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Revision as of 07:56, 1 June 2007 view source24.16.211.40 (talk) the "Gravage" Hulk← Previous edit Revision as of 07:58, 1 June 2007 view source Doczilla (talk | contribs)Administrators49,015 editsNo edit summaryNext edit →
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] with the ], on the cover of ''Incredible Hulk'' #424.]] ] with the ], on the cover of ''Incredible Hulk'' #424.]]
The merging of Bruce Banner and the Savage and Gray Hulks in ''Incredible Hulk'' #377 (written by ]). The Merged Hulk is later ] into The Professor. The Professor, rather than being a merging of the three core personalities, was interpreted as a fourth, separate personality that represented Banner's ideal self. The primary difference between the two is that the Merged Hulk demonstrated aspects of the Banner, Grey Hulk, and Savage Hulk personalities (also possessing Banner's intelligence, Joe Fixit's cunning, and the Savage Hulk's size and strength), while the Professor did not. The Merged Hulk is even prone to uttering "Hulk smash!", which is the Savage Hulk's most common ]. The Merged Hulk is an associate and leader of the team of superheroes called the ]. Despite his exaggerated musculature, the Merged Hulk had a relatively normal-looking face, resembling that of Bruce Banner, and straight-backed posture that gives him the appearance of being the tallest and least beastial Hulk incarnation. The Professor personality is defined during ]' run as a "revelation" that the Merged Hulk is not actually a merging of the three personalities but rather a separate personality altogether. Unlike the Merged Hulk, the Professor is physically distinguished by having a pony tail, which the Merged Hulk did not. Jenkins justified this by ret-conning into the Hulk's continuity a new character named Angela Lipscomb (modeled after Jenkins' own girlfriend) who knew more about Bruce Banner than even ]. Lipscomb confronted Doc Samson with her observations of the Professor and Doc Samson validated them, despite events presented in previous issues to the contrary. The merging of Bruce Banner and the Savage and Gray Hulks in ''Incredible Hulk'' #377 (written by ]). The Merged Hulk is later ] into The Professor. The Professor, rather than being a merging of the three core personalities, was interpreted as a fourth, separate personality that represented Banner's ideal self. The primary difference between the two is that the Merged Hulk demonstrated aspects of the Banner, Grey Hulk, and Savage Hulk personalities (also possessing Banner's intelligence, Joe Fixit's cunning, and the Savage Hulk's size and strength), while the Professor did not. The Merged Hulk is even prone to uttering "Hulk smash!", which is the Savage Hulk's most common ]. The Merged Hulk is an associate and leader of the team of superheroes called the ]. Despite his exaggerated musculature, the Merged Hulk had a relatively normal-looking face, resembling that of Bruce Banner, and straight-backed posture that gives him the appearance of being the tallest and least beastial Hulk incarnation. The Professor personality is defined during ]' run as a "revelation" that the Merged Hulk is not actually a merging of the three personalities but rather a separate personality altogether. Unlike the Merged Hulk, the Professor is physically distinguished by having a pony tail, which the Merged Hulk did not. Jenkins justified this by ret-conning into the Hulk's continuity a new character named Angela Lipscomb (modeled after Jenkins' own girlfriend) who knew more about Bruce Banner than even ]. Lipscomb confronted Doc Samson with her observations of the Professor and Doc Samson validated them, despite events presented in previous issues to the contrary.

===the "Gravage" Hulk===
This Hulk first emerged in ''Incredible Hulk'' #5 and would go on to become a founding member of ] and later re-emerged after the Merged Hulk was separated from Banner in the aftermath of ''Onslaught'' and again with Peter David's second run on the title with ''Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 3) #77. This incarnation is popularly called the "Gravage" Hulk, and has even been referred to as such by current Hulk writer, Greg Pak. Pak said of this Hulk, "he’s smart enough to deal with complicated situations and dangerous enough that you never quite know whether he’ll become a monster or a hero." The "Gravage" name has it origins due to its similarities to both the Savage and Gray incarnations. This Hulk retains the Savage Hulk's size and physical power, but has the normal intelligence, craftiness and a personality reminiscent of the Gray Hulk. This is the current incarnation of the Hulk.


===Mindless Hulk=== ===Mindless Hulk===

Revision as of 07:58, 1 June 2007

"Incredible Hulk" redirects here. For other uses, see Incredible Hulk (disambiguation). Comics character
Hulk
File:Incredible-hulk-20060221015639117.jpgVariant cover art for The Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #92.
Art by Bryan Hitch.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Incredible Hulk vol. 1, #1 (May 1962)
Created byStan Lee
Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoRobert Bruce Banner
Team affiliationsWarbound
Avengers
Defenders
Secret Defenders
Fantastic Four
Pantheon
The Order
Notable aliasesJoe Fixit, The Green Scar, The Sakaar'son, War
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability
Regenerative healing factor
Ability to see astral forms
Gamma radiation absorption
Transformation
Resistance to mind control
Genius level intellect in certain incarnations

The Hulk (Dr. Robert Bruce Banner), sometimes referred to as The Incredible Hulk, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the

Marvel Comics characters
Heroes
Villains
Supporting
Locations
Objects
Related

. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Hulk first appeared in Incredible Hulk # 1 (May 1962). He has since become one of Marvel Comics' most recognized superhero characters.

After physicist Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he created, he was transformed into the Hulk, a raging monstrosity. The character, both as Banner and the Hulk, is frequently pursued by the police or the armed forces, often as a result of the destruction he causes. While the coloration of the character's skin varies during the course of its publication history, the Hulk is most often depicted as green.

He is featured in a number of animated series, a feature film directed by Ang Lee, and a long-running television series with spin-off television movies starring Bill Bixby as Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk.

Publication history

In the Hulk's debut appearance in The Incredible Hulk #1, the Hulk was gray rather than his longtime trademark green. That initial color choice was by writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, who wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group. Colorist Stan Goldberg, however, insisted to Lee that the coloring technology at the time could not present the color gray clearly or consistently, resulting in different shades of gray, and even green, in the issue. So in issue #2 and after, Goldberg colored the Hulk's skin green. Reprints and retellings of the Hulk's origin during the next two decades feature him with green skin from the beginning, but beginning in 1985, with issue #302, the Hulk is again shown as having been gray in flashback to an early appearance. Furthermore, in 1986, issue #318 states definitively that the Hulk had been gray at the time of his creation, and all subsequent reprints of the first issue have reinstated the original coloring.

