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Clark Kent's Superman is defined by strength, with impossible physical might that even the gods have learned to fear. However, there are those who surpass even the Man of Steel's physical strength, and some of them hail from DC's main rival, the Marvel Universe.
For this list, we're looking specifically at physical strength. While characters like the Phoenix or Doctor Strange have powers that could defeat Superman or are arguably more powerful, that's not what we're looking for in this article.
Instead, we're collecting the Marvel heroes who are capable of superstrength feats greater than Superman's, and the conditions under which that's possible.
Captain Britain, aka Captain Avalon, aka Brian Braddock
Chosen by Merlyn as the protector of the mystical Otherworld (a realm of magic connected to the United Kingdom), Brian Braddock has long been the national hero of Britain, though in recent years he ceded the title to his sister Betsy, taking the name Captain Avalon instead.
Originally, Captain Britain's cybernetic.mystic suit enhanced his strength and granted him a personal forcefield, however the events of Secret Invasion permanently changed his powers. After being killed by the invading Skrulls, Captain Britain was resurrected by Merlyn, with his powers magically enhanced.
Following his resurrection, Captain Britain's powers are inherently tied to his self-belief, with no upper limit. As explained in Paul Cornell and Pat Olliffe's Captain Britain and MI13 #5:
Your strength and vulnerability vary from moment to moment, Captain, in tandem with your emotions, your confidence. So there's no limit to what you could do, but you can go from bulletproof to tissue paper at a moment's notice.
Captain Britain later showcased his incredible power by battling the Phoenix Force - a cosmic force of near-infinite power - and physically pushing it back, until Captain Marvel undermined his confidence and he was taken out of the battle. According to Thor, "There is nothing in the Heavens that can match your strength."
Captain Britain's superstrength is far, far less reliable than Superman's, but in being both literally limitless and magical in nature, his ceiling is significantly higher, bound only by his personal imagination.
The Sentry, aka Robert Reynolds
The Sentry's powers are some of the most misunderstood in comics, and that's because they're not HIS powers at all. When Bob Reynolds swallowed a refined version of the Super Soldier Serum, he gained total control of reality on the molecular level. Unable to cope with so much power, he created an alternate identity as the Sentry to simplify himself into a traditional superhero.
As a product of Bob's reality warping, Sentry has limitless power and speed, capable of tearing holes in reality with his bare hands and flying faster than the speed of light. He's also capable of developing new powers as needed, because the Sentry isn't simply an individual - he's a living god's idea of what a superhero should be.
In terms of comparing Superman to Sentry, the easiest comparison comes from 2001's Sentry/Spider-Man (Paul Jenkins, Rick Leonardi), where it's confirmed that Sentry once fought Galactus to a standstill. This power feat can be compared to 1999's Superman/Fantastic #1 (Dan Jurgens, Art Thibert), where Superman goes up against Galactus and fails to make a dent.
While Sentry may be stronger than Superman, it comes with immeasurable cost. Bob's inability to handle so much power and responsibility caused him to also create the villainous persona of the Void, who strives to undo every act of heroism that the Sentry accomplishes.
Gladiator and Kid Gladiator, aka Kallark and Kubark
Like Captain Britain, Gladiator and Kid Gladiator both have superstrength that scales with their confidence. Gladiator's punch is capable of destroying planets, has knocked out Thanos, and even injured Galactus.
Meanwhile, while Kid Gladiator punched out the supreme god of the Shi'ar and fought the Avengers solo - a team that included the Hulk. When Superman did that in JLA/Avengers #2 (Kurt Busiek, George Perez) he was brutally beaten.
Gladiator is a deliberate pastiche of Superman and has comparable powers, with the Thing describing him as "stronger'n the Hulk and Hyperion smooshed together." However, like Captain Britain, his strength can easily be undermined, and he's incredibly vulnerable to telepathic attack for this reason.
Captain Universe, aka Various
In Marvel lore, the godlike Enigma Force travels the galaxy, searching out those who are willing to help protect the universe. When it detects them, it bonds with them for a short time, turning them into Captain Universe.
The powers of Captain Universe can vary depending on the host and task at hand, but they're almost limitless at their height. When Spider-Man was chosen as Captain Universe in The Amazing Spider-Man #328 (David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane), one punch sent the Hulk into orbit.
Superman has fought Hulk multiple times (in JLA/Avengers, DC vs. Marvel and Incredible Hulk vs. Superman), and while he's won each time, it's taken everything he had to squeak out a victory, with Supes admitting Hulk is even stronger than Doomsday, the villain who killed him. Superman certainly never came close to punching Hulk into space.
Honorable Mention: Justina LaGuardia
A recent addition to X-Men lore, Justina LaGuardia has the power to become 'superior' to any human or superhuman in her proximity. She automatically becomes stronger and faster than anyone near her, and even gains a better version of their powers, including those of Omega-level mutants.
On first meeting Professor X, Justina was able to quickly manifest beyond-Omega level telepathy and wipe his mind, removing all memory of her existence. Justina has only appeared once in Marvel lore, so fans have only seen her exhibit mild superstrength, but put her in the presence of any entry on this list and she'll become the strongest character in Marvel lore.
The Hulk, aka Bruce Banner
As previously stated, Superman has beaten the Hulk whenever they've clashed - albeit one of those clashes was decided by fans, and could have gone either way. However, that was before the recent Hulk: Smash Everything by Ryan North and Vincenzo Carratù.
The recent comic saw Hulk pushed to his limit, as his nemesis the Leader teleported him across time and space, trying to find a way to kill him. After surviving the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs and punching his way out of a black hole, Hulk achieved his ultimate form - a form so immensely powerful, even Galactus couldn't stand in his way (and when he tried, Hulk broke both his arms.)
Hulk's strength famously scales with his anger, and Superman has always been able to beat him before he moves significantly beyond his baseline strength. However, Smash Everything revealed just how powerful Hulk can become, and at his strongest, he could flatten Superman with one hand.
At his strongest, Hulk became a planet-killer who even Galactus couldn't stand a chance against, however Superman fans can rest assured that to get to this stage, Hulk went through an unprecedented level of punishment that gradually increased his strength to beyond-cosmic levels. Superman has consistently beaten Hulk before he gets this strong... but he CAN GET this strong.
Those are the five Marvel heroes who, on their very best day, are even stronger than Superman - let us know in the comments below whether you agree with our picks, and who else should be on this list.
