HULK VS THING
THE DEFINITIVE WRITE UP ON THE BRAWL THAT STARTED IT ALL!
By
John "THE MEGO STRETCH HULK" Cimino
Dedicated to the masters, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The Slugfest. This
is a term used in the comic book world where two popular characters
engage in a fight so grandiose that it captures the imagination of the
reader. The bigger the scope, the stakes and the destruction, the bigger
the intrigue and excitement. The slugfest was first brought to life by
the "King" of comic book artists, Jack Kirby (1917-1994). Before him
comic fights were merely two ordinary-looking characters in costumes
drawn throwing a few punches at each other for the sake of the story.
When Kirby arrived on the scene and started to make waves drawing
characters that looked and acted more "super" than ever before, comic fights now became the story. The
action would stretch beyond the panels and punched the readers straight
into the imagination. This was such a huge leap from what the previous
artists were doing because now comics were becoming much more dynamic
than ever before.
Jack Kirby, as great as he was in the 1930s throughout the 1950s, continued to hone his skills to become even better. When he starting co-creating the Marvel Universe with Stan Lee (1922-2018) in 1961, things didn't just expand on a worldwide scale, it expanded on a cosmic scale! The characters and slugfests got more bigger, more dramatic, and more action packed. And everything between the creations of Kirby and Stan Lee all came together in a huge climax when they paired off the two, misunderstood, man-monsters of the Marvel Universe due to overwhelming reader demand. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the definitive write up on the greatest and most prolific slugfest in the history of comics... The Incredible Hulk versus the Ever-Lovin'-Blue-Eyed Thing!
Jack Kirby, as great as he was in the 1930s throughout the 1950s, continued to hone his skills to become even better. When he starting co-creating the Marvel Universe with Stan Lee (1922-2018) in 1961, things didn't just expand on a worldwide scale, it expanded on a cosmic scale! The characters and slugfests got more bigger, more dramatic, and more action packed. And everything between the creations of Kirby and Stan Lee all came together in a huge climax when they paired off the two, misunderstood, man-monsters of the Marvel Universe due to overwhelming reader demand. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the definitive write up on the greatest and most prolific slugfest in the history of comics... The Incredible Hulk versus the Ever-Lovin'-Blue-Eyed Thing!
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| A preview of "things" to come as seen here in Fantastic Four #5 (1962). Stan Lee and Jack Kirby knew how to generate more interest in the match up of "Hulk vs Thing" as they show a little prelude to the inevitable meeting between the two man-monsters. |
"Hulk vs Thing" goes by many names; "The Battle of the Century," "The Battle of the Behemoths," "The Thrilla in the Manila," "The Clash of the Titans" and so on, but whatever you want to call it, it has to be considered "The Brawl that Started it All!" Because before
the Hulk clashed with the Thing, comic fights had come a long way under
Kirby's guidance. But despite his innovations, nothing really special
happened yet. After the two brutes fought and showed a dynamic between
them that captured the imagination of the fans, they set the standard of
what a true comic slugfest was suppose to be while taking the meaning of "city-leveling action" to
a whole new stratosphere. Now the Earth itself shook, buildings came
crashing down and the crowds ran for cover! Needless to say, once "Hulk
vs Thing" entered into the Marvel-mythos, the comic-world was never the
same.
And
the comic readers couldn't get enough, they kept flooding the Marvel
offices with fan mail wanting more of this titanic match up. Stan Lee
kept feeding into the frenzy by letting "King" Kirby cut loose and do
his creative thing. Bigger was better and when Stan added his
flawless dialogue to Kirby's magic, the results could never be
duplicated. "Hulk vs Thing" was truly a work of comic book genius and
there could be no doubt that it played a big part in bringing the Marvel
Age of Comics to the mainstream in the 60s. Its legacy can never
be diminished and would continue to inspire artists and writers even to
this day.
So
now, from the foundation of the Lee and Kirby influence, you have one
of the most often used superhero match ups in comic book history. Yes, the Hulk and the Thing squaring off has been done so many
times because it's so much fun to write and draw by creators. Having the Hulk
fighting with the Thing is also an iconic image that signifies
everything that is "classic" about Marvel Comics
(and all comics in general). And the reason why it has been used many times on Marvel
products all over the world. Here are just a few examples over the years:
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| Los 4 Fantasticos #13 Marvel Spanish reprints (1970) |
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| Los 4 Fantasticos #56 Marvel Spanish reprints (1973) |
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| The Mighty World of Marvel #24 Marvel UK reprints (1973) |
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| The Mighty World of Marvel #138 Marvel UK reprints (1975) |
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The Super-Heroes #46 Marvel UK reprints (1976)
|
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| "Hulk vs Thing" postcard (1978) |
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| Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles (1978) |
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| "Hulk vs Thing" from The Incredible Hulk Calendar (1979) |
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"Hulk vs Thing" portfolio print dubbed "Rematch with the Thing" from Fastner and Larsen (1980)
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| Marvel
Superheroes: War of the Gems video game for the Super Nintendo System. A
"Doppleganger" version of the Thing is the final boss in the Mt.
Vesuvius level of the game. While this game stands as the first time the
Hulk and the Thing clash in a video game, this "Evil Thing" is not the
real character. But it's still fun to have a nice "Hulk vs Thing" brawl
if you choose the Hulk as a playable character, by Capcom (1996) |
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Fantastic Four
video game for the Playstation1. After you defeat a boss, without the
loss of any player life, there is one of three bonus rounds. The fights
here are set against the Hulk, Dragon man and Iceman. Depending on
which member of the Fantastic Four you choose, you can have a "Hulk vs
Thing" brawl! This game stands as the very first time the "actual"
versions of the Hulk and Thing meet as adversaries in a video game, by
Acclaim (1997) |
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| Masterworks: Marvel Legends: "Hulk vs Thing" from Marvel Feature #11 Toybiz (2006) |
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| Marvel Super Hero Squad UK Magazine #12 (2012) |
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| "Hulk vs Thing" shirt (2020) |
Why does the Hulk and Thing chemistry work so well together? It's due
to their big personalities and how they react to the world around them
looking the way that they do. They are both big, powerful, man-monsters
that people can't help but be frightened of. Despite their great
invulnerability to pain, this hurts them deep down. And whether they
want to admit it or not, both brutes can't help but relate and be
envious of each other because they are two different sides of the same
coin. While the Thing is idolized by millions, the Hulk is a tortured
loner. Thing has the friendship and respect of his peers, the Hulk is feared throughout
the world. Thing has self-esteem problems looking the way he does, the
Hulk revels in his size and power. Thing wants to be normal but cannot
change back into his human form of Ben Grimm, the Hulk has to
reluctantly change back into Bruce Banner against his will.
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| The Hulk and the Thing have such great chemistry together that regardless if they are fighting or talking, it's always fun. |
Their characteristics mesh together so well that it's pure comic gold, readers couldn't help but be intrigued by the magic of it. And both brutes
share a common bond in their love
for a good old fashion scrap, so it's action, action, action that laid
the foundation of what made the Silver Age of Comics great. They were the first "super-powered" combatants to use the entire city
as their playground. Other comics had big fights, but never in the way
the Hulk and Thing did it. When these two clashed, it was always
something special. Plus, it showed the heart and will of a champion in
the Thing. He had to use his speed, fighting and wit advantage to
contend with the ever-powerful Hulk. Sure, it was a losing battle, but
regardless of their differences in power-levels, Thing always gave the
Hulk a run for his money despite taking his lumps in the end. To him, it
was all about showing up and giving everything he's got. For this
reason alone, Thing is considered one of the most beloved and respected
heroes in the Marvel Universe.
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| The standard of a true Super-Heavyweight slugfest begins and ends with "Hulk vs Thing"! |
Today,
this titanic tussle is not as in-demand as it once was. All the
questions have been answered and the results will usually be the same;
the Thing takes another beating at the hands of the Hulk (unless some
writer comes up with a crafty way to help him out). But whenever the
Hulk and the Thing get together and fight, team-up or just talk it out,
the intrigue is still relevant, fun and fresh. With "Hulk vs Thing"
known as the Marvel tradition, you can bet your Yancy Street Gang membership, that another punch up will be coming despite how many years pass before they meet again.
Enough with the background, let's get to the combatants...
TALE OF THE TAPE
Name: Hulk
Height: 5’9 ½” (Banner), 7’ (Hulk)
Weight: 128lbs (Banner), 1,040lbs (Hulk)
Real Name: Robert Bruce Banner
Origins: Gamma bomb explosion at Desert Base New Mexico
Home Base: Earth
Nicknames: Green
Goliath, Green-Skinned Goliath, Jade Jaws, Annihilator, Captain
Universe, Joe Fixit, Mr. Fixit, Mechano, Green Scar, Jade Giant, The
Jolly Green Giant, Green King, Holku, Green One, Eye of Rage, Eye of
Anger, Harkanon, Haarg, Once-Savage, Two Minds, Professor, War, Maestro,
Two-Hands, Greenskin, Gray Goliath, Mighty Bob, Anti-Hulk, Friday,
Green Golem, Golem, Man-Monster, World-Breaker, Sakaarson, Nul: Breaker
of Worlds, Doc Green, The Most Powerful Being on Earth, The Strongest One There Is
Powers: Possesses the potential for near-limitless levels of vast superhuman strength ranging beyond the limits of virtually any other known humanoid being, depending directly on his emotional state, particularly his anger. He is extremely resistant to physical damage, psychic assaults, temperature extremes, and is completely immune to disease and poisons. He has an adapt gland that enables him to breathe underwater, survive unprotected in space, and when injured, possesses superhuman healing, enabling him to regenerate body tissue (including internal organs) within minutes to seconds. His aging is also slowed, or may have ceased altogether, due to these regenerative properties of his gamma ray irradiated cells. His powerful legs allow him to cover 3 miles in a single bound, but he has been known to leap into lower Earth orbit or even across continents when angry. Besides great strength, his durability, healing, endurance, and possibly speed, likewise also increase in relation to his anger levels. He can maintain this peak output for hours on end and still continue to grow even more powerful as his adrenaline levels continue to increase with no apparent limit. Unrelated to his physical abilities, he can see astral (spirit) forms normally invisible to the naked eye and can locate his place of birth; Desert Base New Mexico no matter where he is in the world via psychic bond. As Bruce Banner, he is considered one of the greatest minds on Earth. He is the foremost expert on Gamma Radiation and has developed expertise in the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Physiology, and has a PhD in Nuclear Physics.
Powers: Possesses the potential for near-limitless levels of vast superhuman strength ranging beyond the limits of virtually any other known humanoid being, depending directly on his emotional state, particularly his anger. He is extremely resistant to physical damage, psychic assaults, temperature extremes, and is completely immune to disease and poisons. He has an adapt gland that enables him to breathe underwater, survive unprotected in space, and when injured, possesses superhuman healing, enabling him to regenerate body tissue (including internal organs) within minutes to seconds. His aging is also slowed, or may have ceased altogether, due to these regenerative properties of his gamma ray irradiated cells. His powerful legs allow him to cover 3 miles in a single bound, but he has been known to leap into lower Earth orbit or even across continents when angry. Besides great strength, his durability, healing, endurance, and possibly speed, likewise also increase in relation to his anger levels. He can maintain this peak output for hours on end and still continue to grow even more powerful as his adrenaline levels continue to increase with no apparent limit. Unrelated to his physical abilities, he can see astral (spirit) forms normally invisible to the naked eye and can locate his place of birth; Desert Base New Mexico no matter where he is in the world via psychic bond. As Bruce Banner, he is considered one of the greatest minds on Earth. He is the foremost expert on Gamma Radiation and has developed expertise in the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Physiology, and has a PhD in Nuclear Physics.