The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Cover art by Jack Kirby and inker Reinman

In early stories, Banner becomes the Hulk at sunset each day, but he later transforms whenever he becomes angry or panicked. Another method was shown in Fantastic Four #12 (March 1963), featuring the Hulk's first battle with The Thing; Banner intentionally uses a gamma ray machine of his own design to transform into the Hulk. Many early Hulk stories involve General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross trying to capture or destroy the Hulk with his U.S. Army battalion, the Hulkbusters, at his side. Ross' daughter, Betty, loves Banner and criticizes her father for pursuing the Hulk. General Ross' right-hand man, Major Glenn Talbot, also loves Betty and is torn between pursuing the Hulk and trying to gain Betty's love in a more honorable way. Rick Jones serves as the Hulk's friend and sidekick for a time. Later, another teenager, Jim Wilson, also befriends the Hulk.

The original series was canceled after six issues, in part due to a distribution deal Marvel Comics then had with DC Comics that limited the number of titles that could be published every month. Shortly afterward, co-creator Jack Kirby received a letter from a college dormitory stating the Hulk had been chosen as its official mascot. Kirby and Lee realized their character had found an audience in college-age readers. The Hulk had proven a saleable guest-star in three issues of Fantastic Four and an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, and was included, however briefly, as a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers.

The Hulk starred again in his own feature in the "split book" Tales to Astonish, beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964), following his appearance the previous issue as the antagonist for Giant-Man, star of the book's other feature. These new stories were initially scripted by Lee and illustrated by the seldom-seen team of penciler Steve Ditko and inker George Roussos. Other artists later in this run included Jack Kirby from #68-84 (June 1965 - Oct. 1966), either as full pencils or, more often, else layouts for other artists; Gil Kane (making his Marvel Comics debut, under the pseudonym "Scott Edwards", in #76; Bill Everett (inking Kirby, #78-84); and John Buscema (one of his earliest Marvel assignments). "Split books" were common in the 1960s, again due to the aforementioned distribution deal.

This early part of the Hulk's run introduced the Leader, who would become the Hulk's archnemesis, and the Abomination, a gamma being stronger than the Hulk. Additionally, in issue #77 (Mar. 1966), the Hulk's identity was rendered public knowledge.

Giant-Man's popularity in the title waned, and he departed the book after issue #69 (July 1965), replaced by Namor the Sub-Mariner beginning with #70 (Aug. 1965). After several years, the distribution deal with DC ceased and the Hulk took over the book, which was re-titled beginning with issue #102 (Apr. 1968). It ran under that name until March 1999, when Marvel restarted the series with a new issue #1.

Peter David became the writer of the series in 1987 (issue 328), beginning a run that lasted nearly 12 years. David's run altered Banner's pre-Hulk characterization and the nature of Banner and the Hulk's relationship. Originally, Banner was written as a normal but shy man whose negative emotions (the normal, repressed anger that all humans have) found expression through the Hulk; David, however, turned Banner into a victim of dissociative identity disorder (DID) who had serious mental problems long before he became the Hulk. David expanded on earlier stories by Roger Stern and Bill Mantlo that established that Banner had suffered child abuse, writing that it fostered a great deal of repressed anger within the character, which in turn triggered a latent case of DID. In issue #377, Doctor Leonard Samson engages the Ringmaster's services to hypnotize Bruce Banner and force him, the Savage Hulk (Green Hulk) and Mr. Fixit (Gray Hulk) to confront Banner's past abuse at the hands of his father, Brian Banner. Upon finally facing this abuse, a new, larger and smarter Hulk emerges and completely replaces the "human" Bruce Banner and Hulk personas. This Hulk is a culmination of the three aspects of Banner. He has the vast power of the savage, green Hulk, the cunning of the gray Hulk and the intelligence of Bruce Banner.

In 1998, David followed editor Bobbie Chase's suggestion to kill Betty Ross. In the introduction to the Hulk trade paperback Beauty and the Behemoth , David said that his wife had recently left him, providing inspiration for the storyline. Marvel executives used Ross' death as an opportunity to push the idea of bringing back the Savage Hulk. David disagreed, leading to his and Marvel's parting ways.

When David left the Hulk, Marvel hired Joe Casey as a temporary writer. Casey brought the character in the direction that Marvel had requested earlier, making the Hulk mute, but his short run found little critical success, and he ended the series. Marvel then hired John Byrne for a second volume of the series, re-titled Hulk, with Ron Garney penciling. Byrne wrote of his plans for the first year, but creative differences led to his departure before the first year was over. Erik Larsen and Jerry Ordway briefly filled scripting duties in his place, and the title of the book soon returned to The Incredible Hulk with the arrival of Paul Jenkins.

Jenkins wrote a story arc in which Banner and the three Hulks (Savage Hulk, Gray Hulk, and the Merged Hulk, now considered a separate personality and referred to as the Professor) are able to mentally interact with one another, each personality taking over their shared body. He also created John Ryker, a ruthless military general in charge of the original gamma bomb test responsible for the Hulk's creation and planning to create similar creatures.

File:HulkGreenScar.png
The Hulk as a gladiator and conqueror in the 2006 "Planet Hulk" storyline

Bruce Jones followed as the series' writer, and his run features Banner using yoga to take control of the Hulk while he is pursued by a secret conspiracy and aided by the mysterious Mr. Blue. Jones focused on a horror theme with the Hulk as a fugitive, influenced by the classic TV series. He appended his 43-issue Incredible Hulk run with the Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks limited series, which Marvel published after putting the ongoing series on hiatus.

Peter David, who had initially signed a contract for a six-issue Tempest Fugit limited series, returned as writer when it was decided to make the story, now only five parts, part of the ongoing series instead. David contracted to complete a year on the title. Tempest Fugit revealed that Nightmare has manipulated the Hulk for years, tormenting him in various ways for "inconveniences" that the Hulk had caused him. After a four-part tie-in to the House of M crossover and a one-issue epilogue, David left the series once more, citing the need to do non-Hulk work for his career's sake.

Planet Hulk

In the 2006 storyline "Planet Hulk" by Greg Pak, after the Hulk destroys much of Las Vegas, a secret group of superheroes called the Illuminati trap the Hulk and rocket him into space to live a peaceful existence on a planet uninhabited by intelligent life. After a trajectory malfunction, the Hulk travels through a wormhole and crashes on the violent planet Sakaar. Weakened by his journey through the wormhole, the Hulk is sold as a slave. In a gladiatorial arena, he makes a deadly enemy when he scars the emperor's face. The Hulk overcomes great odds to become a gladiator, a rebel leader and eventually a king. Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada announced in 2006 that beginning with May 2007 comics, the Hulk will be the focus of the Marvel crossover event World War Hulk.

