Alternative versions of the Hulk

Alternate versions of the Hulk
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
See also	Hulk in other media

In addition to his mainstream incarnation, Hulk has also been depicted in other fictional universes, in which Bruce Banner's transformation, behavior, or circumstances vary from the mainstream setting. In some stories, someone other than Bruce Banner is the Hulk.

Bruce Banner

Alternative versions of the character have appeared in a number of Marvel storylines.

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse alternate setting, Bruce Banner was never exposed to gamma radiation and instead experimented on mutants to transform himself into The Thing, a being similar to the Gray Hulk.

Age of X

Bruce Banner was a scientist who was under contract from the United States government to build a device that would depower any mutant. However, during the testing phase one of the mutant volunteers began to panic. Her powers caused the machine to go off prematurely while still in the gamma spectrum. The mutants were killed and Banner was bombarded by gamma radiation. The combination of the radiation and the fact that some of the mutants' genes were imprinted on him as well, caused Banner to transform into the Hulk. Because of his exposure to mutant genes Banner holds a deep murderous resentment for all mutants, to the point that he volunteered for a suicide mission to detonate a chemical bomb that would destroy the entire mutant stronghold, forcing his former teammates to sacrifice their lives to detonate the bomb early.^[1]

Amalgam Comics

The Skulk is a hero of the Amalgam Universe. He is amalgamated with the Hulk and Solomon Grundy.

Bruce Banner was a scientist working with gamma rays. He was testing his gamma bomb out in the desert, but a tall figure walked out into the testing area. When Banner went out to see who it was, the man turned out to be Solomon Grundy. The bomb went off fusing Grundy and Banner together. When Banner gets angry he becomes Grundy, but the creature made a name for itself, calling itself Skulk.

Earth X

The Earth X series featured a vastly different take on the character, one in which the Hulk and Bruce Banner have finally achieved separation. However, they still rely on each other, with Banner becoming a blind child who sees through the Hulk's eyes. In an interview in Comicology Volume I: The Kingdom Come Companion, Alex Ross said that the design of Earth-X Banner and Hulk was based on the appearance of Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur.

The End

In other tales, possible futures for the character have been shown. Using a post apocalyptic wasteland as a backdrop, the Peter David written Incredible Hulk: The End one-shot features an elderly Bruce Banner as the last surviving inhabitant of Earth, the story concluding with Banner dying of a heart attack, thus leaving the Hulk as the last living being on the planet.

House of M

In the House of M reality, Bruce Banner disappears in Australia, where he befriends an Aborigine tribe, and attempts to control his dark side. When the mutant rulers of the Earth attack his tribe he retaliates, and eventually conquers Australia with the aid of Advanced Idea Mechanics.

Maestro

Main article: Maestro (comics)

Set in a post apocalyptic future, the Hulk has mutated into the dictator The Maestro ruling the remains of humanity with an iron fist.

Infernal Hulk

In one alternate reality, Bruce Banner and the Hulk were magically separated. Bruce became the new Sorceror Supreme, and the Hulk was cast into hell. However, while in hell, the Hulk became corrupted by the demonic beings he encountered, transforming him into a demon himself. Now completely evil, he escaped from hell and attempted to kill Banner. With help from the mainstream Hulk, Banner tricked the "infernal" Hulk into shattering the Eye of Agamotto, causing him to be thrown back into hell.^[2]

Marvel Comics 2

In another take, The Hulk is shown to still be active in the alternate future of the MC2 universe. There, he is shown as an amalgamation of his three main transformations; He has the strength of the Savage Hulk, the attitude of the Grey Hulk, and the intelligence of the Professor Hulk.

He's also shown to have fathered a son named David by an unknown spouse.

He was later seen within the pages of Last Hero Standing, where Loki manipulated him into attacking the heroes. When he was freed of his manipulation he was critical in punishing Loki by forcing him into the voided dimension that Thor had opened a rift into, Hulk informing Loki that he was ruined on Earth because of Loki's actions and he therefore had nothing to lose by ensuring that Loki would be punished for eternity.

