In this feature, I examine comic book fights that were particularly notable in the wrong side winning (or at least that the fight wasn't won the "right" way). This really isn't a big deal, of course, as it doesn't really matter if the "wrong" person won a fight. But it's fun to talk about!

If you want to suggest a fight for future inclusion in this feature, drop me a line at bcronin@comicbookresources.com. Don't suggest a fight in the comments!

This week, we take a look at the beat down that the Red Hulk gave Thor early in the Red Hulk's series...

As always, the first page spotlights their power levels and the second page examines the fight itself.

And as always, the first question we need to ask is...

How did these people do when they fought Spider-Man?

Just plain ol' regular Thor, amazingly enough, hasn't really fought Spider-Man over the years. Eric Masterson Thor has and a Hulked-out version of Thor has, but not Thor himself. Kind of odd, honestly. I think early on, Stan Lee was keeping Thor sort of out of things, sort of like "This guy is on a whole other level, so I don't want to have other heroes fight against him, because they would look bad." It was only after a couple of years that he even gave in to the Thor/Hulk fight enthusiasts (which he then famously made fun of when they fought, by actually depicting fans arguing over it - I think I should feature that story later this week as an I Love Ya But You're Strange).

But Spider-Man HAS fought Red Hulk, in Incredible Hulk #600 (by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness and Mark Farmer) and it did not go well for Spider-Man...

Regular Hulk breaks free and breaks up the fight on the next page. Now clearly, Spider-Man would have broken free and kicked Red Hulk's ass on the next page if Hulk Classic did not interfere, that's obvious and doesn't really need to be stated, but it is still important to note that Red Hulk did very well by himself there. So good on him - Red Hulk is quite formidable.

But Thor, he is sort of on another level, right? He's a guy who Hulk Classic can't defeat, which is possibly never been shown more clearly than in the classic Defenders #10 matchup by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema. In that issue, Thor tries to reason with the Hulk, who then attacks Thor. Thor tries to explain that it did not go well for Hulk the last time that they fought (in Journey Into Mystery #112, which honestly is a bit jerkish of Thor, as while he did have the upper hand in that fight, it was very much inconclusive - Thor brought down a cavern on top of the Hulk, and when he went to go dig the Hulk out to continue the fight, Hulk had escaped, so it's not like he just kicked Hulk's butt), but Hulk shouts "You said...you're better than the Hulk? No one is better than the Hulk!"

The fight is then on like Donkey Kong...

That's been roughly their status quo since - they both beat the hell out of each other but neither one objectively rates out as better than the other. So in other words, Thor is pretty freakin' badass.

The Red Hulk, however, was really an ingenious creation by Jeph Loeb, because he was created by Gamma Rays AND Cosmic Rays. Now, he isn't stronger than the Hulk, but he has an additional power - he can absorb radiation (and also melt things with his eyes for some reason). This, then, gives him a HUGE advantage in a fight against the Hulk. This was a really clever idea by Loeb, because it allowed his Red Hulk character to defeat the Hulk without making the Hulk look bad. Plus, of course, since he is secretly Thunderbolt Ross and in complete control of the Hulk's mind, the Red Hulk has a brilliant strategic mind (well, considering how poorly Ross did hunting the Hulk for so many years, I suppose I should go easy with how "brilliant" his strategic mind is), which is helpful.

On to the fight!

It was a long fight, so I'll have to cut the beginning of the battle. It opens with Thor unleashing a bunch of lightning on Red Hulk, who isn't fazed by the blast. He punches Thor, sending him flying, while telling him how he doesn't believe in gods and then Thor's all, "Oh yeah?"

Then the fight really begins in earnest...

First off, just like the Spider-Man/Red Hulk fight, wow, what AMAZING artwork from McGuinness.

Secondly, you have to give Loeb a lot of credit for totally playing by the rules with regards to Red Hulk using Thor's hammer. Loeb specifically checked to see what the rules were regarding to other people touching Thor's hammer, and he used both ways that an "unworthy" person can use the hammer.

1. You can grab it so long as Thor is holding on to any part of the hammer (including the hammer)

2. You can lift it in outer space, as it would then be weightless (this had been used years earlier by Iron Man in Avengers #122, so it was a well-established bit by then).

So Loeb did a great job there - you can't fault his use of the hammer in that regard.

Here, though, are my issues with the fight....

1. The whole thing pretty much rests on Thor just not letting go of the hammer as soon as Red Hulk takes off with it. He lets go, the hammer pulls Red Hulk back to the ground, the hammer returns to Thor, whole new ballgame.

That's the biggest problem, as while I totally get wanting to get to that cool shot of Hulk hitting Thor with the hammer (and it IS a cool shot), it didn't have to happen with Thor making a rather large blunder like that (perhaps Thor hits Hulk so hard the Hulk goes into outer space, Thor follows and THEN Hulk grabs the hammer from Thor?).

2. Just in general, Red Hulk does too much damage. Thor has gone up against Hulk Classic and not suffered the same damage. I was thinking that maybe you could argue Red Hulk's energy absorption powers played a role, but while that would work for why he survived the lightning attack early on, I don't see how a Red Hulk pumped up by lightning would necessarily be all that much stronger than Thor. If Thor had whipped up some "Thorforce" (I love that he has a power called "Thorforce") and Red Hulk absorbed THAT, then sure, I could buy it. Like how the Red Hulk temporarily absorbed Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic. I'm down with that. But we don't have that here, we just have Red Hulk nonchalantly shrugging off massive attacks by Thor, grab his hammer, jump into outer space and the knock the hell out of Thor. It's too overpowering.

By the way, last panel, I know he isn't, but doesn't it look like Thor is crying? Dude, if Wolverine didn't cry after Wasp kicked his ass, you can't cry after Red Hulk kicked your ass!!

I thought Loeb and McGuinness' Red Hulk was a lot of fun, and the energy absorption powers made a lot of the fights work well after the fact (like his defeat of Hulk Classic) but this one I just don't think worked.

Okay, that's it for this week! Feel free send in suggestions for future installments to bcronin@comicbookresources.com!