Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)

From Marvel Database

Contents 1 History 1.1 Bannerless Hulk 1.2 Ground Zero 1.3 The Pantheon 1.4 Ghosts of the Past 1.5 Troyjan War 1.6 Maestro 1.7 Ghosts of The future 1.8 Onslaught 1.9 Self Desruction 1.10 Planet Hulk 1.11 World War Hulk 1.12 Red Hulk Incident 2 Incarnations 2.1 The Green Scar 3 Powers and Abilities 3.1 Powers 3.2 Abilities 3.3 Strength level 3.4 Weaknesses 4 Notes 5 Trivia 6 Appearances in Other Media 7 Links 7.1 Discover and Discuss

History

Stupid. They can call you whatever you want. Savior. Destroyer. all that matters is... what you choose.

-- Hulk

Robert Bruce Banner was the son of Dr. Brian Banner, an atomic scientist, and his wife Rebecca. Although Rebecca deeply loved Bruce, who returned her affection, Brian hated the child. An alcoholic, Brian Banner was driven by an insane jealousy of Bruce for being an object of Rebecca's love. Further, Brian Banner believed that his radiation work had altered his DNA and given him a mutant son. Brian Banner finally murdered Rebecca and was placed in a mental hospital. Bruce, a highly withdrawn, intellectual youth, was raised by his aunt, Mrs. Drake, and internalized his great pain and rage over his childhood sufferings.

Eventually, as an adult and a genius in nuclear physics, Banner went to work at a United States Defense Department nuclear research facility at Desert Base, New Mexico. There Banner met General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross, the Air Force officer in command of the base, and his daughter Betty. Banner and Betty Ross eventually fell in love with each other. Banner designed and oversaw construction of the "Gamma Bomb" or "G-bomb," a nuclear weapon that had a high gamma-radiation output.

Banner was present in the instrumentation bunker at the test site for the first underground test detonation of the Gamma Bomb. Observing that a civilian had breached security and entered the restricted test area, Banner told his colleague Igor Starsky to delay the countdown while he tried to get the civilian to safety. Starsky, secretly a Soviet agent, did nothing, confident that Banner would die in the explosion, bringing the project to a halt. Reaching the civilian, a teenager named Rick Jones, Banner threw him into a protective trench. Before Banner could get himself to safety, the Gamma Bomb detonated, and intense waves of radiation reached the surface. Banner was irradiated with highly charged radioactive particles. Due to an unknown genetic factor in his body, Banner was not killed by the radiation, which instead caused him to transform frequently into the vastly powerful, green-skinned, humanoid monster named "the Hulk" by the military present at the test site.

At first Banner changed into the Hulk at sunset and reverted to human form at dawn. However, Banner's body eventually changed so that his transformations into the Hulk were triggered by the release of adrenalin when he became intensely excited, no matter what time of day or night it was. Usually the Hulk possessed little of Banner's memory and intelligence and was easily enraged. Hence, the Hulk was a menace, continually hunted by military forces commanded by the implacable General Ross and the evil Intrigue of the Leader. In several attempts to cure himself from becoming the hulk, he was able to use a gamma ray gun, in order for him to control his transformation. After which, for a short time Banner managed through radiation treatments to maintain enough of his own personality when he became the Hulk to control himself in that form, and he even became a founding member of the Avengers in this form and engaged the leader for the first time face to face. But once again the Hulk lost Banner's intelligence and became a brutish menace. For a surprisingly long time Banner managed to conceal the fact that he was the Hulk, but his secret inevitably became public knowledge. For years Banner wandered the world as a hunted fugitive, cursed by his recurring transformations into the bestial Hulk.

One day Banner went to visit his beloved cousin Jennifer Walters, a Los Angeles-based lawyer. At that time Walters had been defending a hood named Lou Monkton, whom gangster Nicholas Trask had framed for murder. While Walters drove Banner to her home, one of Trask's henchmen shot her. To save his cousin's life, Banner improvised an emergency blood transfusion. The transfusion of Banner's mutated blood mutated Walters herself, causing her to become the She-Hulk.

Bannerless Hulk

Finally, scientist Leonard "Doc" Samson captured the Hulk and succeeded through unknown means in separating Banner's psyche and atomic structure from the larger atomic structure of the Hulk. The Hulk's body, now with all personality and memory removed, was inert until Leonard Samson stimulated the brain within the body. This new Hulk escaped and became a greater menace than ever before. Banner became leader of a new government task force to capture the Hulk, called the new Hulkbusters which he headed from Gamma base. Banner also finally married Betty Ross, believing himself free of the curse of turning into the Hulk.

During the honeymoon, Bruce became gravely ill and was hospitalized. Due to his separation from the body of the Hulk, Bruce's body began to lose molecular cohesion. The Hulk's body soon followed suit and he was defeated by the Avengers. Realizing there was only one way to save her husband, Betty pleaded with the Avengers not to kill the Hulk. With the aid of the synthezoid Vision, Bruce was re-merged with the Hulk. With Bruce's psyche once more in the body of the Hulk, the original Hulk persona assumed control of the body. However the reintegration was unstable and an attempt to stabilize and possibly cure Bruce in a nutrient tank resulted in the Hulk returning to his original grey color and Rick Jones absorbing the excess gamma radiation, to become a light green Hulk-like creature for a short time.

With the Hulk thought gone for good once more, with no transformations occurring through stress or a day/night cycle, Bruce tried to find and cure Rick. He reasoned the best way to do that was to use the machine from Hulk's Cave to change himself into the Hulk like he used to. Little did he know that this was a subliminal suggestion placed there by Hulk himself, whom upon discovering he was out of Banner, smashed the machine to avoid turning back. It was then that Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, arrived at the cave, having followed the Hulk in hopes of regaining his super-genius intellect after it had faded. When he found the machine destroyed, he made a deal with the now-smarter Hulk to transfer Rick Jones' gamma radiation into Sterns himself. Shortly after, a dishonoured Thaddeus Ross managed to take control of the energy creature Zzzax. When Ross and Jones were defeated and the radiation energy transferred from Jones, the lab exploded, allowing all concerned to think the Leader dead.

Ground Zero

Little did Hulk or Banner know, Leader survived and sent Half-Life after him. The battle ended when Hulk tore off Half-Life's limbs close to daybreak, not giving the villain time to pull himself together.

To try and make sure the Hulk didn't escape again, the SHIELD Council ordered Agent Quartermain to murder him in Bruce Banner form. They had enough Gamma bombs that Banner was no longer required. This task was accepted, though Quartermain knew it was the wrong thing to do. The mutant bounty hunters X-Factor managed to locate the Hulk and freeze him in place before placing a call to SHIELD to pick up the grey-skinned being. After transporting Hulk back to Gamma Base, Quartermain revealed that he was going against the orders of the Council before blowing up several large explosive charges that wiped out Gamma Base. He then took Banner and Rick Jones (Betty Banner had run away with her ex-husband without Banner's knowledge) in a SHIELD people carrier to keep away from SHIELD.

Whilst on the way to the government stash of gamma bombs, Betty Banner was released from the Leader's capture to help stall them. She finally had a one-on-one talk with the Hulk and revealed that she was pregnant to him. Hulk decided to keep Betty safe, despite her being Bruce Banner's wife, not his. The quartet made their way to the government facility but found out too late that the Leader's henchmen Rock and Redeemer had taken a single bomb already.