Marvel Zombies

In the series Marvel Zombies, the Hulk has succumbed to a virus which makes him into an undead zombie. Although he retains his strength and invulnerability, he no longer heals, does not feel pain and now craves human flesh. The zombie Hulk's transformations are controlled purely by his appetite — after feeding, he transforms back into Banner, who is also a zombie, until the hunger returns. When Hulk first transforms back into Banner, his stomach bursts. Banner, who retains much of his intelligence and thus guilt, has the defenders of the last human colony kill his human(ish) form.

Marvel Zombies Return

A second Hulk appears in the reality the Marvel Zombies of the original series are teleported to, known as Earth-Z. This version's life appears identical to his core counterpart up until the events of World War Hulk. When he reaches the Moon to attack the Inhumans, he is infected and his allies killed. Hungry, he heads to Earth and begins eating people, ultimately infecting the Sentry, who sets about forming a team of Zombie Avengers to eat humanity and wipe out any competition or resistance from other heroes, infected or otherwise. Hulk later is cured of his hunger by the Zombie Spider-Man and joins his New Avengers. The team succeeds in killing the Zombie Avengers and ending their plan to eat the multiverse, sacrificing themselves in the process.^[3]

Old Man Logan

This reality is set 50 years in the future after many of the costumed villains and criminals joined forces. The result is the death of most of the various costumed heroes and the conquest of the United States. In the case of Bruce Banner, excessive exposure to gamma radiation via nuclear weapons used during the conflict render him insane and results in another incarnation of the Hulk. Banner rapes his cousin Jennifer Walters and sires a progeny that possesses average human intellect, green skin and similar powers to themselves, though at lower levels. They form the Hulk gang that rule the entire west coast of the country, a domain formerly held by the Abomination. Banner, along with his children and grandchildren, live in a collection of caves and trailers, forcing those that live on the west coast to pay them rent in order to be allowed to live. Aside from affecting his sanity, the radiation Banner is exposed to earlier alters him physically. Even in his normal state, Banner possesses at least some degree of all the Hulk's superhuman abilities. After Logan returns home and learns his wife and children have been slaughtered by the Hulk gang, he proceeds to fight and kill all of them. He eventually confronts Banner himself and the two begin to fight, with Banner initially holding his own due to his strength. Logan soon gains the upper hand and impales Banner with his claws, which angers Banner enough that he transforms into the Hulk. The excess radiation has created a different incarnation of the Hulk, one in which Banner has complete control. Banner's Hulk form, while physically older, is much larger than any previous incarnation and is several stories tall. As the Hulk, Banner eats Logan whole and believes he's killed him. However, Logan's healing factor allows him to withstand the assault and heal the injuries sustained. He eventually claws his way out of Banner's body through his back, causing massive internal injuries to Banner that end up killing him. Logan spots Banner's grandson, Bruce, Jr. and spares him. Logan takes the boy to raise in an effort to someday help combat the various villains that still rule the country.

Ruins

In the Warren Ellis series Ruins, a dark flip to the Kurt Busiek tale Marvels , the accidents, experiments and mutations that led to the creation of Super Heroes and super humans, instead led to terrible deformations and painful deaths. Here, Bruce Banner's story went exactly the same with his 616 counterpart, but when he was caught in the middle of the Gamma bomb explosion, instead of transforming into The Incredible Hulk, his whole body opened up from the gigantic tumours that appeared inside it, pushing most of his organs and skull outside his body, and giving Rick Jones cancer. He didn't die, and was put in an underground vault by the CIA, codenamed "the Hulk".

Ultimate Hulk

Several different versions of the Hulk appear throughout the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The first appears in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #2 (2001), written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Phil Hester. In the Ultimates series, Bruce Banner works for S.H.I.E.L.D., attempting to re-create the super-soldier formula that created Captain America. He injects himself with an experimental version of the formula, turning into the green-skinned Hulk, and rampaging through New York, and is only stopped through the combined efforts of Spider-Man and a S.H.I.E.L.D. battalion led by General Ross. He later combines Captain America's blood with his previous Hulk formula, and injects it into himself (Ultimates #4), thereby transforming him into the more powerful gray-skinned Hulk.^[4]

Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk shows that after escaping an execution attempt, Banner travels through France, Ireland and India, seeking a means to control the Hulk within. In Ultimates 2 #11, Bruce Banner appears in Washington D.C. He proclaims himself "in touch with [his] inner sociopath" before allowing a Crimson Dynamo robot to step on him. He immediately transforms into the Hulk and rips the droid apart. He then continues to aid the Ultimates against the Liberators in issue #12, by defeating, dismembering, and finally eating the Abomination.

