Thanos has battled some pretty powerful warriors during his time as a galactic conqueror, but one of them easily takes the top-spot as the all-time strongest, and that was before this enemy in question beat the Hulk, Juggernaut, and Thing without even breaking a sweat. Interestingly enough, however, those three heroes ultimately defeated this cosmic force of unparalleled strength the same way Thanos did, and it has everything to do with the most famous cosmic artifacts in the Marvel Universe: the Infinity Stones (or, at least one Infinity Stone).
When Thanos was on a mission to find the Infinity Gems and use them to court Mistress Death and become a cosmic being of unfathomable power, he had to first defeat everyone who had possession of each individual Gem. The being who held the Power Gem was the same powerhouse who eventually gave the Hulk, Juggernaut, and Thing so much trouble: the Champion.
In Thanos Quest by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim, Thanos seeks out the Champion (who is battling legions of soldiers all by himself at the time) and challenges him to a one-on-one fight. In the end, Thanos proves to be far weaker than the Power Stone-wielding warrior, though much smarter. Thanos tricks the Champion into using the power of the Infinity Gem to destroy the entire planet, leaving the Champion floating through the void while Thanos has his Space Throne. Thanos agreed to save the Champion from the fate of floating through space for all eternity in exchange for one thing: the Power Stone – and the Champion reluctantly agreed.
Thanos Was Afraid to Face the Hulk Before He Had the Infinity Stones
While Thanos was on his quest to obtain all the Infinity Stones, he reveals that he knows of the Hulk and had been avoiding a fight with him for years
Bruce Banner/The Hulk Beat The Champion With His Brain, Not His Brawn
In Marvel Adventures – Hulk #12 by Paul Benjamin and Steve Scott, readers are thrown into the alternate Marvel Universe designated Earth-20051 where the Hulk, himself, is whisked away to an alien planet against his will, and is being forced to fight the Champion on some sort of interstellar entertainment show. During their first fight, the Champion takes the Hulk down like it’s nothing, and then prepares to fight the other contenders that were stolen from Earth: Juggernaut, Thing, and Doc Samson.
While Doc Samson was an obvious loser, given the fact that he’s strong but nowhere close to the level exhibited by the other fighters, the Juggernaut and the Thing proved to be just as ineffective against the Champion. Every single superpowered contender from Earth fell before the Champion. That is, until they stopped fighting with their brawn alone, and did what Thanos did in Thanos Quest: outsmarted their opponent.
The Hulk Used The Champion’s Power Stone Against Him (Just Like Thanos)
Just like when he fought Thanos, the Champion was using the Power Stone during his gladiator-esque contest against some of Earth’s strongest heroes, meaning all they had to do was use the cosmic power he was wielding against him. When the Hulk challenged the Champion a second time after the other fighters were soundly defeated, he managed to take the Power Stone and use it for himself, at which point he was able to beat the Champion and claim ultimate victory. Thanos tricked the villain into using the Power Gem in a way that would lead to the Champion’s defeat, while the Hulk physically stole the Infinity Stone and used its power against the Champion.
In both instances, the Champion was outsmarted, and his own strength was used against him. However, also in both instances, the Champion first proved to be way stronger than those who challenged him, as Thanos, Hulk, Juggernaut, and the Thing all fell before this insanely powerful enemy.