When the Leader detonated the gamma bomb in Middletown with the Hulk at ground zero, the Hulk was assumed to be dead. In reality, he had been transported to Jarella's world moments before the detonation. On Jarella's world, the Hulk helped a group of minor wizards to overthrow the "Grand Inquisitor" in return for a spell which was promised to rid him of Bruce Banner for good. When the Hulk returned to Earth, he was given a job as an enforcer for a casino owner named Michael Berengetti. Calling himself Mr. Fixit, the Hulk spent several months without reverting to human form. It was during this time that he met and dated Marlo Chandler, who would much later marry Rick Jones.

Banner eventually returned and the Hulk's life as Mr. Fixit soon came to an end through the machinations of the Maggia. Banner then decided to find Betty, whom he found working in a convent. Upon leaving, he noticed Betty heading towards the train station - and was then attacked by Prometheus an agent of Pantheon. The stress and anger of being unable to get to Betty caused the savage Hulk persona to resurface and send Bruce's psyche into turmoil.

The grey Hulk managed to keep the green behind a mental door, but knew that since he had been unleashed once, it was only a matter of time before the savage took over. When the Hulk was needed again, this time in a fight against the Super Skrull Kl'rt, the grey Hulk pleaded with Banner to bring him out, not the green - and it worked. The grey Hulk managed to outsmart Kl'rt, even getting him to damage the Skrull ship hidden under a small town. Hulk bashed Kl'rt into the power core of the ship and managed to save Betty whereas the formerly captured Rick Jones managed to save himself with a parachute. On their way to marol's home, Banner was able to trick the gray hulk into the other side of the metal door. Inside in Banner's head, however, the two of them were fighting for dominance. This resulted in Banner's unusual mid-transformation, having a disproportioned parts of his body. In their struggle for dominance, Banner, in his mind, was able to knock out both savage hulk and Joe Fixit.

The Pantheon

Through hypnosis, Samson created the green intelligent "Professor" Hulk - believed at the time to be the integration of Banner's separate personalities, but since revealed as a new persona the psychiatrist crafted to help keep the monster's destructive powers in check.
This Hulk would join and eventually lead a super heroes team called Pantheon but also on several occasions fight the team strong man named Ajax. As a favor to their friend Jim Wilson, Hulk and Rick agree to help out at an AIDS benefit concert with Rick headlining and Hulk providing security. The concert was disrupted by the drug-addicted assassin Speedfreek who was sent to kill one of the concert's attendees, Jim was stabbed defending the man and the Hulk got rid of Speedfreek before he could kill anybody. When Hulk and Rick returned to the Pantheon they were sent to the Florida Everglades to investigate the dissapearance of two teens that may have been tied to a missing Pantheon scientist. While there they battled both the Man-Thing and the missing scientist who had transformed himself into the Glob, he was killed by the touch of the Man-Thing when he burst into flame. During one of his missions with them he fights alongside a rebel force in a Trans-Sabal against both S.H.I.E.L.D. issue Mandroids and the new government super team X-Factor. The country was being ruled by Farnoq Dahn ,a dictator who had promised the US government energy assistance if they helped him keep his place as unchallenged ruler. He was exposed as a psycho when he tried to win the war by tying a mother and child to two separate missiles and threatened to launch them if the Pantheon didn't stop, he was stopped by Hulk and X-Factor. The tyrant was forced to face his people for the crimes he committed but most of them still saw him as a god and bowed at his feet, he was then shot and killed by a traumatized Rick Jones who had taken a Mandroid suit.

The Hulk used his Pantheon resources to confront Igor, his former assistant who let the gamma bomb go off that created the Hulk. Igor had been driven insane by nightmares brought on by his decision to let the bomb detonate. On her way back from a mission, one of the Pantheon, Atalanta, was shot down in the Himalayas by the Troyjan warrior Trauma and Hulk, Ulysses, and Hector were sent to find her. Hulk finds Trauma's ship, he is ambushed and left for dead. Trauma finds Atlanta and confesses his love to her then the Hulk shows up and brings down an avalanche on top of him. When Hulk's old boss Michael Berengetti is killed, Hulk teams up with the Punisher to get revenge on his killer and his super powered enforcer Frost.

Ghosts of the Past

During this time Marlo was killed by a woman posing as Rick's mother. But because of the extreme emotional pain that Rick was feeling the Leader also felt it because of their mental bond and it was causing an extreme annoyance, so he offered to bring her back to life. Leader attacks the Pantheon's headquarters, The Mount, using both his gamma soldiers and the U-Foes to distract the Hulk so that he could ask Agamemnon for help against Hydra. Agamemnon agrees to help and the Hulk leaves in anger, Betty goes to find him and they finally begin to reconnect. But Agamemnon betrays the Leader by sending the Hulk to Freehold in order to kill him. The Hulk crashes into Freehold during the middle of the Hydra invasion and when Leader is trying to resurrect Marlo. Overcome with anger Hulk ignores Rick's plees to stop, he destroys the machine because he thinks that Leader is lying and taking advantage of his grieving friend. The Leader was seemingly killed in the battle between himself and the Hulk, it was during this battle that Hulk knocks the helmet off of Redeemer, sees the resurrected General Ross, and realizes his mistake.

Troyjan War

They think they can do that to me? TO ME? I’ll show them! They think this is just some business-as-usual raid! Well it isn’t! This is war! I’ll hunt them down and smash them! Smash them all!!

-- Hulk

Agamemnon feels that it is time to venture out into the world to reconnect with the common people and he appoints Hulk as his replacement. On his first mission as leader he travels to the Amazon to investigate a new company that was cutting down the rain forest and he is jumped by the Juggernaut who is working as the enforcer for the New World Order(NWO) and their leader the Red Skull. He is captured and brainwashed into believing that the Juggernaut is his abusive father and he is forced to fight the Avengers. Hulk is able to shake off the mind control when the Juggernaut praises him and he realizes that his father would never show him any kindness. The psychic backlash releases the creature Piecemeal from his holding container. At this time the Hulk began showing signs of instability when he stopped referring to himself as Bruce and started using Hulk. As a favor to a former Pantheon member Perseus Hulk travels to Lock Ness to investigate reports of a monster in the lake. The monster turns out to be Piecemeal, the Hulk is about to defeat him when Madman interferes. After Perseus is killed, Hulk kills Piecemeal and appears to kill Madman but no body is found. Using his new power as leader of the Pantheon, Hulk leads a strike against a maximum security prison to free an ex girlfriend who had been falsely imprisoned.

Rick begins to call all of his friends to tell them that he and Marlo are getting married but they are all giving him the cold shoulder because of how the Hulk has been acting lately. She-Hulk hears the news and comes to visit and congratulate the happy couple. When the Hulk goes to the airport to pick her up she voices her concern over his change in behavior and he said "it would be a shame if we became enemies". Atalanta is kidnapped by Trauma to be his bride and the Pantheon set out to get her back. Atalanta manages to damage their engines and they manage to catch up to the space ship, Hector Cassiopea, Ulysses, and Hulk are sent out to confront the Troyjans. All of them except the Hulk are able to get inside the ship but the Hulk remains outside to fight Trauma, back on the Pantheon ship Prometheus sees that he is in trouble and tries to help but he is knocked unconscious by Achilles who still holds a grudge against Hulk for nearly causing his death. The Troyjan ship repairs its engines and jumps into warp speed with Hulk still on the outside and it nearly kills him, but he is luckily picked up by the Silver Surfer and the Starjammers. With their help he attacks the Troyjan home world to free his captured comrades, upon arriving they are all shocked when the Troyjan leader, Lord Armageddon, tells them the truth about Agamemnon. Agamemnon was actually a teenager who gained immortality centuries earlier by offering any of his offspring to the Troyjans, and if they try to take Atalana back then they will take back the extended lives of all of the Pantheon. Hulk doesn't care about the deal and attacks Trauma, he accidentally impales Trauma on his own shoulder spike. With his last words, Trauma pardons the Pantheon and asks his father to let them all leave in peace.

