Hulk vs Thor

[TheCorpulent1]

Thor's depowering goes back way before Quesada. I personally attribute it to two things: 1) his being an Avenger for so long and 2) the rise in the Hulk's popularity. It's easy to maintain a high power level when everything is tailored to the hero in his solo series. But uncreative writers on Avengers were saddled with Thor as a member of the team and couldn't come up with decent threats, so Thor came off looking like a wuss so he wouldn't (rightfully) beat many of the Avengers' enemies all by himself. Meanwhile, the Hulk received a TV series in the '70s and his popularity shot up. Thor never got anything similar because his backstory isn't as easily digestible to the masses. Then a really cheap, pathetic version of Thor appeared in one of the Hulk's TV-movies and was totally worthless, tainting a whole generation's perception of the character. So Thor's popularity fell while the Hulk's rose and, unsurprisingly, the Hulk started getting better showings in his fights with Thor and then ultimately started winning all of them outright. Only recently has Thor finally been slowly climbing back up to his level of respect as one of the top characters within the Marvel universe.

[OnedetachedonE]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

Thor's depowering goes back way before Quesada. I personally attribute it to two things: 1) his being an Avenger for so long and 2) the rise in the Hulk's popularity. It's easy to maintain a high power level when everything is tailored to the hero in his solo series. But uncreative writers on Avengers were saddled with Thor as a member of the team and couldn't come up with decent threats, so Thor came off looking like a wuss so he wouldn't (rightfully) beat many of the Avengers' enemies all by himself. Meanwhile, the Hulk received a TV series in the '70s and his popularity shot up. Thor never got anything similar because his backstory isn't as easily digestible to the masses. Then a really cheap, pathetic version of Thor appeared in one of the Hulk's TV-movies and was totally worthless, tainting a whole generation's perception of the character. So Thor's popularity fell while the Hulk's rose and, unsurprisingly, the Hulk started getting better showings in his fights with Thor and then ultimately started winning all of them outright. Only recently has Thor finally been slowly climbing back up to his level of respect as one of the top characters within the Marvel universe.

Oh my God! I remember watching that episode as a kid...one of the great travesties of television...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWmHEF_PT8E

Well...hopefully the Sentry/Void vs Thor fight in Siege is a new direction for Thor.

[TheCorpulent1]

The renewed interest in the character thanks to JMS' incredibly successful relaunch of his comic, his return to the Avengers, and his upcoming movie will probably mean more prominence for the character. Hell, even stuff like Hulk vs. Thor, although it sucked a lot, is at least getting Thor out there and giving him some more mainstream recognition. It's definitely one of the better times to be a Thor fan right now.

[OnedetachedonE]

Agreed. And I am basking in the rays of all that extra attention.





Can't wait for May 2011!

[tricon7]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

The renewed interest in the character thanks to JMS' incredibly successful relaunch of his comic, his return to the Avengers, and his upcoming movie will probably mean more prominence for the character. Hell, even stuff like Hulk vs. Thor, although it sucked a lot, is at least getting Thor out there and giving him some more mainstream recognition. It's definitely one of the better times to be a Thor fan right now.

I had never seen the Hulk vs. Thor animation in its entirety, so I got it and just finished watching it. I don't know why Marvel had Thor go up against Hulk in this flick, as he was nothing but a punching bag for the Hulk from beginning to end. I mean, why not pit the Hulk vs. Wasp, or the Hulk vs. Nick Fury? What's the difference?

I don't think Thor has been on the public scene long enough to challenge the Hulk yet in the strength department. If his popularity increases after the movie, we'll see his strength increase, too. It appears that he's going to be normal-sized in the upcoming movie - nothing on the scale of a 9-ft. Hulk. I think Thor will be portrayed as a character that has a lot of strength, but he won't be in the same league as the big-screen Hulk, unfortunately. It's too bad the movies don't stay true to the comics (although of late the Hulk has been beating Thor's a** there, too).

[Slushy]

Thor is a God and should be treated as such, not as a fu**ing jobber!

[Lantern Venom]

I finally got around to buying this (waiting for a sale) and I was both pleased and a little shocked. Being a Hulk fan, I was glad to see the Green Goliath as he should be. Though I liked both live-action movies a lot, we only got glimpses of what the Savage Hulk can do if his rage builds to a certain point. He certainly didn't hold back in Asgard.

