Should some Marvel heroes be depowered?

[Uxas]

Generally people agree that most Marvel characters are 'grounded', at least moreso than DC's, and that 'too' powerful characters rarely affect one's enjoyement of a story. When you look at Spider-Man and his villains, you do get the feeling that Peter won't just walk over his adversaries.

There are however a few heroes whose power-levels, IMO, are starting to get out of hand or have already.

Thor- Yes, he's always been powerful, some would argue that he's already been depowered, but I can't help but to notice how he always seems to be the guy to either finish a threat or lead the charge against the most powerful opponents. Oh, the time-stream's collapsing and Galactus is destroying the city. Have at thee! Janet's actually a living bomb, we're all going to die in a minute. No problem, Thor'll just send her into another dimension. The Sentry is going berserk. Thor'll handle it. Sometimes you can't help but to wonder why the other Avengers even bother.
The worst thing is how many people seems to be fine with this. I guarantee you, if you make a rumbles-thread with 'Thor vs X', most people will vote Thor almost by default. I mean, how many times we've heard about the 'Berserker's rage'-thing and strength-doubling belt and whatever. Thank jeebus he doesn't have the Odinforce anymore. I accept the fact that he's a god and he should be powerful, but IMO he should have no business messing with Galactus.

Hulk- He's the strongest one there is. Fine, but when I hear people claiming that he can get so angry, so strong, that his punches will tear the fabric of reality apart, I can't help but to shake my head. Why won't you just make him a reality-warper while you're at it. There should be some kind of limit to what you can do with pure physical force.
It's not the Hulk's strenght that even bothers me. It's his invulnerability. He's not only resistant to pretty much everything, but he regenerates faster than Wolverine. So how do you kill him then? Even Superman has kryptonite and magic to look out for. I've heard that Hulk can even resist molecular/reality manipulation. That just seems like overkill to me.

Wolverine- He's a guy with a metal skeleton, claws and a healing factor. C'mon, even I could kill him.

Iron Man- Ok, he's not that bad, but I just don't see why he should be in the 100-ton range.

Steve Rogers- I've said this a few times before and I'll say it again: he needs to lose to someone. Badly. No, not just a he-lost-due-to-some-small-factor-and-comes-back-later-to-get-payback- kind of defeat. Just a thorough ass-kicking.


So, can you think of heroes(villains too) that should get knocked down a peg or am I just spewing crap?

EDIT- "Depowering" doesn't need to mean removing or completely altering abilities, just keeping consistency on how they're used, or alternatively writers not playing favourites all the time.

[Rahul]

Thor is a God, and there's nothing wrong with his strength level...in fact there is a consistency in his approach. First he holds back and resorts to hammer attacks, and then if the situation becomes more and more dire, he resorts to his godly powers of thunder.

Strength amplified by Rage is a core part of the Hulk, you can't remove that. But I do agree that the regenerative/adaptibility ability makes him too powerful.

Wolverine is fine as he is.

Iron Man : He is the Swiss Army Knife of Superheroes, he works in any condition.

Steve Rogers: He is one of the best, but yes even the best should have their falls.....

[Uxas]

Thor is a God, and there's nothing wrong with his strength level...in fact there is a consistency in his approach. First he holds back and resorts to hammer attacks, and then if the situation becomes more and more dire, he resorts to his godly powers of thunder.

Wolverine is fine as he is.

The word 'depower' might have been a bad choice on my part, I don't think that Wolvie is too powerful, it's just weird how seems to be almost unbeatable.

As for Thor, well, I agree that he should be powerful, but I just think it's lazy how he can counter almost any threat. Why even have the Hulk around if Thor can do everything he can and more?

[Talkie Toaster]

The Hulk doesn't need kryptonite, he's his own kryptonite. You don't see Superman and Clark Kent at constant war with each other like Hulk and Bruce Banner usually are

[Mick Martin]

Hulk- He's the strongest one there is.

I've heard that too.

Fine, but when I hear people claiming that he can get so angry, so strong, that his punches will tear the fabric of reality apart, I can't help but to shake my head.

That's because the Hulk's reality-tearing punches are ripping through fabric of reality to make you shake your head.

Why won't you just make him a reality-warper while you're at it.

Backorder.

It's not the Hulk's strenght that even bothers me.

It sure freaking seemed like it bothered you.

It's his invulnerability. He's not only resistant to pretty much everything, but he regenerates faster than Wolverine.

Yep, it's freaking awesome.

So how do you kill him then?

You don't. Problem solved.

Even Superman has kryptonite and magic to look out for.

Super...huh? Who is that?

[Uxas]

The Hulk doesn't need kryptonite, he's his own kryptonite. You don't see Superman and Clark Kent at constant war with each other like Hulk and Bruce Banner usually are

That's true and all, but when was the last time the Abomination beat him up because Banner and Hulk were having a mental struggle? A divided personality won't necessarily affect the outcome of a fight.

[Skaar2099]

when was the last time the Abomination beat him up because Banner and Hulk were having a mental struggle?