Maestro

You don't know what lies ahead for you. I do. Listen to me, Bruce... They're going to take it all away. You're going to end up with nothing and no one. Why go back to that... when you can stay here and have everything

--Maestro

The Hulk was taken into the future by Rick Jones' granddaughter Janis to fight his future self ,Maestro, who had killed all the heroes and villains on earth and named himself emperor of the post apocalyptic world. Maestro is a tyrant who rules his people with the fear of death to anyone who steps out of line, he has the intelligence of Banner and is twice as strong as the Hulk. Hulk goes with Janis and meets the future Rick who is stuck in a wheelchair and collects the remains of all the deceased heroes while leading the resistance. Hulk fights Maestro and has his neck broken easily, but Maestro has his servants nurse the Hulk back to health. During their second battle Maestro used a gun designed by Forge with the specific purpose of killing the Hulk, but he was killed when Hulk sent him back in time to ground zero at the moment the gamma bomb that created him went off. After killing Maestro the Hulk is sent back to the present, when he returns he is haunted by the thought of losing control and becoming Maestro.

Soon after this Rick and Marlo were married, at the wedding Betty tells Hulk that she wants to move into the Mount to be with him. After the wedding Hulk is attacked by the disgraced Skrull warrior Talos the Tamed, in an effort to gain back some honor Talos wants to be killed by earth's strongest warrior. Hulk refuses to fight because of how well his relationship with Betty is going and he doesn't want to risk losing his temper again. Hulk receive news that his old partner Jim Wilson was at an AIDS protest that was getting out of control, he takes him back to the Mount to give him treatment but despite the advanced technology he still dies. After the Hulk found out the truth about the leader of the Pantheon, Agamemnon, he and the rest of the Pantheon set out to find him to make him stand trial. Ulysses spots Agamemnon at Fenway Park on the run from Jason the Renegade. In order to escape his fate, Agamemnon flees to Asgard which is currently being inhabited by an alternate Thor named Red Norvell. Agamemnon seeks refuge with the Frost Giants but Hulk retrieves him and he has to face the Pantheon.

While on trial he reveals that everything the Troyjans said was true, and Jason reveals that Achilles was the one who killed the original Ulysses. Agamemnon resurrects all of the dead Pantheon warriors to kill everyone in the Mount and he tells the Hulk that the only way to stop them is to kill him. Achilles breaks Agamemnon out of his holding cell and demands that he makes him more powerful. Agamemnon runs away and tries to escape but is killed by Atalanta which brought an end to the undead warriors. Achilles tries killing Ulysses but the bullet ricochets and hits Betty and it causes Hulk to gets so angry that he reverts back to Bruce Banner's body with Hulk's brain. Even in his human form he gives off enough gamma radiation to make Achilles vulnerable and Ulysses kills him. The Pantheon flee their former base and the still mindless Bruce is taken into custody and temporarily placed in the care of Doc Samson while Betty is being treated for the bullet wound. Nick Fury shows up and tells Samson that Bruce is being taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. because he is a fugitive. During Bruce's transport Betty dies and her soul is given the chance to go to heaven, first she wants to visit Bruce to see if he still loves her. He calms down when he sees her and is able to transform and escape. After seeing how important she is to him Betty decides to live and returns to her body. Hulk visits the destroyed Mount and sees a hologram set up by Paris telling him that he is now the leader of the Pantheon and that Hulk is fired.

Now living under the last name Danner, Hulk and Betty moved to a small town in Florida. To hide his green skin, Hulk wore bandages all over his body and claimed to be a burn victim. Soon after their move a child was killed by a gigantic shadowy figure, because of the Hulk's size he was suspected of the crime by police chief Largo. Upon investigation Hulk found out that the true killer was a deranged old man living in the everglades with the Man-Thing, he rescues a child from the old man and he tells Largo what happened. A few days later Hulk and Betty see a young homeless girl going through their neighbors garbage, their neighbor comes outside and chases her into the street where Hulk saves her from being hit by a car. They offer her their help, she tells them that she is pregnant and she asks them to take her to a clinic. While waiting for the doctor she talks to Betty about whether or not she should abort the baby and the clinic is attacked by protesters. Betty tries to escape with the girl and she is shot. Later that night back at their home the father of the girl shows up and offers Hulk money to kill his daughter's murderer, Hulk refuses but offers his help in bringing the killer to justice. They find out that it was just a kid who accidentally shot her when someone pushed him. The man reveals that he is actually Speedfreek and tries to kill the kid. Hulk tries to stop him but has his intestines cut out of his body and Speedfreek goes after the fleeing child. Hulk catches up to him and hurls a car battery at him, rather than dodging it Speedfreek cuts through it and is covered in battery acid burning most of the skin off his face and causing him to flee.

While watching the news Hulk saw that the Abomination was fighting cops in the sewers of New York and decided that it was his problem. The homeless were being cleared out because the police commissioner was working for a drug lord that needed the sewers for new drug routes. He traveled to New York and went down into the sewers with the cops to confront him. While Hulk and Abomination were fighting, the cops used the opportunity to clear out the homeless by killing almost all of them. Abomination saw this and snapped, he started killing all of the cops then took his battle with the Hulk to the surface. They crash through the Daily Bugle before the Abomination jumped onto a news copter and crashed it, he used the opportunity to escape while Hulk was distracted.

Ghosts of The future

One day while the Hulk was at work the army showed up at his house and captured Betty, the squad is led by Glenn Talbot's nephew Matt. He blamed Betty and Hulk for his uncle's downfall and he wanted revenge against them. Hulk saw this on TV at work and was about to go to fight them but his boss talked him out of it by telling him that it was an obvious trap. In order to draw out the Hulk he took Betty outside in front of the reporters and shot her in the leg, Hulk saw this and went ballistic. He jumped to his house and destroyed all of the Hulkbusters then started heading towards Talbot, Talbot then shot her other leg to push Hulk over the edge so he would revert back to his Banner form and took him into custody and waited for the order to kill him. Betty was taken from the hospital by Chief Largo and his team of super powered androids, they told her that they will free Bruce if he will help them get revenge on the Leader and she agrees without telling them that the Leader is already dead. During the jailbreak Bruce, still with the mind of the Hulk, ran towards a grenade and nearly died when it went off. He was able to transform into the Hulk before he died but shrapnel is left in his brain extremely hindering his intelligence. Seeking help he traveled to Freehold to seek the devices of the Leader to remove the shrapnel. With the Leader dead, the hidden arctic sanctuary Freehold was placed in the care of Omnibus. He believed that there would eventually be a nuclear war that killed everyone on earth so he decided to speed it up by ordering terrorist attacks across the world to cause strain on global relations. He also mentally controlled many high ranking government officials including Talbot which explained his insane behavior. Jailbait overheard Omnibus's plan and exposed him to the people of Freehold and he was sentenced to death. Hulk decided that the best way to save the world would be to pose as Maestro and claim to be the man behind the terrorist attacks. A psychotic Thor was sent to defeat him, it was a close battle until an atom bomb was dropped on top of them and the Hulk was believed dead by most of the world but he actually used a hidden Pantheon base to survive.

