We recently published an article about DC characters who, despite being physically weaker than the Hulk, could easily beat him. It got a lot of people talking – both in the site's comments section and on Facebook – and we (mostly) loved reading what you had to say.

With that in mind, we thought we'd try the same article but with characters from the home of Hulk himself – Marvel Comics.

Hulk is strong as hell, but the fact is that it's not all about physical strength when it comes to power in comic books and this article will highlight that – Hulk is far from unbeatable. On that note, here are five physically weaker Marvel characters of varying degrees of power who could (easily) defeat the Hulk.

Note: This will be focusing on straight-up fights, with each character giving it their all. No preparation involved, no unnecessary holding back and no plot-induced stupidity. These guys can beat the Hulk fair and square, with their standard equipment (if they have any), with ease.

1. Cassandra Nova

Cassandra Nova lacks the one thing required for Hulk to smash her – a physical form. Therefore, at the very least, there is literally nothing he can do to her.

A member of the parasitic species of beings known as the Mummudrai, she was born bodiless on the astral plane, having been born of the negative psionic energies on the physical plane. Essentially, the Mummudrai are dark, incorporeal reflections of humanity.

The Mummudrai can crossover to the physical plane - something Cassandra Nova has done several times - and, given that they are capable of copying the DNA of living beings, they can be extremely dangerous.

Cassandra Nova has copied and amplified the DNA of Charles Xavier, resulting in her becoming a powerful, bodiless telepath. Given that Hulk has been controlled by lesser beings (as we have proven in numerous articles recently), she could comfortably control him. Morever, she can possess other living beings so, without Hulk being able to physically do a thing about it, she could takeover his body with her massive psionic power.

It should be noted that, on the occasions Cassandra Nova has possessed a physical form, it has been much weaker than the Hulk – though killing it would just allow her astral form to function without it.

2. Molecule Man

Molecule Man AKA Owen Reece – particularly the version before he was retconned (which we’ll be largely focusing on here) – doesn’t have any baseline super-strength to speak of, but he is one of the most powerful beings in all of Marvel and could defeat the Hulk with utter ease.

He has the power to mentally alter matter on a scale that transcends universes. This extends to being able to manipulate the molecules in his own body – which makes him practically unkillable – but also gives him incredible offensive power.

Such is the level of his power that he can essentially utilise it as telekinetic super-strength – displaying the ability to lift mountains and reshape buildings.

However, it is his transmutation powers that make him so dangerous. He can create adamantium from nothing, turn opponents to glass, use dust in the air as a highly-dangerous offensive weapon, create massive impenetrable force-fields and destroy (and recreate) items as powerful and iconic as Mjolnir, Captain America’s shield, Iron Man’s armour and Silver Surfer’s board with consummate ease.

Basically, the entire environment is a potential weapon for his use and he could casually turn the Hulk into a pebble if he wanted to.

He has also shown the ability to take over other people (see above picture) and use his power through them.

3. Iceman

Admittedly, Iceman’s power levels have been depicted as being all over the place but, at his most powerful, he is an absolute beast and a massively underrated and underestimated character.

On the face of it, his power – which is essentially complete control over water vapour and ice – doesn’t seem like much, but when you also consider that the scale of his power is massive and that water can be found abundantly in every living object, you realise he’s extremely dangerous.

An Omega-level mutant, Bobby Drake has frozen every water molecule in characters as powerful as Legion – meaning he could easily do exactly the same to someone like Hulk.

Thor – a hugely powerful character who has fought and defeated countless Frost Giants – has admitted being fearful of Iceman’s power and Iceman has even created ice so sharp that it has badly injured the Asgardian hero.

Iceman can turn his own body into solid ice or water vapour – the latter of which makes him nigh physically unkillable – and, even in his normal form, he can heal from damage instantly using his power.

Such is the scale of his power, he can freeze entire environments in seconds – including Hell itself (yes, Bobby Drake has literally made Hell freeze over).

He could freeze Hulk’s brain or entire body with a mere thought – and he has actually trapped Hulk in a block of ice that he couldn’t escape from on-panel.

4. Franklin Richards

The level of power that Franklin Richards possesses is such that one might think he is a cosmic entity or god – but he isn’t, he’s just a mutant.

He’s the son of Fantastic Four members Reed Richards and Sue Storm and his mutation grants him the abilitiy to alter reality on a huge scale – basically, what he wants to happen does happen – to the extent that he can turn Galactus into his own personal servant. Anyone who can do that can easily deal with the Hulk.

The scariest thing about Franklin Richards, however, is that most of his on-panel feats are when he is a meek-looking young boy. As a child, he is still powerful enough to create a mini-universe in his bedroom.

With a mere thought, he could make the Hulk into his bi**h. He could simply will Hulk to be powerless, teleport him away to a different time, a different dimension or to the other side of the universe. Or he could, you know, turn him into a teapot.

All of Richards’ powers are psionic, however – they come from his mind and thoughts. Unless he used his power to grant himself physical strength (which he has done, such as the time he one-punched a Celestial), he merely possesses the standard physical attributes of the average child – and yet he could treat the Hulk as if he was nothing.

5. Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom is most well-known for his brains, planning and preparation skills, but the fact is that with his standard suit of armour he could easily beat the Hulk.

There is just too much versatility to it. It even makes him super-strong – though not as strong as the Green Goliath, hence his inclusion on this list.

From its most basic functions like sleep-inducing rays (which have worked on the Hulk) and force-field projectors (which have also worked on the Hulk – see the picture above for details), to its more complex abilities like built-in auto-casting of magic spells, Doom’s armour renders him a massive threat. For instance, he can cast the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak with a mere thought – and that’s a spell proven to be able to immobilise the Hulk.

The durability of Doom’s armour has allowed him to take hits from the likes of Thor, Sentry, Galactus and even Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet – so Hulk couldn’t really hurt him anyway – but the fact is Doom wouldn’t let him get near.

He could put Hulk to sleep, restrain him, freeze him, dimension-dump him or time-dump him just with the gadgets he has on him as standard.

What do you think? Could these guys easily defeat the Hulk? Which other physically weaker Marvel characters could do so? Have your say below.