Hank McCoy (Before the Fur)

The age old question: Who would win in a fight between…? The one that we’ve been rolling around since elementary school? Wolverine vs. the Hulk.

We still don’t have an answer I think.

After roughly 35 years since Wolverine hit the page as a somewhat sympathetic Hulk ‘villian’, we still love putting these two together. It’s like there’s this perfectly inherent tension in their relationship. They’re BOTH damn near unstoppable.

So it kind of makes sense that they’re not going to be scared of each other. Nope. Not one bit.

Actually, that’s what makes it fun I think. They’re both used to people being terrified of them. They don’t HAVE to hurt people. They can just posture and people back down.

But Wolverine treats Hulk like he’s a gigantic waste of space. And Hulk acts like he’d clean his teeth with Wolvie’s adamantium claws. It’s like this buddy movie, where they both treat each other as their idiot sidekick.

And the thing is, no one is really right. Wolverine really HAS taken down bigger, uglier guys than Hulk. But Hulk could crush Wolverine with his big toe. But then Wolvie would heal up and they’d be right back at it again.

I don’t think these guys will EVER be friends. Sure, you’d think they would be. They’ve both got their reasons to stay away from government types. They’re both man-created monsters of a sort with tragic, tragic backgrounds. But it’s like they drive each other nuts because they’re both used to being top dog. And when they get in the same room it’s like they’re up against the only other guy that could compete with them for the title.

That and old wounds don’t always heal. I mean, Wolverine really HAS gotten closer than any Hulkbuster or Army general to taking Hulk down and turning him over to the authorities. And if Hulk knows one thing it's that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you. Wolvie IS one of the only guys that might just find a way to take Hulk in a fight. Sure, Hulk’s impervious to almost every physical attack imaginable and sure he can hold his breath for hours, but still, if anybody could be lucky in a fight like that, it’d be Logan.

You might think Wolverine, on the other hand, would be sympathetic to Hulk’s plights. And he seems to be…to an extent. The thing is, Wolverine has spent his whole life trying to change what people made him into. I suppose from his perspective Hulk running loose through the country side and letting loose whenever something gets in his way sort of represents the epitome of who Wolverine tries NOT to be. So the truth is, after all this time, Logan still sort of has it out for Banner and tends to take a you're more dangerous than your worth attitude towards the guy, bringing them into conflict (a lot).

Despite all of these things I still love seeing these two as ‘allies’ if not friends. When the occasional twist of fate brings them together for more than just a few boxing rounds. Partly, I just love seeing Hulk interact with ANY of the rest of the Marvel universe. His place in it is so different than everyone else’s. He’s got so much power at his command but he’s struggling with this very different dilemma than most of the other characters.

Consequently, Hulk ends up being this kind of wildcard that sort of crosses paths with the rest of the Marvel universe at these serendipitous times (or not so serendipitous times). His goals usually have nothing to do with fighting mutants or saving the world. What Hulk chooses to do and why is always interesting to watch.

You know, these days this team is mostly contained to the pages of What if and alternate timelines and whatnot. But Hulk and Wolverine are (in theory) one half of a RIDICULOUS back up team for the Fantastic Four along with Spider-man and Ghost Rider. Seeing these four together approaches absurdity and is kind of like picking out your four favorite action figures to take with you to the playground to impress the other kids. The four of them have almost nothing to do with one another and even less to do with the F.F.

Still they make for a fun cameo now and again in the Marvel universe.

I’m just musing around here.

The real question is this: who do you REALLY think would win in a fight? The big green guy or old canucklehead?