Onslaught

Traveling through Alaska, Hulk ran into a fleeing Janis. She had traveled back in time to escape from an alien hunter who was trying to kill her. Upon arrival in the present she was caught in a forest fire and sought shelter in a nearby tavern, when she walked in the guilty woman blamed her to avoid punishment for her crime. They questioned Janis and were interrupted by the hunter, he killed everyone except her and she escaped. He attacked the Hulk and was killed after a very short fight. Hulk took a sick Janis to an unused Pantheon base but was then mentally ordered by Onslaught to find and kill Cable. Cable and Storm are able to free Hulk from Onslaught's control and they join the rest of the heroes in New York for the final battle. When Onslaught attacked New York Hulk fought him and he and Banner were separated after he destroyed Onslaught's body, Banner was one of the heroes who sacrificed themselves to destroy Onslaught and the savage Hulk was unleashed on the world again.

The army tried to restrain Hulk's unconscious body but he woke up and his body began giving off radiation equivalent to a nuclear bomb and he melted his container to his body. The army tried again to take the frozen Hulk but found that anything that came within five feet of him was melted by radiation so they set up a perimeter to keep civilians away. Betty showed up and it began to rain forcing the civilians to leave and the Hulk broke out of his shell. Moments later Jason the Renegade stepped from the shadows and shot the Hulk with a Pantheon gun which caused the soldiers to panic and begin shooting. He laughed off the bullets and escaped with Janis leaving Betty in tears.

Henry Gyrich was approached by Paris with a proposition to take down the Hulk for good, out of options he agreed. The Pantheon attacked Janis and Hulk and appeared to kill him, but it was actually just a mindless cloned body created by the Pantheon. Hector told them later that the Pantheon had become a democracy and that they had outvoted Paris to bring him back into the group. Hulk destroyed their ship and headed towards Washington DC with Janis where she told the military that the Hulk wasn't running anymore, if they attacked him then he would attack a major city in retaliation. While he was traveling through the mid west he and Janis were attacked by the new team of "superheroes" the Thunderbolts whom he easily defeated, then he destroyed a dam to fufill his promise of retaliation. Hulk began having chest pains that would force him to keel over in pain although at the same time he was becoming more physically powerful. Hulk traveled with Janis to Universal Studios and he started destroying the park before being attacked by Wildman. Wildman was being driven insane by voices in his head telling him to kill the Hulk and he was also granted near unlimited power to do this, but his powers disappeared after Hulk was teleported away by one of Dr.Strange's many mystical devices. Dr. Strange looked in to this and found that because of his split from Banner, Hulk was having excess energy from an alternate universe channeled through him that eventually result in the destruction of the universe. Under extreme emotional stress Hulk returned to the gamma base where he was created and found the skull of Maestro sticking out of the ground, he stood there looking at it and he was ambushed by the newest person placed in charge of capturing the Hulk Colonel Cary St. Lawrence. Hulk considered this the ultimate invasion of privacy because he considered the gamma base "his place". He was about to kill her when he had the idea to take over an island in the Florida Keyes which he renamed Hulk Island. He saved the inhabitants from a hurricane and they grew to respect him.

A few days after the hurricane Janis showed up with an alternate Hulk that came to Earth-616 when the Hulk was teleported away by Dr. Strange. He offered his help to Hulk but the shrapnel in his brain was making him angry at everything so he fought him until he was taken back to his own time.Hulk was manipulated by Apocalypse into becoming one of his Horsemen, this is noteworthy because he is the only non mutant to ever be made into a Horseman. Apocalypse offered to remove the shrapnel from Hulk's brain if he would serve him and he agreed. He battled the Absorbing Man and Juggernaut who were sent by the NWO with Rick and Janis Jones to stop this new Hulk that was using the power of the Celestials. He nearly killed the Absorbing Man and Juggernaut but Rick jumped in and Hulk swung at him. Seeing the crippled body of his best friend caused the Hulk to break free of the mind control and flee in shame. Mercy sensed the Hulk's desire for death and sent him on a path to fight Mr. Hyde, but the Hulk wanted a good death and refused to be killed by what he considered an unworthy foe. Wanting to help put the Hulk out of his misery, Mercy sent him to one of his deadliest enemies the Abomination while back at home Betty is reunited with her resurrected father General Ross. Sulking through New York Hulk found the Abomination but because of all the damage done to his brain recently he hallucinated and saw himself instead and he began letting out all his built up rage from the last few months.

Self Desruction

After being reunited with Banner the Hulk was transported to the site of his birth, the gamma bomb test site the strain on his body was slowly killing him and he gave off massive amounts of radiation , Banner's mind was in his personal Hell whre he confrounted his father, the leader and the Maestro. Banner was led from his hell by the sprit of betty , unknowingly the radiation that the Hulk generated was sufficent enough for the Maestro to absorb and return to life.Maestro walked a few miles but then fell to the ground to weak to move and he was taken by trolls to be the newest mind to inhabit the Destroyer. Bruce went to a diner and the military was called, Ross showed up and went into the building to talk to him but they were attacked by the Destroyer and his troll minions. During there battle they made it back out to the desert and the Hulk began losing a lot of blood and the Destroyer stepped in a pool of it. It recognized that Hulk and Maestro were the same being and drew the Hulk's mind inside of it and Hulk was able to outsmart Maestro and crush him under a rockslide. Bruce is brought back to Gamma base by Ross but upon arrival the Hulk came out and tried to start a fight but Ross refused, a confused Hulk decided to calm down and return Bruce. Bruce established some kind of control over the Hulk and started rebuilding his life with Betty, he even made peace with her father General Ross.

While visiting Rick in the hospital the Troyjans attack and the Hulk destroyed them all, the fight moved to Stanford and it was believed the aliens were after the president's daughter Chelsea Clinton. The secret service was easily killed but Hulk finished off the rest of the Troyjans then he reverted back to Bruce and agreed to meet with their leader Lord Armageddon. Seeing Bruce leave with the aliens the press believed that he had sacrificed himself to save Chelsea and he looked like a hero. Armageddon took him to his temporary base in Freehold where he had become their dictator, he wanted Hulk's help in ressurecting his son Trauma with the Leader's devise that had previously brought Marlo back to life. The device needed a very large gamma power source in order to work and he planned on sacrificing Hulk to do it. Bruce said no but Hulk agreed and stepped into the machine, the process started off fine but then Hulk began giving off to much radiation and incinerated Trauma's body. Armageddon agreed to live in peace out of fear of punishment from the Silver Surfer, but after Hulk left he leveled Freehold and killed everyone living their including the gamma beings Jailbait and Hotshot. Bruce was given a secret pardon for his crimes as the Hulk after saving Chelsea Clinton. Back at gamma base Bruce started talking to Reed Richards and Tony Stark about building Rick an exoskeleton so he could walk, it worked great but Rick soon became very ill and was taken to Avengers Mansion for treatment. Just when everything started going right with the Hulk, Betty nearly died due to gamma radiation poisoning that resulted from her time with the Hulk, Bruce was able to find a cure using his blood in a transfusion. But then she was pushed over the edge by the transfusion when the Abomination secretly switched it with his blood instead as revenge. Bruce went insane and tried to kill himself seconds after Betty was pronounced dead, Doc Samson stopped him but he turned into the Hulk later and escaped from gamma base. He began coming up with elaborate scenarios to kill himself so that Hulk couldn't stop him, but he would always transform seconds before death. With Betty dead and Bruce believed to have killed her General Ross starts to hunt the Hulk once more. Bruce took a job from a weapons supplier fixing the Super-Adaptoid because he said that he could find out who killed his wife. Just before Bruce finished his work he found out that the man knew nothing and programmed the Super-Adaptoid to kill the man. Ringmaster hypnotized Bruce into killing the Circus of Crime for him and so he traveled to Vegas, he snapped out of it and didn't kill them right before he did it. Bruce figured out the truth behind Betty's death when he went to the homeworld of the Watcher and was given infinite knowledge. He returned to earth to get revenge on the Abomination but he still blamed himself for Betty's death and let him go. Confronting General Ross he tells him that they were the two too be blamed for Betty's death and Hulk jumps into the night.

