In Hulk vs. Aquaman, I’ll be breaking down an all-out battle between DC Extended Universe’s Aquaman and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Hulk. Please remember that these are not the comic book versions of these characters but rather the movie adaptations.
Therefore I will not be referencing their comic book feats or using the comics to make any sort of assumptions. There are a lot of different types of “versus” articles on the internet. However, our “versus article on Otakukart”, is only going to use the feats and evidence presented from the films where these characters originate.
We find that comic book battles are entirely too subjective, and there is just way too much lore to accurately pit these characters against each other. Especially considering the decades of source material, the power levels that drastically change from writer to writer, etc. For this reason, we have decided to focus on the Movie characters whose strength feats are far more concrete and more consistent.
MCU Hulk vs. DCEU Aquaman
It’s also important to note that I’ll be pitting these two characters against each other at two different points in time just to get the best idea of who will win at each stage. The article will outline 2 specific scenarios. First, it’ll be Hulk all the way up through Age of Ultron vs. the Justice League version of Aquaman.
And Second, Ragnarok/Infinity War Hulk vs. Aquaman from his solo film. So that means if you haven’t seen any of these movies yet, this does contain spoilers for those films.
Round One: MCU Phase 2 Hulk vs. Justice League Aquaman
Let’s start by taking a look at MCU Phase 2 Hulk versus Justice League Aquaman. Hulk has seven-plus years of experience under his belt, and we all know that the Hulk’s most well-known ability is his strength, so let’s talk about that.
He’s crushed the earth beneath him, punched Thor hard enough to make him bleed, knocked a Chitouri Leviathan out of the air with one single punch, and indented a Vibranium-laced wall with his fist.
The pure strength of the Hulk is what’s going to have to carry him in this battle, as Aquaman has the speed advantage on land and, of course, in the sea. So let’s take a look at how Hulk compares to Aquaman in the Speed department.
Speed
Hulk’s combat speed in Phase two is supersonic. We know this because he was able to collapse his hands together fast enough to create a Sonic boom. But Aquaman and Justice League swap hands with a massively hypersonic Steppenwolf, and just to elaborate on what that means, Wonder Woman is a massively hypersonic character.
We know this by scaling her speed off of Doomsday, whom she was easily able to evade and damage while in Battle. Steppenwolf is faster than Wonder Woman, but she is unable to keep up entirely with him in battle. Aquaman’s speed is, therefore, comparable to Wonder Woman’s, as they each fared about the same against Steppenwolf in hand-to-hand combat.
Also Read: 10 Reasons To Watch Marvel Movies: Why Marvel Movies Are So Awesome
Combat Skills
Another issue that the Hulk is going to run into here is the lack of combat training. We saw how easily Thanos took care of Hulk with martial arts, even after the years of Hulk’s training on Sakaar.
Aquaman may not be as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Thanos, but again he was able to swap attacks with Steppenwolf, who was a military genius known for invading and dominating planets. Steppenwolf was also able to Outduel Diana, who has years of high-level Amazonian training. And Arthur was trained in the art of Royal Atlantean combat by Vulco. He may not be as skilled as Wonder Woman but again is comparable to her.
And in this fight, we aren’t even dealing with the Sakaar Hulk, who has the training. We’re dealing with a Phase two Hulk who has absolutely no combat training. Meaning this version of the Hulk would be far more likely to lose to somebody skilled in martial arts than the Hulk that we saw get comboed by Thanos and Infinity War.
Who Is Stronger Between Hulk And Aquaman?
Now in this Aquaman vs. Hulk, we will talk about their strengths levels. I don’t think that Hulk has enough feats to definitively say that he’s stronger than base Aquaman. As we’ve seen, Arthur launched Steppenwolf with a punch, a character far and away stronger than the Hulk. And I don’t even believe that’s Aquaman’s most powerful strength feat.
I’m sure you all might have figured out by now the DCEU version of Aquaman is an insanely powerful character with a ton of great feats under his belt. But easily, one of his most impressive feats so far would have to be from relatively early on in his solo movie. When during an attempt to stop a group of pirates from hijacking a Russian submarine, he actually lifted set submarines straight to the surface of the ocean, and that is fucking crazy.
Seriously, how strong would he need to be to do that? Well, after factoring in stuff like the drag he’d have to overcome while moving the submarine through the water, the weight of the column of seawater above the submarine, he’d also have to move out of the way, as well as the weight of the submarine itself. We can see that Aquaman was essentially lifting about 579,283 tons.
For comparison, remember the ship that Superman was dragging in Batman V Superman? It weighed about 25,840 tons. Well, Aquaman being capable of lifting this submarine means he could lift about 20 two of those ships.
Durability
Even if the Hulk is stronger than Aquaman, we have to consider Aquaman’s durability. Before he is enhanced by Atlan’s Trident, he takes a punch from enraged Superman and gets back up. He takes hits by Steppenwolf’s Electro axe that nearly cleaved Cyborg in two. He took a blast from Black Manta, whose lasers can destroy cliff’s sides with no issue.
He’s immune to human weapons like blades, gunfire, and grenades, and he leaped from a plane and landed on solid ground with no worries. I think it’s pretty safe to say that he’s very confident in his durability if he could just jump out of a plane without a parachute. Nothing but the Sahara desert waiting for him to land.
But by far, the biggest advantage that Aquaman has Atlana’s Quinn Dent, which is an enhanced magical weapon capable of piercing Steppenwolf, who again is stronger and more durable than Phase two Hulk.
The Hulk can take blunt-force attacks like a champ. As he’s taken Thor’s hammer to the face, he’s been pounded by Abomination. He was thrown through a skyscraper and survived a fall from 30,000 feet. But he has a weakness in piercing and cutting weapons. As we’ve seen in his battle against Abomination and even against standard military equipment, which lacerated his skin in multiple locations. Aquaman happens to have the perfect weapon for piercing a Hulk.
