All of The Hulk’s Successors, Ranked

The Hulk is the Strongest One There Is. The Jade Giant has been hero, villain, and everything in between ever since the gamma bomb gave Banner’s rage unparalleled strength. More often than not, the Hulk has been a flawed man trying to live in a world that hates him, but he hasn’t been the only one in that role. Superheroes have long since been intertwined with the idea of legacies and starting a tradition of some kind. Today, we’re going to honor the Hulk’s legacy by ranking every character who has taken up his mantle. Now, defining the Hulk’s successors is a pretty vague endeavor, especially considering how many heroes, villains, and normal civilians have Hulked out at one point or another. 

So, let’s first define what the Hulk’s successor is for our purposes. The Hulk has been many different things over the years, so a successor will have to embody one or more of those aspects. They can be the hero shackled with a curse, or a monster seeking to destroy the world, but they must relate to the Hulk’s mission in some way. These characters have to have either been the only Hulk of their era or been positioned to inherit something after him. With all that said, let’s leap right into ranking the various Hulks beyond Bruce.

6) Red Hulk

Thunderbolt Ross is one of the Hulk’s oldest and most obsessed enemies, but he truly became what he sought to destroy. His obsession with becoming strong enough to stop the Hulk led him to become the Red Hulk, and after Banner was imprisoned following “World War Hulk,” Ross was the only Hulk around and the star of the title. He’s a fantastic parallel to Bruce. Both men are driven and filled with rage that stems from helplessness, but where Bruce tries to avoid hurting people, Ross is willing to sacrifice others to get his way. He’s as much an antagonist as he is a successor, though, so he can’t rank any higher. Ross and Bruce have both been Hulks, but Ross’s monster is just himself with no limits.

5) Hulk 2099

John Eisenhart was a cutthroat Hollywood lawyer who was sent to close a deal on a cult dedicated to the Hulk, called the Knights of Banner. They set off a gamma bomb that transformed John into the mutated Hulk of his timeline, complete with additional features like fangs and claws. An extra-mutated Hulk is a cool concept in theory, but in practice, John was just boring. He failed to leave any lasting impression, to the point where his solo series was canceled after just ten issues. Frankly, someone in or at least related to the Knights of Banner turning into the Hulk probably would have been more interesting, but not much could have saved this unfortunate successor.

4) Skaar

Skaar is the son of Hulk, born during his world-conquering days in space. The Jade Giant thought he had perished in the explosion that claimed his mother, but Skaar survived and, upon growing to adulthood, swore to continue his father’s legacy and take over the world. He was the inheritor of the Green Skaar’s drive for revenge and rulership, but he was also the inheritor of Bruce Banner’s very complicated relationship with his own dad. They mirror each other in that way, with Skaar always trying to understand his dad’s anger and the divide between them. Skaar is literally Bruce’s heir, and a great one at that, but he has never truly been the Hulk. 

3) Eldest

The Eldest is the first child of the Mother of Horrors, a being so powerful that she created all the monsters in the universe. In the recent Infernal Hulk series, Eldest separated Bruce from the Hulk and stole his body. Now, the Eldest reigns as the Hulk, strongest monster there is. The king of the monsters is a fantastic direction for the Hulk, and shows that the Eldest embodies Hulk’s status as a threat to the world. This Hulk is one without morals or humanity. He’s only a monster, and he carries on that fear and horror very well. The Hulk has always toed the line between man and monster, and this successor to the mantle shows us just how dangerous the monster of rage is without a human heart to guide him.

2) Amadeus Cho

Amadeus Cho once absorbed all of Bruce’s gamma radiation, becoming the Totally Awesome Hulk. Unlike Bruce, he retained his intelligence while transformed. Amadeus’s time as the Green Behemoth harkens back to the times when Banner was in full control of his Hulk persona, which always stand out as some of his most interesting times. This is a mastered Hulk. However, Amadeus’s stories tended to lack the same impact as Bruce’s, especially because he didn’t have to overcome something to control his new form. He’s entertaining and can be a whole lot of fun, but he didn’t quite scratch that itch that only an angry Hulk can.

1) Rick Jones

Rick is the reason the Hulk exists in the first place. Ever since Bruce saved him, Rick has been one of his closest friends and confidants. Eventually, Rick even took over as the Hulk for a brief time. Rick has been all over the Marvel Universe and taken up every mantle from Bucky to Captain Marvel. Still, his time as the Hulk is special because he’s been essential to the Hulk since day one. He was a mean, green, punching machine, and even became his own gamma mutate as A-Bomb. Rick understands what it’s like to be the Hulk and to watch the Hulk from the sidelines, and he’s always going to support Bruce, no matter what. That makes him the perfect successor, in my eyes.

Which Hulk successor is your favorite? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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