Why Hulk Beats Cull Obsidian in a Straight Fight, According to DanCo

Hulk beats Cull Obsidian. That is the verdict, and it comes down to two things: how the fight in Infinity War against Thanos actually ended, and the fact that Hulk's strength keeps climbing the longer a fight goes on while Cull's does not.

Cull Obsidian is the strongest member of Thanos' Black Order

Cull Obsidian is the muscle of the Black Order, and it shows. He is described as the physically strongest out of Thanos' inner circle, a massive, near indestructible bruiser who went up against the Hulkbuster armor and gave it a genuinely hard fight.

He is able to take damage and dish it out against most opponents, and his chain hammer hits with enough force to send the Hulkbuster flying. In the Black Order, he's the one Thanos sends when he needs something just physically beaten.

The Hulkbuster comparison does not carry over to the real Hulk

The problem with using that Hulkbuster fight as a measuring stick is simple: that is not the Hulk. Bruce Banner and the Hulk have a complicated relationship throughout Infinity War, but the baseline of what the Hulk actually is tells a different story than the armor did.

Hulk went toe to toe with Thanos while the Power Stone was in play

Hulk went toe-to-toe with Thanos himself at the start of Infinity War with the Power Stone already in Thanos' possession. The only reason that fight ended the way it did is because Thanos was just simply a more skilled fighter.

Cull Obsidian is not Thanos. Weighed against everything else Hulk has shown, including standing against Thor and against Surtur, "there's a significant gap in power between these two."

Rage scaling tips the fight in Hulk's favor

The other deciding factor is rage scaling. Every hit Cull lands just fuels Hulk's engine. Cull's strength is fixed, but Hulk's is not, and in a prolonged fight, "that's always going to go the Hulk's way."