Yeah, I think he was considerably above Thor. The story is littered with "stronger than the strongest guys" all throughout and the writer couldn't be more blatant.
Same Thor says he has not fought somebody like him since the Destroyer: (please log in to view the image)
And then he charges his hammer and tries to hit Nefaria, only for the latter to be stronger than he can hit even with Mjolnir.
And just before Vision came, Nefaria had Thor on the ground, but went for Mjolnir, then got distracted: (please log in to view the image)
I think he was pretty clearly supposed to be physically > Thor/Hulk and more towards Destroyer tier.
It's why I asked how do people think Thor would do against Morg physically [i.e. no energy absorbtion or estorics] because....I think he'd do very well. I think he'd beat the shit out of Morg.
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i think thor would beat morg as well and i agree cn was stronger than thor. would he beat thor in a full on battle though? still not sure about that, but maybe. in that initial appearance, cn was hardly a warrior and maybe that's what was holding him back. he made another really impressive appearance in the later avengers, but for some reason i think he was different. it was a long arc though and i can't recall the details. if you say he'd beat thor in a one-on-one battle, i certainly wouldn't argue strongly against it. i don't think cn could take the destroyer though but it would be awesome to see it.
cn was a great team wrecking villain. i feel like that type of villain has been lost a little over the years. now someone has to be able to break universes to be a threat. cn was a supercool villain that took great teamwork to take down but who wasn't overpowered. he reminds me of classic thanos a little--the one who battled thing and thor back when he was cool--powerful, but not what he became before marvel utterly f'd up the character.
It was a fun battle since he was just getting to know his powers. That usually happens to heroes. "Oh I can take this? Oh, I'm this strong? I shouldn't be afraid!"
I like this simpler, but very powerful type of villains. It's why Black Adam works that well, too.
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“Perhaps this is the ultimate freedom. The freedom to leave.”
Gender: Male Location: Planning to take over the WORLD!
"no, it was clearly a shared feat and how bog was that planet anyway?!" lol
and agreed about adam. adam v nefaria would be a great battle. there just aren't many solid team wreckers left it seems. i put classic despero in that category as well. mags filled the role well for the xmen once upon a time. classic adamantium ultron was another of my faves. there are some great stories still being told, no doubt, but i still enjoy the simpler stories with the uncomplicated villains. nostalgia ftw.