Muscles. Lots of muscles.
At his best? He's come back from the dead, and aside from an objectionable mullet, he's as powerful as ever in the post-Crisis context. Not moving planets, but more than enough to take care of almost any Marvel character.
His advantage: A full suite of Kryptonian powers. He's the OG, yo.
For Marvel: Hulk
At his best? In 1996, the Hulk has the mind of Bruce Banner, or actually, an integrated personality that combines Banner's with the Gray and Green Hulk's personalities. He's still being written by Peter David, who is co-writer of this event. And in terms of public appeal, he'll get a new cartoon series later this year.
His advantage: His strength only grows as the fight goes on. Banner brain.
Why this match? They just went with each publisher's physically strongest hero. There might be a thematic (or chromatic) relationship between gamma rays and kryptonite radiation, but I feel like that's stretching it.
Were they Amalgamated? No! Superman was combined with that other blue boy scout, Captain America, as the Super-Patriot, while the Hulk didn't feature a whole lot, relegated to Dr. Strangefate's team of oddballs, amalgamated with Solomon Grundy (and named Skulk, bah).
What if they fought their Amalgam Buddy? Superman is way over-powered against Captain America, of course, though the shield can take a Kryptonian punch. It wouldn't be enough. The Hulk is stronger than Grundy, and smarter, too, if Banner is in the pilot seat. That's a win for both featured stars here.
Better match-ups: Marvel's stable of characters doesn't, on the whole, play on the same level as Superman. Wondarr/Aquarius, Gladiator, Hyperion and Sentry are all evident Superman analogs, but if you're going to show me your Sentry, I'll show you my Triumph, and we can call the whole thing off. If we don't care about popularity, Superman can go up against some of the above gentlemen, or the Eternals' Ikaris, I suppose, but there's nothing satisfying in any of that. Really, he's the hero I would have pitted against Thor. Battle of the red capes. They seem more evenly matched. As for the Hulk, DC likewise has no great analogs (Rampage? Loose Cannon?! Really!?). The self-loathing, "I've been turned into a monster" theme could inspire Cyborg here, though perhaps that's a conclusion born of later comics (where Vic would win by boom tubing the Hulk into space). Metamorpho is perhaps a better call. If we can use villains instead of heroes, then Doomsday, more so than Grundy, is the closest DC has to the Hulk, and it's anyone's guess as to who would win.
If DC vs. Marvel had been fought today: Against Superman, Captain Marvel is the most powerful Marvel headliner and her ties to an alien planet would have made her thematically compatible as well. Breaking the mold, I might have sent the entire Fantastic Four against the Man of Steel - they launched each of their superhero universes (even if Marvel went back and grabbed Timely's output, but then, Dr. Occult predates Supes, let's not split hairs) and there's some connective tissue with the Cyborg Superman being a DC analog to Reed Richards. If we're making plans for the Hulk, a fun one might be S.H.A.D.E.'s Frankenstein, though the Hulk's anti-hero status (indeed, right now the Hulk is Infernal and NOT a good guy) might send him against Bane (Doomsday is currently not a bruiser like he used to be).
Play by Play: Just before the fight, the heroes were teaming up to fight Metallo. Then, they're whisked away to the Grand Canyon for a Grand Battle. Well, at least we can have destruction porn without endangering anyone (because no one visits the Grand Canyon). The Hulk gets the first punch in, but Superman has more than super-strength going for him.
Next time: The final vote!
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