The Hulk is recruited by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and then shot into space to destroy a rogue satellite known as “Godseye” that can adapt to any type of technological attack. However, Godseye is no match for the brute strength of the Hulk and is easily destroyed by the gamma-irradiated goliath. As the Hulk prepares to go home, he quickly learns that S.H.I.E.L.D. never intended for him to come home. Working with the Illuminati, the shuttle sends the Hulk in the opposite direction and the Hulk can only grimace in rage as a message comes through on the monitor from Reed Richards.

The goal of the Illuminati was to rid the Earth of one of its greatest menaces. They wanted to send the Hulk to a world where he could cause no harm and where he could finally be left alone. Although, Sakaar wasn’t the intended planet, in a sense the Illuminati did just that. They sent him home.

Passing through a wormhole and then crashing landing on the planet, we find a weakened Hulk ready for a fight, that to his surprise he can’t win. He is captured, made a slave and forced to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of the maniacal Emperor of Sakaar known as the Red King. The Hulk and his new ally (to Hulk he’s more of an annoyance) Miek survive the contest and are about to be pardoned, but the Hulk would rather smash his captor. Again, the Hulk loses and actually bleeds to a smarter and stronger foe. Yet, rumors of the creature defying the Emperor began to spread.

The Hulk and Miek are sent to the Maw, a training ground for gladiators/slaves and through combat (forced to fight thanks to implanted obedience disks that shocks the slaves at the will of their handlers) and trials of survival become part of a team of seven warriors. Hulk, Miek, Korg (a rock-like creature that resembles the Thing), a Brood, Hiroim (a Shadow Warrior), Elloe and Lavin Skee make up this team. The seven then fight in the Emperor’s arena, but learn that if they survive three rounds of combat that they will be granted their freedom. After two massive battles (leading to the death of Skee), the members took an oath of allegiance to each other as they prepared for the final battle with a captured Silver Surfer (forced to fight by the Emperor as the Silver Savage).

Through skill and cunning, not brute force, the Hulk and his team are able to defeat the Surfer. The Surfer, free from the Emperor’s control, then frees all of the slaves by destroying all of the obedience disks. Now the freed slaves are on the run as the Emperor sends his armies (led by Lieutenant Caiera) to destroy them. A rebellion is formed as the people begin to wonder if the Hulk is the legendary Sakaarson (savior) or the Worldbreaker (destroyer) according to prophecy. While the Hulk is reluctant in leading this fight (he fears that in the end he is the Worldbreaker), he is convinced by Miek and the others to fight. Hulk has a face-to-face battle with Caiera (leading to an attraction and a respect between the two), but there is no winner as the mad Red King launches alien entities known as Spikes (which transform people into monstrosities) at both his enemies and soldiers. The Hulk learns that the Spikes aren’t evil but much like him are misunderstood and do what they do to survive. So he forms an allegiance with Caiera and the Spikes to take down the Red King and his remaining soldiers.

The Hulk then stops the attempts of retribution by the various races/species and declares that all of the planet is free and is crowned as the new King of the planet. Hulk asks Caiera to be his queen and we later learn that she is pregnant with his child. Things are going well for the planet and its new King. The kingdom is in the process of making treaties with all the factions within the planet, lifelong enemies are now becoming allies and, for once, the Hulk is happy. But just as things are starting to look up, the shuttle that sent hulk to Sakaar in the first place malfunctions and causes a massive explosion, killing thousands, including Caiera and her unborn child. The explosion causes a fracture and the eventual disintegration of the planet's tectonic plates, cataclysmically killing everyone in the kingdom.

World War Hulk

In a violent rage, remembering the Illuminati and the humans of Earth, Hulk reunites with his Warbound brothers from Sakaar and takes off in a spaceship heading for Earth. On board, the Hulk spends his time crafting large swords and other weapons in order to wage war against the Illuminati. The events here lead into the World War Hulk event.

Personality and behavior

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File:Hulks.jpg
The four main Hulk incarnations. Clockwise from top left: Bruce Banner, the Savage Hulk, the Gray Hulk, and the Merged Hulk/The Professor

The Hulk is the alter ego of Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, an expert in nuclear physics. As a result of exposure to gamma radiation, Banner often becomes a large, superhumanly strong green creature. Although the Hulk is usually classified as a superhero, he and Banner share a Jekyll and Hyde-like relationship. In his most well-known incarnation, the Hulk has little intelligence or self-control, and can cause great destruction. As a result, he has been hunted by the military and other superheroes, and as such, Banner considers the Hulk a curse. The transformation is usually triggered by emotional stress, but at times has been initiated by radiation or other factors, and even at will in later incarnations of the character.

The Hulk initially was characterized as a separate entity from Bruce Banner, a symbol of inner rage and Freudian repression; a distillation of his anger that gradually developed its own personality and memories separate from Banner's.

Due to retroactive continuity established by writers Bill Mantlo and later Peter David in the 1980s, Banner is said to suffer from dissociative identity disorder, which stems from the child abuse he had suffered early in life. The Hulk has many incarnations, each representing a different aspect of Banner's psyche.


Bruce Banner

The core personality, an emotionally-suppressed genius, rating amongst Reed Richards and Tony Stark as one of the greatest minds in the Marvel Universe. Banner can transform into the different versions of the Hulk, whereas his alter-egos seem to be able only to transform into Bruce Banner. These transformations are usually involuntary, as is the selection of which one emerges.

Savage Hulk

The "classic" Hulk, the Savage Hulk possesses the mental capacity and temperament of a young child, and typically refers to himself in the third person. The primary drive of the Savage Hulk (other than utterly destroying anything that angers him) is the urge to "get away" and "to be left alone." It has been proposed that if the authorities simply let the Savage Hulk escape to the wilderness and isolation he desires, that much less damage would result, as any attack simply angers him further and increases his strength. Characterised by his extraordinarily bulky, muscular physique, his green skin and his loping, ape-like gait, the Savage Hulk is instantly recognizable. Since the Hulk's (all versions) strength is directly proportional to his rage, this is the incarnation with the greatest potential for sheer physical power as it possesses little self-control. His potential for sheer brute strength is so great that when "freed" from Bruce Banner by Jean Grey it was able to go head-to-head with the psychic being Onslaught.

