Marvel's Hulk is famously the Strongest One There Is - which means that he often finds himself fighting against Marvel's other greatest powerhouses. From gods to gamma monstrosities, Hulk has traded earth-shaking punches with the mightiest of the mighty, but who is the strongest he's ever faced?

Here are the 13 strongest villains Hulk has faced in Marvel Comics, as measured by pure physical strength. We're only counting repeat villains, so one-time powerhouses like the gamma-thief Ravage, Bruce Banner's telekinetic mentor Noreen Noolan and the alien Hulk/Thing combo known as Banger McCrusher don't make the cut. We are making one exception to that rule - but only for the one-time foe who handed the Green Goliath his most devastating beating of all time.

13 Absorbing Man, aka Carl Creel

Debuted in Journey Into Mystery #114 from Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, Prior Contributions by Bill Everett

As Marvel villains go, the Absorbing Man is almost a nice guy. While Carl Creel is a dangerous killer, he's often been willing to work with Marvel's heroes, and is mostly just trying to live the good life with his supervillain love Titania. Granted mystic powers, Absorbing Man can duplicate the properties of whatever material or energy he touches, turning his skin into everything from diamond to magma. Absorbing Man is incredibly strong, able to fight Thor and the Hulk, and can steal superpowers, including those of Hulk and Giant-Man.

Absorbing Man also has incredible strength levels and telekinetic control over his wrecking ball, which is connected to his transformative powers. Hulk and Absorbing Man are longtime rivals, trading blows since 1969's The Incredible Hulk #125 (from Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe.) Carl has also worked with the heroic Gamma Flight and West Coast Avengers when there's been something to gain, and spent a short amount of time as 'Red Dog' - an experimental type of Red Hulk.

Because Absorbing Man's power is magic in nature, he can develop new powers based on the objects he touches - for example, absorbing a jet allowed him to manifest turbines and fly.

12 The Rhino, aka Aleksei Sytsevich

Debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #41 by Stan Lee & John Romita Sr.

The Rhino is most famous as an enemy of Spider-Man, but he's been trading blows with the Hulk since 1968's Incredible Hulk #104. Rhino's strength and durability are actually tied to the same gamma energy that empowers the Hulk, since his carapace was treated with the energy to make it almost indestructible. Rhino isn't quite as strong as the Hulk, but his immense speed and deadly horn give him a unique advantage in combat. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z states that Rhino is capable of lifting around 75 tons.

11 Wendigo (Various Versions)

Debuted in Incredible Hulk #162 by Steve Englehart & Herb Trimpe

In Marvel lore, the ancient Elder Gods established a curse that transforms anyone who engages in cannibalism within Canada's borders. The victims of this curse become a terrifying monster known as a Wendigo, with gigantic claws and teeth, and an unquenchable hunger for human flesh. Hulk has fought many different versions of the Wendigo, though he often pays for his victories in blood. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z states that Wendigo can lift around 85 tons.

Wolverine famously made his comic debut during a fight between the Hulk and Wendigo, in 1974's The Incredible Hulk #180.

10 The Thing, aka Ben Grimm

Debuted in Fantastic Four #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

A heroic member of the Fantastic Four, Ben Grimm has saved the world countless times - but he definitely plays the 'villain' role in countless Hulk stories. Technically able to lift 85 tons according to Marvel's handbooks - but having performed feats far in excess of this in the actual comics - the Thing is covered in durable rocky plates and has immense superhuman strength. The Thing is considerably less powerful than the Hulk, but has beaten the Jade Giant with advantages including a secondary mutation and the Puppet Master's interference.

In The Immortal Hulk, Marvel confirmed that the traditional 'Savage Hulk' is a persona based on Bruce Banner's child self. The series put a different spin on the Thing's rivalry with Hulk, reframing him as unknowingly bullying a superpowered child.

9 Red Hulk, aka General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross

Debuted in Incredible Hulk #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

One of Hulk's most recent enemies - or his oldest, depending on your perspective - the Red Hulk entered Marvel lore in 2008, in Hulk Volume 2 #1 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. However, it was later revealed that this Crimson Colossus is in fact Hulk's old enemy General Ross, empowered using a mixture of gamma energy and cosmic radiation by the villainous Intelligencia. Red Hulk is immensely strong and exudes increasing amounts of heat the angrier he gets, with his upper limits of rage producing an atom bomb-like explosion. Marvel's most recent handbook states that the Red Hulk can lift in excess of 100 tons - generally the highest strength category given to its characters.

