The the Hulk has suffered many defeats throughout his Marvel Comics history, and each one highlighted a specific weakness the Strongest Avenger is vulnerable to.

After getting hit by an explosion of gamma radiation, Bruce Banner didn’t just become a gamma-mutate with unparalleled strength, he also gained the most powerful entity in the Marvel Universe, cementing him as a cosmic-level powerhouse.

However, even that doesn’t guarantee him victory in every fight, as the power of other gods - and even mere mortals - prove too much for the Jade Giant to handle, so long as his vulnerabilities are exploited. Here are 10 superpowers Hulk is most vulnerable to in Marvel lore!

10 The Hulk Can Be Taken Down By Cosmic Ray Generation

The Immortal Hulk #44 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

When the Hulk went up against the of the U-Foes during the events of The Immortal Hulk, not even his cosmic-level gamma powers could save him from one of the villains in particular: X-Ray. The reason X-Ray was so formidable was that he has the power to emit any form of radiation on the spectrum, and that includes cosmic rays. During their fight in The Immortal Hulk #44, X-Ray hit Hulk with an immense blast of cosmic rays, reducing the Green Goliath to nothing more than a skeleton.

X-Ray effectively killed the Hulk, but due to his connection to the Below-Place through the Green Door, the Hulk managed to come back to life. However, just because he came back doesn't negate his defeat, as cosmic rays proved strong enough to put him in his (temporary) grave.

9 Hulk Gets CRUSHED by Zeus' All-Power

The Incredible Hulks #622 by Greg Pak and Paul Pelletier

Hulk's strength is backed by the One Below All (aka the One Above All), which means it stands to reason that he'd be able to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone, including Zeus himself. However, The Incredible Hulks #622 confirms that's not the case. When the Hulk goes to Olympus to challenge the King of the Gods, Zeus absolutely crushes him, using his 'All-Power' to do so with ease.

Maybe if Zeus was trapped on Earth and cut off from the power his own realm offers, then Hulk would have a chance against him (similar to how Hulk can put up a fight against Hercules). But, when Zeus is on Olympus, his All-Power not only makes him physically stronger than the Hulk, but it literally bends reality itself within Zeus' godly place of power to make him unbeatable.

8 Hulk is Defeated by a Direct Energy-Blast to the Head from Havok

The Incredible Hulk #150 by Archie Goodwin and Herb Trimpe

In The Incredible Hulk #150, the Hulk abducts Lorna Dane aka Polaris, as he mistook her for his former ally (and romantic interest), Jarella. In the confusion, Havok goes to rescue Lorna from the Hulk, and the two engage in brutal combat. The fight ends with the Hulk lifting a piece of a mountain over his head to crush Havok, and Havok countering by shooting a concentrated blast directly at the Hulk's forehead.

Havok's blast proved powerful enough to not only down the Hulk, but also revert him to Bruce Banner. The success of this attack also implies that Cyclops could take down the Hulk with a strong enough blast to the head, just as his brother, Havok, pulled off in this issue.

7 Hulk is Vulnerable to Size-Changing Heroes like Wasp

The Ultimates #5 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch

When the Hulk goes absolutely feral in The Ultimates #5, threatening to destroy the entirety of New York City, the Ultimates are called in to take down one of their own. While the likes of Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man put up a good fight, it's Wasp who ultimately takes the Hulk down. Wasp beats him by shrinking down enough to enter the Hulk's head, and delivering a zap of her wasp's sting directly to his unprotected brain -one strong enough to revert the Hulk to Banner, resulting in his immediate defeat.

Marvel even doubled-down on the idea that shrinking heroes like Wasp can defeat the Hulk in the new Ultimates comic. In 2024's The Ultimates #6, the Wasp is eaten by a gamma-mutate with Hulk-level strength, and she kills him by rapidly growing inside his body, reducing him to a bloody mess on the ground.

6 The Hulk is Rendered Unconscious by Sue Storm's Force Field

Fantastic Four #166 by Roy Thomas and George Perez

After the Hulk accidentally (and absentmindedly) causes a plane crash, the Fantastic Four tracks the Hulk and launches an orchestrated attack against him, with their main goal being to revert Hulk to Banner. At this point in time, the Fantastic Four wants to recruit Banner for his scientific genius to assist in his own inventions, but they have no interest in the Hulk, so they come up with a plan to put him down as quickly as possible.

