the upper hand because of his thunder powers.
There is a good reason why Thor and Hercules are rivals in the comics, as they are nearly just as mighty as the other. But while Hercules has the edge in terms of his raw strength, Thor has always been the more versatile of the two because of his powers and abilities. In that regard, let’s look at the battle between these two gods in a more detailed way.
Strength
Thor is incredibly strong and can match Hulk’s strength at times. Even when compared to the other Asgardians, Thor’s strength is at a different level because he is capable of feats that are beyond the capabilities of the other gods. In Thor: Love and Thunder, he was seen squatting a giant boulder. Thor was even able to catch a falling giant statue before it could hit the Asgardian kids, as it is clear that he is as mighty as they come when it comes to the gods of the Marvel universe.
Hercules is the strongest out of all of the Greek gods in the Marvel universe and has a strength that is beyond any other character. Yes, Hercules is regarded as the strongest Marvel character there is because his strength is nearly unlimited. He is even stronger than Hulk, whose strength will only increase as he gets angry. But Hercules, at his base strength level, is stronger than anyone else in the Marvel universe and can carry objects that are seemingly beyond the capacity of all of the other characters.
There is no doubt that Thor is as mighty as they come and is perhaps one of the strongest characters in all of Marvel comics history. But Hercules has always been the stronger character and is regarded as the strongest person in the Marvel universe.
Thor 0, Hercules 1
Speed
Thor is faster than any regular human being or even any other Asgardian because he is physically gifted compared to some of the other Asgardians. However, what allows Thor to move incredibly fast is Mjolnir or Stormbreaker, which allows him to fly and move at incredible speeds in the air. In fact, Thor is capable of interstellar travel when wielding Mjolnir or Stormbreaker because his weapons allow him to easily move from one planet to another as long as he is in space.
Hercules does have an incredible physique that is more impressive and far stronger than any other character in the Marvel universe, but he doesn’t have the fastest speed. He moves beyond the speed of the greatest human athlete, but he isn’t exactly the fastest character when compared to all of the other Marvel characters that have superhuman speed. As such, he is more reliant on his unlimited strength than on his speed, but that doesn’t make him a slow and bumbling brute that can’t keep up with quick characters.
Thor, on foot, is just as fast as Hercules. But the fact is that Mjolnir and Stormbreaker allow him to move faster than Hercules whenever he is in the air. That’s why he takes this round from the man whose strength exceeds his.
Thor 1, Hercules 1
Durability
According to the Marvel power grid, Thor possesses a durability level of six. That means that he is incredibly durable and is far more durable than almost all of the other Marvel characters, except for the ones that are cosmic in terms of how strong thy are. In fact, Thor’s durability has always been one of his strongest assets, as he has shown his ability to survive attacks and hits that should have been lethal. But the biggest display of his durability was being able to survive the full power of a dying star when he was creating Stormbreaker.
The very same Marvel power grid puts the durability of Hercules at six, and that means that he is one of the most durable Marvel characters ever. He is capable of taking hits that would normally kill any other character. He is almost invulnerable and is capable of resisting almost any form of physical damage imaginable. On top of that, bladed and conventional weapons aren’t capable of penetrating his skin, as Hercules is simply on another level when it comes to how durable he is.
Even though there is a good chance that Hercules has denser muscle tissues that are capable of making him more durable, Thor’s feats of durability are almost unmatched in the Marvel universe. As such, we are going to consider this round a tie.
Thor 1, Hercules 1
Powers
There is a reason why Thor is called the God of Thunder as he is simply capable of controlling thunder and even projecting thunder from his body. Using Mjolnir or Stormbreaker, he is capable of enhancing his control over Thunder and projecting beams of Thunder that are capable of damaging and killing almost anything imaginable in the Marvel universe. On top of that, Thor is even able to access the Bifrost using Stormbreaker, as this allows him to move from one world to another in a hurry.
Hercules may be a god, but he is only partly a god because he was born to a mortal mother. That means that Hercules doesn’t have the powers of the other gods, even though he may be far stronger than any of the other gods in Olympus. Hercules is all muscle and cannot project energy in any form because he doesn’t possess any kind of power at all. This is perhaps the only weakness that Hercules has, as he isn’t capable of using energy-based attacks on enemies that he might not be able to defeat using might alone.
The reason why Thor is more versatile than Hercules is the fact that he can control thunder. As such, no matter how strong Hercules might be, he cannot do some of the things that Thor is capable of doing.
Thor 2, Hercules 1
Combat Skills
Thor is well-versed in the art of combat because he was trained in both armed and unarmed forms of fighting. When wielding his weapons, he has shown a level of proficiency that exceeds anyone who has ever wielded either Mjolnir or Stormbreaker, but he has also shown his ability to wield swords and other weapons expertly as well. Even without his weapons, Thor is great at fighting unarmed and by making use of his fists. He is perhaps the strongest Asgardian in terms of unarmed combat.
Hercules is an expert in unarmed combat because fighting without the use of weapons has always been what allowed him to make full use of his unlimited strength. He is masterful at fighting using his fists alone and grappling his way through opponents that may be able to match his strength. However, Hercules has also showcased his ability to fight with weapons, and he is an expert archer that could snipe anything from a distance.
Both Thor and Hercules are expert combatants that can win a fight by relying solely on their fists. That’s why we can’t say for sure who between them is the better combatant, with or without weapons.
Thor 2, Hercules 1
Thor vs. Hercules: Which Marvel God is Stronger?
Thor and Hercules have always been evenly matched with one another in Marvel, and that’s because of the fact that they are rivals and are the mightiest gods of their own pantheons. But while Hercules has the physical edge of him, Thor has the power of thunder and Asgardian magic on his side. As such, he is more versatile in battle and may be able to defeat Hercules by relying more on his power than his physical prowess.