Marvel Just Made a Major Change to the Hulk And It’s Unlike Anything We’ve Ever Seen

The Hulk has always been the Strongest One There Is. He’s been smashing his way through every villain and hero who got in his way ever since the gamma bomb caused him to explode onto the scene. Of course, he’s far more than a mindless beast bent on destruction. Underneath the green skin and undying rage is a scarred, flawed man named Bruce Banner, who tries every day to be better than the monster he knows lurks inside him. Banner is one of Marvel’s most complex characters, always at war with who and what he is, even when he’s fighting others for the right to exist. Everyone wants the Hulk, and no place is that truer than the pages of Infernal Hulk.

The monster known as the Eldest stole the Hulk’s skin, becoming the new King of Monsters and ushering in a new era of unspeakable horrors. All the while, Banner has sat on the sidelines, both unwilling and helpless to stop the Hulk’s rise to power without him. After nearly a year as a normal man, Banner has realized that the only way to stop the Hulk is with another Hulk, and set about transforming himself once again. Banner is the Hulk once again, but he’s not like anything we’ve ever seen before, because there’s no Hulk persona here, just Banner.

A Return to Gray-Skinned Basics

Infernal Hulk #10 saw Banner and Doctor Voodoo venture into the Soul Cage to confront the demon Sumanguru, hoping to take back the Hulk essence he leached off of Banner. The demon would have slain them, but Voodoo came up with a plan to distract him with a game of torture and riddles, giving a rune he crafted the time it needed to return the gamma and energy to Bruce. Surviving the game let him transform back into the Hulk, but a Hulk of his own, complete with gray skin and pulsing green eyes, and no other voices in his head.

That’s the biggest difference between Banner’s new form and his normal Hulk transformations. Typically, when Banner transforms, it’s one of his alters that takes over, be it the childlike Savage Hulk or the cold, calculating Devil Hulk. Even during the few instances when Banner was in full control, he risked losing himself to his rage and being usurped by one of the many Hulk personas. Yet those personas are all trapped in the Eldest’s mind, leaving Banner alone and without competition for his strongest form for the first time. He’s a gray Hulk, just like he was when he first transformed, showing how Banner is back to the start of a journey to become the Green Behemoth once again.

A Raging Mind Controlled by Calm Calculations

Even without the other Hulks in his mind, Banner is still a very angry man. In the months he’s spent as a normal man, he’s lived without ever losing control or smashing anything, which means that all of his rage has just been building with no outlet. Banner hasn’t been able to express his anger in any way besides being the Hulk for decades, meaning that he probably has no idea how to. Now, he’s in full control of a body that is powered by rage, which he has been saving for months. He’s ready to smash any monster that gets in his way, and his target is the Hulk, the one thing he hates more than anything else.

Banner and Hulk have cooperated in the past, but there’s never been a case of Banner having unlimited control of a body that physically cannot lose itself to the Hulk’s mindlessness. Banner has spent years mastering himself, and even at his lowest, he’s a good man who looks for the way forward. This is the ultimate fusion of everything that makes Banner great and dangerous, giving him the chance to show the world what his inner demons really look like. He can show everyone what his Hulk should be, how it should fight for the world instead of fighting it.

I’m more than excited to see this new take on the Hulk in action, even if it will only last for a few days, as Voodoo warned. But for the first time, Banner is free to be himself in every regard, and he’s going to make every second count.

Infernal Hulk #10 is on sale now!

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