Due to the deteriorating effects of ALS and the chaos ravaging his mindscape, Banner cut a deal with the three dominant Hulk personalities - the green Hulk, the grey "Joe Fixit" Hulk and the "Professor" Hulk - essentially to time-share their existence, in return for stabilizing his fractured psyche and providing him with release from his disease. The Leader provided the means to cure Bruce.

The original Defenders, including Hulk, reluctantly re-formed when Yandroth surfaced again to menace the world. Though the heroes defeated his plan, Yandroth used his sorcery to levy a deathbed curse upon their heads, binding them to come together in times of crisis.

After the events of the M-Day, Banner sought refugee and peace in Alaska, where he lived as a hermit loosely connected to the town community. He was eventually tracked down by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., who required his help in defeating the Hydra space weapon called the Godseye which could detonate all the nuclear bombs in the world. Sent up as the Hulk, he discovered that the Godseye was actually a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon that could match the strength of any enemy. In the ensuing battle, the Godseye found that though it could try, it could not match the increasing power of the Hulk, and it exploded.

Planet Hulk

Main article: Planet Hulk

A S.H.I.E.L.D. commissioned space shuttle was sent to retrieve the Hulk, or so he believed. Seizing the opportunity to be rid of the Hulk, a group of superheroes known as the Illuminati decided to jettison the shuttle into space, to a planet with no intelligent lifeforms. Unfortunately, there was a navigation error, and the Hulk landed on the planet Sakaar, a world filled with barbarian tribes, gladiator battles and ruled by a corrupt empire. The planet was situated near a portal, which gave it access to several different cultures and technologies. The Hulk was captured to become a gladiator, but he ushered an uprising, overthrowing the current regime.

Installing himself as king, the Hulk met and fell in love with a queen named Caiera Oldstrong. Together, they ushered in a new age of peace and prosperity for Sakaar. Caiera became pregnant with the Hulk's child, but died when the shuttle that brought the Hulk to Sakaar suddenly exploded, killing millions of people. Driven to new heights of rage and fury, the Hulk swore revenge against the Illuminati, whom he held responsible for the death of Caiera Oldstrong. He even lashed out against his allies the Warbound, but they managed to calm him down and swore to aid him in his quest for vengeance. The Hulk rode atop the prow of an alien warship as it set course for Earth. This marked the beginning of a series of events that would become colloquially known as "World War Hulk". ^[1]

World War Hulk

Main article: World War Hulk

Reaching the moon, the Hulk defeats the Illuminati member Black Bolt. The Hulk then proceeds to New York City, where he demands the presence of the Illuminati and that the city be evacuated. Leaving for a short time, he travels to the nearby X-Mansion, home of the X-Men, where Professor Xavier, one of the members of the Illuminati absent when they decided to send the Hulk off-planet, and even Xavier admits he would have agreed to send the Hulk away.

The Hulk proceeds to defeat several teams of X-Men, and an unpowered Juggernaut. Juggernaut utilizes his full power and is able to withstand the Hulk's assault but Hulk outsmarts him taking him out of the battlefield.

Finally, Mercury shows Hulk the losses the mutant school and Xavier have suffered due to bigotry and Hulk realizes that he cannot hurt Xavier anymore than he has already suffered.

When the Hulk returns to Manhattan, the superhuman operative team Gamma Corps battle him, but the Hulk convinces them they follow a false cause.

As the time limit for the evacuation has passed, Hulk defeats Iron Man. The Stark Tower is then destroyed in the ensuing battle. He also faces off with Ghost Rider, and is beating him before Ghost Rider leaves.

The Avengers engage the Hulk and his Warbound but are defeated, as are his former friend Doc Samson and the Fantastic Four. Reed Richards creates a plan to stimulate the Sentry's presence in order to calm the Hulk down. This also fails, as Susan Storm and the U.S. president attempt to have the real Sentry intervene. The Hulk crushes the hands of Doctor Strange, preventing the sorcerer from employing mystic spells.

The Hulk encounters S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Assistant director Dum-Dum Dugan decides not to directly assault the Hulk, and lets him leave. Afterwards, an imprisoned Iron Man communicates with Dugan, revealing a plan to engulf Manhattan in the negative zone, thereby annihilating every piece of positive matter on the Island, including, the Hulk .After Hulk becomes allies with Hercules, Namora, and the Angel, General Thunderbolt Ross calls in the U.S. Army, the Hulk defeats them, and with the Warbound transforms an area near Madison Square Garden into a gladiatorial arena.

At Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, Warbound members Hiroim and Elloe defeat Iron Fist, Ronin, and Echo. Doctor Strange, mystically invoking a powerful old enemy, Zom, restores himself, his shattered hands replaced by spiked maces, and defeats Hiroim. Dumping Hiroim's body in front of the Hulk, Dr.Strange arrives at the gladiatorial arena constructed by the Hulk. Strange, fused with the demon Zom, begins to battle Hulk. Barely holding back the demon Zom, Dr.Strange begins to exhibit some of the demon's traits, exclaiming "stupid monsters...I've just begun!" and sends the Hulk flying with a massive punch to the midsection. The Hulk comes crashing down into the crowd that has gathered outside the arena. Dr.Strange quickly leaps upon him, proceeding to attack the Hulk multiple times. This sends the Hulk crashing into a building that crumbles upon himself and the innocent bystanders who had gathered to watch the fight.

Dr.Strange, suddenly aware that he may have harmed innocent bystanders, rushes to the scene. There he finds that the Hulk has protected the innocent bystanders. Dr.Strange apologizes, stating that he has little control over the demon Zom. A uncaring Hulk begins to give Strange a lesson on control and pummels him into the ground with a volley of punches . The Hulk is then confronted by Rick Jones about his heroism, but after a moment of hesitation, he proceeds to Madison Square Garden. After implanting "obedience disks" in all of the captured heroes, the Hulk sets Black Bolt, Mr.Fantastic, Dr.Strange, and Iron Man into the arena.

First, they face a tentacled creature. With some teamwork, they dispatch the monster, but the Hulk then uses the implanted obedience disks to have them fight each other. Mr.Fantastic is forced to square off against Iron Man in the battle after holding an advantage over Stark, the Hulk gives Stark the "thumbs down", ordering Richards to kill Stark. Afterwards, the Sentry leaves his mountainside retreat to face the Hulk. The Hulk spares Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man, declaring his intention was for justice and not murder, that nobody would die, and declares that he plans to destroy New York City and leave the Illiminati to their shame. Soon a nearly insane Sentry arrives on the scene and a cataclysmic battle ensues between him and Hulk. Sentry unleashed forces that nearly destroyed what was left of New York, but ultimately, Hulk averted that disaster by defeating the Sentry. The Hulk then reverts tback to Bruce Banner. Warbound member Meik impales the Hulk's longtime friend Rick Jones, and reveals he intentionally allowed the mass deaths on Sakaar, knowing they were caused by former followers of the Red King and not the Illuminati. The Hulk, having reverted from his Bruce Banner alter ego, and the Brood No-Name batter Miek in retaliation. The betrayed and enraged Hulk unwillingy begins releasing energy that threatens Earth, and prompts Tony Stark to activate a series of satellite devices that opens fire and eventually leaves the Hulk in his Bruce Banner form unconcious.