On the flip side, I can understand the disappointment of Thor fans. I've seen quite a few of their tussles in the comics, and they were certainly more even. I felt that while Loki was controlling Hulk, Thor should have been getting the better of the fight. I was expecting Hulk to get into a full,frothing rage that not even Thor could control, but I wasn't expecting a 40+ minute squash. That wasn't true to the source material. Ironically, I think Beta Ray Bill got a better showing against Hulk in Planet Hulk.

[Apexpredator1]

I love it when these two battle. Except for the Hulk vs. dvd. That was terrible.

Marvel will milk these two goliaths and the age old question: "who is stronger, hulk or thor?", until the end of time.

But an honest appraisal of each character's power set should show Thor as the clear winner in any fight between these two.

[The Morningstar]

Originally Posted by Apexpredator1

I love it when these two battle. Except for the Hulk vs. dvd. That was terrible.

Marvel will milk these two goliaths and the age old question: "who is stronger, hulk or thor?", until the end of time.

But an honest appraisal of each character's power set should show Thor as the clear winner in any fight between these two.

Indeed, indeed.

[Thor The Mighty]

I feel the same way. Wolverine did better against the Hulk than the entire norse pantheon of gods. Why did that happen? Because up to that time Wolvie had made Marvel more money and was more popular. That being said to have Thor being beaten to death as if he was next to nothing is crazy. Since it's a Hulk film I did not expect him to win but I did expect him to stand his ground or put a halt to the Hulk'd ramgage. The Hulk beating the entire asgardian army is nuts. But I guess that the people that made the film were extreme Hulk fans (I'm a moderate) and were more than a bit biased. I was pissed that I bought it. Even the mindless Hulk had his limits. I'm sorry I'm still thinking old school.

[Panthro]

Originally Posted by Thor The Mighty

I feel the same way. Wolverine did better against the Hulk than the entire norse pantheon of gods. Why did that happen? Because up to that time Wolvie had made Marvel more money and was more popular. That being said to have Thor being beaten to death as if he was next to nothing is crazy. Since it's a Hulk film I did not expect him to win but I did expect him to stand his ground or put a halt to the Hulk'd ramgage. The Hulk beating the entire asgardian army is nuts. But I guess that the people that made the film were extreme Hulk fans (I'm a moderate) and were more than a bit biased. I was pissed that I bought it. Even the mindless Hulk had his limits. I'm sorry I'm still thinking old school.

You speak the truth oh mighty one.

[BigThor]

^ Why yes he does, people STILL bring up Hulk Vs. when discussing a fight between Thor and Hulk.

[Lady_Sif]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

Thor's depowering goes back way before Quesada. I personally attribute it to two things: 1) his being an Avenger for so long and 2) the rise in the Hulk's popularity.

I know this topic is vintage now, but I HAD to ask... The Hulk is actually....... POPULAR??

As for the VS fights... I never understood why Hulk is winning just every damn time. Once I read that Stan Lee created Thor after he had created the strongest beeing in the MU. He needed someone who would match Hulk's strength... someone comparable to Superman. Thor was born! And here comes my biggest complain, while Hulk is dumb as a slice of bread most of the time, his only power is strenght. Thor is about a few thousand years old, means proven in battles and EXTREMELY experienced! His strength is close to the Hulk's too. Yet, he never wins? Not just ONCE?! So frustrating -_-

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, the Hulk's incredibly popular. I don't know what your experience was watching Avengers, but people cheered at pretty much every showing I went to whenever the Hulk did anything. It was a little irritating, although the rest of the movie made up for it.

And Lee conceived of Thor as flat-out more powerful than the Hulk. The explanation he usually gives is that he'd created the strongest human on Earth with the Hulk but he needed to top that, so he decided to go with an immortal--hence, Thor. Obviously, power levels have shifted over time and other writers' interpretations, but initially, according to Lee, Thor trumped the Hulk.

And Thor has won a couple of their fights. More often than not, they reach a stalemate. A couple of times Thor has had the Hulk on the ropes but the Hulk gets all pissy and demands Thor throw away Mjolnir or grabs a human hostage to make Thor back off. Also, Thor usually handicaps himself a bit when he fights the Hulk. As you noted, Thor has about a thousand more powers than the Hulk, yet he usually fights him hand-to-hand because it's part of Thor's code of honor to not escalate fights unnecessarily--i.e. if someone punches Thor, he's gonna punch back, not shoot them with lightning or whisk them off to another dimension or do any of the dozens of other things he could do. The Hulk's not smart enough to have a code of anything, so he just does whatever.

