I’ve always imagined this would be a good contest. However, I would put my money on Hercules 9/10. Before anyone begins to flame, at least consider my points.
Although He-man is considered the “Most Powerful Man in the Universe,” this doesn’t really fly. He-man’s the most powerful in the MOTU Universe, not Marvel or DC (although they have both done MOTU comics in the past). Also, what exactly is meant by “powerful?” Is he the strongest or quickest, etc..? Remember that this is a universe that is comprised of people like Moss Man, Beast Man, Tri-clops, Merman, Skeletor, etc... All of whom He-man has trouble dealing with.
He-man continues to get props for off-the-wall writing, but his strength is suspect at times. People tend to cite the example from DC Comics #47 “From Eternia with Death” as an example of He-man’s strength. Unfortunately, if you’ve ever read the comic, it’s quite misleading. Superman defeated He-man with less than 3 blows and he was holding back. In fact, Skeletor even states something in the lines of “I’ve never seen anyone defeat He-man so thoroughly.” This is implied, because even as Superman is under Skeletor’s spell, he continues to fight against it until he breaks the spell.
Meanwhile Hercules has faced the likes of Hulk, Thor and other super villians and heroes. He actually knows “how to” fight. He-man usually gets help from Man-At-Arms, Teela and the Sorceress. Honestly, He-man lacks the tenacity and fighting prowess to take on anyone other an MOTU villians.
Well, I did do a search and this is what I found: He-man vs Hercules vs Thor (link not permitted)
It's a three-way melee between He-man, Hercules and Thor in which people are giving our Golden Boy from Eternia WAY too much props.
Read where someone says "He-man made himself as strong as PC Superman and can make himself 1000 x stronger." Jeesuz... If he could do that, then why would villians on Eternia even bother. Yet, Hordak and Skeletor continue to present problems.
Again, if you ever read this comic, it was a poorly written cross-over in which Superman pwns He-man in less than one page.
It's implied that Superman is more powerful than Greyskull because Skeletor summons a being capable of "DEFEATING HE-MAN." Also, Superman was in the midst of destroying Castle Greyskull, the source of He-man's supposed infinite power, before he snapped out of Skeletor's power.
Therefore the questions arise:
If He-man was so infinitely powerful, why would Skeletor's spell bring Superman to defeat him?
If the power of Greyskull is so powerful, then why would Superman be a threat?
You see, He-man is somewhat of an inconsistent character. I remember his origins as a barbarian with better than average strength. Then on the cartoon, I believe they said he had the strength of 100 men. Then in the comics, they power him up to Superman strength level, in rare occasions. But his median range is less than admirable compared to other super heroes.
In a universe that includes the Hulk, Thor, Hercules, Iron Man and Superman, etc... He-man is toast.
I'd be inclined to agree. He-man is QUITE inconsistent, and though he has a few outlier showings that may put him in the same tier as Hercules, I would NEVER say that He-Man has any sort of 'unlimited' or even quasi-unlimited strength. He doesn't.
Meh.
As far as the fight goes, though, I doubt it'd be a curbstomp, and I believe He-Man has quite a few mystical powers via his sword that we must take into account as well.
He's got a respect thread now, ya know....because most KMC battles involving him to this point involve mostly speculation.
Anyway, I'd side with He-Man. Excellent combat speed and fighting skills, and he definitely has strength feats that put him in Herc's bracket or beyond.
The Power Sword is primarily a conductor from which to channel the Power of Greyskull unto Adam. Other than that, when was the last time He-man used it to weld a devastating attack.
Also, you must consider that whenever He-man is in need of much power, it's through the sorceress. She also acts as a conductor, channeling power to He-man.
Anyway, I recall reading quite a few He-man comics in the day when I was a fan. He never really had combat skills or speed to speak of. Even if he did, it was seldom used. I seem to remember him being captured more than once by Hordak with nothing more than energy beams. Also, even Beastman was a handful when they first met.
Like I said, other than the campy Superman cross-over, He-man's never faced any as formidable as Hercules. He has trouble with giant rock monsters, snake men and cheezy side-kicks. Blondie is out of his league in this fight.
ROTFLOL at all the threads stating He-man can beat the Hulk, Thor, Superman and other super heroes. This is a muscle-bound meathead who gets pwned by Hordak and Skeletor every now and then. Dr. Strange could kick Hordak's @ss any day.
And Skeletor... Let me just say that if Hulk, Thor or even Wolverine lived in Eternia, Skeletor would be no more.
....and as for the sword just being a conduit for his strength:
Here he absorbs lightning-bolt energy from a storm into his sword. The storm, at Skeletor's bidding, had pooled all of its energy into attacking He-Man, so he's basically absorbing the entire electrical output of a large storm system. http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=40zr4.jpg
And heck, that's just "Classic" HM. We could bust out more current feats as well (and Battle Cat, I would assume).
Seriously though, a few half-remembered comics from childhood and a sketchy forum rep isn't really grounds for having him job all over the place unless you have reasoned points to back them up, although I realize that not really many people have a good conception of his power levels, so this sort of thing is common around here.
No, we’re downgrading him because his feats are based on sketchy, circumstantial evidence and off-the-wall writing that isn’t consistent with the character.
So what? And that gemstone is like what, less than 100 lbs. Doesn’t look too big. Also, the distance is inconclusive. Heck, Hercules is a discuss thrower too.
Oh, whoopee doo... Skeletor, who has no super strength to speak of, goes flying a few yards (look at the comic again, he didn’t go all that far). Hercules does this on a regular basis against OTHER super-heroes and villians.
Puahahaha... Read it carefully. Is it the shield (which the beam hits) that is created from the same material as his power vest or really his power vest. Either way, it’s open to debate and another example of He-man’s inconsistency - why doesn’t he use this all the time?
Seems more like Skeletor is a bad shot. But anyway, why couldn’t he do this against Zodiac? Again, another example of inconsistency. Also, it doesn’ conclusively prove his fighting speed, for when he clashes swords with skeletor, this speed is no where to be seen.
LOL... You really are getting desparate... Read your own evidence carefully. It NEVER states that the sword absorbs any electrical storm. Basically, He-man deflects the BEAM. Once again, we have another showing of He-man’s awesome power - deflecting a thunderbolt with his sword. I’m speechless.
A blast that causes a few stones from the ground to fly... Hercules could level the ground with a punch.
And Hordak is comparable to any villian Hercules has fought? I don’t think so. First of all, Hordak was holding off both Man-At-Arms and Skeletor at bay, which was draining his energy (read your own evidence). Second of all, other than his magic, Hordak has no super strength to speak of either. So all this attack accomplish was immobize someone with no powers at his disposable. Real impressive.
...
Classic He-man had more power than modern He-man, due to cheezy writing. Also, “YES” my memory of He-man comics is limited since I sold them all long ago, but I remember enough about the Character to realize he’s out of his league against other characters. The comic book He-man was never as well developed as the cartoon, probably because the comic was passed along many companies.
Anyway, the evidence you’ve provided doesn’t hold any weight against Hercules. Herc wins big time.
KMC Community Forums
Feb 20th, 2007 08:08 PM