The Hulk is hit with a fire-blast from the Human Torch before he's wrapped-up by Mister Fantastic, giving Invisible Woman the chance to create a force field around Hulk's head, cutting off his air supply. While the Hulk is technically defeated by a punch from the Thing, that was greatly in the spirit of teamwork, as he was soundly defeated by Sue's force fields alone.

5 The Hulk is Embarrassingly Vulnerable to Magic

The Incredible Hulk #12 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein

When the Hulk's sidekick, Charlie, gets her soul trapped in a porcelain doll by the evil Frozen Charlotte, the Hulk is desperate to bring her back however he can. So, the Jade Giant visits the Strange Academy in search of Doctor Strange, and he's met with immediate hostility and violence. While the Hulk is able to smash his way through a number of the magical students, he's quickly defeated by Doctor Voodoo, who reverts Hulk to Banner with nothing more than a simple wave of his hand.

While Hulk has been defeated by magic before in the past (including by the likes of Doctor Strange himself), The Incredible Hulk #12 is the perfect example of how embarrassingly vulnerable the Hulk is to magic, as Doctor Voodoo put down the Strongest Avenger like it was nothing.

4 The Hulk is Susceptible to Possession Because of His Connection to the Green Door

The Immortal Hulk #39 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

While Hulk's connection to the Below-Place through the mystical Green Door (the pathway between the physical world and the hellish, gamma underworld) is the source of his power, it's also one of his greatest weaknesses. When the One Below All comes up with a plan to use the Leader and Bruce's father, Brian, to take over the Hulk's power and bring the Below-Place to Earth, the godly entity gives the villains access to Hulk's mind through the Green Door.

The Hulk gets possessed by these malevolent forces, resulting in the death of one of Hulk's alter egos, the Devil Hulk, and Bruce Banner himself getting kidnapped and brought to the Below-Place. Hulk had no way to fight this attack (until the end of Immortal Hulk when he closes the Green Door for good), making it a huge weakness.

3 Hulk's Go-To Weakness is Just Calming Him Down

A+X #7 by Zeb Wells and Dale Keown

Even the most casual Hulk fan knows that the best way to put him down is by calming him down. Hulk's a being that's fueled by rage, and when the rage goes away, so does the Hulk. This has been shown countless times in the comics, animated series, and even in the MCU. And one of the most notable moments is in A+X #7, when the Avengers learn how to calm the Hulk down with technology.

Iron Man and Beast discover that they can trigger transformation by showing the Hulk calming images (in this case, images of puppies). This way, the Avengers can use the Hulk for missions, and 'power him down' when those missions are complete. It also means that the Avengers effectively weaponized 'calming down' against the Hulk.

2 The Hulk Isn't Too Strong to Be Out-Muscled

Tales to Astonish #90 by Stan Lee and Gil Kane

While the Hulk is incredibly strong (even on a cosmic scale, in some cases), that doesn't mean he can't be out-muscled. In fact, 'super-strength' is a weakness that Hulk has succumbed to on many occasions throughout his Marvel Comics career. One early example is shown in Tales to Astonish #90, which debuted one of the Hulk's greatest villains: the Abomination. When he's is introduced, the Abomination's strength far exceeds the Hulk's, and the villain lays him out in no time flat.

Fans have also seen the Hulk beaten by the superior strength of characters like Thanos and the Champion of the Universe, meaning his loss to the Abomination (purely because the Abomination was physically stronger) isn't unique to Tales to Astonish, making super-strength - ironically enough - one of the Hulk's major vulnerabilities.

1 Not Even the Hulk Can Withstand the Might of the Power Cosmic

The Incredible Hulk #250 by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema

The Hulk may have gotten his gamma-powers from the cosmically powerful One Below All, but that still isn't enough to tangle with certain cosmic beings in the Marvel Universe's physical realm - specifically, those that wield the Power Cosmic. Indeed, the Silver Surfer has bested the Hulk on numerous occasions thanks to his ability to wield the Power Cosmic, including and especially in The Incredible Hulk #250, when the Silver Surfer stole the Hulk's gamma powers, using the Power Cosmic to depower Bruce Banner with a mere wave of his hand.

It isn't just the Silver Surfer who can beat Hulk with the Power Cosmic, either, as Galactus himself doesn't even the Hulk as any sort of threat to him whatsoever, cementing the fact that the Power Cosmic is one of the Hulk's 10 most notable vulnerabilities.