S.H.I.E.L.D. later imprisons Banner in a facility three miles underground, with the other Warbound members having been taken into U.S. custody. Meanwhile, on Sakaar, the Hulk's thought-dead son, Skaar, arises ^[2]

Red Hulk Incident

While Banner was incarcerated at Gamma Base, a new mystery revealed itself when long-time Hulk foe, the Abomination, was found murdered in his homeland of Russia. A team comprised of Iron Man, General Ross, Samson, She-Hulk and Commander Maria Hill went to investigate only to determine the only suspect that could have done this was the Hulk. The perpetrator soon revealed himself on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and it was indeed a massive creature referring to itself as the Red Hulk. This new incarnation of the Hulk decimated the likes of She-Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and even Rick Jones in his new powered up identity of a creature named A-Bomb. Banner was set free when the clash between the Red Hulk and A-Bomb caused a big enough earthquake to damage his prison. The potential threat to Banner's life triggered his transformation into the Green Goliath, and the Hulk wasted no time in confronting his new nemesis. The Hulk, caught unprepared for the Red Hulk's fighting style, was defeated in their first meeting - suffering a broken arm in the process - but the outcome was much different during their second meeting. The Hulk found a potential weakness in the Red Hulk and exploited it. Once the Red Hulk was beaten, the Hulk left before he could find out the Red Hulk's true identity. However, Banner has been spending his time trying to track down the Red Hulk before he can do anymore damage. On his journey, Banner ended up in Las Vegas where the Hulk had to team up with Sentry, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and even Brother Voodoo to quell a pack of Wendigos from devouring everyone inside a casino.

Sometime later, the Grandmaster came to Hulk with a proposition: if Hulk chose to participate in a game and won, Grandmaster would bring his love, Jarella, back to life. Hulk agreed and was told he could pick a group of allies to aid him in the game. Hulk chose his former teammates in the Defenders: Namor, Silver Surfer, and Doctor Strange. When the time came to meet their opponents, the Collector appeared with the Hulk's nemesis, the Red Hulk, and his team: Baron Mordo, Terrax and Tiger Shark - now known as the Offenders.

The Grand Master gave the Savage Hulk Bruce Banners mind and had each team member transported to the times and places that the hulk had gathered the defenders from. The Hulk battled with the Red Hulk in Atlantis and was winning but The Red Hulk gained an upper hand when the Hulk decided not to kill him and The Red Hulk pirced the Hulk's heart with a trident. The Collector collected the Hulk's body. The Hulk was eventually revived by the Grand Master and knocked out the Red Hulk with one punch.

Incarnations

You… can’t… break… a… man… who’s… already… been… broken.

--Bruce Banner

The Hulk initially is characterized as a separate entity from Bruce Banner, a distillation of his human anger that gradually develops its own personality and memories separate from Banner's. Banner suffers from "multiple personality disorder", which stems from the abuse he suffered as a child. The Hulk has many incarnations, each representing a different aspect of Banner's psyche.Banner has hundreds or possibly thousands of other Hulk pesonalities.

• Bruce Banner - Bruce Banner is the emotionally repressed core personality. Dr. Banner is a genius. Banner can transform into the different versions of the Hulks, whereas his alter egos seem to be able only to transform into Bruce Banner.

• Savage Hulk - The Savage Hulk is the most common version of the Hulk though it possesses the mental capacity and temperament of a young child and typically refers to himself in the third person. He often claims that he wants to be left alone. The Savage Hulk is usually depicted as green-skinned and heavily-muscled with a loping, ape-like gait. While in a functionally calm emotional state, or at least as calm as the Hulk can be, the Savage Hulk is capable of lifting about 90 tons. But when Angry capable of lifting well over 100 tons or can become limitless depending the height of his temper

• Gray Hulk/Joe Fixit - The Gray Hulk (though possibly not the original) worked for a time as a Las Vegas enforcer called "Joe Fixit". The Gray Hulk has average intelligence, although he occasionally displays knowledge and intellectual ability normally associated with Banner. He is cunning, crafty, hedonistic, arrogant, and distant, with a hidden conscience.

In most of Las Vegas appearances, he appears only at night. According to the Leader, the Gray Hulk persona is strongest during the night of the new moon and weakest during the full moon. This aversion to sun/moon light vanished when the Gray Hulk's night-induced transformation trigger was 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.

Joe Fixit's base strength level is also the lowest of the three primary Hulk incarnations. While in a functionally calm emotional state, Joe Fixit is able to lift about 70 tons.

• The Merged Hulk/The Professor - The Merged Hulk is the merger of Banner and the Savage and Gray Hulks. The Merged Hulk was later retconned into The Professor. The Professor, rather than being a merger 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, Gray 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 was even prone to uttering "Hulk will smash!", which was the Savage Hulk's most common catch phrase. The Merged Hulk was 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 Banner. The Professor personality was defined during writer Paul Jenkins' run as a "revelation" that the Merged Hulk was not actually a merger of the three personalities but rather a separate personality altogether.

Unlike the Merged Hulk, the Professor was physically distinguished by having a pony tail, which the Merged Hulk did not. Jenkins justified this by retconning 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 Samson with her observations of the Professor and Doc Samson validated them, despite events presented in previous issues to the contrary.

The Professor is the largest of the three primary Hulk incarnations and he also possesses a higher base strength level. While in a calm emotional state, the Professor is capable of lifting about 100 tons. However, unlike the other Hulk incarnations, Bruce Banner subconsciously installed a type of safeguard within the Professor. When the Professor's anger reaches a certain level, he will transform back into Bruce Banner, though with the mind and personality of the Savage Hulk. Due to this safegard, the Professor is ultimately the weakest of the three primary Hulk incarnations despite being the physically largest.

• The Maestro - The Maestro is a version of the Hulk from a future timeline when he has conquered mankind after it had already been brought to the brink of extinction through nuclear warfare. The Maestro's green skin is darker than that of the other green skinned incarnations, and his hair is gray and balding on top. Due to the increased radiation from nuclear fall-out, the Maestro is significantly stronger than the Merged Hulk (as demonstrated in the "Hulk: Future Imperfect" mini-series), and his strength still increases with rage, making him more powerful still.

Creator Peter David has stated on his various message boards that the Maestro was intended to be simply an insane evil alternate version of his Merged Hulk and not a separate personality within Banner. The Maestro's base strength level is considerably greater than that of the other primary Hulk incarnations, including his younger self. The Maestro's body absorbed the ambient radiation of the nuclear fallout, dramatically increasing his strength. While calm, the Maestro can lift well over 100 tons.

• 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. 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. While calm, the Mindless Hulk can lift well over 100 tons.

• The Guilt Hulk - Known as "The Beast", the Guilt Hulk 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
  

  

  The Devil
  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.

It is assumed that while calm, the Devil Hulk can lift well over 100 tons.