Favorite Expressions: “Hulk Smash!”, “Hulk is the Strongest One There is!”, "BAH!", “Nothing Can Stop Hulk!”, "The Madder Hulk gets, the Stronger Hulk gets!", “Don’t make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I’m angry.”
Incarnations: I
listed the “Savage” Hulk’s classic stats up above because it is generally
considered that this Hulk persona is the most popular and most powerful
of all the incarnations. But his height, weight and powers varies to a degree depending on his current incarnation. Within each
“Hulk vs Thing” comic description listed in the sections below, I
included which incarnation of the Hulk was present for that fight.
*Please note that all incarnations listed are only "real" Hulk incarnations with Bruce Banner. No alternate future or pseudo-Hulk incarnations are included.
*Please note that all incarnations listed are only "real" Hulk incarnations with Bruce Banner. No alternate future or pseudo-Hulk incarnations are included.
Name: Thing
Height: 6'
Weight: 500lbs
Real Name: Benjamin Jacob Grimm
Origins: Space, exposed to cosmic rays
Home Base: Baxter Building, Manhattan, New York
Nicknames: Ever-Lovin'-Blue-Eyed-Thing,
Bashful Benjy, Uncle Benjy, Idol of Millions (self-proclaimed), Grim
Ben, Dr. Josiah Verpoorteen, Blackbeard the Pirate, El Morrito, Aunt
Petunia's Favorite Nephew, Angrir: Breaker of Souls
Powers: Superhuman strength, durability and stamina. Possesses sensory adaptation; though his senses aren't super-humanly acute,
his five senses can withstand greater amounts of sensory stimuli than
he could when he was a normal human being, with no reduced sensitivity.
While in his rock form he does not age and is virtually immortal, he
only ages in his human form. He is a well-trained astronaut that is an
exceptionally skilled and expert pilot, proficient with many varieties
of both conventional and exotic aircraft. He is uniquely gifted in
hand-to-hand combat with a rather loose fighting style incorporated with elements of boxing, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, street-fighting and military combat training. He is also an exceptional athlete and football player.
Favorite Expressions: "It's Clobberin' Time!", "Whatta Revoltin' Development This Is!"
THE SLUGFESTS
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The comics listed in this section are each time the "REAL" Hulk and Thing have squared off, had words and fought each other in actual official Marvel
continuity. I will also explain each encounter in detail. Unfortunately, all fights
and situations are not always so clear cut and I've tried my very best
to be fair, objective and unbiased about the outcome of each battle. A "MATCH UP" is considered a round within a fight or face off confrontation. Since situations can be erratic in the story, there can be multiple outcomes between opponents in a fight. I will continually list each "MATCH UP" with a result and tally it. A "MATCH UP" will only result in a "WIN" if the losing character is
rendered unconscious, teleported away against their will or immobilized
in such a fashion that they are only freed by the other combatant or an
ally. There may even be cases when a character gets a victory due
to interference of their teammates, partners, etc. This may not be a
definitive "WIN" but it will still be tallied against the losing
opponent and explained so. When a character gets an "EDGE" result, they
had the advantage at the end of the fight but the opponent may still
be conscious or fighting on, so it will not be tallied against him. A "DRAW" result means no one was victorious during that encounter. A "NONE" result means there was no way a logical result could be given in that
confrontation or situation from the two characters facing off and this can occur for a number of reasons and will be explained in the
text. And finally, an "UNKNOWN" result means the ending of the fight was never shown so a definitive result cannot be given. At
the end, I tallied up the totals so you can come to your own
conclusions and be the judge to see who holds the overall edge in this
legendary battle.
Although
readers went into a frenzy requesting that the Hulk and Thing slug it
out, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby came up short in their first response to
reader demand. This issue remains an absolute classic because it
represents the very first time both man-monsters meet up and begins
their historic rivalry. But it's a little disappointing that the fight
itself didn't live up to the hype as it was short-lived and uneventful.
When
the "Gravage" Hulk meets up with the Thing and the rest of the
Fantastic Four in the underground catacombs beneath the desert testing
area, the Hulk will surprise Thing and punch him down. While the Hulk
makes his way out of the caverns, he separates the team. But the
Fantastic Four will make it to the surface and regroup. While the Hulk
engages them again, he takes out Sue, Johnny and Reed with a
thunderclap. Now the Thing comes in and attacks with a haymaker that
floors the Green Goliath. The Hulk instantly recovers and they lock up
until the Hulk is knocked unconscious by Karl Korts ray that blasts him
in the back of the head. RESULT: DRAW
How
did Stan Lee and Jack Kirby make up for the uneventful previous fight
between the Hulk and the Thing that was in such high demand? By creating
a fight so majestic that it simply exploded into the consciousness of
American culture. Jack Kirby can now officially be crowned "THE KING OF COMICS" because this
is the issue that set the standard of what a superhero slugfest is in
comics, cartoons, animated features, movies, everything!!! He took
his dynamic storytelling to a whole new realm of artistic glory as no
fight was ever so grand, so epic, and so influential. It was a total
game-changer from a storytelling perspective. The sense of wonderment
that a reader felt taking this all in is something that can never be
replicated again. With Stan Lee's brilliant script and dialogue, it
represents heroic drama on a level very few comics have ever achieved. Fantastic Four #25
still stands as one of the most classic and iconic issues during
Marvel's Silver Age. There can be no doubt, when someone thinks of "Hulk
vs Thing", this is usually the issue and fight they are thinking of.
This was billed by Lee as "The Battle of the Century!" and he was right.
With
the "Gravage" Hulk coming to New York to find and smash the Avengers,
he is confronted by the Human Torch and the Invisible Girl. After making
short work of them, the Thing steps up and takes on the Jade Giant in a
battle royal that raged all over the city and shook it to its very
core. But in the end, the Hulk's ever-increasing power was too much for
the exhausted Thing as he is pounded into submission. After the Hulk
runs off to continue his search for the Avengers, Thing crawls back to
his feet and will continue his pursuit of the Green Goliath. RESULT: WIN HULK
So
how did Stan Lee and Jack Kirby follow up the biggest fight in comics
history? They threw in the Avengers and let the battle become even
bigger! Fantastic Four #26 concludes the epic two-part saga of
the Hulk fighting the Thing (as well as everyone else). This issue will
solidify the Hulk as the first and definitive "team-buster" of the Marvel Universe. This is more absolute greatness that made the Marvel Silver Age the greatest era ever in comics!
The
Thing returns to fight the "Gravage" Hulk again and manages to rest up a
little while punching it out with the brute. A hospitalized Johnny
Storm will now show up and help out his Fantastic Four teammate. But the
Hulk will slam two concrete chunks together causing and shock wave that
sends the two heroes flying. This stuns them long enough for the Hulk
to escape them and continue his search for the Avengers. RESULT: EDGE HULK (While Thing was momentarily stunned by this attack, he was quickly back on his feet looking for the Hulk.)
While
the Hulk arrives at Tony Stark's mansion, the Avengers are waiting for
the brute. As the Hulk grabs Rick Jones (who the Hulk think abandoned
him for Captain America) a wild fight breaks out. Soon the Thing and the
rest of the Fantastic Four join the fight to stop the Hulk. But all the
heroes get in each others way as the Hulk manages to escape them with
Rick. RESULT: DRAW
The
Hulk leaps on top of an unfinished building with Rick Jones as all the
other heroes are in pursuit of the brute. As the Hulk battles the swarms
of heroes, the Thing finally is able to go one-on-one again with him
(and he's excited because he knows the television cameras are filming
this battle). Both behemoths brawl off the girders with the Thing
unfortunately landing in a vat of quick-drying cement. Just before the
Hulk was about to pounce on the cement covered Thing, more heroes step
in and help him out. RESULT: EDGE HULK (Thing got lucky in this one
because he was at a bad disadvantage being covered in the wet cement. In
the end, Rick Jones was rescued, the Hulk escaped and the Avengers and
Fantastic Four became eternal allies.)
This
Hulk and Thing match up is a little tough to call because the Army is
watching file footage on a "Hulk vs Thing" fight. The "Savage" Hulk is
shown and said to be getting the better of the Thing in the punch up
they are viewing. It could well just be film from their previous
encounter in Fantastic Four #25 and 26, but it is never stated in
the panel. I had to list it as a match up because it could well be a
fight they had after that encounter but was never recorded. RESULT:
UNKNOWN (If this is a new fight, there is no way I could give a
definitive result because even though the Hulk was beating up the Thing
in the footage, there is no telling of how the end of it played out.)
While
walking, Bruce Banner finds a newspaper page where the Fantastic Four
announce that they have discovered a cure for the Hulk. Excited, Bruce
is able to sneak in a train to New York and heads towards the Baxter
Building. During the trip, he writes some formulas that would aid Reed
Richards into obtaining a definitive cure. He places the notes inside a
bag that ties to his waist. But when Bruce reaches the Fantastic Four's
headquarters, the policeman guarding the elevator doors treats him
rudely. Banner's excitement turns him into the "Savage" Hulk. The green
giant recognizes the building and climbs up the elevator hole towards
the last floor. Informed about the Hulk's presence, the Thing takes the
elevator down to meet his sparring partner. But the Hulk hits the
elevator hard, throwing it (with Ben Grimm too) through the terrace and
out to the sky. RESULT: NONE
When the Hulk reaches the FF's floor, the Human Torch and Reed Richards try to stop the green goliath from reaching the labs, where a cure for Banner may be waiting. During the fight, Sue Richards notices a bag dropping from the Hulk, grabs it and finds inside of it the formula notes that Bruce wrote while on the train. She lends Banner's notes to her husband, who reads them and enters the lab. The Thing makes his come back in time to face the Hulk. Though the Hulk proves to be stronger than the Thing, Grimm proves to be the smarter one by avoiding a charging Hulk and lets the green brute crush through the building wall. The Hulk falls to the street below, but the impact only slows him down, giving Mr.Fantastic enough time to nourish his sonic weapon with Banner's formulas. The shot is effective and the Hulk is knocked out. RESULT: WIN THING (This is by no means a legit "win" for the Thing as he had the help of the Fantastic Four in this fight and it was Reed's attack with the sonic ray that actually knocked the Hulk out.)
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 7 HULK: 1 - THING: 0
When the Hulk reaches the FF's floor, the Human Torch and Reed Richards try to stop the green goliath from reaching the labs, where a cure for Banner may be waiting. During the fight, Sue Richards notices a bag dropping from the Hulk, grabs it and finds inside of it the formula notes that Bruce wrote while on the train. She lends Banner's notes to her husband, who reads them and enters the lab. The Thing makes his come back in time to face the Hulk. Though the Hulk proves to be stronger than the Thing, Grimm proves to be the smarter one by avoiding a charging Hulk and lets the green brute crush through the building wall. The Hulk falls to the street below, but the impact only slows him down, giving Mr.Fantastic enough time to nourish his sonic weapon with Banner's formulas. The shot is effective and the Hulk is knocked out. RESULT: WIN THING (This is by no means a legit "win" for the Thing as he had the help of the Fantastic Four in this fight and it was Reed's attack with the sonic ray that actually knocked the Hulk out.)
