Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, has been having a great time in this segment. Because he's our latest Character of the Month, we're going to push his abilities as a combatant and see what the voters think he can handle and what may be a little too much for him to overcome. So far, we've placed him up against She-Hulk and Iron Man and, according to the voters, the DC hero is able to drop both of them. Seeing as Arthur took down Jennifer Walters, let's step up the challenge a little bit, shall we? We didn't want to do the totally cliche thing and go with one of Bruce Banner's versions of Hulk, so we instead switched things up a bit and went with Thunderbolt Ross, a.k.a. Red Hulk! Do the voters think this is just another character from Marvel that Aquaman will eventually take down or do they believe Red Hulk will be the first one to knock out our character of the month? According to the voters, Aquaman isn't going to win this one. Red Hulk wins!
So, why'd Rulk win? Even though the majority agreed Aquaman's trident could harm him, his long history of pain tolerance and healing feats gave voters confidence in the character's ability to get struck by the weapon and keep on fighting. Aquaman can win by effectively using the weapon, but the combination of Rulk's physicals and his aggressive hand-to-hand tactics means he's going to get up close and personal very quickly and, in time, he has what it takes to overwhelm the powerhouse from DC. While he isn't going to break the trident, removing it from Arthur's grip is certainly a possibility. Sure, Arthur can smack him around and stab/slash him for quite a bit, but it takes a lot to drop Thunderbolt Ross, and the voters just don't believe that's something Aquaman is going to do for a majority of their fights. Rulk earned a comfortable majority, but he didn't walk all over Arthur in the poll. 55% sided with the big dude from Marvel and 42% supported Aquaman. Just 3% think this one is too close to call. Now, let's see what a few Viners had to say about this brawl.
Thedailybagel
As much as I don't like him, I'm gonna have to go with general Ross in an understandably close, and awesome fight.
Rulk's striking power is continental when taking his consistent feats into consideration, and I don't see Arthur lasting too long against his onslaught. The way he handled Hulk not too long ago (granted Hulk lost on purpose) just shows how hard he hits, that same incarnation was handling dozens of iron-patriots like toys, and made Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) look like a fool. He even stomped the great society's version of Hulk. Yet Ross quite literally broke his arm and almost killed him.
Then you take into account his durability feats like taking a shot from the powergem, knocking around the Lady Liberators (which included She-Hulk), and taking hits from an angry greenscar. That's when you realise how much damage he can tank.
Of course Arthur has his trident, and that should allow him take a few wins, but honestly I see Ross disarming him of it in their fight. As he said against Hulk, he's a tactician, and Hulks hate sharp objects with a passion.
Overall, I see rulk taking the 6-8 out of 10 majority. Great fight Greg.
DigitalShooter9
Aquaman should win a slim majority if he plays his cards right....
It is true that Rulk has an incredible damage soak, but I believe it's not going to last forever against Arthur's trident as it was capable of harming Darkseid. If you have any doubts regarding how durable the current Darkseid is, I can easily show you scans of him shrugging off lantern constructs as if they were made of glass. Arthur can and will hurt Rulk with his trident. Granted a few stabs alone won't be enough as Rulk has formidable durability, but a barrage of repeated full powered stabs should do the trick. Now Rulk has Arthur beat in the power department and as durable as Arthur is, he can't take a lot of full powered Rulk punches. Up close Arthur will have to play it smart and use his superior speed and reflexes and the added range benefit of this trident to keep Rulk at check.
Assuming Arthur can evade Rulk for the majority and avoid getting grappled while delivering stabs in with his trident, he has an even chance at surviving this encounter. What makes me give him the majority though is the possibility that he can take to fight to a water source. Now this does keep coming up but it is a plausible possibility. Arthur should realize that Rulk has a clear physical power and durability advantage over him. He should be aware for most of the time that staying up close and trying to stab him with the trident alone is much too risky. It would be to his advantage to lure Rulk to a river that is a couple blocks away. I see this happening more times than not as Arthur has superior intellect and strategic prowess as the King of Atlanteans compared to Rulk. I see Rulk getting lured relatively easily due to his aggressive nature.
If eventually Arthur takes the fight to the water, then he has a solid chance of winning. Not only is he much more stronger, faster and durable under water, making the physical gap between him and Rulk narrower, but he also has access to the ocean creatures he can use to distract Rulk and get more stabs in. I can see Arthur luring Red Hulk into the water and stabbing him with his trident while under water (maximizing damage) while other creatures distract Rulk.
In my opinion, the above scenario has a slimly superior chance of happening. However that does not mean Rulk can not win any encounters. On the contrary, this match is very close. For one, if Arthur loses a hold of his trident before he can get to the water, then he is pretty much done. Or if Rulk rushes him into a confined space so he cannot utilize the range advantage of his trident. Then he gets beaten badly. Arthur throwing his trident also has a possible risk for him.
However, I still believe Arthur's strategic prowess should likely allow him to do the right moves more often than not.
Aquaman for a 6/10 majority.
ComiKing24
Red Hulk wins. Aquaman's only chance to get a good blow on Thunderbolt is his trident. If he loses it, or if it beaks, he is an immediate goner. Red Hulk is also too strong for Aquaman and Hulks get stronger the angrier they get. Aquaman will most likely get him angry because of his advantage in speed and flexibility. Aquaman would definitely put up a good fight but Red Hulk might eventually be too much. Red Hulk wins 7/10.
DEGRAAF
On land i think Rulk has this hands down if it was in Vegas or something but In New York, I think Aquaman has this. People tend to say he is as strong as Superman in the New 52 which i think is overstating it but he is up there in strength. Also yes i agree he has his trident but there is plenty near by that Rulk can use as weapons.
It has been commented on that Rulk can just heat up and evaporate the humidity out of the air but that would only work for so much humidity. The fight between 2 powerhouses starts roughly 5 blocks away from a large river opening into a bay and either character can jump that far on a bad day so Saying Aquaman doesnt have access to water is a large misrepresentation. Also you can find Fire hydrants just about every 80 feet or so through the city not to mention all the water likely running under ground. Aquaman being the strategist he is would move towards water at the first sign of Rulk's gamma irradiated heating abilities. Rulk being the hot head he is would likely follow thinking he would have no problem with this adversary.
Once Aquaman gets to the water, short of Rulk catching him and throwing him to a "dryer" state Aquaman would have the edge. Rulk would eventually try to get out of the water or away from it but Aquaman is smart enough to use his surroundings to his advantage, flooding the area taking the fight back to Rulk. I truly believe if Aquaman sees Rulk as a big enough threat he would be willing to flood the subway system to ensure water is near by. As a king Arthur might not want cassualties but he is willing to sacrifice a few to save alot.
Rulk likely has the upper hand in strength and durability but he still needs air to breath (even if its not very often) The moment Aquaman gets Rulk into the water he could grab Rulk and tow him out in to the ocean and to the deepest of depths. While this wouldnt crush the Hulk it would likely push the air out of his lungs drowning him.
Rulk Advantages
Slightly Superior strength (on land not in water)
Superior healing
Heating up to evaporate water around them
Stays on land - Rulk 7/10 times
Aquaman Advantages
Speed (in water and on par with Rulk on land)
Better reflexes
Location advantage
Gets to water (which is a likely scenario) - Aquaman wins 9/10 times
Next week will be Aquaman's FINAL match in the segment! So, if there's a battle you really want to see, tell us below or share it via twitter.