Gray Hulk/Joe Fixit

The Gray Hulk, the original Hulk incarnation, worked for a time as a Las Vegas enforcer called Joe Fixit. He has average intelligence, although he occasionally displays knowledge and intellectual ability normally associated with Bruce Banner. He is hedonistic, cunning, arrogant, crafty, and distant with a hidden conscience. In most of his Las Vegas appearances, he appears only at night. According to the Leader in Incredible Hulk Vol. 1, #333, the Gray Hulk persona is strongest during the night of the new moon and weakest during the full moon; this aversion to sunlight and moonlight vanished when the Gray Hulk's night-induced transformation trigger is later removed. Although he is the smallest of the Hulks, the Gray Hulk towers over the average human. He prefers to dress in tailored suits and his base strength level is the lowest of all the primary Hulk incarnations. However, this strength level can grow as he gets angry, but at a much slower pace than the other Hulk incarnations. Despite his lower strength, Gray Hulk is able to use cunning and strategy in fights to gain the upper hand against foes expecting a savage Hulk.

Merged Hulk/The Professor

File:Inhulk424.jpg
The Merged Hulk with the Pantheon, on the cover of Incredible Hulk #424.

The merging of Bruce Banner and the Savage and Gray Hulks in Incredible Hulk #377 (written by Peter David). The Merged Hulk is later ret-conned into The Professor. The Professor, rather than being a merging of the three core personalities, was interpreted as a fourth, separate personality that represented Banner's ideal self. The primary difference between the two is that the Merged Hulk demonstrated aspects of the Banner, Grey Hulk, and Savage Hulk personalities (also possessing Banner's intelligence, Joe Fixit's cunning, and the Savage Hulk's size and strength), while the Professor did not. The Merged Hulk is even prone to uttering "Hulk smash!", which is the Savage Hulk's most common catchphrase. The Merged Hulk is an associate and leader of the team of superheroes called the Pantheon. Despite his exaggerated musculature, the Merged Hulk had a relatively normal-looking face, resembling that of Bruce Banner, and straight-backed posture that gives him the appearance of being the tallest and least beastial Hulk incarnation. The Professor personality is defined during Paul Jenkins' run as a "revelation" that the Merged Hulk is not actually a merging of the three personalities but rather a separate personality altogether. Unlike the Merged Hulk, the Professor is physically distinguished by having a pony tail, which the Merged Hulk did not. Jenkins justified this by ret-conning into the Hulk's continuity a new character named Angela Lipscomb (modeled after Jenkins' own girlfriend) who knew more about Bruce Banner than even Doc Samson. Lipscomb confronted Doc Samson with her observations of the Professor and Doc Samson validated them, despite events presented in previous issues to the contrary.

Mindless Hulk

Nightmare, in an attempt to find new ways to hurt his enemy Doctor Strange by going through his friends, penetrated Bruce Banner's mind and discovered his influence had an unexpected side effect; a new personality began to develop out of Banner's worst visions of the Hulk. At this period in Banner's life, he had just gained control over the Hulk's body, but was constantly on alert and terrified this was just temporarily, and that the Hulk, which he saw as nothing but a savage and destructive beast, would break free once more when the world least expected it. Far from being identical with the original Hulk, this version was based on a nightmarish imagination made of all of Banner's worst fears and ideas of his former alter ego. Nightmare continued to manipulate and increase his influence, allowing this dark incarnation to gradually rise to the surface. It finally became its own personality after Banner made his "psychic suicide", allowing it to break free of Banner's domination. Eventually, with the assistance of three creatures created by his subconscious, (Glow, Goblin, and Guardian), this Hulk gained the ability to speak and behave much less savagely. Since then, this personality has not been seen again, and it has been suggested that it is no longer a part of Banner's personality. In "Web of Spider-Man #7", a part of the Hulk, with the assistance of Doctor Strange, entered the Dimension of Nightmare as a similar manifestation as Mindless Hulk, threatening to kill him. Nightmare was forced to seek out Spider-Man's help, as this Hulk was destroying the whole domain. Spider-Man eventually pushed the Hulk into another realm, but he pulled Nightmare in with him. Nightmare has since been seen still alive, but this Hulk seems to have disappeared.

Guilt Hulk

File:GuiltHulk.jpg
The Guilt Hulk
File:Devil Hulk.JPG
The Devil Hulk

The Guilt Hulk, also known as "The Beast", is another of Bruce Banner's personas, though this one created by his regret. The Guilt Hulk originally manifested itself in Banner's mind as his father and tormented him by forcing him to relive memories of his traumatic childhood. Eventually, the Guilt Hulk was defeated by Banner himself.

The Guilt Hulk later returned after Betty's death, albeit much more powerful because of Banner's emotionally fractured state. After brutally beating the Professor and Joe Fixit, the Guilt Hulk was eventually subdued again by the Savage Hulk.

Due to its monstrous size, the Guilt Hulk was physically very powerful. It also possessed claws and spikes all over its body. The Guilt Hulk also showed the ability to breathe fire on one occasion.

Devil Hulk

The Devil Hulk is the malevolent personality of Bruce Banner, personifying all of Banner's resentment at the way he is treated by the world. He is also one of the Hulk's enemies, constantly threatening to escape confinement in Banner's mind and destroy the world that has tormented and abused them, simultaneously leaving nothing intact that Banner holds dear. He first appeared when Banner was dying of Lou Gehrig's Disease, and Banner used a machine to travel into his own mind and make a deal with the three dominant Hulks that they would gain control of his body once the disease became too much for him to bear. The Devil Hulk was revealed at this point, but escaped a short while afterwards when the machinations of General Ryker shattered the barriers keeping the Devil Hulk imprisoned. Fortunately, he was contained long enough for a cure for Banner's condition to be found, before finally being contained in Banner's subconscious by Banner, the Savage Hulk and Joe Fixit; the Professor Hulk remaining out in the real world to help scientists such as Doctor Samson and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four find a cure for the disease. Devil Hulk appears as a boss in Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction game and first appears in the cutscene Dark Reflection. After the mission of protecting Doc Samson, Devil Hulk will take over the objectives in Banner's mind and tell you to destroy civilian buildings tricking you.

