Hulk and Wolverine’s Bloodiest Battle Reveals How Far Their Characters Have Come

The Hulk and Wolverine have a rivalry that stretches back decades. Wolverine was actually introduced as an opponent for the Hulk to go up against, and neither one has forgotten how much that brawl left an impact on them. They’re two of Marvel’s nastiest, angriest heroes who are the best there is at what they do, with that being the strongest one there is and a cutthroat brawler, respectively. Fans haven’t forgotten how awesome that original fight was, either, and are always eager for these two to rip each other apart. They’ve had plenty of other fights over the years, some even ending with Wolverine’s victory, but none can compare to how brutal their newest brawl was.

The Hulk isn’t a hero anymore. An ancient monster known as the Eldest has stolen the Hulk’s flesh and become the King of Monsters, planning to subjugate the world with an army of unholy abominations. The rightfully dubbed Infernal Hulk has declared war on the entire human race, and Earth’s heroes are doing everything they can to stop him. In this case, that means a whole slew of one-shots where the Hulk battles some of Marvel’s biggest and baddest, leading up to the massive “Hulk War.” First off is this legendary rematch in The Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine, which is not only action-packed but is a fantastic showcase of just how far Wolverine and the Hulk have come.

The Bloodiest Brawl in Comics

Wolverine and Hulk are no strangers to downright merciless combat that leaves them looking like used training dummies, but this fight took everything to the next level. It all started when Wolverine snuck into the Hulk’s base, intent on finding the mutants he kidnapped and transformed into monsters. Instead of Glob, however, he found the Hulk, and figured this was his chance to end the war before it reached New York City. Unfortunately, the Hulk was waiting for him, and they immediately got into an absolutely awesome fight to the finish. Wolverine wasted no time slashing the Hulk apart, cutting his tendons and even hacking off half of the not-so-Jade Giant’s face. Hulk wasn’t a slouch, either, squeezing Wolverine so tightly his eyes literally popped out of their sockets.

These two have had plenty of bloody fights, but every page in this issue was downright gut-wrenching. The creative team behind it made full use of both characters’ healing factors, but also made sure to focus on how awful every injury was before it could disappear. Jonas Scharf provided truly incredible art, making sure we could feel every cut, punch, and squeeze. This fight was smart, too, perfectly showcasing each competitor’s strengths. The Hulk obviously has the edge in every physical stat, casually throwing Wolverine through walls and even using his teeth to ragdoll him. Meanwhile, Wolverine was as smart as he was deadly, using precision to carve the Hulk like a turkey. This fight is everything every fan of these two could dream of.

From Fighting Men to Unkillable Machines

This fight showed us a whole lot more than the peak of comic book brutality. It also serves as the ultimate example of what the Hulk and Wolverine are capable of now, as opposed ot what they were in their earliest years. Let’s take a look back at their first fight in Incredible Hulk #181. Back then, Wolverine wasn’t even a mutant, just a man with adamantium claws attached to his gloves. The Hulk was still impossibly strong, but he didn’t possess the healing factor he does now, and he also lacked intellect, being more of a lumbering child. It wasn’t much of a fight, either, as Wolvie’s claws couldn’t pierce the Hulk’s skin, and he spent the whole time basically just annoying the Jade Giant until he caught a glancing blow, which was enough to knock him out.

Obviously, both heroes have changed a lot over the years. Namely, as their popularity grew and they added more stories under their belt, they grew a heck of a lot stronger. Nowadays they’re both practically unkillable, with the Hulk literally being immortal and Wolverine being not too far behind. Adamantium is stronger too, since it can slice the Hulk like a hot knife through butter. Both of these characters have grown into genuine monsters of combat, and that’s not just because of long-form story power creep. These two are remembered by fans as these unstoppable killing machines, even from the days when they very much weren’t.

It was this love and perception that kept pushing these characters down this path. People saw these characters as this one thing, so writers wrote them to be more like that. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes by accident, but either way, Hulk and Wolverine evolved. They became the thing that people always saw them as, being two of the most unkillable, unstoppable warriors in Marvel. Even though this is their most fantastic fight yet, I highly doubt this is as far as they’ll go. Next time, they’ll come back stronger, brutaler, and even more unkillable, and I can’t wait to see it.

What do you think about where this duo started versus where they’ve ended up? Let us know in the comments below!

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