The X-Men prove that one underrated superpower could easily kill every one of Marvel's strongest heroes. While heavy hitters like the Thing, Juggernaut, and even Hulk are usually ranked among the most powerful characters, one simple trick with a water-based power could take them all out of commission.
Marvel fans love to pitch their favorite characters against each other in fantasy fights, and debates such as "who is stronger, the Thing or Hulk?" will always be around. These battles are usually based on each character's feat in the comics, but superpowers are not an exact science, so the outcomes are always up for debate. However, some characters are objectively stronger than others and they regularly rank higher in the power scales made by fans, for example, the Fantastic Four's Thing, the reformed X-Men villain Juggernaut, and of course the Green Goliath himself, Hulk. However, according to the X-Men, one simple and underrated superpower could take down all these colossi with ease.
X-Men #15, by Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, and Guru-eFX, shows the return of the Children of the Vault, highly evolved post-humans who were born and raised in a field of temporal acceleration and plan to take over Earth, eradicating both humans and mutants. To contain their threat, the mutant genius Forge locks the Children in a simulated reality where they take over Earth after killing all the planet's superhuman defenders. One of the Children, Sangre, has the power of "hydrokinetics", the ability to control and move water in the environment, and he uses it to take out all the "tanks", the heavy hitters, including the Thing. Sangre simply forms a water bubble around the hero's head and makes him suffocate, dying a horrible death.
Water Breaks Stone
Sangre already displayed this brutal use of his power in the past, but never to such effectiveness as in Forge's simulation. In fact, even the toughest heroes such as the Thing or Juggernaut need to breathe to survive. Sangre's abilities allow him to gather moisture present in the air and coalesce it into bubbles that lock around his target's head. One underrated Marvel villain, however, could do this job even more effectively: Hydro-Man. Hydro-Man can transform his body into water and also control liquids in his surroundings, but this incredible power did not stop him from being usually easily defeated by Spider-Man. Sangre is way more ruthless and has honed his powers over the thousands of years spent evolving inside the Vault.
However, not every Marvel "heavy hitter" would be taken out by Sangre's ability. The Hulk, for example, can breathe underwater, an ability developed through his mutagenic powers. The X-Men's Colossus also does not need oxygen while in his metal form, and this is why, in Forge's simulation, he is killed by another member of the Children, Fuego. Leaving these exceptions aside, however, the simulation created by the X-Men's Forge proves that the underrated power of hydrokinetics can take out some of Marvel's strongest heroes - hopefully, Hydro-Man will never realize that.