Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to see Marc Ruffalo’s Hulk return to his savage roots and battle Tom Holland’s Amazing Spider-Man. This concept has actually been done numerous times in the comics as the Web-Head has repeatedly found himself evading the bone-crushing strength of a ticked-off Hulk rampaging through New York City. As one can probably piece together, Spider-Man could never hope to beat the Jolly Green Giant in a head-to-head fight and instead must rely on his wits and agility to avoid being squashed. However, in 1989, Spider-Man received his biggest power-up, which not only gave him immense cosmic power but also allowed him to defeat one of Marvel Comics’ strongest heroes effortlessly.
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Over the years, Spider-Man has had countless transformations that give him significant boosts in power beyond the standard abilities of a super-sized arachnid. Of course, even with most of these power-ups, Spider-Man still would be lucky to even lay a scratch on the Hulk. Yet, in Amazing Spider-Man #328, the Web-Head finally had the means to knock the Green Goliath down a peg when he became Captain Universe.
Captain Universe Spider-Man Was Too Much for The Hulk
The storyline “Acts of Vengeance” saw Peter Parker and Dr. Max Lubisch working on a machine that could tap into extradimensional energy. When the machine predictably went haywire, Peter pushed Lubisch out of the way and was bombarded with cosmic energy. This energy was the Enigma Force, a living entity that bonds with heroic individuals to empower them to be the all-powerful Captain Universe. Like all hosts, Peter soon discovered that the Enigma Force granted him near-invincibility, infinite strength, flight, matter manipulation, telekinesis, energy projection, and cosmic awareness. With all this power, Spider-Man easily took down villains like Doctor Doom, Magneto, and Graviton. Still, his biggest challenge would be the Hulk.
During this time, the Hulk was in his smarter, more malicious, and greedy Grey Hulk form. So, when the leader of the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw, offered the Hulk a large sum of money to deal with the cosmic Spider-Man, the former Avenger happily agreed. However, the job didn’t go as smoothly as the Hulk expected. With Spider-Man’s Captain Universe power mixed with his natural agility and smarts, he effortlessly dodged the Hulk’s attacks before delivering strikes that sent the goliath through several buildings. He ultimately delivered an uppercut that launched the Hulk into outer space! When Spider-Man brought his adversary back down to Earth, the Hulk begrudgingly conceded and repaid the Wall-Crawler’s kindness by forgoing Shaw’s bounty.
Never had the Hulk been so effortlessly defeated, especially by someone who normally can’t even compare to his destructive power. For decades, Spider-Man had always been physically weaker than the Hulk, but by becoming Captain Universe, he finally had the power to put the Hulk in his place. Of course, Spider-Man would eventually lose the Enigma Force when he used up his energy to contain a nuclear meltdown caused by the Tri-Sentinel. Still, Spider-Man was one of the best heroes to hold the Captain Universe mantle because he only used his cosmic power responsibly and, as seen with the Hulk, was willing to show mercy to his enemies. Where the Hulk was corrupted by his absolute power, Spider-Man true to his nature never gave in to the temptation.
Although such a battle will most certainly not occur in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie, it’s still amazing to see an instance where the Web-Head managed to humiliate the normally invincible Hulk in a straight-forward brawl.
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