The Green Scar

The Hulk of World War Hulk is a cunning and more powerful version than the previous incarnations. His rage is at its most focused, due to meditation training by his ally Hiroim. This incarnation has extremely high durability, as evidenced by his ability to withstand Black Bolt's voice (Later revealed to be a Super Skrull impostor and not the real Black Bolt), whereas the Savage Hulk could not. He has had training in combat arms, including broadswords, spears, and battle shields, and is a capable leader and strategist.

Another source of the Green Scar's strength in comparison to other versions is his lack of inner conflict, if not alliance, with Bruce Banner. Several instances have been shown where the Hulk and Banner have worked together strategically; most recently to disable Dr Strange. Caiera, the Green Scar's wife, understood Banner as well, and both personalities loved her equally. This is seen as the driving factor in the Banner/Hulk alliance. As a result of being caught in the explosion of the warp core of his ship which brought him to Sakaar, which destroyed the planet, Green Scar's base level of strength was dramatically increased. He can lift well over 100 tons in a functionally calm emotional state.

During a recent burst of an unexplained anger in New York City, Professor X had attempted to slow down the angered beast with intense power, however the Hulk had proven to be resistant to the psionic effects of the professor. ^[3]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Superhuman Strength: The Hulk possesses the capacity for vast levels of physical strength.The entity Beyonder once stated that the Hulk's potential strength is limitless ^[4].His strength has being further described as near-limitless ^[5].However, each of the "core" Hulk personalities possesses a base strength level. While in a functionally calm state, the Gray Hulk is capable of lifting 70 tons, the Savage Hulk can lift about 90 tons, and the Merged Hulk can lift about 100 tons. The incarnation sometimes referred to as "Green Scar" is the physically strongest of all the primary Hulk incarnations. After being exposed to energies from the exploding warp core of the ship that originally brought him to Sakaar, his base strength level was dramatically increased. While in a "calm" state, Green scar was capable of lifting over 100 tons.However,while in an enraged state,adrenaline surges through the Hulk's body, increasing his strength considerably beyond his base limits.
  

  
  For example, during the Secret Wars, he was seen effectively using leverage to support a 150 billion ton mountain, which was dropped on them by the Molecule Man until the heroes buried inside could find a way to blast their way out. The Hulk also seems to be stronger with the more radiation he absorbs, which is the main reason why Maestro from the future has become stronger than the present Hulk.

• Superhuman Stamina: The Hulk's body counteracts fatigue poisons that build up in his muscles during physical activity. In an enraged state, the Hulk is capable of exerting himself at peak capacity for several days before fatigue begins to affect him. However, much like his physical strength, the Hulk's stamina does increase as he becomes angrier.
  

• Superhuman Durability: In addition to great strength, the Hulk's body possesses a high degree of resistance to injury, pain, and disease. The Hulk's skin is capable of withstanding extreme heat without blistering, extreme cold without freezing, and great impacts. His skin is strong enough to stop high caliber bullets without peircing it. The Hulk has withstood the impact of a ground zero nuclear explosion and the full force of the the Human Torch's Nova Blast, which is said to have a maximum temperature of 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit, without sustaining injury.He has also withstood the equivalent of inner solar temperatures^[6], and planet-splitting impacts ^[7]. The Hulk's durability, like his strength, is fueled by rushes of adrenaline while angry.
  

• Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his high resistance to physical injury, it is possible to cause the Hulk injury. The Hulk is capable of regenerating damaged or destroyed areas of his body with far greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Wounds that would be deadly to most other beings takes just a short time for the Hulk to recover. During a battle with Vector, he repelled all of the skin off of the Hulk leaving just exposed flesh and muscle. It took the Hulk minutes to regain the mass and be completely healed. During a battle with Speedfreak, he cut the Hulk's stomach open with adamantium blades. The Hulk had to hold his stomach to prevent his insides from spilling out. Within minutes the wound had healed, but unfortunately the skin had healed around part of the Hulk's fingers. He had to rip his fingers out of his stomach and allow it to heal again.
  

• Superhuman Speed: Regardless of his size Hulk's superhumanly strong legs allow him to run at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete. However this speed does not grant him any enhanced reflexes or agility as smaller foes exploit his size and use it as to their advantage.

• Resistance to Psychic Control: In many instances, the Hulk has demonstrated great mental resistance due to his rage and the multiple personalities inside his mind. ^[8]

• Immunity to All Diseases: The Hulk is immune to all known Earth-based diseases, including AIDS. He can operate under intense conditions for extended periods of time due to his body not developing fatigue toxins quickly.
  
• Superhuman Leaping Ability: The Hulk is able to use his highly developed leg muscles to leap great distances. While calm, he is capable of leaping roughly 3 miles. However, as he becomes enraged, his strength increases considerably, which means he can jump much farther than usual. On more than one occasion, the Hulk has nearly jumped into orbit. The Hulk has also been known to cover a distance of 1,000 miles with a single leap.
  
• Enhanced Lung Capacity: The size and strength of the Banner's lungs, like the rest of his body, are increased when he transforms into the Hulk. On a single good inhalation of air, Hulk can last hours--perhaps even days--without needing to take another one. This makes it possible for him to spend an extended period of time in outer space, or under the ocean. The Hulk has also used his lung capacity as an offensive weapon in several instances by inhaling, and then blowing the air back out at high speeds.
  
• Adaptation to Hostile Environments: There have been several instances in the past where Hulk has not only spent extended periods of time underwater or in oxygen-less outer space without suffocating, but he has also moved his mouth and spoken in these environments. It appears that the Hulk's body is able to adapt itself to new inhospitable environments when necessary. Like his healing factor, it is believed that this ability is also fueled by his rage and the madder the Hulk is, the quicker the Hulk's body will adapt.
  
• Underwater Breathing: The Hulk has been seen on the ocean floor a number of times and is able to breathe due to his body developing a gland which creates an oxygenated perfluorocarbon emulsion which fills his lungs and equalizes the pressure. He is therefore able to breathe fluid and avoid decompression and nitrogen narcosis.
  

Transformation: Previously, this mutation was not a stable one. The Hulk would periodically revert to the human form of Bruce Banner, losing the extra mass and energy to the same as yet unknown source from which he derived it. The process by which Banner usually transforms into the Hulk presumably has a chemical catalyst, adrenalin (a.k.a. epinephrine). As in normal human beings, Banner's adrenal medulla secretes large amounts of adrenalin in time of fear, rage or stress, which hormonally stimulates the heart rate, raises blood-sugar levels and inhibits sensations of fatigue. Whereas the secretion heightens normal physical abilities in normal human beings, in Banner's case it triggers the complex chemical-extra-physical process that transforms him into the Hulk. The total transformation takes anywhere from seconds to 5 minutes, depending on the initial adrenalin surge, which is determined by the original stimulus. Soon after the transformation, the amount of adrenalin in the Hulk will return to more normal, reduced levels. However, there were instances in which Banner became the Hulk without any discernible increase in heart rate or adrenal levels, suggesting that the true trigger mechanism into the Hulk is far more psychological than physical.

