Hulk Vs

Hulk Vs is a 2009 direct-to-video animated release from Marvel Animation and Lionsgate, featuring the Incredible Hulk in two short films: Hulk Vs Wolverine and Hulk Vs Thor. The animation was by Madhouse, and Kaare Andrews provided the DVD and Blu-ray packaging artwork.

Hulk vs. Wolverine
In the prologue Wolverine wakes up dazed and confused in a crater in the mountains. As he tries to recall how he got there he is confronted by the Hulk, jogging his memory. Wolverine was sent by Department H to track down a beast called "the Hulk" by the US Military, which has been rampaging across the Canadian Wilderness. In the ruins of Elkford, British Columbia Wolverine picks up its scent. After a few hours tracking the creature in the wilderness, Wolverine finds Dr. Bruce Banner. He questions him but starts to violently interrogate him after realizing that he had the same scent as the creature. Ignoring numerous warnings, Wolverine continues the interrogation until Banner transforms into the Hulk and sends him flying, and crashing into a crater.

The two combatants fight evenly matched until they are ambushed by Team X (composed of Deadpool, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike, and Sabretooth), who sedate them with tranquilizers and capture them. A flashback shows how Wolverine was abducted by Weapon X, and his skeleton bonded with adamantium under the orders of a Professor Thornton. He escaped sometime later, cutting off Thornton's hand.

Waking up in a Weapon X facility Wolverine is greeted by Professor Thornton, who reveals that they have been tracking the Hulk for weeks (showing in a flashback that Team X destroyed Elkford when they tried to capture him). Professor Thornton plans to erase Wolverine's memory and Banner's personality to use both Wolverine and the Hulk as weapons. However Thornton is betrayed and killed by Sabretooth and Deathstrike when he orders Wolverine be kept alive, as they both want to kill him. Wolverine manages to fight them off and free Banner. He tells Banner to turn into the Hulk to help them escape, however Banner says he cannot due to being drugged (and would not even if he could). Wolverine stabs him in an attempt to bleed out the drugs and force the change.

While Banner starts to bleed out, Wolverine battles the entire Weapon X team. Just as he appears to be beaten Banner turns into the Hulk, who kills or incapacitates the Weapon X Team. Wolverine eggs the Hulk on as he destroys the base, only for the Hulk to swing a generator at him causing the base to explode. Wolverine is sent flying by the explosion. He watches the base burn until the Hulk jumps out and lands right in front of him. Eager to finish what they started the two lunge at each other. The screen cuts to black leaving the fight with a cliffhanger ending, and the victor ambiguous.

In the post-credits, Deadpool is shown to have survived the destruction of the facility and expressing great relief at being alive, only to be crushed by the Hulk doing one of his "Mile Jumps". The Hulk has defeated Wolverine and Deadpool makes a weak "Ow", however, noting that he is still alive, though in a massive deal of pain. The Hulk is seen jumping away at the end.

Hulk vs. Thor
For ages, Odin has protected Asgard. But every winter he must rest and regain his strength for one week. During this time, all of Asgard's foes try to claim the realm for their own, but are always stopped by Thor, albeit with the loss of many brave Asgardian warriors.

Loki, god of mischief, brings Dr. Bruce Banner to his lair in Asgard. Using her magic Amora, the Enchantress separates Banner and the Hulk, giving Loki control over it.

Hulk/Loki arrives at the gates of Asgard and attacks the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg) and other Asgardians. Thor, who is familiar with Banner tries to communicate with him, Loki revealing that he is in control of the Hulk. After a prolonged battle, Hulk/Loki attempts to pick up Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, which is unliftable to any but Thor. Mjolnir flies to Thor, who blasts Hulk/Loki with lighting, unintentionally separating Loki from the Hulk. Without Banner's personality or Loki's control, the Hulk is completely unstoppable, and nearly beats Thor to death.

Near death Thor's soul is nearly claimed by Hela god of the Underword, but is revived by Amora. Realizing he cannot defeat the Hulk, Thor decides they must reunite him with Bruce Banner. Amora betrays Loki and leads Thor to him. They arrive at Loki's hideout and discover that Loki has killed Banner, growing tired of Banner's warnings about the Hulk. Without Banner Amora has no way to send the Hulk back to Earth. Thor sends Amora to aid Sif in Odin's defense, and Loki summons all of his evil forces to battle the Hulk who is drawn to the light of Odin's chamber.

Thor and Loki arrive in the Underworld where Hela refuses to bring Banner back. Loki however convinces her to bring him back, since Bruce's spirit was split from the Hulk she has an "incomplete soul". She brings Bruce back from his blissful paradise, however he refuses to return and join with the Hulk instead wishing to remain dead. Loki slyly manages to convince Hela to bring the Hulk to Hel, so that she could have the complete being. She complies and teleports the Hulk to Hel, just as he reaches Odin's slumbering form.

