Hulk Figured Out How To Put Wolverine Down For Good

Over the years, Wolverine has been put through the wringer too many times to count. He’s been blown up, torn in half, and has even regenerated from a single drop of blood after having his heart torn out. But in World War Hulk: X-Men #2 – from writer Chris Gage and artist Andrea Di Vito – an especially angry Hulk figures out a way to finally put Logan down, at least temporarily.

Following the events of Planet Hulk, which saw the Illuminati decide Hulk was too dangerous to stay on Earth, so they launched Banner into space, with the intention of sending him to a peaceful planet. Instead, the ship crash lands on Sakaar, where Hulk is enslaved and forced into gladiatorial combat (à la Thor: Ragnarok). When the ship self destructs, the planet is destroyed and the family Hulk had built there is killed. Blaming the Illuminati, Hulk makes his way back to Earth and goes on maybe his most epic rampage yet. This issue finds Hulk confronting Charles Xavier, who, even though he was an Illuminati member, wasn’t present for the meeting to make the exile decision. Still, Xavier offers to go with Hulk willingly, though the X-Men are having none of that and an epic brawl ensues. 

Hulk makes fairly quick work out of defeating the team, even breaking both of Colossus’ arms, but Wolverine wasn’t quite done. He slashes Hulk across the eyes, which was just what Hulk wanted, because that put Logan within grabbing range. Knowing that he’s not going to be able to kill Wolverine, Hulk does the next best thing. Asking Wolverine if he knows what happens when a boxer suffers too many concussions, Hulk begins pounding Wolverine’s indestructible skull into the ground until what’s left of his face is a pulpy mess. With each titanic blast, Wolverine’s brain is rattled against his adamantium skull, and even with his healing factor, the brain trauma is too much for Wolverine to bear. Hulk dangles Wolverine’s limp, bloodied, unconscious body and declares victory. But the brawl isn’t over yet, as Juggernaut, X-factor, and the Uncanny X-Men arrive in the issue’s final panels to keep the fight going.

This wasn’t the first (and almost certainly won’t be the last) time the two Marvel icons clashed, In fact, Wolverine’s very first comic appearance was the final panel of 1974’s The Incredible Hulk #180, with issue #181 seeing their first battle. Just recently, a one-shot called Marvel’s Voices saw the pair go to war throughout an entire night. In the Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk series, Hulk literally rips Wolverine apart at the hips. In Old Man Logan, Hulk famously ate an aged Wolverine, only to have him cut his way back out and emerge like a chestburster from Alien.

So it’s safe to say the two have a complicated relationship. Now that Disney has acquired 20th Century Fox, which includes the film rights for the X-Men, there’s already been whispers and hints of the X-Men making their way into the MCU. And with the characters’ long history of run-ins, it’d be a missed opportunity to not pit the two titans against one another at some point. As of right now, that’s just wishful speculation, but one thing’s for sure, Wolverine is going to wake up with the mother of all headaches.

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