Warning! This article contains spoilers for Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War Alpha #1
Throughout their respective Marvel Comics careers, Street Fighter, creating Marvel’s most hilarious "crossover."
Thor and the Hulk had their first fight in Avengers #3 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby which ended fairly quickly after the Hulk wrapped Thor in railway tracks and made his escape. Their conflict didn’t stop there, however, as they have faced off in many subsequent storylines including Infinity Crusade, Fear Itself, and Hulk: Let the Battle Begin. While those previous battles were all incredibly epic in their own ways, with most of them ending in a draw, their latest one is already off to an incredibly brutal and hilariously unique start.
In Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War Alpha #1 by Donny Cates and Martin Coccolo, Thor has inexplicably taken the fight right to Hulk as the Asgardian king is sick of the deadly impact his rampages cause and fights to put an end to them once and for all. In this issue, Thor is enraged over the deaths of seventeen people in El Paso, deaths he believes the Hulk was directly responsible for. While the battle is intense and the reasoning behind it is immensely serious, the way it is presented in this issue is decidedly silly.
In the opening pages of the book, Thor throws Hulk through the Bifrost to a world consisting entirely of what looks like original Disney animated characters. Once they get there, the two gladiators square off across from each other as they prepare to continue their battle, and in doing so, are seemingly transported into a level of the popular video game Street Fighter. The scene depicts the two gearing up to fight, each on either ends of the page, both with health bars above their heads. In between them, there is text that is written in the same style as Street Fighter that reads, “Round One! Fight!”
The reason their fight is presented this way is because of the entity that is watching along with real-world readers: Uatu the Watcher. Uatu is observing this epic battle as if he is watching a movie – sitting in a theater with popcorn and an entire audience alongside him. So, seemingly in an effort to make the scene more entertaining, he adjusts his viewing style and gives it a Street Fighter makeover. While it is short lived, and quickly goes back to being one of the most gruesome battles between Hulk and Thor, the Street Fighter reference gives the whole issue a sillier tone despite the serious subject matter, making this Marvel Comics’ most hilarious "crossover."
Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War Alpha #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
