The Hulk often boasts that he's the "strongest one there is." Even so, the Green Goliath has plenty of competition for the title of strongest Avenger. The Hulk's toughest competitor might just be the Golden Avenger, the Sentry.
Bruce Banner's alter ego is possibly the strongest being on the face of the Earth. The madder the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets, meaning that the Jade Giant has a limitless potential to his strength. Moreover, this means that the Hulk has an incredible amount of stamina and durability, never tiring during a fight.
The Greatest Examples Of Hulk's Strength
One classic example of the Hulk's strength came during 1984's Secret Wars #4 by Jim Shooter and Bob Layton. In this iconic issue, the Hulk held up a mountain weighing one hundred and fifty billion tons, spanning two miles downward. The only way that Reed Richards could keep the Hulk from dropping the mountain was by insulting the Hulk, making him angrier. This way, the Hulk's strength increased, saving everyone.
Of course, this was just one incarnation of the Hulk. Each version of the Green Goliath varies in strength, from Joe Fixit to the Professor. Possibly the strongest Hulk is the Green Scar, who has also been known as the Worldbreaker. This Hulk was so powerful that in 2007's Incredible Hulk #102, by Greg Pak and Aaron Lopresti, he was able to realign the tectonic plates beneath Sakaar, saving the planet. With all of the Jade Giant's strength and durability, it's hard to beat him in a fight.
The Sentry's Greatest Feats
Out of all of Marvel's heroes, the Sentry is one of the few who can rival the Hulk's strength. Robert Reynolds was a meth addict who broke into a laboratory that contained the Golden Sentry Serum. This serum gave Bob the power of a million exploding suns, essentially making him Marvel's Superman.
2001's Sentry/X-Men #1, by Paul Jenkins and Mark Texeira, saw Bob withstand the force of a nuclear warhead, with little physical damage. The Sentry has performed other incredible feats, such as holding the Cosmic Cube in 2001's Sentry/Fantastic Four #1 by Paul Jenkins and Phil Winslade, and ripping Carnage in half during 2004's New Avengers #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch.
In fact, the Sentry proved so powerful that an alter ego, the Void, manifested itself through Bob's negative emotions. The Void has made the Sentry more powerful than ever, allowing him to battle Thor and the rest of the Avengers effortlessly and destroy Asgard in 2010's Siege #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel. For a time, the Sentry made the world forget who he was, considering the danger of the Void. Yet the Hulk never forgot about the Sentry, as the two were good friends. When the Sentry was forced to fight his old friend, the two got the chance to let loose.
Hulk And Sentry Faced Off In World War Hulk
In 2007's World War Hulk #5 by Greg Pak and John Romita, Jr., the Hulk and the Sentry faced off. The Green Scar and his Warbound arrived on Earth and attacked the Illuminati and all the heroes who defended them. Up until this point, the Sentry tried to stay out of the conflict for fear of his power. Eventually, Bob realized he had to save the rest of Marvel's heroes, bringing the fight to the Green Scar.
The ensuing battle was epic in scale. For once, the Sentry got to cut loose, sending the Hulk flying through several buildings across New York. Of course, the battle seemed pretty even, since the Hulk was relatively unfazed by the Sentry's massive blows. As the Hulk fought back, the Sentry seemed to enjoy it. Even while he was battered and bloodied, Bob expressed just how much he enjoyed letting go.
Both heroes released a massive amount of energy, indicating the sheer power behind their blows. By the end of the fight, the combined energies of the Hulk and the Sentry essentially canceled out, as they returned to their respective alter egos of Bruce Banner and Bob Reynolds. Overall, the fight seemed pretty even, since both heroes had the power to revert each other to their human forms. Still, Bruce managed to land the final blow, knocking Bob unconscious.
Moreover, a few pages later, Bruce became so angry that he almost broke the planet as the Green Scar. With one step, the Hulk almost destroyed New York. It's incredible that even after such an intense fight with the Sentry, the Hulk had the capacity to nearly destroy the world. Ultimately, it was a close match, but it seems that the Hulk won out in the end.