With
the unconscious "Savage" Hulk hooked up to some of Reed Richard's
machines and with the help of Bruce Banner's notes, Reed breaks down the
Hulk's molecules to their atoms. Now Bruce Banner emerges and can
suddenly control his transformations. When Bruce changes into the Hulk,
Thing stands ready to fight him. But with Banner's mind now in control
of the "Savage" Hulk's body, there is no more need for fighting. RESULT: NONE
Another
absolute classic "Hulk vs Thing" fight that only strengthened its
legend into the imagination of readers and into the Marvel-mythos. If Fantastic Four #25
is the definitive "Hulk vs Thing" brawl, this fight
is definitely considered a close second. It's simply another masterpiece
that is always in the conversation when talking about one of the
greatest slugfests ever. Thanks to Stan Lee's masterful script
and dialogue (once again) and the immaculate art of John Buscema with
Joe Sinnott inks. Not many comics can touch the sheer brilliance of this
issue.
With
the Thing running amok in New York, the "Savage" Hulk sees him and
attacks! They brawl all over the city until the NYPD starts opening fire
on them. The Hulk will leap away on a rooftop where he can wait for the
Thing to follow him. RESULT: DRAW
The
Thing meets up with the Hulk on the rooftop once he takes care of the
police. And once again the two behemoths engage in another slugfest all
over the city causing some major property damage. It finally ends when
Grimm's girlfriend, Alicia Masters tries to come to his aide but gets
hit on the head by some flying debris and calls out to him. This will
make Ben unexpectedly turn around and drop his guard. But with the Hulk
still attacking, he knocks out the distracted Thing! RESULT: WIN HULK
As
the "Savage" Hulk breaks free from the court house (where he must stand
trail for all his crimes against humanity), he is confronted by the
Fantastic Four. The Hulk and Thing begin to scrap and then Daredevil
arrives (Matt Murdock is the Hulk's lawyer in this) to help stop the
Jade Giant's rampage. Eventually, the Hulk will easily take Daredevil
out of the fight and lock up with the Thing again. Reed Richards will
now fire his Nega-Gamma Ray Gun at the Hulk's back and knock the brute
out. RESULT: WIN THING (While Thing fought the Hulk with the help of
his teammates and Daredevil to a standstill, it was the Nega-Gamma Ray
Gun that put the brute down. This is not a legit "win" for the Thing,
but he was part of the overall plan that succeeded in momentarily
stopping the Hulk so he could stand trial.)
Another
absolute classic Hulk and Thing punch up for the ages! This battle
ranks as another favorite among the all time great Marvel slugfests in
its history and just adds more intrigue and magic into the
already immortalized rivalry of "Hulk vs Thing"!
Thing
is chosen by the Leader to fight Kurrgo's champion, the "Savage" Hulk
to stop the Ultrex Bomb from exploding and destroying the world. Thing
just wants to find the bomb and get out of there before he has to
confront the Hulk. But the Green Goliath appears and attacks. In this
brawl, Thing feels stronger than ever and manages to hold his own with
the green brute better than his previous encounters. When Thing finally
finds the bomb, it turns out to be a fake. But before both brutes can
tangle again they are teleported to Kurrgo's ship by a tractor beam.
Thing finds out that Kurrgo and the Leader where using him and the Hulk
as pawns in a game and Kurrgo was cheating by secretly enhancing his
strength so he could defeat the Hulk. Finally both brutes defeat
Kurrgo's robot and destroy his ship in the process. RESULT: DRAW
The
"Savage" Hulk is bounding through New York, wondering why he came there
when he didn't really want to go. Falling asleep in an alley, the Hulk
changes back into Bruce Banner. When Banner awakens, he finds that he's
near the Baxter Building and decides to pay a visit to Reed Richards to
see if he can cure him of being the Hulk. When
Banner is admitted into the Baxter Building, the only FF member he
finds there is the Thing. While talking with Ben, he learns that Reed
has been developing a psi-amplifier device, and Bruce suddenly has an
inspiration of how to cure not only himself of ever turning into the
Hulk again, but also cure Ben of being the Thing as well. While
rigging Ben up to the machine, Bruce begins it's cycle when he suddenly
begins to change into the Hulk. The Hulk tries to smash the machine
which causes a large explosion.
Although the two power-houses survive the blast, it did have one unforeseen side-effect: The Thing and Hulk's minds have swapped bodies. This however, doesn't stop the Hulk from picking a fight with the Thing. As the other members of the FF rush to the Baxter Building, the brutes battle rages on where the Hulk dominates as Thing finds it hard to get used to the Hulk's bigger body. As their battle takes to the streets, they also run into Thundra, who also joins the fight. Unaware that the Thing and the Hulk have switched bodies, Thundra tries to help the "Thing" only to get clobbered for her trouble. The Thing and Hulk's fight takes them to a wrestling arena, where they duke it out in the ring. As the fight rages on, Reed deduces what has happened and finds a solution: Getting a large amount of tranquilizer, Reed injects it into the Hulk's body. This causes the Hulk to pass out and revert back into Bruce Banner, and it also reverses the mind swap. Ben's happy to be back in his body, however Thundra revives and returns the blow that the "Thing" delivered to her earlier before walking off. RESULT: DRAW
Although the two power-houses survive the blast, it did have one unforeseen side-effect: The Thing and Hulk's minds have swapped bodies. This however, doesn't stop the Hulk from picking a fight with the Thing. As the other members of the FF rush to the Baxter Building, the brutes battle rages on where the Hulk dominates as Thing finds it hard to get used to the Hulk's bigger body. As their battle takes to the streets, they also run into Thundra, who also joins the fight. Unaware that the Thing and the Hulk have switched bodies, Thundra tries to help the "Thing" only to get clobbered for her trouble. The Thing and Hulk's fight takes them to a wrestling arena, where they duke it out in the ring. As the fight rages on, Reed deduces what has happened and finds a solution: Getting a large amount of tranquilizer, Reed injects it into the Hulk's body. This causes the Hulk to pass out and revert back into Bruce Banner, and it also reverses the mind swap. Ben's happy to be back in his body, however Thundra revives and returns the blow that the "Thing" delivered to her earlier before walking off. RESULT: DRAW
FANTASTIC FOUR #166 (1976)
The
Fantastic Four have been called in by the military once more to provide
their scientific expertise in finding the means to cure the Hulk. As
the group are flying on a plane and discussing the ethics of hunting
the brute once more, the "Savage" Hulk jumps passed their plane,
accidentally smashing through one of it's wings and sending the plane
into a crash. The team will save the plane and all the passengers from
certain death. Soon they are picked up at the landing site by the Air
Force and taken to the military base where they are introduced to the
youthful and over eager Colonel Sellers.
The Thing doesn't take a liking to Sellers' attitude but before they can discuss anything further the FF are deployed when the military devices detect the gamma radiation emanating from the Hulk's body. The Fantastic Four are now rushed out in a military craft, but it is soon destroyed by the Hulk. The Human Torch will attack and blind the brute while the Reed uses his stretching powers to hold the him, Sue then places an invisible force field around the Hulk's head to cut him off from oxygen. Mr. Fantastic orders the Thing to knock the Hulk out, but Ben finds little pleasure in knocking out his long time rival in such a low down way. But he reluctantly does it. RESULT: WIN THING (Even though Thing knocked the Hulk out with a haymaker, it didn't happen without the aid of his teammates. Credit also goes to Ben for not enjoying this victory.)
The Thing doesn't take a liking to Sellers' attitude but before they can discuss anything further the FF are deployed when the military devices detect the gamma radiation emanating from the Hulk's body. The Fantastic Four are now rushed out in a military craft, but it is soon destroyed by the Hulk. The Human Torch will attack and blind the brute while the Reed uses his stretching powers to hold the him, Sue then places an invisible force field around the Hulk's head to cut him off from oxygen. Mr. Fantastic orders the Thing to knock the Hulk out, but Ben finds little pleasure in knocking out his long time rival in such a low down way. But he reluctantly does it. RESULT: WIN THING (Even though Thing knocked the Hulk out with a haymaker, it didn't happen without the aid of his teammates. Credit also goes to Ben for not enjoying this victory.)
FANTASTIC FOUR #167 (1976)
The
Fantastic Four and the military are shocked when in attempting to
change the "Savage" Hulk back into Bruce Banner, the Thing would free
him and then team up with him due to the inhuman treatment the Green
Goliath has received from the military. When the FF and the military try
to stop the two man-monsters from escaping, they easily smash through
them. Breaking into the hanger, they
smash all the planes except for the one -- which they escape in. As they
fly by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis Missouri, the Hulk confuses it for
his favorite sitting spot and demands that the Thing bring him there. Ben experiences a momentary dizziness and agrees to take them down.
Tracking the Hulk's gamma radiation emissions, with Colonel Sellers, Mr. Fantastic manages to convince him into letting the Fantastic Four go out and try to capture the Hulk and their errant teammate first and leave in another ship. When they are in the air, Reed tells the others that Thing's constant proximity to the Hulk for an extended period of time may have an effect on him due to the Hulk's gamma radiation and stresses that they need to get to Ben before it's too late.
They end up in St. Louis and they spot the Hulk and Ben on a rooftop. The Hulk is furious that they didn't land directly on the Gateway Arch (being unable to safely land on it escapes the Hulk's understanding) When the Hulk is about to toss a chunk of concrete on the military soldiers that have gathered below, the Thing realizes the folly of allying with the Hulk and smashes the chunk of concrete before the Hulk can throw it. Not understanding what happened, the Hulk jumps down to attack the soldiers directly. Ben decides to try to go down and stop the Hulk when he is struck by yet another dizzy spell. Before anything can happen the Hulk is distracted by Reed Richards who orders the Hulk to stand down and allow them to take him into custody and explains the danger Ben has being in prolonged proximity to the Hulk. This angers the Hulk into attacking them for trying to separate him from his new friend. This leads to a battle, the Thing and Hulk against the remaining members of the Fantastic Four. While the Human Torch tackles the Thing, he easily knocks out his young comrade sending him flying into Reed. With Reed stunned on the Gateway Arch, he becomes an easy target for the Hulk, but is saved from a thrashing by Sue's invisible force field.
Finally realizing the mistake he has made, Ben begins fighting the Hulk and in their battle realizes he's suddenly changing back into Ben Grimm. The Hulk will take Ben's moment of hesitation and punch him off the Arch that sends him falling to the ground. Now completely in human form he is in for a fatal fall until he is saved by the Human Torch. Witnessing his former friend changed back into human form, the Hulk realizes that the "puny humans" have made him alone again and bounds off to find solitude elsewhere. RESULT: WIN HULK (Thing handled himself quite well in this fight but gave the Hulk an opening when he began changing back into Ben Grimm. This may not be a definitive "win" for the Hulk but he still gets a victory nonetheless due to the circumstances.)
Tracking the Hulk's gamma radiation emissions, with Colonel Sellers, Mr. Fantastic manages to convince him into letting the Fantastic Four go out and try to capture the Hulk and their errant teammate first and leave in another ship. When they are in the air, Reed tells the others that Thing's constant proximity to the Hulk for an extended period of time may have an effect on him due to the Hulk's gamma radiation and stresses that they need to get to Ben before it's too late.
