The Hulk has been one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful heroes since the company’s earliest days. He is also one of Marvel’s most tragic heroes, as Bruce Banner’s alter ego, the Hulk, is out of his control. Hulk just wants to be left alone, but he always has to fight back to get people to let him live in peace. With that in mind, there have been other times where people have pushed him too far, or in some cases, he was manipulated to lash out and for at least a short time, Hulk became one of Marvel Comics’ most dangerous villains.
Videos by ComicBook.com
With almost unlimited strength and the ability to withstand untold amounts of damage, here is a look at the times when Hulk nearly destroyed the Marvel Universe, and at least one time when he mostly succeeded.
7) The Horseman War
When looking at the history of Apocalypse and his Horsemen, the stories are almost always in the mutant comics and limited to the X-Men and their teams. However, there was one time when Apocalypse decided to offer the position of War to Hulk. In The Incredible Hulk #456, Apocalypse convinced Hulk to become War in exchange for removing the pain and suffering from Hulk’s mind, which amounts to his father Brian’s torment. As War, Hulk was more powerful than ever, with the voices in his head gone, and he went toe to toe with Absorbing Man (whom he beat easily) and Juggernaut (whom he almost killed). However, when he almost killed Riock Jones, it snapped Apocalypse’s control, and Hulk ended up going into hiding.
6) The Immortal Hulk
Marvel Comics took Hulk in a new direction in 2015 when Hulk stopped a radiation leak and detonated himself, stripping him of Hulk’s powers and transferring them to Amadeus Cho, who became the Totally Awesome Hulk. However, things were not finished for Bruce Banner. The scientist started experimenting on himself with gamma-irradiated cells, and when the Avengers learned about this and confronted him, Hawkeye killed him. Unfortunately, he ended up resurrected no less than three times (by The Hand, Arnim Zola, and the Challenger). Each time he returned, he was savage and almost unstoppable. However, it finally ended when Banner realized Hulk couldn’t die and just went to the Green Room before returning to life through the Green Door. Once he learned the truth, Banner regained control and went into hiding.
5) Savage Hulk
Savage Hulk is the name given to Hulk when he loses all control of his faculties and goes into a rage. Whenever he would become the Savage Hulk, he had no control over what he did and reacted to things out of anger and deep emotion. What makes this version of Hulk so deadly is that he has reverted to this state numerous times over his existence. One of Hulk’s most defining powers is that the angrier he gets, the more powerful he gets. Hulk knows he is more powerful when Banner is in no way in control. To defeat Onslaught, Hulk had Banner shut down in his brain, and that was the only way he could take down the monster. However, before this, he was always one of the most destructive forces of nature when the Savage Hulk took control.
4) Heroes Reborn: The Return
After Hulk beat Onslaught, the world changed. Two different Earths existed, with the dead heroes (Avengers, Fantastic Four) on one Earth and the surviving heroes (Spider-Man, X-Men) on the other Earth. However, there was an anomaly. Hulk was on both Earths, one with Banner and the other without, and this was killing both of them. On one Earth, Hulk was giving off so much radiation that it threatened to destroy the world. On the other Earth, Hulk was losing control and was mostly the Savage Hulk. It wasn’t until the two Hulks ended up on the same Earth that they could fight, merge, and help save the Earth so Franklin Richards could bring all the heroes back home.
3) Old Man Logan
The Hulk has been a hero in almost every iteration. However, this is not true on alternate Earths. One of his most disturbing versions came on Earth-807128, which was the world where Old Man Logan took place. In this world, the villains finally decided to join forces and beat the heroes, conquering the entire United States and splitting it up between them. Hulk ended up defeating Abomination and took California for himself. He settled down there, married his cousin, She-Hulk, and they had several children, all of whom had horrific mutations. Known as the Hulk Gang, they brutalized anyone still living near them. The Hulk Gang also became cannibals, and that proved to be “Pappy Banner’s” downfall. After Hulk had Logan’s family murdered, the former Wolverine responded by killing Hulk’s children and then coming for Hulk, who then ate him. Of course, Logan healed up and then burst out of Hulk’s stomach, “killing” the monster.
2) World Breaker Hulk
World Breaker Hulk was the most powerful Hulk of them all. This is because he showed up in World War Hulk full of rage and wanted revenge on his former friends who betrayed him. The Illuminati tricked Hulk and sent him into deep space, aiming for a barren planet where Hulk could live out his days in peace. He overshot it and ended up on a populated planet where he became a hero, fell in love, and got married. When a bomb killed his wife and allies, he returned to Earth, blaming his former friends. Hulk then went on to beat every single member of the Illuminati, including Iron Man, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Doctor Strange, and more. No one could beat him, and when Sentry showed up, Hulk even survived that attack. He was never stronger and only lost because he surrendered at the end, after he proved his point.
1) Maestro
Maestro is the Hulk who conquered the world, or at least part of the world in the United States. In this timeline on Earth-9200, a nuclear war destroyed the world, but Hulk had locked himself away because he had no desire to help protect a world that constantly feared and attacked him. When he came out, he tried to find a place to go, but he saw that the world was no different with the survivors, so he decided to take over. He achieved this and became the ruler of one of the few surviving cities in America. Calling himself Maestro, he then killed several surviving heroes, including Hercules, and he only fell in defeat to a time-traveling version of himself, who tricked him and sent him back to the Gamma explosion that created him to begin with.
Most Viewed
-
Young Animal -
Image Courtesy of Pierrot/Shueisha -
Image courtesy of Netflix
