Red Hulk Returns to Marvel to Take On Captain America

Marvel’s December solicitations have been revealed and while much of it focuses on the fallout of X of Swords and the arrival of their next crossover King in Black, buried in the midst was the return of a fan favorite. In the official solicitation for Captain America#26, Marvel Comics confirmed that the Red Hulk is returning! Featured on the cover for the issue, the full solicit for the comic simply reads (in all caps) “RED HULK!” The character can be seen fighting Steve Rogers on the cover of the issue by artist Alex Ross. Captain America #26 hails from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Leonard Kirk. Check it out below!

Fans of Coates’ run on the character know that General Thunderbolt Ross (the Red Hulk) has been a key component of this volume of Captain America comics. Much of the series dealt with the apparent death of the character, which was blamed on the titular Star-Spangled Man, who was forced to go on the run. In truth Ross has been alive this entire time, and has been aiding Steve and the Daughters of Liberty in secret for some time.

This all leads us to the question of Captain American and Red Hulk’s clash. Captain America will no doubt want to throw down with the Red Hulk once he is able to in this issue, but it’s unclear what kind of battle they’re really going to have considering the size and strength difference. In any event, this will be a fight for the ages.

Thunderbolt Ross is also set to return to the big screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with actor William Hurt reprising his role for the upcoming Black Widow movie. The character was last seen at Tony Stark’s funeral in Avengers: Endgame, and was revealed in Avengers: Infinity War to now be Secretary of State for the United States.

The on-screen version of the character has never made the transition from Regular Ross to Red Hulk Ross, but that hasn’t stopped fans from wondering what it might look like and Marvel Studios from pondering the idea.

“I entertained the idea for about a day,” Endgame scribe Christopher Markus said last August. “Red Hulk is a completely different thing in the comics. It wound up being, well, really we’re just saying he changes color. That’s not a character change. If there’s a future for William Hurt as a superhero, he can turn into Red Hulk.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA #26
TA-NEHISI COATES (W) • LEONARD KIRK (A) • Cover by ALEX ROSS
Knullified Variant by Julian Totino Tedesco
RED HULK!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99