Hulk Vs.
Wolverine, Thor
Marvel/Lionsgate
DVD and Blu-ray

Marvel’s direct-to-DVD series via Lionsgate of animated titles have met with mixed opinions. The two Ultimate Avengers releases actually borrowed from but tempered Marvel’s ultimate line of comics (where Captain America is kind of an a*hole at times), plus the original Avengers (only a little, though), while Iron Man tapped into that character’s origins from the original line of comics with a slightly different vision, and Dr. Strange was true as well (though the ending was a mystical mess).

Now comes Hulk Vs. — a double-shot package of two short movies of, duh, the Hulk in slugfests with the world’s most popular mutant out of X-Men, Wolverine, and the God of Thunder, Thor (not the Ultimate version who may or may not be a delusional “gifted” human, but the real-deal out of decades of comics).

First off, these are mighty violent, even bloody. They’re certainly not Saturday morning fair.  Definitely PG-13 stuff, so parents should be cautioned. The sensibilities of young kids all vary, so what’s okay for some won’t be for others. Take that into consideration.  With the warning out of the way, these two movies will tickle the fanboy (or fangirl) bone of comic book/super-hero fans of nearly all ages.

The Hulk Vs. Wolverine film uses source material that includes their first meeting back in the early ’70s in Hulk comics, written by Len Wein, with art by Herb Trimpe.  The movie also borrows from the Wolverine’s back story as revealed further in The X-Men by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, as well as his “Weapon X” origins in a series illustrated by the great Barry Smith.  This one is very bloody when it comes to the initial Hulk and Wolverine battle, which is just a set-up for a story about Wolverine’s beginnings, including cameos from characters that include a cheeky Deadpool, Lady Deathstrike, Sabertooth, and Omega Red. And it turns out the Hulk, despite the rampaging, isn’t a killer of innocents. But we knew that, right? There’s enough of a mix of mayhem plus actual story to make it all work. Score it good, maybe. Not great.

Much better is the second disc in the two-disc set, Hulk Vs. Thor.  Two words: Jack Kirby, the artist who created both.  Yes, he collaborated with Stan Lee on the tales, but Kirby’s stamp, the epic and grand world he created in Thor mythos that went well beyond Norse mythology, is all over this film, and it’s enough to make you cry, “More Thor!” (It seems a Tales of Asgard release about young Thor is due in the fall. Hurrah!). Again, Hulk is not to blame.  Also, his alter-ego here, Dr. Bruce Banner, is just as heroic in his own way (while he’s more of a whiner on the Wolverine disc), with an ending that echoes the Bill Bixby series of the ’70s and the last film with Ed Norton (and the comics by Bruce Jones…I could go on, but won’t).  The best thing about it all isn’t the Hulk, though. It’s Thor, the rainbow bridge to Asgard, appearances by the Warriors Three — Fandral the Dashing, Volstagg the…uh, voluminous, and Hogun the Grim — plus Thor’s lady, Sif, conniving half-brother Loki, who sets the mayhem in motion, the Enchantress, Balder the Brave, and, by the end, All-Father Odin as well.

So Marvel, yes, gives us more animated Thor (you can use the superb Walt Simonson tales too)!  Give us Captain America a la Kirby and Steranko. Give us a Kirby-Byrne eras combined Fantastic Four.  But for now, Hulk Vs. will do.  It’s not perfect, but each story has its moments. Scorecard: Hulk-Wolverine – 7; Hulk-Thor – 8.5.

For more on the source material, try this Wolverine Collection and Thor Collections like this.