REVIEW: The Hulk's animated rampage against Wolverine, Thor makes for novel, stylish action DVD

Why would The Hulk ever go up against Wolverine and Thor aside from how cool it sounds for a straight-to-DVD release?

"Hulk vs. Wolverine" provides several answers, the first of which is that the big green monster (Fred Tatasciore) ends up tearing apart a small town in Canada, the adamantium-clawed mutant's (Steve Blum) stomping grounds. Wolverine's code of honor naturally dictates that the Department H agent intervene.

Another answer initially provided in the animated short is that the ever angry creature that is The Hulk can pummel the regenerative, always grumpy Wolverine, and vice versa, long enough for the two opponents to carry a 33-minute slap fight.

But "Hulk vs. Wolverine" is not just an action movie set in the Marvel Comics universe, even though that is essentially how it defines itself.

More practical than the aforementioned reasons for its existence is that Weapon X, the secret government project responsible for Wolverine's claws, wants to add more muscle to its ranks by capturing their former mutant comrade and The Hulk. That does not sit too well with either one of these powerhouses.

Simplistic, but effective in terms of character development, "Hulk vs. Wolverine" does not show Wolverine and The Hulk becoming the best of friends when they team up.

Why the shaky chemistry of their team-up works is that the animated short essentially shows them attempting an impromptu escape from The Weapon X complex, with Sabretooth, Deathstrike and Deadpool standing in the way. Not to mention that The Hulk is by nature an angry powder keg that always explodes and that Wolverine does whatever he has to in order to survive in the most dire of situations.

Their respective fighting styles especially reflect their unpredictable natures. Stylish, yet somber animation illustrates how The Hulk's blows throw opponents miles into the air and Wolverine's claws slice off more than a few hands. No pretense of violence is attempted.

Novel about "Hulk vs. Wolverine" is adult-oriented content that could never make it into a cable series featuring the two characters.

Deathstrike (Janyse Jaud) becomes aroused by strangest stimuli and Deadpool (Nolan North) utilizes the fact that he can say "ass" in a DVD release to poke fun at Omega Red.

If anything, the animated short is worth a watch simply because it is a visual treat with tight action sequences and a few pleasant surprises.

"Hulk vs. Thor" utilizes the novel idea of having Loki (Graham McTavish), the ambitious stepbrother of Thor (Matthew Wolf), take control of The Hulk after it is mystically separated from Bruce Banner (Bryce Johnson). But everything goes haywire when even the Norse gods realize that only one man can control the beast.

Effectively conflicting about this premise is that it challenges Banner to choose between the torment of living his life keeping the beast at bay or leaving it all behind in favor of a more pleasant destiny.

It highlights how the character is not just a hot head who desperately needs to attend anger management classes, but rather a troubled individual whose mortality is a virtue that stops a much more horrible fury from being unleashed on the world.

In contrast to "Hulk vs, Wolverine, the illuminated, visually stunning animation of this short shows Banner's irate alter ego trying to destroy the heavenly cityscape of Asgard and its people, whose wardrobe is best described as a mesh of that worn by DC Comics' Amazonians and Kryptonians.

Though The Hulk and Thor only interact when the former is beating the latter within an inch of his life and beyond, every stylish action beat is justified, making this animated short slightly better than its counterpart.