This week, probably, though I haven't been to the comic shop yet >_>

[Talkie Toaster]

That's true and all, but when was the last time the Abomination beat him up because Banner and Hulk were having a mental struggle? A divided personality won't necessarily affect the outcome of a fight.

Well the point is that even though the Hulk may not have any physical weaknesses, that doesn't mean he doesn't have any weaknesses. You have to beat the Hulk with your mind, not your fists.
That's why the Hulk's archenemy is the Leader, a villain who wouldn't be able to punch himself out of a wet paper bag.

And if you really want to defeat the Hulk you just leave him alone and wait for him to destroy himself.

[Kutulu]

Hulk- He's the strongest one there is. Fine, but when I hear people claiming that he can get so angry, so strong, that his punches will tear the fabric of reality apart, I can't help but to shake my head. Why won't you just make him a reality-warper while you're at it. There should be some kind of limit to what you can do with pure physical force.
It's not the Hulk's strenght that even bothers me. It's his invulnerability. He's not only resistant to pretty much everything, but he regenerates faster than Wolverine. So how do you kill him then? Even Superman has kryptonite and magic to look out for. I've heard that Hulk can even resist molecular/reality manipulation. That just seems like overkill to me.

I couldn't disagree more. Hulk by his very definition is madder = stronger, with no limits. That's how it's always been, and that's how it should always be. Someone that if he got mad enough can punch his way through a time storm, walk forward while having reality literally ripped away from him, and collapse dimensions with his thunderclaps.

If anything they make Hulk appear too weak when fighting other characters; instead of getting much stronger, he ends up only getting slightly stronger. Hulk is to Marvel what Superman is to DC; the defining character that can stand up to bat when everybody else has failed and pull out that final last ounce of power to take down something monstrous. When Onslaught had the power to create an entire sun, who was the only one to stand toe to toe with him? Hulk. When the mountain was thrown on the heroes in Secret Wars, who was the only one to hold up the 100 billion tons of force crushing down? Hulk. When the crust of Planet Sakaar was ripping apart, was the one who stood in the molten magma and save the planet? Hulk.

[Uxas]

Well the point is that even though the Hulk may not have any physical weaknesses, that doesn't mean he doesn't have any weaknesses. You have to beat the Hulk with your mind, not your fists.
That's why the Hulk's archenemy is the Leader, a villain who wouldn't be able to punch himself out of a wet paper bag.

I see your point, but the Leader's genius seems to amount to creating robots or... red hulks, so he's really only giving the job of punching to someone else. It'd be cool to see him try attack Hulk's psyche more often. (I really don't know if he's done so in the past.)

[Talkie Toaster]

I see your point, but the Leader's genius seems to amount to creating robots or... red hulks, so he's really only giving the job of punching to someone else. It'd be cool to see him try attack Hulk's psyche more often. (I really don't know if he's done so in the past.)

What about the time the Leader cleverly maneuvered the Hulk in front of a gamma bomb and then detonating it?
As for overcoming the Hulk by making use of the Hulk vs Banner dynamic, Samson has done that a few times with success

[Uxas]

I couldn't disagree more. Hulk by his very definition is madder = stronger, with no limits. That's how it's always been, and that's how it should always be. Someone that if he got mad enough can punch his way through a time storm, walk forward while having reality literally ripped away from him, and collapse dimensions with his thunderclaps.

Well, I do agree with the basic concept of the Hulk, I don't mind him lifting 100 billion tons or whatever. It's just that when the Molecule Man shows up and starts screwing up everything I'd rather see... Dr. Strange conjure up a spell to try and counter his powers instead of the Hulk jumping in and punching stuff until eveything fine.

[Uxas]

What about the time the Leader cleverly maneuvered the Hulk in front of a gamma bomb and then detonating it?
As for overcoming the Hulk by making use of the Hulk vs Banner dynamic, Samson has done that a few times with success

Like I said, I'm not a huge Hulk expert so I'm not aware of all the times he's been beaten like this.

Let's say that he got into a fight with Galactus. I think that he should zero chance of winning, but that's just me. Anyway, Galactus' usual way of dealing with threats is blasting them with some cosmic mojo. So, should he be able to beat the Hulk with such a method, or will Hulk just get madder and madder until he punches Galactus out of existence?

[Mr MajestiK]

The word 'depower' might have been a bad choice on my part, I don't think that Wolvie is too powerful, it's just weird how seems to be almost unbeatable.

As for Thor, well, I agree that he should be powerful, but I just think it's lazy how he can counter almost any threat. Why even have the Hulk around if Thor can do everything he can and more?

Did you miss Siege?

Thor's ass got kicked by the Sentry so no, he doesn't always get to be all powerful.

[Kutulu]

Well, I do agree with the basic concept of the Hulk, I don't mind him lifting 100 billion tons or whatever. It's just that when the Molecule Man shows up and starts screwing up everything I'd rather see... Dr. Strange conjure up a spell to try and counter his powers instead of the Hulk jumping in and punching stuff until eveything fine.

I'll show you a page which explains why Hulk is fine just the way he is.
http://superheroesetc.blogspot.com/2...-why-hulk.html