They end up in St. Louis and they spot the Hulk and Ben on a rooftop. The Hulk is furious that they didn't land directly on the Gateway Arch (being unable to safely land on it escapes the Hulk's understanding) When the Hulk is about to toss a chunk of concrete on the military soldiers that have gathered below, the Thing realizes the folly of allying with the Hulk and smashes the chunk of concrete before the Hulk can throw it. Not understanding what happened, the Hulk jumps down to attack the soldiers directly. Ben decides to try to go down and stop the Hulk when he is struck by yet another dizzy spell. Before anything can happen the Hulk is distracted by Reed Richards who orders the Hulk to stand down and allow them to take him into custody and explains the danger Ben has being in prolonged proximity to the Hulk. This angers the Hulk into attacking them for trying to separate him from his new friend. This leads to a battle, the Thing and Hulk against the remaining members of the Fantastic Four. While the Human Torch tackles the Thing, he easily knocks out his young comrade sending him flying into Reed. With Reed stunned on the Gateway Arch, he becomes an easy target for the Hulk, but is saved from a thrashing by Sue's invisible force field.
Finally realizing the mistake he has made, Ben begins fighting the Hulk and in their battle realizes he's suddenly changing back into Ben Grimm. The Hulk will take Ben's moment of hesitation and punch him off the Arch that sends him falling to the ground. Now completely in human form he is in for a fatal fall until he is saved by the Human Torch. Witnessing his former friend changed back into human form, the Hulk realizes that the "puny humans" have made him alone again and bounds off to find solitude elsewhere. RESULT: WIN HULK (Thing handled himself quite well in this fight but gave the Hulk an opening when he began changing back into Ben Grimm. This may not be a definitive "win" for the Hulk but he still gets a victory nonetheless due to the circumstances.)
Furious
that the Hulk has been given his own television series, the Thing
decides to go to Hollywood and try to talk the studio into making a show
based on him. Meanwhile elsewhere, Bruce Banner sees a television show
based on his alter ego and it causes him to change into the "Savage"
Hulk. Furious that there is a television show about him, the Hulk also
heads towards Hollywood as well. While
the Thing tries to talk to a studio executive about getting his own
show, the Hulk arrives and goes on a rampage attacking the Thing. After a
back and forth battle, the studio executive agrees to not make the Hulk
look stupid on television (satisfying the Hulk to leave) and agrees to
give the Thing his own show. However, Ben gets more than he bargains for
when he realizes that the program is called "Thing in the Family" and
turns out to be a poorly conceived sit-com. RESULT: DRAW
The
Stranger transports the "Savage" Hulk and the Thing to Hades, the
Olympian underworld where it's ruler, Pluto, has devised a device that
fires hellish energy into the heart of a black hole in the hopes of
destroying the universe so that he might rule over a universe of eternal
darkness. When the Hulk attempts to attack straight on, both the Thing
and Stranger try to get the green man-monster to exercise restraint and
form a strategy, which leads to the Hulk to get angry and attack Thing,
and forcing the Stranger to attack Pluto head on. During the fight Pluto
manages to overpower the Stranger, and unleashes a horde of demons on
both fighting brutes. Pluto then threatens to throw the Stranger's body
into the device (thereby speeding up it's process of destroying the
universe) however the Hulk becomes furious and uses his strength to
destroy the device itself, leaving the Thing to save the Stranger while
Pluto falls into the device of his own making. Pluto's spirit is fired
up into the black hole where it is seemingly destroyed, ending his
threat. RESULT: DRAW
THE INCREDIBLE HULK #278 (1982)
The
Hulk with the mind of Bruce Banner goes to Baxter Building to ask the
Fantastic Four help for a public acceptation. When Thing sees the Hulk
enter he attacks him but stops once Reed Richards realizes that Banner
now has control over the Hulk. The U.S. President (Ronald Reagan) agrees
to sign an Amnesty redacted by Matt Murdock against the opinion of
General Thaddeus Ross. Right then, Krylorian ship fakes, created by The
Leader, attack the White House. Hulk and the rest of the heroes who were
there supporting him, fight the ships and win. The Hulk is then taken
over Ben Grimm and Thor shoulders and honored as a hero. RESULT: NONE
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 19 HULK: 3 - THING: 3
Another
classic "Hulk vs Thing" brawl! This issue is another reason why this
rivalry is considered the greatest in Marvel history. Also, a nice touch
of class comes from the writer Jim Starlin when he dedicates this story
to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for beginning the original "Clash of the Titans" back in the 60's.
Dr. Strange, who is the prisoner of Xandu summons the Thing to help him. Reluctantly the Thing does and is able to free him after a battle with a bunch of demons. But Xandu has already escaped back to Earth with the Ruby of Domination. As Strange and Ben return to the Sanctum Sanctorum they go to the study where Thing must face Xandu's champion, who happens to be the "Savage" Hulk! Under Xandu's spell, the Hulk attacks the Thing and begins another slugfest! At first the spell that was influencing the Hulk made him unable to rage and get stronger so Thing dominated the fight. But when Xandu sees this he adjusted his spell and the Hulk was able to fight back in full fury. Now the Hulk will pound on the Thing who after a while quits the fight and runs off. But the Hulk will still chase him all over the city until finally Thing manages to returns to where Dr. Strange is and smashes the Ruby. With Xandru's power gone, Dr. Strange easily defeats him and then he will save Thing from the Hulk's continuous savage onslaught. Even though Dr. Strange is very tired, he sends the Hulk back to the Utah desert and Thing back to the Baxter Building (he also wants a hot bath and a brew waiting for him). But when we next see Thing we realize just how weakened Strange was because he is sitting on a rock in the Utah desert ticked off. RESULT: WIN HULK (Although the Hulk didn't knock the Thing out in this fight, he not only dominated it, he actually made the Thing quit. For that I had to tally it in the Hulk's favor. But credit still has to go out to the Thing who still managed to save Dr. Strange despite running from the Hulk and by using his head.)
Dr. Strange, who is the prisoner of Xandu summons the Thing to help him. Reluctantly the Thing does and is able to free him after a battle with a bunch of demons. But Xandu has already escaped back to Earth with the Ruby of Domination. As Strange and Ben return to the Sanctum Sanctorum they go to the study where Thing must face Xandu's champion, who happens to be the "Savage" Hulk! Under Xandu's spell, the Hulk attacks the Thing and begins another slugfest! At first the spell that was influencing the Hulk made him unable to rage and get stronger so Thing dominated the fight. But when Xandu sees this he adjusted his spell and the Hulk was able to fight back in full fury. Now the Hulk will pound on the Thing who after a while quits the fight and runs off. But the Hulk will still chase him all over the city until finally Thing manages to returns to where Dr. Strange is and smashes the Ruby. With Xandru's power gone, Dr. Strange easily defeats him and then he will save Thing from the Hulk's continuous savage onslaught. Even though Dr. Strange is very tired, he sends the Hulk back to the Utah desert and Thing back to the Baxter Building (he also wants a hot bath and a brew waiting for him). But when we next see Thing we realize just how weakened Strange was because he is sitting on a rock in the Utah desert ticked off. RESULT: WIN HULK (Although the Hulk didn't knock the Thing out in this fight, he not only dominated it, he actually made the Thing quit. For that I had to tally it in the Hulk's favor. But credit still has to go out to the Thing who still managed to save Dr. Strange despite running from the Hulk and by using his head.)
This
story represents just how fun both brutes can be when working together
for a common goal. It is another great story in the "Hulk vs Thing"
mythos that continually compels readers from all generations. Writer Jim
Starlin has to be given props for being able to write the dynamic of
Hulk and the Thing almost as good as Stan Lee himself.
The
Watcher assumes the role of narrator, and we learn that the Thing and
the "Savage" Hulk have been pulled to the planet of Matriculon by
Stamben Malelet, a local bureaucrat. He needs some people to deliver a
document to an important scientist from the clutches of a local
criminal, and those people need to be large, rugged, and not too smart.
So, he's chosen the two man-monsters. The
Thing and the Hulk materialize on Matriculon, and we're told the Hulk
is being bombarded with "positive cerebral ions" and will remain
relatively calm for the next day. The two are then offered, in effect,
two wishes if they'll retrieve the scientist. These wishes include the
possibility of both Ben and the Hulk being permanently restored
to their human forms. Ben eventually agrees, but the Hulk doesn't care.
Ben tells the Hulk he can promise him something if he helps a "good
time," and the Hulk agrees. The Thing and the Hulk managed to team up through this entire story without a punch thrown. But
after they complete their quest they are granted the two wishes. The
Thing thinks of all the myriad possibilities as the Hulk blurts out, “We
want food and want to go home!”. Thing is in utter shock as they are
teleported back to Earth. Now the Hulk is enjoying his prize when the
Thing gets furious that Hulk blew their golden opportunity. It ends with
the Thing holding a huge boulder over a happy (eating) Hulk and he's
ready for another scrap between them. RESULT: UNKNOWN (We never see what happens in this fight as the story concludes.)
Doctor Doom instigates a fight between the "Grey" Hulk and the new "Spiky"
Thing! The Hulk doesn't care about Doom's warnings on how Thing is
stronger than ever in this new form. He boasts about Ben never being
able to beat him in a fight one-on-one and confidently attacks.
Throughout the fight Ben does not realize that he is actually battling
the Hulk. At one point in the battle, the Hulk locked his arms around
Ben, but unlike previous meetings, Ben had sufficient strength to break
the Hulk's hold. Ben ultimately was way too much for this weaker version
of the Hulk and as he was holding the Grey Brute for the final blow,
Dr. Doom's green-skinned Hulk robot arrives and saves him. RESULT: WIN
THING (Although Thing had enhanced power in this fight, he never landed
the final blow on the Hulk to knock him out. But to his credit, he
totally pummeled the weaker Grey Goliath and the Hulk even states in the story that he was defeated by the Thing for the very first time one-on-one.
Some Hulk fans might discredit this, but for me, it was total
domination by the "Spiky" Thing and he gets a definitive "win" result.)
The
Thing and the "Grey" Hulk have been duking it out all over New York
City. And for the first time, Thing has humbled the Hulk one-on-one. But
Thing is also unaware that this grey-skinned brute he beat up was the
real Hulk. When he now comes face-to-face with the green-skinned
"Savage" Hulk (who is really Dr. Dooms robot). The Thing eagerly faces
off with him because now that his strength has increased, he has been
wanting to brawl with the Hulk for quite some time. The diversion allows
the real Hulk to collect himself. Dr. Doom explains to the him that the
Hulk he sees is actually a robot of unknown origins which he salvaged
after the Eternals defeated it. Dr. Doom apologizes for having
miscalculated that, in his current incarnation, the "Grey" Hulk would
never be able to increase his strength to the level needed to fight this
new "Spiky" Thing before he got defeated. This only angers the Hulk who
wants to try again. By this time, the Thing has discovered the green
Hulk's true nature and has ripped it apart. The real Hulk changes his
strategy on his second go-round with the Thing. He uses guerrilla style
tactics, hiding and attacking then escaping to hide again. The Thing,
while stronger doesn't have the endurance or the speed to keep up. The
Hulk uses this pattern to eventually wear him down. The Thing only
discovers who his enemy really is just before the Hulk delivers the
knock-out punch. Dr. Doom, impressed with the Hulk's performance, bids
farewell with the promise to call on the Hulk for assistance when he
retakes Latveria. RESULT: WIN HULK
Another
great issue within the "Hulk vs Thing" mythos due to a
conversation between the Hulk and Ben Grimm. After reading this, you get
to understand the relationship between these two brutes better and how
they relate to each other.