While Red Hulk is a recent form of General Ross, the soldier probably belongs on this list either way. For decades, Ross has debuted different mechs and machines intended to crush the Hulk, including the Hulk Smasher-1000 and the Redeemer Armor, both of which challenged the Hulk's strength.

From here on, every entrant is stated by Marvel to be at least a 'Class 100' strength level - capable of lifting over 100 tons - however, it's worth ing that Marvel's Handbook encyclopedias describe existing comic lore, rather than dictating it.

8 Juggernaut, aka Cain Marko

Debuted in X-Men #12 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Alex Toth

Traditionally an enemy of the X-Men (but currently a member of Cyclops' latest version of the team), Juggernaut has clashed with Hulk many times, arguably dueling for the title of Marvel's strongest mortal. Juggernaut has enhanced strength and durability gifted to him by a demonic being known as Cyttorak, but his greatest power is his magic momentum - an ability which makes it impossible to stop him once he reaches a certain speed, even if the person trying is otherwise stronger.

Juggernaut's strength varies vastly, with Cyttorak lending him more power the more chaos and destruction he causes. He can even shapeshift into a stronger, god-like form with enough energy from his demonic patron. Juggernaut is one of the few characters to ever knock out the Hulk one-on-one, and his magic momentum makes him the only being on the planet who can take a Hulk-strength shot to the face without losing a step.

7 Man, aka Philip Sterns

Debuted in Incredible Hulk #362 by Peter David & Jeff Purves

The brother of Hulk's supersmart nemesis the Leader, Man is an underrated villain who loathes Bruce Banner. He's one of the few Marvel characters to knock out the Hulk with a single punch (albeit in his less durable Professor Hulk form.) Man has exposed himself to repeated doses of radiation, constantly raising the upper limits of his strength while damaging his sanity. Most recently, Man went up against Red Hulk's team of Thunderbolts.

6 Zzzax

Debuted in Incredible Hulk #166 by Steve Englehart & Herb Trimpe

Zzzax is a sentient energy being created in a unique scientific accident. It is capable of absorbing all forms of electricity, including the energy within the human brain. Zzzax's unique biology results in various superpowers, including flight, invulnerability and energy manipulation. Zzzax has fought both the original Hulk and General Ross' Red Hulk, increasing in strength the more energy it absorbs - there's seemingly no limit to how powerful Zzzax can become, but its base level strength is enough to trade punches with the Hulk.

5 Bi-Beast

Debuted in Incredible Hulk #169 by Steve Englehart & Herb Trimpe

An ancient android created by an extinct alien society, Bi-Beast's persona is split between two minds who consider themselves 'brothers,' and can combine their intellect to achieve genius levels of invention and tactical thinking. Bi-Beast is one of the strongest beings in Marvel lore and significantly larger than the Hulk, allowing him to hold the Green Goliath in one hand. Despite these strengths, Bi-Beast's dual minds can be used against it, since they have to be in agreement to work as one.

4 Thanos

Debuted in Iron Man #55 by Jim Starlin & Mike Friedrich

Thanos is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, and while he didn't start out as a Hulk villain, the two have now clashed so often that they're considered old sparring partners - indeed, 2014's Thanos vs. Hulk dedicated a whole miniseries to them duking it out, from Thanos creator Jim Starlin. At his original power level, Thanos made it a point to avoid the Hulk, only engaging the Jade Giant once he had the cosmic artifact known as the Power Stone.

Since then, Thanos has upgraded his body many times over, allowing it to absorb and process cosmic radiation - Thanos' patron Lady Death has also gifted him additional superhuman powers. While Thanos famously trounced Hulk in their Avengers: Infinity War fight, the recent The Incredible Hulk Annual #1 (from Derek Landy, Geoff Shaw and Sara Pichelli) ended differently, with Hulk fighting dirty to take down Thanos.