Slade Gauntlet. Grip Strength Challenge.

I'm figuring the best way to show what Classic Kingpin was like is to show what he WASN'T quite like. Gonna take up this page for it, because it highlights some of everything mentioned. Real big strong guy. Strength feats. Smashing feats. Durability soak. Brawling/grappling contest with superhuman opposition, etcetera.

It should highlight why I don't quite feel comfortable giving Wade a nod over anyone with serum-based super-ability, striking feats, etcetera, why I think size REALLY matters when you're talking about very DIFFERENTLY sized "peak humans", and so on.

Anyway, this is going to take up the entirety of this page; you can skip this page and refer tomorrow if I get a chance to post to the URL and/or link version.

At any rate, without further ado, from Amazing Spider-man #73 and #75 ... Man Mountain Marko:

low level strength feat. ripping a couch apart barehanded

superhuman opponent-leveling punch

50. spidey counters

60 wall thrown marko

70. damage soak ability. normal peak human.

80. marko couch counter

90. Note in the actual comic that a few moments is spent on the Maggia getting Wilson out of jail, complete with bail bondsman scenes etcetera. Not worth showing here due to the subject matter of this thread, then ...

100. 'nother strength feat. Marko, normal "peak" human, is able to rip out a wall safe. Apparently with one hand, just as his dialogue says.
The wall is presumably plaster, so not QUITE as impressive as the mere typing of that sentence makes it look, mind you ...

110. more damage soak, marko endures the strikes of Spider-Man and remains standing ...

120. partial wall-smashing. marko cracks the room by bodyslamming spider-man.

130. wall slam stunned spidey. note rubble on floor now from damage of marko's slamming force

140. spidey counters after marko threatens shocker's girlfriend

150. There is an interlude with Joe Robertson counseling his son. They are interrupted by J. Jonah Jameson unreasonably demanding things of Robbie, and Robbie standing his ground, and his son noting his father doing so, impressed. Jonah decides to back down, and the action phase then progresses with the following panel ...

Note that Marko, again, just a normal peak human, managed to hold his own against Spider-man in the interim and AGAIN reverse the momentum of their skirmish ...

160. Marko ends his 1st see-saw scuffle with Spider-man by playing the hostage card ...

Originally posted by bluewaterrider
It's a little more complex than that. Classic Captain America seems to be what you guys are calling "peak human". Modern Cap seems to be, on average, like a peak human or Olympian having an "adrenaline" moment. m

Cap peak human has been expanded on. Statements of strength of 10 another time half a platoon. Other times his strength has been called preternatural. Which means beyond man.

I don't know if he was the first but mark gruenwald called Cap the peak of human potential. Later to even the next step in human evolution by another writer.

170. spidey save ... pete bails out the window for shocker's girlfriend , end spidey versus man mountain , round 1

200

Originally posted by Daredevil1
Cap peak human has been expanded on. Statements of strength of 10 ... another time half a platoon ...

Exploring what "peak human" means, is, again, why this thread, and, again, why this particular interlude. How many times has Spider-man been called "stronger than a dozen men", for instance? Yet, does that mean it takes someone with the strength of 12 people to defeat him?
Are those 12 people "peak humans" or just average? Does the size of the person matter? If Spidey has the strength of 12, how does just one normal, if very big and strong, man give him as much trouble as was shown in the last few panels displayed?

With this particular case of Marko, though, I'm trying to show that the impressivenss of Character A is often due not only to them being legitimately impressive on an absolute scale, but ALSO due to Character B not giving 110% to take them down.

It is also due to size and weight.

At some point, size and weight truly, truly matter.

Marko is genuinely impressive, for instance. Human and all, he damage soaks and delivers the way Classic Cap on his best days was probably wont to do.

However, quite UNLIKE Classic Kingpin, who I plan to show tomorrow on the next page, Marko is not "truly" in Spider-man's class.

This point is made apparent when he and Pete rematch 2 issues later:

210. Spider-man versus Marko. Round 2.

220. 'Nother strength feat. This illustrates one reason I HAVE to call striking feats by Wade and company into question. ARE they indeed legitimately superhuman showings? Note that Marko here is able to break up a brick or tiled floor with a single punch or two.

Note that Marko does this despite being only a normal human and, apparently likewise WITHOUT formal martial arts training, which Slade, Captain America, and even Wade have in abundance, which would allow these last 3 to break lots of durable items and impressively smash things even WITHOUT possessing strength beyond peak human level.