At
the Phoenix Science Convocation, Reed Richards is being introduced.
Reed gets up and says that he would like to address how they can
maintain an active interest in space beyond that of floating weaponry.
Ms. Marvel, in her Thing-like form, tells Ben Grimm, now in human form,
to stop griping. Suddenly there is a crash and the "Grey" Hulk lands in
the middle of the hall. He says that he is looking for someone. Ms.
Marvel says that it is the Hulk and that she has been dying for a piece
of him. The Hulk goes flying through the wall from a Ms. Marvel punch
and the fight starts! Ben Grimm watches on ashamed that he has to have Ms. Marvel defending his honor. The
Hulk really doesn't want to fight Mrs. Marvel but she keeps attacking.
Ben Grimm eventually leaps onto Hulk’s back. Then Ms. Marvel lifts the
Hulk over her head and Hulk says, “I wouldn’t if I were you. Ben Grimm’s
on my back.” Ms. Marvel doesn't believe him and tosses the Hulk and
Grimm away. Reed manages to stretch out and cushion Ben and Hulk’s
impact, but knocks himself out in the process. As the Hulk
holds Reed’s rubbery neck up and he's now upset because Reed is the one
he wants to see. He gets mad and really takes it to Mrs. Marvel
pounding on her, but then he is stricken with a heart attack and cramps
over. Ms. Marvel will take this opportunity to hit the Hulk in the back
of the head and knock him out. She says that she did it and that she
never thought that she could. Reed says that he doesn't think she did.
He says that he thinks that something was wrong with the Hulk and that
he needs their help. RESULT: NONE (Although Grimm made an
attack in his human form, he really was never involved in the fight
between the Hulk and Mrs. Marvel.)
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 24 HULK: 5 - THING: 4
The "Professor" Hulk tells Thing that this is his last chance to back out. Thing says that he wouldn’t miss this for the world. A
targeting site spots the “Last Chance Bar." The villains say that this
is their one chance to get rid of them, and that they will never be able
to stand up to all of them. Hulk
and Thing start an arm wrestling match. Suddenly, Tyrannus, Absorbing
Man, Quasimodo, Blastaar, Mole Man, and Rhino charge into the place.
They all attack the two brutes full force but they don't even notice
the villains are there. Fixer
and Mentallo watch from an aircraft above. Fixer says that he has seen
their kind defeated and frustrated, but never ignored. He says that this
is embarrassing as Mentallo agrees and orders the forces to pull out.
Mentallo activates phase two and drops a bomb. The Last Chance Bar
explodes. Thing and Hulk still sit at the table arm wrestling. The table
collapses and they fall down. Hulk asks Thing if he wants to try again
next week at the usual time. Thing says, “You betcha!” They walk away. RESULT: NONE
The
Thing and the "Professor" Hulk start getting on each others nerves
and predictably they want to fight it out. But Speedball comes up with
another idea to settle their feud -- table hockey! Although the Thing was
up by two goals on the Hulk, we never see what the final score is. RESULT: NONE
Tight
quarters with the Thing and the "Professor" Hulk in it is like walking
on a land mind, something is bound to blow. Both brutes start having
words with each other but now it's Sue Richards who attacks the Hulk and
knocks him down with an invisible force bubble. As the Hulk rises, he's
impressed by her. RESULT: NONE
FANTASTIC FOUR #374 (1993)
The
Human Torch lost control and went nova at Empire University. The
replacement Fantastic Four of Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Spider-man and the
"Professor" Hulk (billed as the Secret Defenders) teams up to oppose
the regular Fantastic Four. Hulk says that he knows what it’s like to
mindlessly destroy and wants to stop Torch from following in his
footsteps. The two brutes have a short scrap with the Hulk smacking
Thing a good shot, but Thing actually is hurt more when Wolverine claws
his face disfiguring him. All the fighting stops when Thing and his
teammates get teleported away. RESULT: DRAW
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 28 HULK: 5 - THING: 4
The
"Professor" Hulk and the Thing have a virtual fight for charity. But
Thing doesn't know when to quit and the Hulk just basically manhandles
him to show Ben who's really at the top of the food chain. Sue Richards
gets angry about how the Hulk humiliates Thing in front of the crowd but
Thing tells her to let him be. RESULT: EDGE HULK (While this wasn't really a slugfest, the Hulk does show Thing who is truly the stronger man-monster.)
Hulk
and Thing are forced to fight by the Mole Man (who had Atalanta, Sue
and Torch captive). Mole Man needs Hulk or Thing to kill the other so
that he can siphon the energy to restore his Kala to her normal
beautiful self. Thing and Hulk both get the idea to try and overload the
field they fight in. They succeed. RESULT: NONE (This has to be a
listed as such because the Hulk and Thing had a mock fight
here and never really went at it.)
When
the Silver Surfer and the Fantastic Four run into the "Professor"
Hulk, it takes all the team has to hold the Thing back from fighting
with him. After they calm Thing down, they learn that the Hulk has come
here for the same reasons they did. So they all continue together
towards a disturbance. They
eventually find the source of the disturbance, which has seemingly
drawn them to it and disappeared. In the center of a lake of fire, the
Surfer finds out that Nova has returned to life. RESULT: NONE
Dr. Strange in his
astral form goes into the Heroes Reborn Universe and meets the "Heroes
Reborn" Hulk who can see him. The Hulk raises his fists to smash
Strange, but a long rubbery arm pulls him out of the way, it's the
Fantastic Four! Reed tells Thing to wait and that they must act as a
team before they engage the brute. But Thing wants to fight and attacks
the Hulk. RESULT: UNKNOWN (The ending of this fight is never seen)
Tony
Stark and the Fantastic Four are at the Baxter Building trying to
comprehend the transformations of Leonard Samson and Jennifer Walters
into gamma irradiated mutates thanks to blood transfusions from the
"Heroes Reborn" Hulk. Thing's flirtations with She-Hulk leads to a brief
scuffle between him and the green brute. It gets broken up by the Invisible
Woman who puts the two brutes in separate force-fields. RESULT: DRAW
 |
| (This issue has two variant covers) |
The
“Heroes Reborn” Hulk is seen locked in combat with Thing and the Thor!
The fight seems to be brutal as Thor and Thing talk about how hard it is
to be slugging it out with the Green Goliath. This is a tough scrap to
judge because only a panel is shown of the fight. Later we learn
that the Hulk got away when Thing is talking about the incident to the
Fantastic Four, but the reader never actually sees it. RESULT:
UNKNOWN (This fight could well be listed as a “draw” but since the
ending of the fight is never seen it is impossible to judge.)
An untold tale from the past. Thunderbolt
Ross asks the Fantastic Four to find and capture the "Savage" Hulk.
Reed adds a gamma tracker to the Fantasticar and the quartet departs to
find the brute. When they confront the Hulk, the fight is on! The Hulk
will make short work of Reed, Sue and Johnny but then he is faced by the
Thing. They brawl it out, but Thing stops fighting when he realized
that the Hulk thought he hated him. Then the Hulk gets angry and
thrashes Thing. As the brute leaps off, Grimm feels guilty. RESULT: WIN HULK
Requested by SHIELD, the Thing is sent to capture the "Savage" Hulk for all the deaths he's accused of causing. Ben manages to find the brute and is quickly attacked. They brawl it out until the Hulk knocks Ben miles away after hitting him with a tree and then decides to take off with his newly found friend Archie Leopold. RESULT: DRAW
But as the Hulk's arch-enemy Tyrannus is currently controlling him, the Hulk returns to fight the Thing. After another exchange between the two man-monsters, the Hulk recovers his own control and leaves the battle. When the surprised Thing tries to grab him from behind, Leopold uses Ben's teleportation device and sends him back to SHIELD. RESULT: DRAW
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 36 HULK: 6 - THING: 4
But as the Hulk's arch-enemy Tyrannus is currently controlling him, the Hulk returns to fight the Thing. After another exchange between the two man-monsters, the Hulk recovers his own control and leaves the battle. When the surprised Thing tries to grab him from behind, Leopold uses Ben's teleportation device and sends him back to SHIELD. RESULT: DRAW
Another untold tale from the past. As
the Fantastic Four come to grips with the fact that they're being
manipulated by Dr. Doom, the "Savage" Hulk goes on a riotous rampage,
setting the stage for another clash between ol' Jade Jaws and the
ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing! This fight will get interrupted when
Doom's device shoots a beam that makes the Hulk change back into Bruce
Banner. But before the change was even complete, the Thing lands his
"Sunday Punch!" that drops the brute. In the end, even Ben knew
something had to stagger the Hulk before his punch landed. RESULT:
WIN THING (This is not a definitive "win" for the Thing as Dr. Doom's
device stunned the Hulk during their exchange and changed him back to
Banner thus leaving him wide open for Ben's haymaker.)
The
"Professor" Hulk sits inside the Baxter Building while Thing is trying
to read the newspaper. Ben has to stop and ask the Hulk what he is
gawking at. The Hulk says that it has been a while and asks Thing how he
has been. Thing then asks if they couldn’t just beat the tar out of
each other. Hulk says that it would be more like me beating the tar out
of you. Thing asks if that is a fact and the Hulk says that it is.
She-Hulk tells them both to shut up as she and Angela Lipscome are
trying to hold an actual conversation. She-Hulk also says that if they
don’t quiet down she is gonna beat the tar out of both of them. RESULT: NONE
The
Order (consisting of the "Professor" Hulk, Namor, Dr. Strange and the
Silver Surfer) are all under the influence of Yandroth, where they want
to make the world a better place -- because they have the power to do it!
Obviously, Thing and other heroes of the world would never allow this to
happen as they engage the Order in a battle for the ages. Eventually,
the fighting stops once the Order are all free from Yandroth's power. RESULT: DRAW
Thing
comes into a cafe in the middle of the desert looking for the "Zen
Banner" Hulk. When he sees Bruce Banner he'll smack him so Bruce changes
into the Hulk. As the Hulk rises, he sits down next to Thing at the bar
and they have a conversation. RESULT: NONE
After
a meaningless conversation that angers the Hulk, he grabs Thing by the
face and then smacks him in the back of the head. But both brutes will
sit back down at the bar and continue their conversation. RESULT: NONE
After
more talk, the Hulk relaxes and changes back into Bruce Banner. But the
Thing still wants to talk with only the Hulk so he will smack Bruce
again and sends him flying. The change occurs and the Hulk rises and
punches Thing through the wall where he lands in front of a little girl.
When her parents (especially her mother) sees the two brutes they
become terrified and beg for them to let them go. RESULT: NONE
The
Hulk changes back into Banner and the Thing leaves. Bruce will then go
looking for Grimm and when he finds him, Thing will smack Bruce to the
ground once again. Now the Hulk rises and is really angry (continuing
the fight into issue #2). The Hulk and Thing slug it out with the Hulk
getting the better of the fight. The Hulk stops and tells Thing despite
his claims that he beat the Hulk back in their first encounter (Fantastic Four #12), he is delusional. The Hulk will now fix the wall and air conditioner that they just destroyed. RESULT:
EDGE HULK (This was their first real fight they had in this series. But
as the Hulk had Thing hurt in this exchange, he just turns and walks
away and fixes the damage they just made.)
