The Ogre’s gauntlet · City to planet
Yujiro Hanma vs Hulk
Yujiro has always been the strongest creature on Earth. Then he met something whose strength has no ceiling.
Tale of the tape
| Baki | Universe | Marvel |
|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | Tier | City to planet |
| Raw, terrifying strength and a back muscle that forms a demon’s face | Strength | Strength that grows with his anger, without limit |
| Arrogance: he toys with every opponent | Weakness | Little patience for strategy |
| 13–11–1 | Record on Versus | 3–1 |
The Arena
Yujiro had heard about a green giant who got stronger the angrier he got, with no limit at all. For the first time in years, Yujiro felt something unfamiliar: curiosity mixed with excitement. He tracked the creature to a desert canyon and found it smashing boulders and roaring at the sky.
The Hulk turned and saw a huge man with a demon’s face on his back walking toward him, grinning. “Puny man walks toward Hulk,” Hulk growled. “Puny man stupid.” Yujiro laughed, delighted. “I am the strongest creature on Earth. Show me what you are.”
The Hulk clapped his hands together, and the shockwave flattened every rock in the canyon. Yujiro stood in the middle of it, unmoved, and smiled wider.
Round One
Yujiro struck first, and it was the hardest punch he had thrown in years. It hit the Hulk in the jaw and staggered the green giant back three steps. The Hulk blinked, rubbed his face, and his eyes went wide with something like joy. Nobody had ever hit Hulk like that. He roared and hit back.
Yujiro took the punch and slid across the canyon floor, his feet carving trenches in the rock. He stopped, his arms aching, and laughed. Finally. They traded blows in the middle of the canyon, two monsters who had never met anyone who could stand up to them, both of them having the time of their lives.
Yujiro was the better fighter by far, landing three blows for every one of the Hulk’s. But every blow made the Hulk angrier.
The Turn
With every punch Yujiro landed, the Hulk grew larger, his skin darkening, his roars shaking the canyon walls. Yujiro hit him with a combination that would have killed an elephant. The Hulk took it and grew stronger. Yujiro hit harder. The Hulk grew stronger still.
For the first time in his life, Yujiro Hanma realised that he was fighting something that would never tire, never stop and never reach a limit. The angrier it got, the stronger it became, and Yujiro was very, very good at making things angry.
The demon face on his back twisted. He was not afraid. He was thrilled. But he understood, as only a true fighter can, that he had found his ceiling.
The Finish
Yujiro threw his strongest blow, everything he had ever built in a lifetime of fighting. It hit the Hulk square in the chest and drove him back ten metres. The Hulk looked down at the impact point, then up at Yujiro, and grinned. Then he hit Yujiro with a punch that sent him through the canyon wall and out the other side.
Yujiro lay in the rubble, his body broken in a way it had never been broken before, staring up at the desert sky. The Hulk leapt over the canyon and landed beside him, and for a moment, the anger seemed to drain out of the green face. “Puny man… strong,” the Hulk said slowly. “Strongest puny man.”
Yujiro laughed, coughing blood. “And you,” he said, “are the first thing I have ever met that is stronger than me.” The Hulk sat down next to him in the rubble. They stayed there until sunset, the two strongest creatures on two different Earths, saying nothing at all. It was, Yujiro decided later, the best day of his life.
The verdict
Hulk wins
Yujiro is the better fighter by far and hits the Hulk harder than anyone ever has, but every blow makes the Hulk angrier and stronger, and his strength has no ceiling for Yujiro to reach.
- Limitless angerThe Hulk grows stronger with every blow he takes.
- DurabilityYujiro’s strongest punch only pushes him back.
- EnduranceThe Hulk never tires.
How the rematch could go differently: There is no rematch Yujiro would win, and he knows it. It is the only fight he has ever been happy to lose.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Yujiro Hanma and Hulk?
Hulk wins. Yujiro is the better fighter by far and hits the Hulk harder than anyone ever has, but every blow makes the Hulk angrier and stronger, and his strength has no ceiling for Yujiro to reach.