From Page to Screen - A Comic to Film Comparison of 'Thor: Ragnarok' vs. 'Planet Hulk'

Written by Zeke Perez Jr. 

Thor: Ragnarok is thundering into its third weekend at the box office as both a commercial and critical hit, having already earned over $200 million and sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’ve seen the movie twice already and I love it. With a good mix of action, drama, and comedy, and with a great cast of heroes and villains, it is as good as comic book movies come. But how does it match up against one of the comics that inspired it? Since Thor: Ragnarok is essentially Thor meets Planet Hulk plus humor, I decided to revisit the Planet Hulk comics leading up to the movie’s release. Here are some of the key similarities and differences I found comparing Thor: Ragnarok to Planet Hulk.
 
The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk himself made a very smooth transition from the pages to the big screen. The Hulk’s speech has improved since the last time we saw him in the MCU. In Avengers: Age of Ultron - Hulk’s latest appearance - and the movies prior, his speech was very limited save for the utterance of ‘puny God’ after smashing Loki in The Avengers. In Thor: Ragnarok, Hulk has much more developed - albeit still limited - speech patterns, just as he did in the Planet Hulk comics. In both, he speaks in a somewhat choppy manner, but is able to express himself and converse with others. This is a big jump for his future portrayal in the MCU.
 
His personality and appearance in the two mediums are very similar as well. In both, Hulk has a stubborn, feisty attitude. His refusal to easily cooperate often foils the plans of his team. In classic Hulk fashion, his temper and emotions often get the best of him. As for his look, the movie adaptation nailed its attempt at making him look just as awesome in his gladiator gear as he did in the comics.

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The Duality of Hulk and Banner
Continuing on with Hulk’s personality, one of the most important aspects is the green monster’s relationship to his inner Bruce Banner. In both, Bruce Banner has (semi-)permanently turned into the Hulk, spending more time in that state than ever before. This contributes to his increased intelligence and aforementioned improved speech. But it also contributes to a disdain the Hulk has for Banner, and vice versa. In Ragnarok, Hulk prefers his hulked-out form, becoming angry when Thor brings up his alter-ego. In Planet Hulk, Hulk says there’s no one like him on Earth, ‘just puny little humans. Like Banner.’ Hulk goes on to say that the one human who hates him most is Banner. The separation between his two forms has rarely been starker, and there’s not a whole lot of love lost.
 
Earth Hate Hulk: Journey to Sakaar
In addition to hating Banner, we learn in both Ragnarok and Planet Hulk that Hulk also kind of hates Earth - or at least feels hated by it. The reason for this in the comics is very straightforward: Dr. Strange, Tony Stark, Reed Richards, and a group of other heroes plot to send Hulk into space because they feel he is a danger to Earth. Ouch, right? Once they confess the real motive behind Hulk’s ‘S.H.I.E.L.D. mission’, he obviously harbors some anger towards the people that sent him away. In Ragnarok, Hulk ends up on Sakaar as the Quinjet crashes as Black Widow tries to talk him through everything. While he wasn’t sent away, he believes that ‘Earth hate Hulk’ and that he’s better off staying where he’s at.
 
The Mighty Thor
Ragnarok isn’t solely a Planet Hulk movie, so Thor (obviously) features more prominently in the film than he does in the comics. He does have a brief appearance in the comics though! In a flashback, Korg describes how he and his brother landed on a planet and tried to capture a native creature to study. Their attempt to capture Thor and conquer his planet was unsuccessful, as the god battled back with his hammer. (On that note: I was really hoping Thor would’ve used the ‘iron bars do not a prison make. Not when the prisoner has the might of Thor!’ line from the comics in the movie.)

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Korg and Miek
Speaking of Korg, he and Miek represent some of the biggest differences moving from the Planet Hulk comics to Thor: Ragnarok. In the comics, Korg is a powerful warrior who fights in the insurgency alongside Hulk. He’s a tenacious leader, able to hold his own on the team. In Ragnarok, Korg is a great character too, but he’s instead a loveable loser. He isn't as imposing and falters when Loki suggests that he and his group could use a leader. Miek follows a similar track. He doesn't have blades for arms and appears much more bug-like in the comics. In Ragnarok, he doesn’t speak, while in Planet Hulk his role is important. And, without spoiling anything, let’s just say that Miek is…not there for comic relief in the comics. Finally, the relationship the two have with Hulk is vastly different. Their relationship is nonexistent in the movie, but is a key factor in the comics.
 
It makes sense that these characters had a limited role in the movie. Ragnarok was deep with various storylines and characters. Adding two more - especially these two - would have completely changed the story, and it would have made it more Hulk-centric than Thor-centric.
 
A Few Others
Silver Surfer, or the Silver Savage, would have been an awesome cameo had he appeared in the movie, but it was not at all to be expected…Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster replaces the Red King…Hulk is willing to battle in Ragnarok, whereas he was forced to in Planet Hulk….

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