There were quite a few surprises at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, but none as enjoyable as Marvel’s world premiere of “Hulk Vs. Wolverine.” As one half of the studio’s Hulk double feature, the film isn’t very long, but it actually works better than the full-length movies that Marvel has been putting out . Part of that has to do with the fact that “Hulk Vs. Wolverine” is more focused than the other animated films (it’s essentially just a 37-minute brawl), and when you throw four of Wolverine’s most famous enemies (Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red and Deadpool) into the mix, well, it’s bound to be awesome. In fact, it’s Wolverine’s fight against the Weapon X crew (and not The Hulk) that proves to be the most entertaining aspect of the film, and with any luck, we’ll get to see a rematch sometime in the near future. If nothing else, it only reaffirms why Deadpool deserves a movie of his own, because even alongside such heavy hitters as Wolverine and The Hulk, he steals the show every time.
Unfortunately, “Hulk Vs. Thor” fails to do the same for the God of Thunder. Maybe it’s because the movie crawls in comparison, or that Thor has never really interested me as a character, but where “Hulk Vs. Wolverine” is riveting from start to finish, “Hulk Vs. Thor” is a bit of a bore. The last thing we didn’t need was another Avengers movie (especially after last year’s “Teen Titans”-esque “The Next Avengers”), but that’s exactly what it feels like. Still, despite the disappointing B-side, “Hulk Vs.” is hands down the best direct-to-DVD feature Marvel has produced, and they’d be wise to stick with this double feature format moving forward. It may not be ideal for telling the kind of epic stories that some of these characters require, but it’s the closest they’re ever going to get to bringing a comic book to life.