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 44 HULK: 6 - THING: 5
As
the two brutes continue on with their conversation, Thing tells the
Hulk that he must be getting soft due to the fact that Banner has been
merging with his Hulk personality. This makes the Hulk angry as he
smashes the bar that they are sitting at. Surprisingly, they don't fight
and continue talking. RESULT: NONE
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 45 HULK: 6 - THING: 5
After Thing shows a picture to prove his point that he defeated the Hulk back from their first encounter (in Fantastic Four #12)
to the "Zen Banner" Hulk, he will start walking away. The Hulk will
rage and rams Thing's head through the ceiling of the cafe. They don't
fight and end up talking more about their first match up. RESULT: NONE
As
they continue to talk about their first battle, the Hulk once again
grabs Thing's neck and slams his head through a wall. Then he will try
twisting Thing's neck but Grimm gets out of it and throws the Hulk
through another wall. But they stop fighting to talk once again. RESULT: DRAW
After Thing tells the "Zen Banner" Hulk the story of how he defeated the Green Goliath in an unrecorded encounter after they met in Fantastic Four #12.
This fight doesn't seem legit in "Hulk vs Thing" history because Ben
was just trying to stall the Hulk until the Army came in to capture him. When the Army does attack and shoots at the Hulk, the brute will
rage and throw Thing into the incoming tanks. Thing returns and they go
back and forth destroying a bunch of Army equipment in the process. Soon
Thing is hit in the back by a rocket that was intended for the Hulk and
this gives the Green Goliath an advantage as he unmercifully stomps on
the hurt Thing and wants him to call him the strongest and best! Of
course, Thing refuses and taunts the Hulk by telling him that it was the
missile that hurt him and the Hulk could never beat him in a fair
fight. So the Hulk stops his assault and will let Thing heal up before
they fight again. The story ends with both brutes talking again among
the wreckage. RESULT: WIN HULK (This was not a definitive "win" for
the Hulk by any means because it was the rocket that hit Thing in the
back that hurt him and gave the Hulk the advantage.)
An
untold tale from the Thing and the Hulk's past. Thing will hit Bruce
Banner a few times to get him to change into the "Savage" Hulk so they
can fight a bunch of giant monsters that are attacking the city. When
the Hulk finally emerges, he eats and then teams up with Grimm to fight
them. RESULT: NONE
S.H.I.E.L.D.
has hired the "Gravage" Hulk (with gray skin) to deal their enemies,
HYDRA. But what the Hulk finds a ready-to-detonate gamma bomb. The bomb
goes boom, the Hulk disappears, and somehow, the Thing and the Human
Torch find themselves on the missing monster's trail, wondering whether
the bomb has forced an added metamorphosis upon Banner. They dodge
boulders and seismic activity that the Hulk
sets off and are soon confronted by the beast (match up continued into
issue #534). The Hulk basically pounds on both Thing and Torch while hallucinating about events in his past but stops once he begins seeing Jarella's death. He then leaps off towards Las Vegas. RESULT: DRAW
The
Hulk will now go to a hospital while hallucinating about his former
partner Jim Wilson. Thing and Torch attack the Hulk again trying to stop
his bizarre behavior. As they get the brute out of the hospital they
fight with him in the streets. Now the Hulk sees the Thing as the
Abomination who kills Betty from his poisoning of her blood and tries to
kill him (continuing the fight into issue #535). As Ben tries to get
the possessed Hulk to calm down, he gets clobbered. Johnny has to go
nova in his attempt to finally end the Hulk's rampage, the flame doesn't
do any damage to the Hulk but the burst does manage to make the Hulk
come back to his senses. RESULT: DRAW
With She-Hulk on trial for a crime, heroes are pulled out of time from her past to be witnesses and speak on her behalf. When the "Professor" Hulk steps up to speak, the Thing tries to stop him. Luckily, Mr. Fantastic stops Ben and lets the Hulk speak. RESULT: NONE
 |
| variant cover |
I should point out that World War Hulk: Front Line #2 shows this fight from a different perspective.
As the "World War" Hulk makes his way through the city and is decimating every hero that gets in his way, Thing knows it's up to him to take it to the Green Brute once again and stop him. As Grimm leaps into action, he engages the Hulk in a one-on-one punch up while everyone stands back to let them go at it. However, despite his courage and will, Thing gets clobbered and is saved by Reed Richards. RESULT: WIN HULK
As the "World War" Hulk makes his way through the city and is decimating every hero that gets in his way, Thing knows it's up to him to take it to the Green Brute once again and stop him. As Grimm leaps into action, he engages the Hulk in a one-on-one punch up while everyone stands back to let them go at it. However, despite his courage and will, Thing gets clobbered and is saved by Reed Richards. RESULT: WIN HULK
FANTASTIC FOUR #588 (2011)
With
Ben morning the death of Johnny Storm, he will take his frustrations
out by the only way he knows how, clobbering. Thing will meet up with
the "Savage" Hulk and Thor and begin throwing a bunch of punches at the
Hulk while he just stands there and takes them. As Thing falls to the
ground crying, the Hulk will console him showing that no matter how many
times they have fought, there is a mutual respect and kinship between
them (it is touching to also see Thor crying as he watches on and
sympathizes with the pain Grimm is feeling from the loss of his best
friend, Johnny). RESULT: NONE
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 54 HULK: 8 - THING: 5
THE INCREDIBLE HULK #12 (2012)
With
an insane Bruce Banner in the "Gravage" Hulk's head wanting the brute
to calm down and change back into him, the Hulk must stay angry. The Hulk
awakens to find himself trapped in a forgotten prison buried deep in
the Antarctic. With Thing and Wolverine making their way to the prison,
they go over and tease each other about their past history with the Hulk
and all the beatings each of them took from him. During this time, the
Hulk is injected by a serum from a device stuck on his back made by
Banner to weaken him. This causes the Hulk pain and makes him rampage
through the prison destroying everything in his path. When the Thing and
Wolverine show up -- the brawl begins! The two heroes put up a valiant
effort, but the constant injections that weaken the Hulk also make him
go crazy as he pounds on the both of them brutally (sticking Wolverine's
own claws through his skull and crushing some of Grimm's rock-skin to
dust). Eventually, the Hulk punches Thing through the prison ceiling and
out into the snow above walking off and then changing back into Banner.
When Thing and Wolverine come back to their senses, Banner is long
gone. Once again they tease each other about their constant defeats at
the hands of the Hulk. RESULT: WIN HULK
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| (This issue has two variant covers and one digital variant cover) |
DEADPOOL #27 (2014)
It gets pretty crazy at Deadpool's wedding (which is no surprise to anyone). But when things don't go the "Doc Green" Hulk's way during a card game, he gets angry and smashes the table knocking the Thing and others down. Predictably, the Thing starts throwing punches at the brute and they slug it out within the chaos. RESULT: UNKNOWN (The ending of this fight is never shown.)
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| (This issue has two variant covers) |
FANTASTIC FOUR #14 and 642 (2014/2015)
Sue Richards walks in on a battle royal between the Thing, Johnny Storm, Jim Hammond and others against the "Doc Green" Hulk, Namor, Sam Wilson and other heroes (fight continues into Fantastic Four #642). While the battle is fierce, both the Hulk and the Thing never encounter each other. The fighting stops when Sue grabs Valeria and can't believe she has returned. RESULT: NONE
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| (This issue has two variant covers) |
The
Thing, the "Doc Green" Hulk and other heroes battle it out with the
Avengers of the "Hero Reborn" Universe. Thing slugs it out with the
"Heroes Reborn" Hulk and eventually so does the "Doc Green" Hulk in this
free-for-all battle royal. This fight is a little confusing because
although the Thing is teaming up with the "Doc Green" Hulk, the "Heroes
Reborn" Hulk that they are both slugging it out with is a legitimate
Hulk incarnation as well. Did you get all that? Good. RESULT: UNKNOWN
(This fight had to be ruled thusly because we never see the end of it.
It could be arguably listed as a "draw" because a few panels later we
see the "Heroes Reborn" Hulk fighting against the "Doc Green" Hulk.)
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 58 HULK: 9 - THING: 5
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| (This issue has five variant covers) |
SECRET EMPIRE #6 (2017)
With Bruce Banner resurrected, Hydra Agent: Captain America tries to convince Banner to side with him. Banner says that he would never side with Hydra, but Cap tells him he wasn't talking to Banner. Soon Banner transforms into the Hulk (not sure which incarnation this is) and goes on a rampage attacking all the heroes. The Thing will tackle the brute but is quickly knocked unconscious after two punches. RESULT: WIN HULK
TALLY: MATCH UPS: 59 HULK: 10 - THING: 5
 |
(This issue has one variant cover) |
FANTASTIC FOUR #12 and 13 (2019)
Under the control of the Puppet Master, the "Immortal" Hulk attacks the Thing on a remote island where he and his wife Alicia are enjoying their honeymoon. The Thing notices that the Hulk is talking weird and is out to kill him. After being pummeled all over the island, the Thing is thrown into a mountain side near Alicia and falling rocks bury her. Thing begins to dig her out but the Hulk attacks again and smashes him from behind. Thing slowly rises and tells the Hulk he's got all day to fight him, but in reality Thing only has 52 minutes left before he turns back into Ben Grimm due to his annual transmutation (fight continues into issue #13). As they go back and fourth, Thing tries to convince the Puppet Master to release the green brute. But Puppet Master confirms that the Hulk is a willing participant and renews the brawl. Eventually, the Thing is punched away and begins to black out with 29 seconds left. Alicia comes up to the downed Thing and tells him although he's not as powerful as the Hulk, he always had more heart. Hurt and broken, Thing rises once again for her. As the Hulk charges in, Thing catches him with his greatest "Sunday Punch" ever and shatters his arm in the process as well as destroying the Puppet Master's clay puppet of the Hulk. When the dust clears, the Hulk falls unconscious and Thing changes back into Ben Grimm and passes out for a week. RESULT: WIN THING (At the end of the story Alicia tells Thing that he finally beat the Hulk "fair and square." But that might not be entirely true because even though the Hulk participated in the Puppet Master's mind-control, it's still a "question mark" on how it affected him. And when the Thing lands his final punch, we don't know how much of it was the actual punch or the psychic backlash of the control. Semantics aside, I still had to give the "win" to the Thing because he deserved it.)
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| (This issue has three variant covers) |
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| (This issue has one variant cover) |
THE IMMORTAL HULK #40 and 41 (2020)
When the "Immortal" Hulk falls from space and lands in the Coney Island Channel, he's met by the Thing who still has a grudge with the Hulk because he ruined the Thing's honeymoon from their last fight in Fantastic Four #12 and 13. This is unfortunate for the Hulk because he's currently in a weakened state, but the Thing doesn't care as he stands ready to duke it out (fight continues in issue #41). The fight is basically the Thing pounding this weaker child-like Hulk until the Hulk starts crying and reverts into Bruce Banner (in his Joe fixit personality) and Thing accidently hits him. After Banner/Fixit recovers, he tells the Thing that he was basically beating up a small child when he was hitting the Hulk. Thing feels bad and goes to a diner to with Banner/Fixit and they talk it out. RESULT: EDGE THING
OTHER ENCOUNTERS
The
Hulk and Thing have fought each other so many times as alternate
versions of themselves (robots, clones, zombies, etc.) that it's hard to
keep track. They have also fought more times in
non-cannon, parallel-earth and alternate future stories than just about
any other two heroes in the history of comics. Their fights have also
been parodied by other comic companies over and over. And if I had to
list all the times their legendary battles have been used as flashbacks
or referenced to in a story, I could be writing for years and never get
to them all. So what I listed here is just the best of the best "Hulk vs Thing" battles that occurred outside of actual Marvel continuity or emphasized their great dynamic together. While there are many comics that have them fighting each other on the covers and not in the actual story, those are not included and are irrelevant to this list.