Extrasensory Perception:

• Astral Form Perception: The Hulk has the unique ability of being able to see "astral forms"--or ghosts. This power has come in handy when working with his fellow Defender, Dr. Strange, who is able to leave his body in an usually invisible, ghost-like state known as an astral form. Banner subconsciously feared his father's ghost would come back to haunt him, Hulk developed this mechanism to allow him to look out for him. Recent events have shown that the power to see astral forms may now extend to Bruce Banner. However, it was suggested the clarity of the astral forms is diminished when compared to the Hulk's ability to view them. The Hulk's ability to see astral forms may go beyond just seeing individual spirits. Hulk experienced a whole town in the middle of the desert that faded away into nothing. While it is possible it was merely a mirage, the issue suggests it is possible Hulk was able to see a town that didn't exist in our plane of reality that no one else could see.
  
• Homing Ability: The Hulk also has a seemingly mystical homing ability that enables him to locate the area in New Mexico where he first became the Hulk. This extends even if he is in another dimension. An image of the Maestro explained to Bruce that the reason he was able to do that was because the Maestro's spirit was there, calling to him. However, since the Maestro was resurrected the Hulk has continued to return to the gamma bomb site, suggesting that there is more to his ability than merely the Maestro's spirit.This homing ability has also been used to find people on a rare occasion. For example, the Hulk was able to dig a tunnel underground exactly in the direction of Onslaught, to which the Vision noted that the Hulk's sense of direction "borders on the supernatural." While it is possible that Onslaught was mentally leading the Hulk to him, there were other instances of Hulk demonstrating this ability. Hulk's instincts led him to Rick Jones and Betty and the Hulk located the Abomination with no prior knowledge of his whereabouts.
  

Gamma Radiation/Energy Manipulation and Emission: Not usually a power associated with the Hulk, but there is a sufficient amount of evidence that the Hulk possesses at least a limited ability to manipulate forms of energy, most particularly gamma radiation. The Hulk one time grabbed an energy shield and twisted it as though it were solid. The Hulk was also able to redirect massive amounts of gamma radiation using his bare hands in. The Hulk's body also acts as a "gamma battery" by constantly creating and radiating gamma energy. At one time Armageddon wanted to use the Hulk's own energy to power machines capable of bringing his son back to life. However, the Hulk outsmarted him by consciously force feeding his own energy into the machines at a rate too fast for them to handle and they promptly overloaded and exploded.He also emitted large amounts of gamma radiation at the end of World War Hulk arc.The extent to which Hulk controls his own energy, and foreign sources of energy, is only determined by his anger.

Abilities

Dr. Bruce Banner is a genius in nuclear physics, possessing a mind so brilliant that it cannot be measured by any known intelligence test ^[9]. When Banner is the Hulk, Banner's consciousness is buried within the Hulk's, and can influence the Hulk's behavior only to a very limited extent.

Strength level

Class 100+ ; the Hulk is one of the physically strongest beings ever to walk the earth. He possesses vast superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) far in excess of 100 tons. In human form Bruce Banner possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in no regular exercise.

Weaknesses

Adamantium has been shown capable of piercing his skin when in World War Hulk, Wolverine and X-23's claws could pierce it.

Notes

• Banner currently is a citizen of the United States under a special pardon.
• Banner's identity is publicly known, however, the public does not know Joe Fixit was the Hulk.
• Hulk was initially grey-colored but as the gamma radiation raged through his body, was eventually turned green. The Hulk has reverted back to his grey skin tone a couple of times.
• Through the transformation from Banner to the Hulk, his jeans or pants are the only item of clothing to sustain the sheer forces in muscular explosion.

  Trivia

• In Hulk: The Incredible Guide, Stan Lee reveals the Hulk was based on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Frankenstein.

• Lou Ferrigno starred in the television series of the same name as the titular character opposite Bill Bixby who portrayed the Bruce Banner persona.

• In the television series, Banner's first name was changed to David on the concern that Bruce was considered too "effeminate".

• Australian actor, Eric Bana, portrayed the Hulk in the 2003 film version directed by Ang Lee.

• After helping to oust Morvanian dictator Draxon, the Hulk was presented with an amulet declaring him as the legal ruler of Morvania. The Hulk had little interest in such an appellation however, and left the country after crushing the amulet. ^[10]

• Stan Lee never intended The Hulk's identity to be Robert Bruce Banner. Stan ran the first issues with Bruce Banner than mistakenly ran some more with Bob Banner. Notified of his mistake he announced the name of the Hulk's alter ego was Robert Bruce Banner.

• While the Hulk was intended to be the physically strongest character in Marvel, Stan Lee admitted that the creation of Thor was to make a character who was "stronger than the Hulk, and smarter than Reed Richards, in a godly wisdom aspect." The subject over which titular hero is the strongest is the source of many debates between comic book fans.

Appearances in Other Media

Hulk (Toy) Toy Biz Marvel Legends Series 1

While working at a nuclear research facility, scientist Bruce Banner was accidentally caught in a gamma bomb explosion. The blast transformed him into the monstrous, rampaging Hulk, a creature with childlike intelligence and superhuman strength, which he often directs against those that would threaten him or other innocent beings. Ever since, when enraged, Banner turns into the Hulk and stays that way until the raging giant calms down and reverts to his normal human form. Description from ML packaging.

Planet Hulk Hulk (Toy) Hasbro Marvel Legends Series 1

Blasted away from Earth by a conspiracy of Earth's heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D., the HULK falls through a wormhole and arrives on the planet Sakkaar - a savage world of barbarian tribes ruled by a corrupt Empire. He gladly enters the gladiatorial arenas of Sakkaar, accepting all the benefits that victory entails. Known as the "Green Scar," he gathers around himself a trusted cabal of warriors, each sworn to the other. Disgusted by the fear and hatred of those weaker than himself, Hulk is done with peace, done with justice, done with heroism. Now, he fights for glory, and for the lives of his warbound brothers in the arena. Description from ML packaging.

Hulk has starred in two cartoons of his own, one in 1982 and one in 1996. He also guest-stars in the Secret Wars storyline of Spider-Man: The Animated Series and one episode of the 1994 Fantastic Four series, as well as playing a role in both Ultimate Avengers movies.

Links

• Appearances of Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)
• Character Gallery: Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)
• Images that feature Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)
• Quotations by Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner) 
• Fantastic Four #12 - First fight with the Thing
• Tales of Suspense #49 - Cameo Appearance as Doctor Bruce Banner. Seen working in his lab in New Mexico.
• Amazing Spider-Man #14 - First Encounter with Spider-Man in a cave somewhere in New Mexico.
• World War Hulk: World Breaker #1 - Prologue to "World War Hulk"
• Incredible Hulk cover art gallery
• Marvel Directory - Hulk
• Official webpage at marvel.com
• Official Marvel UK Store
• Marvel Picture Store
• A fan site with extensive Hulk information
• Radical Entertainment's Hulk Games website
• One of Stan Lee's Best-Article on the Incredible Hulk's Popularity
• Hulk's Blog
• The Hulk Library
• Gamma Base - An Online Hulk Resource
• The 1982 Incredible Hulk Cartoon @ Toon Zone
• DRG4's Incredible Hulk the Animated Series Page (1996)
• Hulk Angry Incredible Hulk fan site with wallpaper fan art section and comic book covers starting at the 1962 number one issue.
• Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards
• HulkNews.com - Featuring the latest news, reviews and information on all things Hulk
• Hulk: "Lonely Man" Fan comic with CG artwork.
• The Incredible Hulk Message Board
• Hulk: The Incredible Guide
• Toybiz archive
• Marvel Legends

Discover and Discuss

• Search News for: Hulk · Robert Bruce Banner · Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)
• Search Forums for: Hulk · Robert Bruce Banner · Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner)
• Discuss this and other characters on the forums