In the Marvel Universe, there are two characters who you’d hate to get in a fight with. Well, there are definitely more than just these two, but both The Hulk and The Thing are two rough-and-tumble heroes who would easily take us mere mortals down. Given their somewhat similar origins, fans often compare the two and created a fantasy score of who’d win if The Hulk and The Thing fought one another. And, now, Stan Lee has weighed in on the debate as a defacto judge.

Speaking with The Tomorrow Show, Lee was asked who would win in a fight: The Hulk or The Thing. The legendary writer gave a fast, confident answer when he said, “Oh, The Hulk would win.”

Lee went on to explain his reasoning and praised The Thing for his quick wit. “The Thing is faster and smarter, so he would probably find a way to turn it into a draw or save himself. He’d trap or trick the Hulk. But, in a fair fight, there’s no way the Hulk [would lose],” he stressed. “He’d win.”

The comic book creator also confirmed that The Hulk was the strongest character in the Marvel Universe if we’re looking at human heroes. “Of the human characters - I’m not talking about Galactus or people like that - but the Hulk had to be the strongest,” Lee explained.

He was also asked what he thought would happen if The Hulk were to fight Sub-Mariner underwater. After a brief pause, Lee told the show, “If they’re in the water, then the Sub-Mariner might have a good chance against the Hulk.” However, when it comes down to it, The Hulk would still be able to best the aquatic hero if he could smash him into the ocean floor.

Of course, many fans were expecting this kind of answer from Lee. Over the years, comic book readers have debated on-and-off about whether The Thing could beat The Hulk, and the results have been dismal. The match between the two heroes is one that would come down to pure, unadulterated strength. And, as fans know, The Hulk will only grow stronger as he gets more and more angry. The green giant also has a higher base strength than The Thing to start out with, giving the hulking figure a one-up as is. When it comes down to raw power and brute force, The Hulk is going to win hands-down.

The only saving grace The Thing would have is his intellect. The rocky hero could outsmart The Hulk so long as Bruce Banner is nowhere present. However, The Hulk would likely take The Thing and his escape measure and use them to fuel his anger.

Of course, The Hulk’s massive strength hasn’t kept others from saying they could take on the hero. Recently, Frank Grillo told Conan O’Brien that his character Crossbones could take on The Hulk, no problem.

“I think Hulk is a dumb-dumb. Oh Hulk, I could trip the Hulk. Like, one of my guys could stand behind the Hulk and push him over...Tony Stark? Not so much.”

James Gunn has also commented on the debacle. The director said The Hulk would lose if Superman decided to go toe-to-toe with the hero since Krypton’s Son is “much more powerful.”

What do you guys think? Would The Hulk be able to bring down The Thing, or would the Fantastic Four member pull one over the hulking beast? Share your predictions in the comments below!