FANTASTIC FOUR #5 (1962)
In
this issue (which introduces the dreaded Dr. Doom), Stan Lee and Jack
Kirby show a glimpse into what the fans have been clamoring for -- a "Hulk
vs Thing" match up! While Johnny Storm is reading a Hulk comic, he
begins to tease Ben about them looking like each other. Thing, of course
takes offense to it.
In
a back feature in this annual we learn about all the members of the
Fantastic Four. In the section about the Thing we learn how strong and
powerful he is. An image is shown of the "Gravage" Hulk being able to
leap further the Thing with his superior leg muscles. Also there is an
amazing pin up of the Hulk that talks about the fight both brutes had in
Fantastic Four #12 and how comic fans are waiting for their next match up.
"The Ever-lovin' Thung Vs. The Inedible Bulk!" The
Thung battles the Bulk when he suspects the Bulk of "tryin' to beat my
time" with his girlfriend, Anemia. This is a loose parody of Fantastic Four #25 and 26, though it also employs elements of the Thing's bout with the Silver Surfer from Fantastic Four #55
The
Avengers (including the "Gravage" Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Giant
Man and Wasp) from another dimension go on a tear through their Earth
defeating and pummeling all the heroes and villains on it. When the team
breaks into the Baxter Building, Thing gets knocked out by a haymaker
from the Hulk and a blow from Mjolnir at the same time!
A
parody story called "Superhero Daydreams!" which has heroes fighting
each other. Of course the Bulk will take a few swings at the Thung.
"IF"
tale of the "Savage" Hulk with Bruce Banner's brain becoming a hero in
the world. It would be the Thing who would soon become a rampaging beast
who the U.S. Army considers public enemy number one and goes in hot
pursuit of the brute.
"IF"
tale of the Avengers defeating everybody on Earth. The "Savage" Hulk
and the Avengers attack the Fantastic Four as the Hulk will pound on the
Thing.
In
this Bruce Banner nightmare, a raging "Savage" Hulk will hit the Thing
so hard that he literally explodes into a million pieces.
Bruce
Banner is unable to throw Rick Jones into the trench, but was able to
protect him with his own body from the gamma rays. This resulted in a
psyche link between the two. Banner will become the Hulk and Rick will
be treated for radiation poisoning. Thunderbolt Ross eventually
discovered the existence of the link between Jones and the Green Goliath
so he decided to give non-fatal electric shocks to the boy to inflict
pain and defeat the Hulk. The Hulk felt the unbearable pain and went to
destroy the army base. Soon Rick's condition got worse and he eventually
died causing the Hulk to go homicidal. Desperately, Ross summons the
Fantastic Four for help. But Jade Jaws kills the Thing and the Human
Torch. It will be Thor in the end that finally stops this crazed Hulk by
snapping his neck. To grant Bruce Banner a peaceful afterlife, Thor
takes Banner to Valhalla by summoning a thunderbolt shower to
disintegrate Banner's body. Ross and Talbot decide to turn themselves
into the authorities. This is easily one of the most hardcore “Hulk vs
Thing” stories ever.
The
Impossible Man and Warlock transform into many characters during their
mega-brawl! But when the Impossible Man becomes the Hulk, Warlock will
try and match him with the Thing. Now as both man-monsters, they slug it
out!
Glorian
will summon illusions to attack the "Grey" Hulk. There is a Thing
illusion among the other Hulk villains and rivals and they overwhelm and
pound on the brute.
An alternate world
tale that shows Namor as a member of the Fantastic Four (called the
Fantastic Five). With Namor and the Thing as the resident powerhouses
and being a formidable pair, a panel shows them teaming up and defeating
the "Savage" Hulk handily.
In the tradition of Not Brand Echh #5
almost 30 years later we see another parody of the legendary "Bulk vs
Thang" slugfest. This hilarious fight causes some major damage and ends
in a standstill.
A robot Hulk (among other robots of villains) fight with Thing and some of his allies, She-Hulk, Ant-Man and Nova.
The "Professor" Hulk will engage with Ulysses (who is simulated to look like the Thing) in a practice sword fight.
"IF"
tale of the "Professor" Hulk becoming the Maestro! The Hulk will battle
with the Fantastic Four, but it is Bruce Banner that gets killed by a
mistake made by the Thing.
In
this alternate future saga, Charles Xavier was murdered, so the X-Men
were never created, and without their struggle for peaceful coexistence
between humans and mutants everything went terribly wrong. So wrong that
there was no one to stop Apocalypse from seizing control of America and
create an eugenics-based empire. And now it's up to Magneto and a
ragtag assembly of mutants and heroes to fight back against their own
species in order to stop this madness once and for all. The "Grey" Hulk
who is on the side of Apocalypse battles it out with Ben Grimm and Sue
Richards.
Stories that include some of the Hulk's greatest rouges.
In this tale with the "Professor" Hulk standing trial, he gets attacked
by just about every enemy he's fought in the past. The Thing is among
the characters that attack and brawls with the Hulk.
In this alternate timeline story where Dr. Doom, Magneto,
two Ultrons, Namor, the "Grey" Hulk and the Red Skull infiltrate the
network of the city so that one of the Ultrons can link into the system,
ultimately giving them control of the cities' network. While
Ultron continues to adapt himself deeper into the network, the
Fantastic Four and the Avengers are called in to help fight them. The
Hulk and Namor will take on the Thing and the other heroes before they
are captured.
In
this Franklin Richard's dream, The "Professor" Hulk battles the Thing
and the Fantastic Four to a standstill. But later he will return to
battle the team again with a team of his own called the Law Enforcement
Squad!
Another
retelling of the "Savage" Hulk fighting with the Fantastic Four that
turns into another slugfest with the Thing told to a new generation of
readers.
Another
fun story of the "Savage" Hulk and the Thing going at it. This issue is
particularly better than most "Hulk vs Thing" out-of-continuity stories
(that are geared for new younger readers) because the relationship
and dialogue between the two brutes is done exceptionally well. An
entertaining slugfest with some good Hulk and Thing humor thrown into
the mix is always a good read.
The Hulk meets up with the Thing in Hollywood, California and attacks him because he wants to smash the "puny" humans who are making movies of him. After a back and forth fight, Thing begins to understand what's making the Hulk so angry. He then has a sit down with the green brute and explains to him how they are different from everybody but they have feelings too. This calms the Hulk down and he changes back to Bruce Banner.
With Thing trapped on an island by Arcade, he leads
a group of kidnapped millionaires in an attempt to free themselves.
Tony Stark (minus his Iron Man armor) is making a play for the villain’s
headquarters, while Nighthawk and the Constrictor help Ben out as they
fight off robots of different incarnations of the Hulk.
The
"Savage" Hulk and Power Pack have teamed-up to take down some of the
Hulk's greatest foes, but now they face their greatest opponents yet --
the mightiest heroes in the Marvel Universe! The Hulk begins to slug it
out with everybody including Thing in a battle royal! The only ones who
can hope to stop the destruction are Marvel's youngest heroes, Power
Pack! Soon Energizer is dropped on the Hulk by Lightspeed and she
absorbs his gamma-rays turning the Hulk back into Bruce Banner which
ends the fight. But now she turns into the Hulk and wants to smash
Banner! Energizer will then shoot a blast to the sky releasing the gamma
energy within her and turns back to normal.
MARVEL ADVENTURES: HULK #11 (2008)
Bruce
Banner goes to the Baxter Building looking for Reed Richards to help
him find a cure. He finds the Thing who leads him into Reed's lab.
Eventually a bunch of Doombots crash through the walls and attack. Due
to the stress, Banner will transform into the "Savage" Hulk and slug it
out with Thing (destroying a bunch of Doombots in the process). The Hulk
stops when he finds out Thing is his friend and they team up and
destroy the remaining Doombots. Dr. Doom will make an appearance, but
the two brutes will soon send the Lord of Latveria running off.
The
"Savage" Hulk is banished to an arena to fight the Champion of the
Universe. Jade Jaws is soon disqualified because he has no skill and is
kicked out of the arena. Then we see some of his next opponents who are
caged; Thing, Juggernaut and Doc Samson. They all are soon humbled by
the massive skill of the Cosmic Elder (Thing puts up a tremendous fight
but is eventually knocked out). Bruce Banner now wants to have a chance
against Champion because he fought the Hulk and not him. Champion laughs
but gives him a chance. As the square off, Rick Jones's pet monkey
removes Champion's Power Gem and gives it to Bruce who places it on his
forehead. When the Hulk rises he now has the ability to fight with Kung
Fu and uses it to make short work of Champion. Eventually Thing and the
others are freed and everyone goes back to Earth.
MARVEL ADVENTURES: HULK #13 (2008)
The
"Savage" Hulk and Rick Jones are confronted by heroes possessed by the
Living Pharaoh. A mummy Thing will attack Rick Jones with other mummified heroes. Eventually, the
Living Pharaoh is defeated and all the heroes return to normal.
An
accidental exposure to cosmic rays turns Reed Richards, Johnny and Sue
Storm, into the Terrific Three, the World’s Greatest Fighting Team!
Unfortunately, tragedy strikes when their close friend, Ben Grimm, is
bathed in gamma radiation due to a horrible mishap during a Gamma Bomb
test transforming Ben into the Incredible Hulk, the greatest threat
the world has ever known! With a mysterious villain messing with their
past, thing get crazy.
With
the "Savage" Hulk rampaging across the American Southwest, it will take
the combined might of just about every Marvel hero including Thing and
the U.S. Military to stop him. While the battle is intense with the
Thing and all of the heroes piling up on the Hulk, it's the Military
sharpshooters that finally take the Hulk out with Admantium tipped darts
that make him change back into Bruce Banner and sedate him.
THE SUPERHERO SQUAD SHOW #4 (2010)
Back up story with the Hulk having nightmares. When he wakes up he punches out the Thing who doesn't understand why. Hey, it's always that way between these two.
THE SUPERHERO SQUAD SHOW #9 (2010)
Back up story with the Hulk and the Thing have an eating contest in which the Hulk wins because he has the bigger burp at the end.
MARVEL ADVENTURES: SUPERHEROES: HULK / THE THING #11 (2011)
Another
out of continuity "Hulk vs Thing" brawl geared for the new younger
readers. The "Savage" Hulk will attack Thing and have a short scrap on a
rooftop. It stops when both man-monsters decide to talk it out.
AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES #4 (2012)
(This issue has forty variant covers)
(This issue has three variant covers)
While
the "Savage" Hulk, Thing, Thor and others are prisoner of the Cosmic
Elders, the Grandmaster and the Champion, the Hulk just wants to fight
the Thing. As the Hulk eventually escapes his prison, he attacks the
Thing and they brawl it out. When Champion sees this he tosses aside
Thor (who he is currently fighting) and tries to attack the Hulk. Thing
will now grab Champion and hold the Elder in front of him as the Hulk
charges and pounds on him to get to the Thing. Champion yields in defeat
and then the Hulk attacks the Thing once again.
