Thing wouldn’t stand a chance, being in the lower tier of the high end powers. He’s in the class of Colossus, Iron Man, Hercules, etc.
Hulk would have the edge in raw power as he’s held together a planet (!!) and he’s essentially unkillable. He just lacks the variety of powers. I’d give the edge to Supes overall.
Thor lacks speed, but has magic and has currently demonstrated the strength closer to a god’s level when he spanked Extremis enhanced Iron Man without even breathing hard. I’d think he could beat Superman.
Silver Surfer could destroy Superman without trying: cosmic class powers, faster than light travel, etc.
Farther out on the cosmic scale, Gladiator could do it. While it’s true he’s almost a purple mohawked Superman, his powers are derived from his confidence. If he belives he can beat Superman, he can.
I’d also give Nova (now Nova Prime) the nod. He’s got the speed if not the strength and durability, and his depth of energy based attacks would turn the tables.
Of questionable mention is the Sentry. He’s got the power of a bajillion exploding suns (really Bendis?), but the get up and go of a bajillion stoned couch potatoes. I think he could beat Superman as long as Wapner wasn’t on.
Ah, the hysterical comic where the red kryptonite made them switch bodies, and Ambush Bug decided that he was therefore supposed to ACT like Superman - as he saw the role.
Ambush Bug as Superman, holding a viillain by the throat : “Are you aware that I could crush your skull like an eggshell?”
Supervillain < tiny voice > : “Please don’t crush my skull like an eggshell.”
I especially liked the part where he turned on Superman’s heat vision accidentally - then looked around wildly to try to see what was setting everything on fire.
Nearly as fast? I remember Superman explicitly matching the Speed of Mercury post-crisis, but (a) not exceeding it, and (b) mentioning that it made his teeth rattle uncomfortably. I’m not sure either was definitively established as having an edge.
That said, both Captain Marvel and Superman have punched each other unconscious, albeit with sneak attacks; in one of their rare straight-up fistfights, Supes – bleeding on Cap’s knuckles – thought to himself that “Marvel’s powers are based on magic. Toe-to-toe he has the advantage.”
From the other side of the sea, Son Goku could probably beat him to a pulp without breaking a sweat (even if Superman proves more powerful than I suspect Goku could easily do a side-along Instant Transmission to a nice planet in the middle of nowhere with a red sun or something, maybe even the Asteroid Field that was once krypton if he knew where it was before the battle).
In Alex Ross’ Justice, Captain Marvel is straight-up faster than Superman, and Supes is the first to admit it. In that story, Superman’s powers are limited by what is physically possible; Captain Marvel, fueled by magic, has no such restrictions.
Karate Kid out-fought Superboy briefly until Superboy used his powers to get the better of him once and for all. He threw Superboy around a bit but never hurt him. However, his skill impressed Superboy enough that Superboy supported him for membership which he obviously attained.
Flash once knocked a White martian out cold by punching him at light speed; White Martians are the equal of superman (As a matter of fact, White Martiancs kicekd Superman’s ass)…so therefore Flash could beat Superman.
Mongul (the son) hinted at Supes problem in “Our Worlds at War”: Supe usually outclasses 99% of his foes, so he just shows up, lets them get out some frustration by hitting/shooting him, and then just uses an ability or two to subdue them. Mongul tells him that to fight the upcoming battle he needs to learn to go all out. Travel at near light speed while using his strength, heat vision, freeze breath, flight, etc all in tandem. If he trained more this way he would be much more formidable.
The villian Nemesis Kid could have; he had the magical ability to better any one opponent. He killed Karate Kid by instantly become a better hand to hand fighter, and mentioned that he could “kill Mon-El”, who had Superman level power.
I admit I know little about the comic book version of Thor, but I don’t see how he could lose any slugging match. I mean, not only is he a god, but he is the strongest* of the gods.
*Okay, his son Magni is as strong as he is, but still.