After a battle with Loki and Thor, the Hulk and Banner rejoin and are teleported back to Earth by Hela, who considers him too dangerous to be kept. However she demands a soul in exchange for giving up Banner's and the damage caused to her realm from the Hulk. Hela takes Loki's for this, albeit temporarily, given that she is his daughter. Odin awakens and holds a celebration for Asgard's triumph over evil and also gives his thanks to Bruce Banner. The final scene is of Banner walking alone down a barren highway.

Cast

 * Fred Tatasciore as Hulk
 * Bryce Johnson as Bruce Banner
 * Steven Blum as Logan / Wolverine
 * Matthew Wolf as Thor
 * Nolan North as Wade Wilson / Deadpool
 * Mark Acheson as Victor Creed / Sabretooth
 * Janyse Jaud as Yuriko Oyama / Lady Deathstrike, Hela
 * Colin Murdock as Arkady Rossovich / Omega Red
 * Tom Kane as Professor Thorton
 * Graham McTavish as Loki
 * Grey DeLisle as Sif
 * Kari Wahlgren as Amora / Enchantress
 * Jay Brazeau as Volstagg
 * Jonathan Holmes as Fandral
 * Paul Dobson as Hogun
 * Michael Adamthwaite as Balder
 * French Tickner as Odin
 * Nicole Oliver as Betty Ross, Valkyrie
 * Qayam Devji as Bruce Jr.

Additional voices by Brian Drummond and Scott McNeil.

Hulk vs. Wolverine
Hulk vs. Wolverine is a 37 minute short. Frank Paur was the producer/director and Jeff Matsuda was the art director, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost wrote the story. Writer/producer Craig Kyle has stated that the film is a prequel to the Wolverine and the X-Men animated TV series, with the characters having a less violent rematch in episode 7 of the series. However, there are numerous contradictions between this short and the television series. In episode 7, Banner does not recognize Logan, and brief flashbacks to the first Wolverine-Hulk battle portray it differently. In later episodes involving the Weapon X program, Wolverine initially has no memory of the program or Sabertooth, Professor Thornton is alive and does not have a prosthetic arm, and the chamber where Wolverine was infused with adamantium resembles the recumbent version in the live-action film continuity rather than the upright tube shown here.

Hulk vs. Thor
Frank Paur was the producer and Sam Liu was the director. This 45 minute long short film has a Ragnarok theme, in which the Incredible Hulk battles "every known entity in the Thor franchise" (collectively known as the Gods of Asgard) when Loki teleports him there while Odin is in his Odinsleep.

Hulk vs. Wolverine
Reception for Hulk vs. Wolverine has generally been favorable. Cindy White of IGN said "The benefits of a direct-to-DVD project like this is that the creators didn't have to shy away from the kind of gore that would be unacceptable for a Saturday-morning audience" commenting on how Wolverine uses his claws on a living entity and not just on robots as in other animated features. El Bicho of Blog Critics stated: "“Hulk vs. Wolverine” is a very good cartoon with a lot of action. Sobrino used “awesome” and “cool” to describe it and noted “every kid loves violence.” It also portrays Wolverine’s origin story well. The only downside is that everyone involved with Weapon X seems to have magical healing powers that allow them to put themselves back together when limbs are lost. When a slice of Deadpool’s arm slides by like a piece of meat, Sobrino said it 'should have been rated R.'"

Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk described it as fast paced, but criticized the Weapon X backstory as "a bit out of place" and said it "also takes away from the Hulk versus Wolverine storyline."

Kerry Birmingham of DVD Verdict stated "The most immediately successful of the two is Wolverine, enlivened by a punchier script than its Norse cousin. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, screenwriters for both episodes, are veteran comic book writers and well-versed in the world of the X-Men, and as such seem to have injected Wolverine with a bit more energy."

Hulk vs. Thor
Reception for Hulk vs. Thor has been mixed. Cindy White of IGN stated "Rather than the wild, forest landscapes of Canada, this one deals with the stately architecture of Asgard, and there are a lot more characters. Being less familiar with Thor as a series, some of the shout-outs to the comics were lost on me, for the most part, but I'm sure Thor fans will appreciate them. El Bicho of Blog Critics stated: "“Hulk vs. Thor” is enjoyable, but it’s noticeably different in pace and tone from “vs. Wolverine. They did spend more time with the character of Banner.

Todd Douglass Jr. of Dvd Talk found Thor overall a bit more favorable: "In Hulk vs. Thor the plot is a little more calculated and it feels balanced by comparison." and actually like the battles "One of the joys of Hulk vs. Thor was watching the monster tear his way across Odin's world. Nothing can stand in his way and there are many outstanding moments and fight scenes peppered throughout the film."

Kerry Birmingham of DVD verdict stated "Kyle and Yost have less of an affinity for Thor, and it shows; their Thor script, despite its violence, lacks the glee of the Wolverine installment. In approaching Thor's Hulk as a raging counterpart to Wolverine's more reactive, child-like Hulk, the creators commendably draw a distinction between their interpretations of the character, but the Asgard throw down is simply less fun than its more gonzo counterpart."