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Today, we’re going to take a look at the first ten supervillains that the Hulk ever fought and check to see exactly how strong each of them was. Then, we’ll be ranking them by how powerful they are. To be clear, we’re only counting actual supervillains who were villains at their introduction. So we won’t be counting the standard military men the Hulk battled, like Boris posing as the space-gladiator Mongu, or Thunderbolt Ross, who didn’t become Red Hulk until much later. With those rules set, let’s dive right into ranking Hulk’s villains.
10) The Gargoyle
Let’s start things off with the Gargoyle, who is not only one of Hulk’s weakest villains, but also his very first. Yuri Topolov, much like Bruce Banner, was a scientist who was mutated by his work on radiation. Instead of attaining raw power, his intellect was greatly enhanced. He practically served as the blueprint for the Leader in that regard. The Gargoyle debuted and died in Incredible Hulk (1962) #1, and although he invented some fairly powerful technology, such as a pellet gun that could render someone unconscious, he lacks the raw power and high-tier tech that would make him a true threat. The Hulk started with an easy one, as it would seem.
9) The Chameleon
Although this Russian superspy is more famous for being a Spider-Man villain, he battled the Hulk at the behest of another entry on our list in Tales to Astonish (1959) #60-66. Chameleon is certainly a dangerous opponent, able to disguise himself as anyone he wishes. Having also taken the same serum that granted Kraven the Hunter his elongated life and supernatural strength, he boasts some aspect of longevity and potentially above-human physical prowess. Still, at the end of the day, the Chameleon is dangerous because of his knowledge and stealth skills, not because of raw power, so he takes ninth on our list.
8) Toad Men
The Tribbitites are a race of short, reptilian aliens that appeared in Incredible Hulk #2. They came from the planet Tribbit and were looking to take over the Earth by wringing secrets about its technology from Bruce Banner’s mind. Expectedly, this brought them into conflict with the Hulk, who smashed their invasion plans all the way back to their home planet. These little aliens might not look like much, but they were sturdy and reasonably strong, coming from a planet with gravity nearly a third as strong as Earth’s. Still, while there is strength in numbers and advanced technology, none of the Toad Men really offered much of a challenge to the Jade Giant.
7) Circus of Crime
The Circus of Crime was a group of villains who posed as regular circus performers, led by the most dangerous of their troupe, the Ringmaster, who clashed with the Green Behemoth in Incredible Hulk #3. His special hat granted him the ability to hypnotize anyone he looked at, and he later developed the ability to do so with just his eyes. Hypnotizing entire towns of people is no small feat, certainly, but not entirely unbeatable. This is especially true because people with strong enough wills, or those who simply refuse to look at his eyes, are easily able to defeat him. The rest of the Circus is pretty much a joke, but when they work together, they can be a threat in the right circumstances.
6) Whirlwind
Originally called the Human Top, David Cannon is a mutant who possesses the ability to spin his body at high speeds. With it, he can do anything from generating small blasts of wind, attain flight, and cosplaying a Beyblade. He did battle with the Hulk in Tales to Astonish #59, where he tricked the Jade Giant into battling his arch-enemy Giant-Man, after nearly being done in by the Hulk himself. Whirlwind is practically the poster child for D-Tier villainy. If there’s ever a panel featuring a large number of jobber supervillains, you can bet it’ll include Whirlwind, but beyond that, he’s not much of a threat at all.