FANTASTIC FOUR #609 (2012)
The
Fantastic Four meet up with the Defenders of the future! And of course,
when the Thing meets up with the future-Hulk sparks start to fly and
the Thing takes a beating. Whether in the past, present or future, the
Hulk and Thing love to slug it out with each other.
MARVEL SUPER HEROES MAGAZINE #21 (2013)
The Hulk and the Thing battle it out once again in this playful tale geared for readers 8 to 10. No matter what the age range, when these two brutes square off, it's always fun and interesting.
HULK #9 (2014)
After Kitty Pryde scrambled the "Doc Green" Hulk's brain and helps him think more clearly, he will have dreams of himself becoming the Maestro and killing all of Earth's heroes including the Thing. When the Hulk wakes up, he hopes that this dream won't become a reality.
(This issue has one variant cover)
FUTURE IMPERFECT #2 (2015)
In the land of Dystopia the Maestro dukes it out with the Thing. But this incarnation of the Thing is not Ben Grimm, it's General Ross! It's just another fine day at the office for these two characters.
MARVEL 1000 (2019)
A one-shot that celebrates 80 years of Marvel Comics! Each page has a different story with a different creative team. One story is based off of Not Brand Echh and pits the Bulk vs the Thung in a brawl for an ice cream bar.
CLOBBERIN' TIME #1 (2023)
The Thing teams up with the Hulk and both are stranded on an alien planet where they have to put aside their differences and protect the ancient people against legions of Deviant hordes and ultimately face the wrath of a Celestial.
HULK VS THING ANIMATED
Listed
here are all the times the Hulk and Thing fought or teamed up in a
cartoon or animated feature. As always, these two brutes put on a great
show when the bell rings and with such a great dynamic between them,
it's always fun to see on the screen.
Alicia
Masters and Thing are sitting in the park discussing about Reed
creating a cure for him and having a Dr. Banner coming in to help. Some
punks steal Alicia’s purse and as Thing catches up to them and the
crooks begin to squeal, it catches the attention of a sleeping the Hulk
nearby. The Thing and the Hulk will start to fight with Ben taking a
pounding and the media loves it. It ends after Alicia comes and asks the
Hulk to stop. After some manipulating by Dr. Doom the two brutes will
fight again. The Hulk will pound on Ben again, but this time almost
killing him. The Hulk will stop once Alicia calms the brute down again.
Soon Dr. Doom will feel the Hulk's wrath for deceiving him.
FANTASTIC FOUR (SEASON: 2 EPISODE: 24 "HOPELESSLY IMPOSSIBLE" 1996)
In the "Hopelessly Impossible" episode there are flashbacks of the Thing and the Hulk fighting from the "Nightmare in Green" episode. 
Bruce
Banner and She-Hulk go to New York hoping to find Reed Richards, so he
can help cure Banner of the Hulk. However, the Fantastic Four is on
vacation, except for the Thing, who She-Hulk immediately takes a liking
to. Then the Hulk, Thing and She-Hulk team up to fight and defeat some
of the Leaders minions lead
by the Ogress. While the Hulk and Thing never come to blows in this
cartoon, they still have great chemistry together that is always fun too
see.
Bruce
Banner goes to New York to find Reed Richards in effort to help him
find a cure for his transformations into the Hulk. This soon brings the
entire team into conflict with the mammoth Green Goliath. Thing and the
Hulk go one-on-one and have a great battle in New York with some great dialogue and chemistry between them. Eventually, all the heroes team up and fight off the U.S. Army, who wants to capture the Hulk.
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE WORLD'S GREATEST HEROES (SEASON: 1 EPISODE: 18 "THE CURE" 2007)
In the episode of "The Cure" there are flashbacks of the Thing fighting with the Hulk from the "Hard Knocks" episode.
Nothing
represents a fight in the comic-world better than "Hulk vs Thing." Here
on this episode of The Simpsons, we see a glimpse of the Hulk slugging
it out with the Thing during a riot in the streets. Creator Matt
Groening is a huge "old-school" comic fan and understands the nostalgia
and fun behind a Hulk and Thing dust up.
The
Superhero Squad gets frustrated when the Silver Surfer cannot get the
hang of Earth customs. Doctor Doom sends Abomination and M.O.D.O.K. to
capture the Silver Surfer in order to siphon his cosmic power. The
Super Hero Squad and the Thing set out to save him while Doom uses the
siphoned Power Cosmic to meld his various fractals together into a
Fractal Dagger. While the Hulk and the Thing never come to blows in this
cartoon, they did have great chemistry together (as usual).
SUPERHERO SQUAD SHOW (SEASON: 1 EPISODE: 6 "A BRAT WALKS AMONG US" 2009)
A bratty 3-year-old named Brynnie Bratton decides to hire the Heroes for Hire (consisting of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Misty Knight)
to help her find her father, but is also wearing a tiara with a fractal
making her invincible. The heroes and villains must put up with her
superpower temper-tantrums while Falcon helps Heroes for Hire track down
Brynnie's father and bring her under control. There is a small clash
between the heroes and villains in football-like fashion here (with the
Hulk and Thing on the same team).
Thanos
uses the Mind Gem to control Hulk who goes on a sleepwalking rampage.
When the Hulk meets up with the Thing, they have a major brawl. Sure,
like always, Thing takes a beating but he never quits causing some major
destruction to Superhero City. The Super Hero Squad must enter the
dream realm to fight back, even if they have to get help from Nightmare.
When
the Fantastic Four visits the Avengers mansion, the Hulk sees Thing and
attacks him. Later they are all playing cards and when Thing wins the
hand, the Hulk attacks him again. Now Hawkeye tries to keep them apart
and asks why they have a grudge, The Hulk says it's because Grimm has
never beaten him in a fight. Soon Doombots attack and as they prove very
tough to defeat, Thing will tell the Hulk to get mad and tries to punch
him. The Hulk will catch Thing's fist and say that he is mad and throws
Thing at the robots. When the Doombots finally shut down, the Hulk is
still dragging Thing by his leg and smashes him on top of a Doombot
destroying it. Now they all team up and attack Dr. Doom in Latveria as
he is holding Wasp and Invisible Woman captive. When the hatch of the
Quinjet opens, Thing asks if the Hulk is ready for the fight as the Hulk
pushes him off and he falls down to the castle below, Hulk smiles and
as he leaps off. Finally, they all fight Doom to a standstill until he
tells them all to leave with Sue Richards and Wasp.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (SEASON: 1 EPISODE: 2 "GREAT RESPONSIBILITY" 2012)
A
brief scene shows Aunt May beating Peter Parker at a video game showing
the Hulk fighting it out with the Thing. May, who is using the Hulk
character totally destroys Peter's Thing character and wins the game.
Nothing like seeing "Hulk vs Thing" in a cartoon as a video
game... classic.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (SEASON: 2 EPISODE: 14 "THE INCREDIBLE SPIDER-HULK" 2013)
As
Spider-man and the Hulk swap minds, the Thing is called in by Nick Fury
to stop the Hulk's rampage. At first, Ben doesn't know that the Hulk is
Peter Parker and they brawl it out. Eventually, they team up to defeat
the villain Mesmero and everything gets returned back to normal.
HULK AND THE AGENTS OF S.M.A.S.H. (SEASON: 1 EPISODE: 12 "INTO THE NEGATIVE ZONE" 2013)
While
this episode is more of a Hulk and Thing team up rather than a
slugfest. I did list it here due to the dynamic between the two
man-monsters when they fight side by side. It's a fun tale where the
Hulk needs Ben's help to find a cure for his Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and
they both travel into the Negative Zone to get it.
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (SEASON: 1 EPISODE: 14 "HULK'S DAY OUT" 2013)
The
Hulk is seen rocketed back to Earth with amnesia. The Avengers have to
retrace his steps to find out what happened to him and what is this
strange storm beginning to tear the Earth apart. Soon they discover one
of the events of the Hulk's day was having a bowling match on Yancy
Street with his pal the Thing, which of course resulted in fisticuffs.
THE END??
As heralded as "The Battle of the Century" is in comic book history, the results of such a big-deal fight is a little lopsided. In 61 official match
ups the Hulk takes the edge and wins the overall tally 10 to 6. And
truth be told, many of the Thing's victories come by outside help or
with teammates assisting him. The Hulk of course, usually has his way
with Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew and most of his wins are legitimate poundings.
The Hulk just has too much raw power going for him that he overwhelms the Thing. But as I said before, it's all about Ben using his
strengths and his unmatched heart to keep him in the fight (check out their brawl in Fantastic Four #12 and 13 (2019) to see it in full-force). And that's
what this match up is all about, Grimm showing up despite the odds and
doing his best!
As for the official 61 match ups of "Hulk vs Thing," you would think that no one comes close
to that number with meetings against the Hulk in-continuity. Well,
that's not true. Did any of you readers know that the Invincible Iron
Man has matched up with ol' Jade Jaws more often? That's right, Iron Man
has fought the Hulk (alone or with back up) more times than even the
Sub-Mariner, the Abomination, the Leader, the Rhino, Doc Samson,
Wolverine and even the Mighty Thor ever has. And those names
are synonymous with fighting the Hulk in Marvel History. I find this
very interesting because many comic fans don't really even consider Hulk
and Iron Man common rivals. While "Hulk vs Thing" has somewhat tapered
off in popularity in recent years, Iron Man's fame has risen and he
seems to be appearing everywhere in the Marvel Universe especially
opposing the Hulk (or teaming up with him) as a huge battle between the two is showcased in the movie; Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). I'll send a Hero Envy
"No-Prize" to anyone who can give me the total number of match ups in
"Hulk vs Iron Man." And just to let you know, I will NOT be doing a Definitive Write Up on that fight because I was never a big fan of Iron man, so please don't ask. Happy hunting fanboys.
 |
| Did you know "Hulk vs Iron Man" actually surpasses "Hulk vs Thing" in total number of official match ups? This should be a shock to most considering Iron Man is not typically known for being a Hulk rival. |
Let's
face it; the Hulk likes to fight more than just about any other
character in the Marvel Universe. He has fought anyone who could flex a
muscle and it didn't matter if they were the good guys or bad guys. He
is widely considered the measuring stick on how high up the
Marvel-Powerhouse-Hierarchy a character or team is in how well they deal
with him in a slugfest. And almost nobody has had to deal with ol' Jade
Jaws more than the Thing. So if anyone ever tries to discredit the
toughness of Benjamin Jacob Grimm, let this write up give them proof on
just how awesome he is. So this one's for you Thing and those
bouncin'-baby-blues.
Agree? Disagree? Let's hear it fanboys because "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!!"
Check out other "DEFINITIVE WRITE UPS" here:
Jack Kirby vs Alex Toth
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2013/06/jack-kirby-vs-alex-toth.html
Superman vs Captain Marvel
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2013/06/jack-kirby-vs-alex-toth.html
Superman vs Captain Marvel
Superman vs He-Man
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2016/01/superman-vs-he-man.html
Captain America vs Wolverine
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2013/02/captain-america-vs-wolverine.html
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2016/01/superman-vs-he-man.html
Captain America vs Wolverine
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2013/02/captain-america-vs-wolverine.html
Thor vs Ulik
Hulk vs Thor
Hulk vs Silver Surfer
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2012/07/hulk-vs-silver-surfer.html
Hulk vs Superman
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2013/04/hulk-vs-superman.html
Hulk vs Juggernaut
Hulk vs Hercules
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