10 Years Ago, Marvel Finally Killed the Hulk (& Set Up His Best Story in Decades)

The Hulk is among the most powerful and complex superheroes in comic book history. Ever since Dr. Bruce Banner was bathed in the radiation of a gamma bomb, he’s had to struggle with the rage-fueled beast that’s always at risk of breaking free. With the Hulk’s overwhelming power and propensity for blind rampages, he’s oftentimes considered as much a threat as he is a hero. Such a reputation has led to him being hunted his entire life by both the military and fellow heroes, who would ultimately kill him in 2016 to save humanity. However, in doing so, the entire Marvel Universe had a horrifying realization that would set up the Jolly Green Giant’s best story in decades and forever change his lore: the Hulk is Immortal.

Immortal Hulk is not only one of the best Hulk stories, but also one of the greatest Marvel series of the modern age. Ironically, this incredible series that delved into existential and Lovecraftian horror owes its very existence to one of the worst Marvel storylines of all time: Civil War II. Although Civil War II is an atrocious storyline with a weak plot and numerous cases of character assassination, one tragic moment laid the groundwork for the Hulk becoming the monster everyone feared him to be.

A Murder Driven by Fear of the Hulk

The original Civil War crossover event was already controversial, but Civil War II made it look like a masterpiece. The story introduced an Inhuman named Ulysses, who could see potential futures. While Iron Man was skeptical of these visions’ accuracy, Captain Marvel Carol Danvers treated them like gospel. This belief led to Carol controversially creating a system where people would be incarcerated for crimes that they haven’t yet committed or possibly would never commit. With a system that sought to prevent disasters preemptively, it was inevitable that the Hulk would be one of Carol’s targets of her twisted and freedom denying concept of justice. However, it wasn’t Carol who killed the Hulk; it was Bruce Banner.

In Civil War II #3, Ulysses prophesies that the Hulk will go on a murderous rampage. This prophecy lead the superhero community to surround and confront Bruce. At this point, Bruce hadn’t turned into the Hulk for a year; nonetheless, it was determined that he should still be arrested. Just as Bruce began to get agitated, an arrow bypassed his healing factor and hit him square in the skull, killing him. The shooter was none other than Hawkeye. The archer revealed that he killed Bruce at his request. Bruce even supplied Hawkeye with the killing arrow. Bruce told Hawkeye that if he were ever to become the Hulk again, he wanted his friend to put him down. When Bruce became agitated, Hawkeye wasn’t taking any chances.

The Hulk has always been a creature feared for his frequent rampages and the potential to cause even more devastation in the future. Although both the army and the superhero community share this fear, neither compares to Bruce’s own terror and hatred of the Hulk. Except on rare occasions, Bruce has always viewed the Jade Giant as a curse; simultaneously blaming the Hulk and feeling responsible for the devastation his other half causes. Even when he’s been Hulk-free for a year, Bruce feels the Hulk constantly trying to break free. Bruce’s request to Hawkeye was ultimately a tragic and desperate attempt to ensure he never hurt anyone again and to give himself peace from his tormented mind.

However, Bruce’s wretched bid to stop the Hulk for good inadvertently opened himself up to a whole new world of monsters, torment, and horror unlike anything he’s ever experienced before.

Through Death, the Hulk Was Reborn Anew

Comic book characters coming back from the dead are nothing new, and most of the time, their resurrections leave very little of an impression. Yet, instead of taking the easy route, Marvel writer Al Ewing crafted one of the coolest and darkest comic runs of all time. For Immortal Hulk isn’t a regular superhero story about the Jolly Green Giant smashing everything in his path. Instead, the series changed the the Hulk forever by showing how he works best as a horror character.

From the beginning, the Hulk has drawn inspiration from classic monsters, with Bruce and the Jade Giant sharing a Jekyll-and-Hyde relationship. However, Immortal Hulk shows that not even death can free Bruce of his curse. When the Hulk comes back to life, a long-dormant personality resurfaces to fulfill the role both Bruce and society had labeled them as: a monster. The Devil Hulk is a terrifying and articulate creature who will kill anyone he deems a threat. What follows is one of the most in-depth, nuanced, and disturbing explorations into Bruce’s psyche, trauma, and dissociative identity disorder as he struggles to come to terms with many personalities and combat the literal ghost of his abusive father.

As a hero defined by limitless power and psychological horror, Immortal Hulk takes the logical next step by tying him to Lovecraftian horror. For the Hulk isn’t just a radioactive monster, he’s the product of the One Below All. This eldritch and cruel entity is described as “God’s Hulk” and evil incarnate. The One Below All created gamma radiation so it can make an avatar capable of freeing it from the Below Place. This hellish dimension is where the souls of gamma mutants go when they die, and where they can resurrect themselves by passing through the Green Door. Bruce’s fractured mind makes him the perfect avatar for the One Below All’s escape plan. All this makes the Hulk a terrifying beast whose true power is beyond human comprehension.

What began as a cheap death to draw intrigue in a universally hated storyline unintentionally led to the most beloved Hulk story ever. No other tale of the Jolly Green Giant has delved into psychological, bodily, existential, and Lovecraftian horror with the depth and sophistication of Immortal Hulk. In death, the Hulk was given new life.

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