Marvel Retcons Hulk’s Origin

Marvel just added a major new wrinkle to the Hulk’s origin story.

SPOILERS for Immortal Hulk #13 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, and Paul Mounts follow.

Most fans know the origin of the Hulk. Bruce Banner worked as a scientist specializing in the study of gamma radiation, and he helped design and build a weapon called a gamma bomb. The bomb was ready for testing, but Bruce noticed a young boy was in the test site. He rushed out to shield the boy from the blast, exposing himself to dangerous levels of gamma radiation in the process. The event changed Banner. Whenever he lost his temper, he would turn into the monstrous creature known as the Hulk, an entity of endless rage who seemed to know only violence.

It is a very science-fiction origin, combining elements of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the growing unease of the Atomic Era. Immortal Hulk changes that, adding supernatural elements to the Hulk’s origin.

This retcon was foreshadowed by other changes to the Hulk. Immortal Hulk has established that the Hulk is basically unkillable. He’s also been smarter and more cunning than before. He even fought the entire Avengers team to a standstill, with there being some comments on how different the Hulk is now. This new personality of the Hulk’s has been dubbed the Devil Hulk.

This is all tied to the “Green Door.” This door is a gateway that connects different planes of reality to a hell that lies below all of the other versions of hell known to exist in the Marvel Universe. There dwells the One Below All, the malevolent counterpart to Marvel’s One Above All.

Gamma radiation isn’t purely scientific. It has magical elements as well, and it can weaken the barrier between the physical realm and the hell beneath all others. Exposure to gamma radiation opens the Green Door, allowing the One Below All to turn those touched by gamma radiation into his avatar on Earth. The Hulk is the greatest of these avatars, but others include Sasquatch, and, most recently, Absorbing Man.

What do you think of Marvel’s new twist on the Hulk’s origin? Let us know in the comments!

Immortal Hulk #13 is on sale now. The solicitation for the book is included below:

Immortal Hulk #13
DEC180949
(W) Al Ewing (A) Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Jose Rafael Fonteriz (CA) Alex Ross

• The One Below All is in control, and Bruce Banner belongs to him. Hell is ascendant.
• But there are two people Hell isn’t strong enough to hold. One is a man named Eugene Judd…
• …the other is the IMMORTAL HULK.

Rated T+
In Shops: Feb 06, 2019
SRP: $3.99