Powers and abilities

File:Hulk mount.jpg
The Hulk holding up a mountain, on the cover for Secret Wars #4, by Mike Zeck

The Hulk possesses incredible levels of physical strength. The most well-known incarnation, the Savage Hulk, possesses the greatest potential for immeasurable superhuman strength, depending on his emotional state, spawning the famous quote: "the madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets." The Hulk is capable of supporting, with the assistance of leverage, a 150 billion ton mountain range while in an enraged emotional state. During combat with the psionic entity known as Onslaught, Jean Grey psionically disables Bruce Banner's persona, bringing out the true Savage Hulk. While trading punches with the Hulk, the psionic being Onslaught angers him to a point where he was able to break through Onslaught's armor. The Hulk has also been shown shattering an asteroid twice the size of Earth with a single punch. The Hulk possesses highly developed leg muscles and is able to leap several miles at a time. Since the Hulk's strength increases with anger, he is able to leap distances much greater than he normally could while in a "calm" state. For instance, he has been shown covering a distance of 1,000 miles in a single leap and even leaping into a low-Earth orbit. There are examples of the Leader and Doc Samsonattempting, unsuccessfully, to measure the limits of the Hulk's strength using the advanced technology at their disposal.

The Hulk is depicted with extremely high levels of superhuman stamina and resistance to physical injury. His muscles are resistant to fatigue poisons due to his healing factor's ability to negate them similar to Wolverine's ability. He's been shown withstanding the impact of high-caliber artillery shells, falls from orbital heights, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury and resisting extreme temperatures, poisons, and diseases with no ill effect. The Hulk is capable of surviving a ground zero nuclear explosion. At the end of the Planet Hulk storyline, he survives the impact of a warp core breach, which generates enough force to destroy a planet.

File:Hulk heal.jpg
The Hulk's healing factor

Despite his body's high resistance to injury, it is possible to injure the Hulk. He has been injured numerous times by opponents using weapons composed of adamantium. However, the Hulk can regenerate damaged or destroyed tissue with far greater efficiency than an ordinary human. He has proven capable of regenerating all of his skin and most of his muscle tissue, after having them flayed from his body, within a few minutes.. It has also been stated that the Hulk's durability (resistance to physical injury), stamina and the efficiency of his healing powers fluctuates with his emotional state, much like his physical strength.

The Hulk is extremely resistant to drugs, but they can affect him, although his near-impenetrable skin makes gas a more reliable method of administering them. He can also be immobilized, put to sleep, transformed into Banner (or other Hulk manifestations), or pacified against his will, either by the use magic or by the powers of certain superhuman individuals (such as the radiation emitted by the Missing Link, the psionic abilities of a high-level telepath like Professor X, or the powers of Robert Reynolds, the Sentry).

In addition to his physical power and healing ability, the Hulk has demonstrated the ability to "home in" on the desert base where he was empowered. He also has a unique ability to see and hear spectres, such as the astral form of Doctor Strange.

Related characters

Allies & friends

Rick Jones.

  • Jarella – The Hulk's lover from another planet. Deceased.
  • Rick Jones – A teenager whom Banner saved, causing Banner to be caught in his life-changing explosion.
  • Doc Samson – The Hulk's occasional psychiatrist. A gamma-powered strong man with a working knowledge of nuclear biology, he got his power from an experiment he conducted on the Hulk.
  • She-Hulk – Jennifer Walters, Bruce Banner's cousin, to whom he gave an emergency blood transfusion when she was critically wounded.
  • The Thing - Ben Grimm, member of the Fantastic Four.
  • Jim Wilson – A friend of Bruce Banner and sometime sidekick. He was the first character in mainstream comics to be HIV positive. Is deceased due to AIDS (Incredible Hulk #420).
  • The Falcon – Sam Wilson. He has defended the Hulk on a few occasions due to the Hulk's comforting his nephew, Jim Wilson, during his last moments alive.
  • The Defenders - a super-hero group of "non-joiners", including the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, Dr. Strange, the Silver Surfer, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat and others.
  • Warbound from Planet Hulk
    • Korg - A stone man of the Kronan race who once fought Thor.
    • Miek - A meek insectoid who becomes king of his freed people before transforming into a behemoth.
    • No-Name, the Broodspawn - Sole survivor of a pack of Brood warriors that landed on Planet Sakaar.
    • Elloe - Daughter of a high ranking Sakaaran official whom the Red King tries for treason.
    • Hiroim, the Shamed - a fallen "Shadow Priest", he was expelled from his order for the heresy of believing he could be the Sakaarson, the fabled savior of planet Sakaar.
    • Caiera, the Oldstrong - the Hulk's queen. Died in #105.
  • Mastermind Excello

Enemies

File:Abomationvshulk.png
Hulk battling The Abomination on the cover of The Incredible Hulk (vol. 1) #159.
Art by Herb Trimpe.
  • The Abomination – The Hulk's primary physical rival, also gamma-spawned
  • Absorbing Man - Thor villain, able to magically "absorb" the properties of things/people he touches
  • Bi-Beast - a giant two-headed android
  • The Juggernaut- A super strong villian whose magical strength rival that of the Hulk's.
  • The Leader – Gamma-irradiated super-genius
  • Tyrannus - Would-be world conqueror and long-time Hulk villain, who once possessed the body of the Abomination
  • The Red King – The emperor of the planet Sakaar, dethroned and killed by the Hulk and his Warbound.
  • The Rhino- A Rhinoceros-based villain with super strength, speed, and tough hide like a rhino.
  • General John Ryker - A ruthless military leader, who is also hunting for the Hulk.
  • General Thaddeus Ross – Betty Ross' father, a military leader often on the hunt for the Hulk.
  • Major Glenn Talbot – Betty Ross' ex-husband, a military officer who tries to kill Bruce Banner and destroy the Hulk. Currently deceased.
  • U-Foes
  • Wendigo - A large savage cannibalistic monster from the Canadian north woods.
  • Zzzax – Electricity-based villain/monster

Other versions

The Maestro

The Maestro, who first appears in Hulk: Future Imperfect #1 (Jan. 1993), is a version of the Hulk from an alternate future timeline, approximately a hundred years into the future, combining Banner's intelligence with the Hulk's more malevolent aspects. After a nuclear war kills almost all of Earth's superhumans and brings the world to the brink of extinction, the Maestro seizes control.

Gray haired and balding, the Maestro is clearly older than the Hulk, but is also significantly stronger due to the radiation he has absorbed since the war. He rules the city of Dystopia, built to his own designs and protected by radiation shielding. Brutal soldiers with hi-tech equipment keep the "peace" and impose the Maestro's iron will. The Maestro himself dwells in a grand palace, where a Bacchanalian atmosphere reigns. Other gamma-irradiated beings, She-Hulk (now calling herself "Shulk") and the Abomination, survived the war and seem to have conquered other areas of the world.

File:Masterohulk32.png
The Maestro on the cover of The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #2. Art by George Pérez.

