5 Powers Even Marvel Forgot The Hulk Had

The Hulk is inarguably one of the most powerful superheroes in comic book history. On a surface his powers and story seem very basic, a brilliant scientist turning into a giant green monster with super-strength. However, over the years Marvel Comics has drastically expanded the Hulk’s lore and power set. Abilities like his immense healing factor, energy absorption, rapid adaptability, and retroactive immortality have all become staples of the Hulk’s incredible arsenal. Yet, as writers have continuously given the Hulk dozens of new powers, some abilities have slipped through the cracks and have been largely forgotten about or ignored after their initial debut.

The Hulk has plenty of superpowers that the public probably isn’t aware of. Still, some of his abilities are so obscure and appear so few times that even many Marvel writers likely are not aware of their existence.

5) Homing Ability

One of the Hulk’s strangest and most inexplicable abilities is his near-unrivaled skill at tracking and homing in on specific locations and people. As first seen in The Incredible Hulk #314, the Jolly Green Giant could instinctively locate the area in New Mexico in which Bruce Banner was exposed to the gamma bomb that gave him his powers. The Hulk has also been known to effortlessly track down individuals such as Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Vision, Abomination, and Onslaught. This power briefly reappeared in The Immortal Hulk series, but it hasn’t been seen or mentioned since. Because this homing ability is used so rarely, Marvel writers have never explained how it even works.

4) Underwater Breathing

In recent years, Marvel has made the Hulk an ever-evolving creature that can rapidly adapt to any environment. Even so, they seem to have forgotten that, in the 1970s, with the release of The Incredible Hulk #138, the Green Goliath already could survive at the bottom of the ocean. The Hulk possesses a special gland that creates oxygen for his lungs even if he’s submerged miles underwater. This power was also seen in The Incredible Hulk #145. However, since almost all of the Hulk’s fights take place on dry land, the Hulk’s power to breathe underwater has been rarely used and is unknown to most readers and writers.

3) Heat Vision

Cyclops isn’t the only Marvel superhero who can shoot powerful lasers from his eyes. The Hulk has always been a creature filled to the brim with gamma radiation and has on several occasions released it all at once as a giant explosion. For a very brief time, the Hulk could also channel this energy into concentrated optic lasers. Appearing only during Donny Cates’ run of the Hulk series, the Jolly Green Giant initially had heat vision when his evil split personality, the Titan, took control of his body. However, even after Titan was destroyed, the Hulk retained his heat vision, which he used to fight Iron Man and Thor. After Cates’ run, Marvel writers completely ignored this deadly ability.

2) Fourth-Wall Breaking

Although She-Hulk is the green-skinned gamma mutant best known for breaking the Fourth Wall, her cousin has also been shown to understand that he exists in a comic book. In Gwenpool Strikes Back #4, the titular anti-hero finds herself running from an enraged Hulk. At first, Gwenpool thinks she’s safe thanks to her ability to jump between panels. However, the Hulk shows that not even the Fourth Wall can protect her, as he reaches out and grabs her leg in another panel before slamming her into the ground. This is the only in-canon example of the Hulk shattering the Fourth Wall, and it seems that Marvel writers have forgotten it ever happened.

1) Flight

That’s right, the Hulk can fly, and not just by leaping great distances. In The Incredible Hulk #3, the Jolly Green Giant took to the sky to evade the military. Even though the very next issue retconned it so that the Hulk was merely jumping, this wouldn’t be the last time that he would achieve powered flight. In Tales to Astonish #63, while fighting one of the Leader’s Humanoid robots on a moving train, the Hulk is tossed upwards and nearly hits a bridge. The Hulk flexed his muscles to defy gravity and lift himself over the bridge. Outside of Stan Lee, no other Marvel writer has addressed this ability and instead have stuck with the idea that the Hulk’s just a good jumper.

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