Also Read: Doctor Strange vs. Doctor Fate: Who Is The Strongest Sorcerer?
Who Would Win Between MCU Phase 2 Hulk And Justice League Aquaman?
The combination of speed, strength training, and the weaponry of Aquaman lead me to believe that he takes this in most locations. And easily wins when near any large body of water. But Aquaman cannot take the Hulk for granted.
Before Sakaar when the Hulk starts losing, he goes into a blind rage, and becomes a savage beast who is nearly impossible to control. When he was losing to Abomination, he went full King Kong mode. Primal screams, chest pounding the whole 9 yards and he was going to murder Abomination if not for Betty Ross.
If Hulk goes into a rage like this, he will become unpredictable, and if he’s able to hit Aquaman with the full force of his punches that he might be able to win. I say might because Aquaman has taken hits from Steppenwolf and lived to tell the tale. And again, for like the 19th Time, Hulk is nowhere near Steppenwolf strength.
In my opinion the Hulk from Phase two faces the Justice League version of Aquaman, Aquaman would win roughly 6 out of 10 battles, but it would be at an extremely high level of difficulty for Aquaman. These would not be simple battles and he would really have to go all out and fight for his life.
Round Two: Ragnarok Hulk vs. King Aquaman
Moving on to the second version of this matchup, we have post-Sakar Hulk versus King Arthur Aquaman. The Hulk has gained a serious power amp here. He’s almost able to keep up with Awakened Thor. Although it’s clear Thor didn’t realize his full strength until the end of the movie. Hulk was also able to keep up with the wolf Fenris, who in my opinion was significantly stronger than the Hulk. But Hulk kind of won that fight through plot convenience.
And the Hulk even staggered Surtur’s character that is far and away the most powerful being he had fought up into that point center. Surtur with his eternal flame had only ever been defeated by Odin, and Surtur was able to easily defeat Hella with no problem. Meanwhile, Thor, Valkyrie, and Hulk couldn’t even touch her. Although Hulk’s attack on Surtur was just a minor inconvenience. But it’s still pretty impressive to even slightly annoying a being so powerful.
Hulk’s striking power has also been pumped up considerably and he has some years of training under his belt from being a gladiator on Sakaar. There he spent years training and defeating the most powerful gladiators in the Galaxy. So if this version of the Hulk is able to hit Aquaman with 100% of his power. I’m talking about a full-force punch. He might be able to stagger Aquaman long enough, get on top of him, and then just beat him into the dirt.
Also Read: MCU Thanos vs. DCEU Darkseid: Who Is The Strongest Being In Superhero Movie Universe?
Aquaman Has Atlan’s Trident
However, Arthur gets a significant power boost as well with Atlan’s trident. After becoming the true King of Atlantis, Aquaman gains command of the sea. Meaning he has complete dominance over any and all sea life. Additionally, Atlan’s Trident is made of Poseidon metal and is much, much more powerful than Aquaman’s previous Trident which was broken by Orm.
But later in the film, Atlan’s Trident broke Orm’s, so we know it’s significantly stronger than his original Trident. Through his training with Vulco, Aquaman is able to use Atlan’s Trident to create a hydrokinetic barrier that not even Orm could penetrate. Not only that, but the power contained within Atlan’s Trident was enough to sink Atlantis.
So yeah, both the Hulk and Aquaman gained significant power boosts. Yet, we run into the same issue as before. Aquaman still has much better training than the Hulk, so much so that he was able to defeat his brother or who is an eighth dawn in Zebel Foo, as well as a five-time undefeated Trident champion. A feat that should not be overlooked when considering how well-trained Arthur actually is.
Aquaman Has Control Over Sea
Hulk is essentially a glorified gladiator and subsequently has not become significantly faster or more durable while on Sakaar. Meanwhile, Aquaman has gained a godly weapon, armor, and abilities that far exceed what he had before, as well as the range Advantage that Atlantis Trident grants him in the form of energy blasts. In almost any situation, Aquaman will take this fight for the same reasons he won in his base form.
But if he’s near the sea, it’s an absolute stop by Aquaman, who can summon Kaiju-sized creatures or the horde known as the Trench that could drag the Hulk to his death. Unfortunately for Hulk, King Arthur has way too many hacks available for him for the Hulk to be a threat. He can keep Hulk at Bay with his extended range. He has the ability to summon magical barriers, given that there is a water source nearby.
And if you really wanted to, you can make a safe assumption that Aquaman can call the sea and cause tsunamis and tidal waves. As Orm is able to do that with his dad’s Trident, but I don’t wanna assume too much.
Who Would Win In A Fight Between Hulk And Aquaman?
At the end of the day, Aquaman dances around Hulk, cunning him into ribbons until he’s defeated. And let’s not forget Post Ragnarok Hulk is not the same rage monster as he was before. He feels feelings, and he doesn’t get enraged when losing a battle. He gets sad and becomes the Incredible Hulk. This plays into the advantage that Aquaman already had. Not being able to get near Aquaman will cause the Hulk to get frustrated and give up, as we saw against Thor and Thanos.
I think if post-Ragnarok Hulk fought King Arthur Aquaman in 9 out of 10 fights, Aquaman would win that like Medium difficulty. Aquaman still has to be aware of the Hulk’s immense strength. But Arthur has way better and more drastic power upgrades than the Hulk, and his enhanced magical abilities would allow him to win with relatively low to medium difficulty.
Also Read: Captain America vs. Batman: Who Is The Smarter And Stronger Fighter?