Not long after the war, an elderly Rick Jones encounters the reality-hopping mutant Proteus, who has possessed the body of an alternate reality Hulk from the year 2099. Proteus intends to discard his current body and possess the Maestro. Jones, unaware of his plan, provides a weapon created by the X-Man Forge, which might be able to kill Maestro. However, the plan fails when the Maestro is warned by the Exiles, who are pursuing Proteus. Proteus possesses a new host and flees to another world, breaking the Maestro's neck during his escape.

Years later the Maestro, fully recovered from his injury, encounters a time-travelling Genis-Vell and Spider-Man 2099. Manipulated by the supervillain Thanatos, the three battle - but Captain Marvel and Spider-Man eventually return to their own time, with no consequence for the Maestro.

Acquiring Doctor Doom's time machine, the rebels opposing the Maestro (led by Rick Jones) eventually decide to bring the 'Professor' Hulk forward from the past, hoping that he can defeat the Maestro. The Hulk agrees to help them and confronts the Maestro, but loses due to the Maestro's greater experience, and his ability to predict the Hulk's moves in combat (Although the Hulk does manage to deliver a few good punches). The Maestro breaks Hulk's neck to immobilize him, then tries to persuade the incapacitated Hulk that he should side with his future self, telling him that nothing will change when he returns home and he will still be persecuted.

After the Hulk's recovery, the two clash once more; but despite the Hulk's best efforts, the Maestro is still far too powerful for him. At the last minute, the Maestro is defeated by the use of Doom's time machine, and sent back to the time and place that the Hulk was created: ground zero during the testing of the atomic Gamma Bomb, the only bomb that the Hulk knew the ground zero location of. (It was speculated that such an explosion was the only thing that could kill the Maestro.) Appearing next to the bomb itself, Maestro is seemingly killed in the same moment that creates the Hulk, but some part of his consciousness still remains, tied to the skeletal fragments at the Gamma Bomb site.

Eventually the Hulk learns that the "homing sense" which has always allowed him to locate ground zero, his "birth" place, is actually attracted to the Maestro's spirit and remains. The Maestro has also been absorbing gamma radiation from the Hulk each time he returns to the site, gradually restoring himself. When the Hulk returns, shortly after the Heroes Return crossover, he is radiating vast amounts of energy. Maestro finally absorbs enough radiation to restore himself to life, although in a weakened and emaciated form.

Shortly thereafter, Maestro is captured by Asgardian trolls, who place his soul into the Asgardian Destroyer. As the Destroyer, he battles the Hulk - but as the Hulk and Maestro share the same DNA, Hulk is able to enter the Destroyer and defeat the weakened Maestro, who is seemingly killed by an avalanche.

Creator Peter David has stated that the Maestro is intended to be an evil and insane alternate Hulk - not a separate personality within Bruce Banner.

The End

The Incredible Hulk: The End one-shot, set almost two hundred years into an alternative future, portrays Bruce Banner as the last human and the sole survivor of a nuclear war. In the aftermath of the war, Hulk retreats to a cave - emerging to find that the only other life left on earth is a swarm of monstrous mutant cockroaches. Banner, now extremely old due to having absorbed some of the Hulk's regenerative ability, has lost his will to live. As he suffers heart failure, Banner hallucinates the sight of all his loved ones, and embrace his demise. The Hulk, on the other hand, is not ready to die, and transforms himself as Banner finally passes, leaving the Hulk sitting on a deserted mountain as he reflects on how, at last, he is alone.

Ultimate Hulk

File:Ultimates 5.jpg
Promotional art for Ultimates #5. Pencils by Bryan Hitch.

A version of the Hulk appears in the Ultimate Marvel series, first in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #2 (2001), written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Phil Hester. "Ultimate Hulk" amplifies Banner's emotions, particularly wrath, seeking to destroy those who wrong Banner. He also exhibits extreme sloth, lust (Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk #1), and gluttony; several stories mention his devouring people (Ultimate War #3). Ultimate Hulk has also been portrayed as being able to break Ultimate adamantium.

In Ultimates, Banner works for S.H.I.E.L.D., attempting to re-create the super-soldier formula that created Captain America. When Captain America is recovered from a block of ice, Banner's funding seems likely to be cut. The team forms without Banner's input, but S.H.I.E.L.D. faces heavy criticism for its extensive budget and lack of purpose. Banner, ridiculed by members of the Ultimates and rejected and taunted by his ex-girlfriend Betty Ross, combines Captain America's blood with the Hulk formula, and injects it into himself (Ultimates #4). He then calls Betty to warn her, saying that his intention was to give the Ultimates a visible enemy, but then breaks down and admits that he "just missed being big". He becomes a grey-skinned Hulk that tracks down Betty Ross, destroying everything in his path and murdering hundreds of people. The Hulk overpowers the Ultimates until the Wasp fires her bio-electric sting directly into his brain, which changes the Hulk back into Banner, who is restrained and imprisoned in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base the Triskelion - in a cell Banner himself has designed.

During the Chitauri invasion, Captain America orders the incredulous Banner (dubbed the "Weapon of Last Resort") to be beaten and thrown from a helicopter into the battlefield fray below. Banner transforms into the Hulk before hitting the ground, and immediately assaults Captain America, who uses Banner's jealousy to divert the Hulk on the Chitauri commander, Herr Kleiser, whom the Hulk obliterates and subsequently consumes. Captain America then redirects the Hulk to destroy the airborne Chitauri fleet, telling the Hulk that the aliens had previously referred to him as a "sissy-boy."

Following the Chitauri invasion Banner is returned to his cell and resumes his work for the Ultimates with Hank Pym. One day, top-secret information regarding the Hulk/Banner connection is leaked to the press. Banner is convicted for the deaths of the more than 800 people who died in his New York City rampage and sentenced to death by nuclear weapon. After consuming a sedative designed by Hank Pym, his unconscious body is left on a ship in the ocean. Just before the explosion, Banner wakes up and transforms into the Hulk. It is implied that Hank's sedative deliberately wore off too soon, and Bruce makes a secret phonecall to thank Hank Pym after the incident.

Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk shows the aftermath of the assassination attempt, chronicling Banner's travels through France, Ireland and India, seeking a means to control the Hulk within. Bruce Banner finally arrives in Tibet, seeking the Panchen Lama whom he hopes can reveal the true relationship behind Banner and the Hulk and the ability to control him. Nick Fury, now aware of Banner's existence, dispatches Wolverine to assassinate Banner. During their initial battle, the Hulk overpowers Wolverine and tears him in half, severing his adamantium spinal column, and scatters his remains for miles across the Tibetan mountain range.

