Hulk Gets a New Name

The Hulk has had many different personas in the Marvel Universe, and he just got another one which is perhaps his most sinister yet.

SPOILERS for The Immortal Hulk #7 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, and Paul Mounts follow.

In the past, different personalities within the Hulk have emerged for periods of time. There was the moderately intelligent Joe Fixit persona, the Professor when the Hulk's physical form merged with Bruce Banner's intelligence, and the super-intelligent Doc Green.

But this new version of the Hulk is something else. While the others were born of different balances between the Hulk's psyche and Banner's, this Hulk is now possessed by a more demonic force.

Immortal Hulk has revealed that some malevolent, incorporeal entity with the face of Brian Banner, Bruce's abusive father, is at work in the Marvel Universe. It possessed Sasquatch first, and when Hulk absorbed the energy from Sasquatch to depower him, that entity entered Hulk's mind.

In Immortal Hulk #7, the Avengers battle the Hulk, and Thor, being attuned to goings-on beyond the physical realm, notices the change immediately.

"He...he is stronger than he was," Thor tells Captain America. "Vastly so. He...he sees the naked souls of men...smells the lies in our hearts, hidden even from ourselves...You live in the mortal world, Steve Rogers...of science and law, of what you can perceive…...but I live in a world of legend and symbol. The world of the gods. I am suggesting, Captain...that in its rage, its pain, in the shadow of its armageddon…...your world may have produced something very close to a god. Or a devil, perhaps."

Hulk overhears this conversation and takes a liking to Thor's comparison. He takes on the name "Devil Hulk."

Though it takes a weapon with the destructive power to rival a nuclear bomb, the Avengers do manage to defeat the Hulk. But he isn't called "The Immortal Hulk" for nothing. They know he'll be back, and so they take extreme measures and dismember the Hulk, keeping his pieces in separate containers. But if the Hulk is regenerating, the Devil Hulk will surely be back for more.

What do you think of Devil Hulk? Let us know in the comments!

The Immortal Hulk #7 is on sale now.

The Immortal Hulk #7
AUG180963
(W) Al Ewing (A) Joe Bennett (CA) Alex Ross
• They're the reason he died. They're the reason he came back. Now THE AVENGERS have to bring him in.
• But how far will even Earth's Mightiest Heroes go to cage... the IMMORTAL HULK?
Rated T+
In Shops: Oct 10, 2018
SRP: $3.99