5 Worst Hulk Villains, Ranked

The Hulk is a tough character to find enemies for, and some of the worst Hulk villains are a great example of that. When a character is as powerful as Hulk, it is hard to find anyone who can match up to him. The best characters for this are those who have different strengths. Much like how Superman and Lex Luther are perfect enemies since one is physically strong and the other is intellectually powerful, Hulk and Leader have a similar dynamic. Also, like how Superman has General Zod to match him in strength, Hulk has someone like Abomination filling the same role.

However, not all of Hulk’s villains match him that well, and it makes many of them terrible in comparison to the big green goliath, and they are rarely entertaining when he fights them.

5) Glenn Talbot

There are several reasons why The Incredible Hulk isn’t a great movie, and a big one is the villains. Having a version of The Absorbing Man be Bruce Banner’s dad was a head-scratcher, but the secondary villains were just as disappointing. While General Ross was fine in his role, the antagonist of Glenn Tablot was an embarrassment, and he is worse in the comics. Talbott was a major in the U.S. Army, and he served under General Ross.

When Ross brought him in, it was to investigate Bruce Banner and to possibly break up Banner and Betty Ross, as the General thought Talbot would be a better boyfriend for his daughter. That was bad enough, but soon Talbot developed an intense jealousy of Banner, and he became obsessed with destroying Banner and the Hulk. He was a thorn in Hulk’s side, but he was never a real danger and was mostly an annoyance that only served to screw up Banner and Betty’s relationship. His death didn’t come soon enough for many fans.

4) The Red King

When the MCU introduced Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok, it had the Grandmaster as the ruler of the planet and the man who put on the gladiatorial battles. That isn’t who was in charge in Planet Hulk, but there is a good reason the MCU made this change. The actual big bad guy in Planet Hulk was mostly a joke. This was Angmo-Asan, also known as the Red King. He was a prideful and arrogant ruler, and it was his arrogance that was his downfall.

Looking at Sakaar since Planet Hulk, and the planet is a brutal society where weakness is destroyed. This makes the Red King a strange leader when the world is first introduced, because he is almost nothing compared to what came later. He fought Hulk twice, and both times, Hulk destroyed him and made him look stupid. Eventually, Red King’s own bodyguard, Caiera, betrayed him to help Hulk and brought about his downfall. For such a great story, the main villain was lame.

3) Zzzax

It seems almost hard to believe that a Marvel animated movie used Zzzax as a villain against the combined forces of Hulk and Iron Man. This happened in Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United, and if that seemed like a silly idea for their villain, it is even worse when looking at Zzzax in the comics. Zzzax is the product of a nuclear power accident, and it caused the electromagnetic field to take on a human form.

Debuting in Incredible Hulk #166, it kind of makes sense to have Hulk fight something that has no physical form, but it just didn’t work, and it still doesn’t to this day. Zzzax should be incredibly powerful since it can absorb human brain energy and discharge untold levels of electricity. However, nothing he does is imposing, and while he should be an unstoppable ball of energy, Hulk always finds a way to beat him, which is kind of embarrassing.

2) Wendigo

Wendigo has one claim to fame in Marvel Comics. He was the villain in Wolverine’s first-ever Marvel appearance. This happened in The Incredible Hulk #181 when the Canadian government sent their top agent, Wolverine, to stop Hulk since he had crossed the border and was causing destruction. When Wolverine got there, he found Wendigo on the rampage, and the three had a brawl before they finally bested Wendigo, and Hulk escaped.

Wendigo isn’t one person, really, but it is a curse put on anyone who eats human flesh. Wendigo is supposed to be powerful enough to go head-to-head with Hulk and survive, and he has no focus as he is a berserker. However, as seen in Wolverine’s first appearance, he really poses no threat, and to Hulk, he was just a nuisance and played second fiddle to Wolverine.

1) Brian Banner

Brian Banner might be the most dangerous villain in Hulk comics. That is because he primarily exists in Hulk’s head since Brian is dead. However, that does not make him a good character, or even an interesting one. Brian was Bruce Banner’s father, and he worked around gamma energy. He always worried it was infecting him, and when Bruce showed he had a genius intellect when growing up, Brian was sure the gamma had mutated him.

Brian became abusive, beat up Bruce’s mother, and eventually killed her in front of their son. Bruce blocked this out, and it is a big reason he developed DID when he became Hulk years later. Brian continued to haunt Bruce in his mind, and when Hulk ended up in the Below-Place, Brian was there to torment him some more. Brian Banner was an allegory for repressed memories, but as a villain in Hulk comics, he was as lame as they come and just an excuse to explain Hulk’s anger issues.

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