In Ultimates 2 #11, Bruce Banner appears in Washington D.C. He proclaims himself "in touch with inner sociopath" before allowing a Crimsom Dynamo robot to step on him. He immediately transforms into the Hulk and, with uncharacteristic wit, promptly rips the droid apart. He then continues to aid the Ultimates against the Liberators in issue #12, by dismembering, killing, and eating the Abomination.

Marvel Zombies

In the series Marvel Zombies, set in an alternate world, the Hulk, like almost every other superbeing on the planet, has been affected by the zombification virus. Although he retains his strength and invulnerability, he no longer heals, does not feel pain and now craves human flesh. The zombie Hulk's transformations have been altered by the virus from being controlled by Banner's emotions to being controlled purely by his appetite — after feeding, he transforms back into Banner (also a zombie) until the hunger returns. As Banner is much smaller than the Hulk, one such transformation, following the Hulk's ingestion of a large object (Magneto's leg), causes his stomach to burst.

In the second issue, after devouring Magneto's leg, zombie Banner begs someone to hurt him to transform into zombie Hulk before his chest explodes from Magneto's leg. Thor hits him in the face with his "hammer", but since he can't feel pain, he can't tranform unless hungry, and this subsequently gives Banner difficulty speaking. Soon afterward, Magneto's femur bursts out of his chest. With subsequent transformations, he speaks and behaves as usual, though with the hole in his chest.

Hulk succeeds in killing the Silver Surfer and is one of the zombies who devours the Surfer's corpse and absorbs some of its cosmic powers. The zombies then kill and consume Galactus himself, enhancing their powers further, though only the Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Luke Cage, and Wolverine survive the battle. Cosmically enhanced, they takes Galactus' ship, leave Earth, and seek food elsewhere. Ravaging and devouring planets, the six zombies eventually become the cosmic threat known as The Galactus.

House of M

In the altered reality of the 2005 company wide crossover House of M, Bruce Banner disappears in Australia, where he befriends an Aborigine tribe, and attempts to control his dark side. When the mutant rulers of the Earth attack his tribe he retaliates, and eventually conquers Australia with the aid of Advanced Idea Mechanics, most notably his former college girlfriend Monica Rappaccini, her daughter Thanasee, Dr Isaac Aaronson, and his son Adam.

1602

In the Marvel 1602 setting David Banner is introduced as a courtier at the court of James VI of Scotland. When James becomes king of England, he sends Banner to the New World to kill Sir Nicholas Fury, who has betrayed the crown by saving the "witchbreed" (mutants). In the same way as Bruce Banner saved Rick Jones, David dives in front of Peter Parquagh when the Anomaly that has affected the universe explodes. The radiation of the Anomaly transforms him into the Hulk.

2099

Main article: Hulk 2099

In Marvel 2099, the Hulk is John Eisenhart, a selfish film producer in "LotusLand" (future Hollywood). He is inadvertently exposed to gamma radiation by the Knights of the Banner, who intend to create a Hulk of their own. As the Hulk, Eisenhart finds himself representing freedom to a closed-off society.

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Banner was never exposed to gamma radiation, and never became the Hulk. Eventually he became a scientist for the Human High Council and one of its weapons designer. However, Banner sought to become more than human, thus offering his loyalty to Mikhail Rasputin, one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, who supplied Banner with mutant test subjects. Thanks to his experiments, Banner was capable of transforming into The Thing (a being similar to the Grey Hulk).

Earth X

In this reality, due to the continuing absorption of gamma radiation, the Hulk and Bruce Banner have finally achieved separation. However, they still rely on each other. Banner is now a child, and blind. He can only see through the Hulk's eyes. Banner also seems to have control over the Hulk's movements. The Hulk is more gorilla-like now, and he seems incapable of speech besides a growl. It is said of this Hulk that he is "always angry".

In an interview in Comicology Volume I: The Kingdom Come Companion, Alex Ross said that the design of Earth-X Banner and Hulk was based on the appearance of Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur.

Parodies

In The Young Ones episode Summer Holiday, Neil (Nigel Planer) becomes angered after being insulted relentlessly by his housemates, and turns into the Hulk, throwing everyone about in slow motion.

The television show Saturday Night Live uses the Hulk character in several sketches. In the March 17, 1979 episode hosted by Margot Kidder, Lois Lane and Superman hold a dinner. One of the guests is the Incredible Hulk, played by John Belushi as a rude and offensive boor. In the November 21, 1992 episode hosted by Sinbad, Chris Farley plays the Incredible Hulk in a sketch about Superman's funeral. Farley's Hulk protests the suggestion of his giving a eulogy in broken English but then puts on a pair of glasses and delivers an erudite, impassioned farewell. In the December 17, 1994 hosted by George Foreman, Tim Meadows appears as Bruce Banner, who repeatedly has laboratory accidents and then changes into the Hulk, played by Foreman, who proceeds to further trash the laboratory before asking for the sketch to end because of its boring repetition.

The character Russell in the video game Bully has the most hulking figure of any character in the game, is the toughest character to take down during normal gameplay, has the mind of a small child, and even constantly refers to himself in the third person. Russell's catchphrase is "Russell smash!"

The "Justice Friends" sketch of Dexter's Laboratory follows three parody superheroes. One of them is a Hulk spoof, The Infraggable Krunk, an overgrown muscle-man with arrested mental development that has a purple skin and wears green pants - reference to Hulk's green skin and usual purple pants. Also in episode: 047 or Hunger Strikes, Dexter turns into a giant green monster and rampages through the town's grocery stores in search of greens when ever he cannot find any vegetables. In this episode, he also says Banner's classic line: "Your making me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", although he says "hungry" instead of "angry".

In the television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the character Meatwad once dressed as "The Incredible Plum" for Halloween, painting himself completely purple, donning a purple hulk-like mask, and telling other characters they wouldn't like him when he's angry.

In an episode of Scrubs, Dr. John Dorion (J.D) has a daydream where he is checking a patients chart and suddenly gets really angry. His starts to turn green and his grow larger. His clothes also tear and he ends up being the Hulk inside the hospital.

In other media

Television

The Hulk started out in television as part of the Marvel Super Heroes animated television series in 1966. The 39 (10-minute) episodes were shown along with those featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the Sub-Mariner episodes based on early stories appearing in the Hulk and Tales to Astonish series.