[BigThor]

To be honest though, Thor got the better of Hulk for most of their fight in The Avengers. Besides the sucker punch at the beginning and those slams at the end, Thor was dominating that fight,

One of my friends who happens to be a Hulk fan said "I'm not gonna lie, Thor was taking care of business against Hulk on that ship".

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, whenever people laugh about how the Hulk punches Thor later on in the middle of the climactic battle, I come back with, "He was still pissed because Thor kicked his ass earlier."

[Lady_Sif]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

And Thor has won a couple of their fights. More often than not, they reach a stalemate. A couple of times Thor has had the Hulk on the ropes but the Hulk gets all pissy and demands Thor throw away Mjolnir or grabs a human hostage to make Thor back off. Also, Thor usually handicaps himself a bit when he fights the Hulk. As you noted, Thor has about a thousand more powers than the Hulk, yet he usually fights him hand-to-hand because it's part of Thor's code of honor to not escalate fights unnecessarily--i.e. if someone punches Thor, he's gonna punch back, not shoot them with lightning or whisk them off to another dimension or do any of the dozens of other things he could do. The Hulk's not smart enough to have a code of anything, so he just does whatever.

Yes, he is just fighting too fair. But this honesty is one of the reasons why I love him actually. I just wish to have a few of those panels where Thor beats the Hulk as evidence. Cause I usually get bombed with panels where the Hulk mops the floor with Goldilocks. (Those guys like to make me angry with that lol. )

[TheCorpulent1]

Eh, I stopped bothering with vs. threads mainly because people love to take a page or two, or even just a few panels, out of context and claim that it proves their character could easily beat the other one. More often than not, you'll actually read the whole issue and find that the other character is back on his feet like two panels later and back in the fight. So it all just sort of strikes me as a waste of time at this point. It's certainly not unbelievable for the Hulk to beat Thor, nor is it unbelievable to go the opposite way. That's what being evenly matched means. That the Hulk has a couple more fights where he looks better doesn't really mean much to me.

[Mjölnir]

Having them evenly matched makes a lot of sense for the stories, although Hulk vs Thor becomes even more weird when the logical outcome would be that if anyone is more likely to win it's Thor. Hulk is stronger and more durable, but Thor isn't that far behind and has so much else to bring to the table. Just his skill alone should be able to turn the tide if we went by logic, seeing as he has a millennium of training and experience and skill is always the most important thing in fighting (I guess I'm damaged by having been a pretty serious martial arts competitor). The match up would be sort of having the world's strongest man winner fight the UFC heavyweight champion.

But as said I have no problems with them being even as I like both characters (although Thor is my favorite) and comics aren't all about real life logic.

[jaqua99]

Originally Posted by BigThor

To be honest though, Thor got the better of Hulk for most of their fight in The Avengers. Besides the sucker punch at the beginning and those slams at the end, Thor was dominating that fight,

One of my friends who happens to be a Hulk fan said "I'm not gonna lie, Thor was taking care of business against Hulk on that ship".

oh yeah, and looking at the fight without cut scenes..



thor dominated most of the fight..I was actually surprised that they did that. A pissed off Hulk, fighting a very restrained thor, and basically loosing...I think THAT fight right there showed, that even though Hulk is a scene stealer, and a wildcard, Thor is still THE guy in terms of heroes in the MCU right now.

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

Yeah, whenever people laugh about how the Hulk punches Thor later on in the middle of the climactic battle, I come back with, "He was still pissed because Thor kicked his ass earlier."

That's what I thought it was for lol

I hope thor and hulk build up a relationship

[Mjölnir]

That shot with Thor calmly reaching out for Mjolnir and getting it just in time to smack Hulk is one of the coolest in the movie.

[Vartha]

If those Wall lights of the Avengers weren't so expensive I'd have Mjolnir in the Wall on one side, (which I do have) and the Hulk's fist coming out of the wall opposite of it lol

[ericadawn16]

Maybe they'll go on sale at some point?

[Vartha]

I hope so, if they're still there that is. I had to call to see if Target had them here and it sounded like the guy had them in the stock room not on the floor

[alexnyc]

Originally Posted by OnedetachedonE

I wish Marvel would hire back Stan Lee to write Thor, then he'd be written the way he's supposed to be written...as the most powerful superhero of all time. Ever.

Thor the most powerful no now if it's Superman hell yeah!