The Hulk, but all of these iconic powerhouses share a common yet unexpected weakness: regular people. Marvel’s strongest heroes have faced titans and gods, but their moral high ground ensures that their weakest foes can also be their Achilles’ heel, with instances of physically weaker opponents getting the better of these Goliath-like superhumans.

Heroes who lack significant strength, like Iron Man and Shang-Chi, have used this weakness against them, virtually evening out the playing field.

Fantastic Four #29 – written by Ryan North, with art by Cory Smith – follows the events of Blood Hunt, where a number of vampires remain in society and are being hunted under Doctor Doom’s global rule. The Thing, Sue Storm, and She-Hulk come to the aid of a vampire family being chased by an angry mob.

It is then that both She-Hulk and Ben Grimm it that, as heroes, they can’t do much against regular people. This rings true, as both heroes and villains without superhuman abilities have managed to best The Thing—even heroes as strong as the Hulk have fallen to non-superpowered foes.

The Hulk Is Strong, But Marvel Hints One Superhero Legend Has the Key To Beating Him

Fantastic Four #29 – Story By Ryan North; Art By Cory Smith; Ink By Oren Junior; Color By Jesus Aburtov; Letters By Joe Caramagna

Because She-Hulk and Ben are known heroes, they’re not going to pummel their way through a crowd of humans, but this inaction results in the vampires they are trying to protect being killed in front of their children. Looking beyond this, Iron Man serves as an example of a human who has taken down the Hulk with his iconic Hulkbuster, but heroes without high-tech power suits have also been able to defeat strong opponents. In Shang-Chi vs. The Marvel Universe #4, Shang-Chi uses pressure points to defeat The Thing despite his rocky exterior, and this isn’t the only time this technique has been used.

In Agents of Atlas #8, the Mandarin's son, Temugin, fights the Hulk by attacking his pressure points, and though Temugin ultimately loses, it’s proof that this technique can be utilized on usually unbreakable heroes. Shang-Chi is one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Universe, and because of this, he can theoretically use this method of attacking pressure points to take down the Hulk. Marvel’s most solid fighters have moved mountains and crushed planets, but these moments show they are, more often than not, ill-prepared to take on regular individuals who can exploit their common weak points.

Marvel Confirms Super Strength Doesn’t Make the Hero

Iron Man and Shang-Chi Are Proof a Non-Powered Hero Can Take Down Heavy-Hitters

While Iron Man has shown that he has the knowledge and technology to take down the Hulk—such as targeting the Hulk’s eye to incapacitate him—She-Hulk and The Thing make it clear that swarms of humans are also a massive problem. While the Hulk is a destructive force who isn’t known for considering human life, heroes like She-Hulk can’t recklessly unleash their full power on a crowd of humans due to their moral and heroic disposition. As seen in Fantastic Four #29, the mob of people overpowered the heroes while they were forced to hold themselves back.

Many Marvel heroes with near-limitless power have pulled off mind-bending feats, but they rarely display the absolute height of their strength when fighting as part of a team or against a crowd of fragile humans. Interestingly, heroes who lack significant superhuman strength, like Iron Man and Shang-Chi, have used this weakness against their stronger counterparts, effectively evening the playing field. For obvious reasons, Marvel won’t readily highlight this common problem among its heavy hitters, but according to She-Hulk and The Thing, all of Marvel’s strongest superheroes share this damning weakness.

Fantastic Four #29 is now available from Marvel Comics!