Who Can Beat Thor?

As the God of Thunder, Thor can beat almost anyone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in a fight. Few can match Thor’s physical strength, and even fewer are worthy of wielding his legendary hammer, Mjolnir. He can also use thunder to his advantage.

However, even the strongest Avengers have weaknesses, and Thor is no different. While we have seen him defeat several villains and even other Avengers, he has lost a few battles. There are even more Avengers and villains who can beat Thor in theory, and they comprise the list below.

1. Hulk

Thor may possess godlike physical strength, but no one is physically stronger than Hulk. The two were forced to fight in the Contest of Champions in Thor: Ragnarok.

While Thor looked as though he was winning the fight, the Grandmaster intervened, allowing Hulk to win. Upon further review, if this were a standard fight, Hulk would have still won.

One reason that supports this is that, while Hulk didn’t look as though he could counter Thor’s electric blows, they would have made him angrier and, therefore, stronger.

During the fight itself, Hulk landed 24 blows compared to Thor’s 13. He also knocked Thor down seven times, while Thor only knocked down Hulk five times. While many MCU fans gave this one to Thor, if we’re talking about standard fight scoring, Hulk was the victor.

We can also look to the comics for even further clarification. In the comics, Thor outright said he couldn’t beat Hulk, and even Thanos stayed out of Hulk’s way.

2. Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel can beat Thor because no one on this list has a better arsenal for countering the God’s thunder attacks. While it is true Thor has her beaten in speed and strength, her ability to absorb and reflect energy gives her a massive advantage.

Energy weapons affect Thor, and Captain Marvel has a plethora of them, like her notorious photon blasts. Captain Marvel can also rein in an unlimited amount of energy, so against Thor, she only needs to bide her time and allow the Thunder God to attack.

Captain Marvel could absorb and reflect Thor’s power back onto him in a single move. Since Captain Marvel’s strength is Thor’s biggest weakness, his only option in a confrontation with the heroine would be to retreat.

3. Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is another character Thor could outmuscle and defeat in a head-to-head matchup. With some planning, however, Strange would easily gain the upper hand.

Steven Strange’s arsenal of magic is at least on par with Thor’s power. And since he cannot match Thor physically, Strange’s first choice would be to take this battle to the astral plane, giving him an immense advantage.

Once on the astral plane, Strange only needs to send illusions to strip Thor’s powers. If he wants, Strange can even freeze the God of Thunder or send him into another dimension.

Even if Strange can’t coerce Thor out of the physical realm, he doesn’t need to be on the astral plane to work his magic, and in the physical realm, his Crimson Bands of Cyttorak would be his go-to.

The bands would at least slow Thor long enough for Strange to evoke a more powerful spell and win the battle. One major weakness Strange would have is that he cannot conjure his magic as quickly as Thor.

This means that Strange must target Thor’s Mjolnir first. Once he gets rid of the Thunder God’s mystical hammer, it is game over for Thor.

4. Black Panther

Some call T’Challa, better known as Black Panther, the strongest Avenger. When you take Captain America’s physical strength, combine it with Tony Stark’s IQ, and add in some of the greatest technological advancements imaginable, you get the Black Panther.

Like many names on this list, Black Panther might not win this fight if he cannot answer Thor’s magic. However, T’Challa has a connection to the Panther God, Bast, and this connection may challenge Thor’s brand of magic.

Assuming the Black Panther’s magic matches Thor’s, this leaves the two to battle using sheer strength. Knowing that energy weapons will lead to the Thunder God’s downfall, the Black Panther will use his mass stores of Vibranium to absorb and reflect Thor’s offensive strikes.

Once Thor has weakened, T’Challa will deliver a strike lethal enough to win this fight. Patience is the one virtue the Black Panther must count on to win this, and if he bides his time, he will defeat Thor.

5. Captain America

In the MCU, Steve Rogers, or Captain America, proved himself worthy of wielding Thor’s Mjolnir. This would give him a major advantage in a fight with Thor if he could snatch Mjolnir from the Thunder God.

Captain America can also harness Mjolnir’s power, allowing him to unleash Thor’s magic. He just needs to find a way to separate Thor from his beloved hammer, and the fight will tilt in the First Avenger’s favor.

Cap would have a tougher time matching the Thunder God if he couldn’t get his hands on Mjolnir, but this is also Captain America we’re talking about.

And if you know anything about Cap, he can fight all day. Even when Steve Rogers was just a small kid trying to join the US Military during World War II, he never backed down from a challenge.

Therefore, even if Cap couldn’t get Mjolnir, there is still a chance he would emerge victorious in this fight.

6. Wasp

We know Thor for his power, and Janet Van Dyne’s, or Wasp’s, power is nowhere near the Thunder God’s. However, as we have often stated, energy blasts are one of Thor’s greatest weaknesses. Wasp can also size-shift, which could cause Thor to lose track of her real fast.

Wasp only needs to shift to a minute size, use some finesse to circumvent Thor’s attacks, get into his inner-ear or a nostril, and hit him with an energy blast.

Since she isn’t the strongest fighter, Wasp may need to unleash a few blasts. Sooner or later though, the Thunder God will topple.

7. Scarlet Witch

You may also know Scarlet Witch as Wanda Maximoff, and she is one of the most dangerous MCU characters when she loses control of her temper. That alone can overpower most in the MCU.

Wanda also possesses her own brand of magic, and while it cannot match Thor’s, she could find the right hex to wrap Thor into a reality warp.

This warp could trap Thor in an alternate reality where he is not worthy of his magic. And in the movie Thor, we saw just how weak he can be when he is unworthy of his magic. In it, Odin deprived Thor of his magic and banished him to Earth.

Thor would still have a chance if Wanda separated him from his magic. But he would need to rely on his strength to win this fight. Therefore, his chances of winning dramatically decrease.

8. Gorr

Known as the God Butcher, Gorr has a cursed Necrosword capable of matching and even overpowering Thor and Mjolnir. In the Marvel Comics, we saw an example of how powerful Gorr was during an encounter with the Thunder God.

During the ninth century on Earth, the two confronted one another, and some deadly duels erupted. Gorr eventually won. He stabbed and sliced the Thunder God repeatedly. It nearly killed Thor, who was forced to retreat.

Gorr also gained the upper hand in Love and Thunder. Only when a terminally ill Jane Foster showed up did Thor manage to gain the upper hand. They both destroyed the Necrosword and the curse it had over Gorr.

9. Loki

While Thor beat Loki time and again in the films, the God of Mischief deserves a spot on this list because one of his biggest powers involves shapeshifting. This would allow Loki to take on the appearance of any of the above characters, use their powers, and defeat Thor.

One advantage Thor would have over Loki is that no one knows his brother’s powers more than him. However, Loki also knows Thor better than anyone else. So this would make for a classic battle between two frenemies.

There is no way Loki can match Thor’s strength. Few can. But nobody on this list can be more manipulative than Loki. Loki is perhaps the most conniving individual in the MCU, and he uses his cunning to tilt things in his favor.