Main article: The Incredible Hulk (TV series)

The most famous TV adaptation is the live-action The Incredible Hulk TV series and its spin-off TV movies, starring Bill Bixby as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk.

After the live-action show ended in 1982, the Hulk returned to cartoon format with 13 episodes of The Incredible Hulk, which aired in a combined hour with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. The series featured more characters from the comics than the live-action series, including Rick Jones, Betty Ross, and General Ross.

Typical of many superhero cartoons of the era, the show used stock transformation scenes which include Bruce Banner transforming back with his clothing somehow restored intact. The She-Hulk and the Leader made an appearance in the show. This series featured Stan Lee as a narrator. Bruce Banner and the Hulk also appeared in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode, "Spidey Goes Hollywood."

File:Hulk Ep 16.jpg
Dark Hulk from The Incredible Hulk TV series.

In 1996, Marvel Studios and Saban Entertainment brought the Hulk back to animated form in the animated series The Incredible Hulk, with Neal McDonough voicing Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno providing the voice of the Hulk. The first season's stories are exceptionally dark, but in 1997, the show's name changed to The Incredible Hulk and She-Hulk, and featured She-Hulk in several episodes with the Gray Hulk. In the episode "Mind Over Anti-Matter", Banner turns into a monstrous Dark Hulk. The series became much lighter during this season and was cancelled quickly. The show aired briefly on ABC Family following the release of the live-action movie in 2003.

The Hulk also appeared in episodes of the Fantastic Four and Iron Man cartoons that also made up the Marvel Action Hour, although the character design for both Banner and Hulk were markedly different, with Ron Perlman playing both roles.

The Hulk appears in the 2006 Fantastic Four episode entitled "Hard Knocks" with Bruce Banner voiced by Eli Gabay and the Hulk voiced by Mark Gibbon. Bruce Banner came to see Reed Richards to help him find a cure for the Hulk transformation. The Fantastic Four also had to keep Agent Pratt from using the Hulk as their weapon upon other people. In some scenes, the Hulk battles Thing. In this show, he resembles the Ultimate version of Hulk.

Movies

Main article: Hulk (film)

In 2003, Ang Lee directed a film based on the Hulk for Universal Pictures. Eric Bana played Bruce Banner, and the Hulk was created with CGI. Here, Banner's father, David Banner (played by Nick Nolte), is partly responsible for the Hulk's origin as before Banner was born, he experiments on himself and passes his mutated genes onto his son. When Banner grows up, believing his real parents died (this is only half-true, as only his mother dies and his father is incarcerated for twenty years), he saves a co-worker from being killed by gamma radiation and takes the impact of the rays instead, mysteriously surviving the onslaught.

The Hulk causes a lot of destruction, wounding Glenn Talbot, killing his father's mutated dogs in battle, makes a path of danger from the Desert Base to San Francisco, and finally in a final battle against his insane father who had morphed into an amorphous cloud of energy. General Ross decides to end the battle by having one of his soldiers drop a gamma bomb at the site of the battle, ending the confrontation. It ostensibly kills and disintegrates Banner, who we nonetheless later see living incognito as a secret doctor in South America.

The Hulk appears in the 2006 direct-to-DVD animated feature Ultimate Avengers, based on the comic book The Ultimates.

A second Hulk movie is in pre-production and scheduled for release on June 13, 2008. Titled The Incredible Hulk, it will be directed by Louis Leterrier. At the 2006 Comic-con International Hulk panel, Letterier revealed that the Abomination, played by Tim Roth, will be the villain. According to SuperHeroHype! Edward Norton has been cast as Bruce Banner.

Video games

File:MVSC2HULK.jpg
A Hulk image from Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

The Incredible Hulk appears in video games for many different systems, including the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Sega Genesis, SNES, Sega Master System, Game Gear, PlayStation, Sega Saturn PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and personal computer.

  • A Hulk game was going to be The Incredible Hulk for the Atari 2600, but the game was never released to the public.

In addition to his own games, the Hulk appears as a playable character in several games by Capcom. The first was a SNES game for the home consoles called Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems. After this the Hulk appeared in several arcade fighting games, starting with Marvel Super Heroes in 1995, followed by Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes and concluding with Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. In all of the Capcom games, Hulk's persona is that of his merger with Bruce Banner.

The Hulk also has a cameo in the Fantastic Four (1997 video game) for the PS and Sega Saturn

The Hulk is also in a cutscene in the Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects game for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.

According to TK, the Hulk is one of the first revealed characters in Marvel Universe Online, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game for PC and Xbox 360.

Hulk was set to play a role in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, but had to be left out as a playable character because of the character's licensing agreement with Sierra Entertainment. (Although as of April 2007 the Hulk and other heroes and villians will be available for download as playable characters for the Xbox 360 version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance ) He makes an appearance as Bruce Banner (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes in the Xbox versions, and Arin Hanson in the PS3 and Wii versions.), working on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gamma bomb project. Muscular green arms and legs are seen (with the torso and head under rubble) during a cutscene detailing Dr. Doom's defeat of many of Earth's heroes, perhaps implying that the Hulk was one of the heroes who failed to stop Doom.

The Hulk will be in the upcoming Marvel Trading Card Game, for the various handheld consoles.

Themed products

Hulk-themed products include action figures, clothes, jewelry, video games, cards, pins, posters, cars, games, lunchboxes, toys, a pinball machine , all types of collectibles and even the Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.

Bibliography

Collections

References

  1. Comics Buyer's Guide #1617 (June 2006)
  2. Starlog #213 (July 2003)
  3. Peter David (July 18 2005). "My leaving "Hulk"". The Incredible Hulk Message Board. Retrieved 2005-08-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  4. "Joe Quesada interview". Retrieved 2006-10-26.
  5. Secret Wars limited series
  6. Onslaught: Marvel #1
  7. Marvel Comics Presents #52
  8. Incredible Hulk vol.2 #33
  9. Incredible Hulk vol.1 #254
  10. Tales to Astonish #73
  11. Incredible Hulk vol.1 #228
  12. Incredible Hulk vol.1, #440
  13. Incredible Hulk vol.2 #105
  14. Incredible Hulk vol.1 #340
  15. Wolverine vol.2 #145
  16. Incredible Hulk vol.1 #398
  17. Incredible Hulk vol.1 #394
  18. Incredible Hulk Vol.1 #314
  19. ^ Hulk: Future Imperfect #2
  20. Chris Carle (July 23, 2006). "Comic-Con 2006: The Incredible Hulk Panel". IGN. Retrieved 2006-08-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)

External links

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