Power Difference: Thor & Beta Ray Bill Explained
By TheMultiversity 30 Comments
Explanation:
This is a post I created to show that difference in power between Thor and Beta Ray Bill. I often see on the Vine that Bill is superior which seems to be from his showings in Godhunter, however, it's hardly the case when you look at things as a whole. I've always been under the impression that Bill was inferior to Thor but looked more impressive at times because he has less showings, which translates into lower amounts of low showings compared to Thor's larger amount. Bill does choose to use some abilities more than Thor, but it doesn't make him more powerful or anything, it's just that he's been in fewer comics, so it looks a lot more frequent. Hopefully, these several showings should prove the difference in their overall power.
The Showings:
These showings are both from Thor and Beta Ray Bill's history where they have fought the same opponent. In all cases Thor has done better than Bill which will prove his superiorty to him greatly.
Example: 1 - Namor
Thor Corps #2
Beta Ray Bill gets into a fight with Namor, while the others of the Thor Corps fight the other Invaders. Namor is seemingly overwhelming Bill in their small scuffle. Namor was being hydrated by the rain, so he was more stronger than he usually is on land.
Invaders Vol 1. #33
Now, here we see Thor do much better than his oath brother. Thor actually one-shots Namor, while he's being hydrated by the rain (same circumstances as Bill). Keep in mind unlike Bill, Thor didn't have Mjolnir, he accomplished this with his fists.
Example 2 - Rulk (Red Hulk)
Annihilators: Earthfall #2
In this encounter Bill and Rulk go at it, and as you can see Bill is having quite some trouble with him. Rulk actually seems to be capable of tanking his blows comfortably, which is a feat in itself as Bill is using some pretty big blows. Most noticeable dialogue in this encounter is when Bill states that Rulk is proving difficult. From my understanding on the fight, Bill was having quite some trouble putting Rulk down, not to mention cause significant damage.
Hulk #26
Now if we compare that to Thor's performance against Rulk, we can see Thor has actually done much more damage with his blows than Bill has. You can say Rulk wasn't fighting back, which is true, he only grabbed the hammer, however he can't hold back his durability. Each blow from Thor was having a pretty good effect on Rulk.
Example 3 - Silver Surfer
Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #2
The Surfer beats down Beta Ray Bill easily. He essentially two shots Bill by amplifying his blow with cosmic energy which causes Bill to drop to the floor bleeding from his face. What makes this a horrific showing for Bill is how Surfer did this almost casually and as if Bill wasn't much too him. Also keep in mind Bill got two strikes on Surfer which did nothing.
The Mighty Thor Vol. 1 #3
Thor and Bill have a brief scuffle, in which a headbutt from Thor actually dents the Surfer's forehead. Surfer did strike him with the board though similarly to how he did Bill.
The Mighty Thor Vol. 1 #5
The two get into a bigger scuffle in-which an angered Surfer blasts Thor with a blast of cosmic energy. The blast actually doesn't do all that much, in-fact Thor seems relatively unharmed. He then proceeds to toss Mjolnir at Surfer which sends him hurling away. Keep in mind that this is post annihilation Surfer as well, so it's the same upgraded Surfer that Bill had fought. You can even say that Surfer's morals were different from his encounter with Bill as he was angry with Thor for not listening to him, while for Bill he was remorseful and didn't want to do what he did (hence why he apologized while beating him down).
Also, just in-case you didn't know, that rainbow gash on Thor's body isn't for show, it's actually an injury he obtained in issue 1. He obtained this when he tried to retrieve the World Seed from the World Tree, and the tree reacted defensively, slicing across his side.
Also just so you can understand this injury has been a pain issue for Thor even since issue 1, take a look at his response when Surfer asks him about the injury.
So essentially Thor was already in pain prior to his encounters with Surfer.
Example: 4 - Thanos
Thanos: The Infinity Revelation
To make things simple, Bill tries to go against the Mad Titan and is ultimately put down in a humiliating fashion. You can see clearly that Thanos had no issue in handling Bill in this fashion.
This was Bill after the encounter (seen laying on the floor).
Infinity #6
Now, Thor went up against Thanos, and he does seemingly better than Bill did. In the fifth scan you can even see Thanos had to exert himself more than he did with Bill to overpower Thor in the grapple. Also, Thanos was much more serious in this fight compared to the one with Bill given he was fighting the Avengers to kill his son, and it's shown towards the end how enraged he was getting.
This was Thor after the encounter.
Conclusion:
Though Bill has some impressive showings, it is as clear as day that Thor has been shown to be more powerful in encounters with the same opponents Bill has faced. Bill is an awesome character, but to be fair, he isn't as powerful as Thor has been shown to be. I think this is enough showings to show that Thor and Beta Ray Bill don't operate on the same level of power like most people would believe.