Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-5071469-20130604094038/@comment-61022-20130612034342

@Shipford13 - Actually your terminology is incorrect, Reed and Sue were bombarded with Cosmic Rays.

The fact is, Franklin is a mutant, likely the most powerful one on the planet. His parents were mutated by cosmic rays (which according to some circles and explanations derives from the Power Cosmic itself, which is the energy source that powers Galactus and the Silver Surfer among others) The other thing is that when Franklin was being born, Sue's irradiated body complicated the pregnancy requiring Reed to use energy from Annihilist's Cosmic Control Rod. One could argue these energies could have further mutated him. Technically Franklin has been exposed to two cosmic level energy sources, one that was inherited from his parents DNA and the second from the Cosmic Control Rod energies.

As for the gods... Well technically they are not really gods. They're just extra-dimensional beings that have near cosmic abilities. Just because they have enhanced physical attributes does not make them capable of creating entire universes. However, Odin is said to be able to shape Asgard to his whim. On top of that there are beings even more powerful than they, for the Asgardians in particular there are the Ones Above All.. Which are like gods to the Asgardians.

The whole "belief" thing that Shiplord is talking about is also not particularly accurate. While some characters powers are based on others faith in them, the majority of any pantheon of "gods" do not operate like that.

The only real source where Shiplord's statement is actually true is on Earth-9997 (Earth X) In that reality, the gods were really aliens that entered a form of mutation that was defined by what other people believed them to be. As such when they encountered early man these aliens turned into the Asgardians, Olympians and other gods because that's what early man thought them to be. However, the properties of that universe are unique to those, in addition these "revelations" might be falsehoods as they were revealed by both the Watcher (who was manipulating X-51 to follow the Celestial plan) and Mephisto (not exactly known for telling the truth).

As for the Hulk, technically the Hulk can overpower Thor depending on how angry his is, because his physical strength is proportionate to his anger level. When the Hulk is more or less calm he is just about as strong as Thor. The other thing about Hulk being able to beat Thor in a fight is not just because of his strength, but because of his usual utter disregard to the safety of those around him and the damage he can cause. Thor is much more noble a fighter and is duty bound to protect people and try to minimize damage during his battles. He frequently pulls his punches and restrains himself in order to minimize damage and because he's not seeking to kill anyone, just stop them. This often works against him when he battles the Hulk.