Marvel Introduces Iron Hulk

You've met Iron Man. You've seen the Hulk. Now get ready for perhaps the craziest character mashup Marvel has created yet: Iron Hulk.

SPOILERS for Avengers #684 follow.

The original Hulk is back in the Marvel Universe, but some others have filled in the Hulk shaped void while Bruce Banner was gone.

Among them is four-star General Robert Maverick. Maverick was originally tasked with bringing in Avengers Idea Mechanics, the rebranded aim run by Sunspot. Sunspot later turned himself in and allowed AIM to be reabsorbed into SHIELD. Sunspot, now codenamed Citizen V, then began leading the USAvengers team of government-sponsored heroes.

Maverick was part of the team, but he wasn't chosen simply for his military acumen. Maverick was genetically screened and found to a match for an experimental device that would make him "halfway to a Hulk." Using it, he could transform into the new Red Hulk for an hour at a time.

Maverick used the device on missions, but became frustrated by its limitations. A Hydra double-agent working within AIM offered Maverick an injection of nanites that would bypass the security protocols limiting Maverick's time as the Hulk. Maverick accepted the injection, but it was a trick to allow Hydra to control the Red Hulk.

The USAvengers were able to free Maverick from Hydra's control, but the nanites had damaged Maverick's ability to become Red Hulk. His window to be the Red Hulk was shortening, and he was weaker and weaker with each transformation.

So when the Hulk, Bruce Banner, comes crashing in on the Avengers auxiliary headquarters during Avengers: No Surrender, Maverick needs a little help. He's already decided he was going to Hulk out no matter the cost, but to stand up against the Hulk in his weakened form he'd need a boost from teammate Toni Ho.

Toni is the daughter of the scientist who helped Iron Man build the original Iron Man armor. She previously built herself a version of the Rescue armor but converted it into a new Iron Patriot suit when AIM became the USAvengers. She makes some quick adjustments to the suit and hands it over to the Red Hulk so that he can become the Iron Hulk:

That's where this issue ends, but it looks like Hulk vs. Iron Hulk is on the card for Avengers #685 next week.

Avengers #684 is on sale now.

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