He then appeared together with Iron Man in their own mini-series titled Ultimate Human, focusing on Bruce Banner approaching Tony Stark about the possibility of using the Iron Man nanites to control the Hulk transformations. The Leader is introduced as a scientist after the blood of both men, for use in the creation of a superhuman. This series depicts the Hulk's physiology as almost infinitely adaptive to adverse conditions, including simulations of hostile extraterrestrial environments such as the surface of the planet Venus. It also described him as generating carbon Fullerenes in his skin structure, adding to his durability.

In issue #4 of Ultimate Origins, which takes place 15 years before the Ultimate timeline's present, Bruce Banner is shown to have been hired by the U.S. Government and Ultimate Nick Fury as part of a project to secretly recreate the Super Soldier Serum. At a covert lab in Dover, New Jersey, Bruce works alongside fellow scientists, Hank Pym, Franklin Storm, father of Sue and Johnny Storm, and Richard Parker, father of Peter Parker.

Bruce believes that he has come up with the correct formula for the serum, but needs to test it out. Eager to try his results on a human subject, Banner synthesizes his serum and injects himself with it. The serum turns him into the Hulk for the very first time. Banner goes on a rampage inside the laboratory and eventually destroys the entire complex, (Bendis said that he Hulk didn't kill them, but) accidentally almost killed Richard Parker, along with his wife Mary, who had brought an infant Peter along with her to visit Richard.

In Ultimate Hulk annuall, a naked Hulk comes into a restaurant demanding food, Princess Zarda (Power Princess) who is already at the restaurant fights and defeats the Hulk. After the fight, the two form a bond and go to another restaurant before renting a motel room and having sex.

During Ultimatum the Hulk appears in New York and is convinced by Spider-Man to help him rescue people. When demons start appearing they go to the home of Doctor Strange, only to learn that his body had been possessed by Nightmare. He then starts to torture them. Hulk in response heats the Orb of Acmantata, which causes an explosion. He survives and is recruited by the remaining Ultimates and X-Men to stop Magneto. In Magnetos Citadel he and Colossus are tasked with destroying some of the citadels machinery. They try to stop Mystique and Sabretooth from escaping, but fail. Hulk survives Ultimatum, and is later seen in Ultimate Comics: X.^[5]

While not the original Hulk, "Nerd Hulk", as he has been code named, is a clone created by Tony Stark's older brother, Gregory from Banner's stem cells. He has retained Banner's Hyper-Intellect as well as the monster's brute strength. Captain America proved this to be a severe disadvantage as it took away the rage that gave Bruce Banner his boundless strength and unpredictability, allowing Rogers to best Hulk in combat with relative ease. Hulk later joined the Avengers in confronting the Red Skull in Alaska. "Nerd Hulk" found himself completely terrified of the Cosmic Cube wielding Red Skull. However, the Black Widow (Monica Chang) forced him to confront the Red Skull head on, and he at first appeared to be successful in crushing the Cosmic Cube. This was quickly revealed to be an illusion created by the Red Skull, who then blasted the Hulk away, sending him flying into the sky. After a team of Avengers are sent to protect a potential target of Ghost Rider they begin to suspect he is not a mutant as they once believed. In order to learn more about their new target Nerd Hulk and Monica Chang question a caged man in a Spider-Man costume they refer to as "Spider." He reveals the origin of Ghost Rider and informs him the Rider's next target is the man that sent the kill order, the Vice President. Since he hates the code name "Nerd Hulk" he decides to change it to simply, "Banner," and since he became a full staff member. In Ultimate Comics Avengers 3 he becomes a vampire.^[6]

In Ultimate Comics: Avengers 2 another different Hulk appears, and is established to be the original Hulk, created before Bruce Banner. Dr. Leonard Williams was working on the super-soldier formula in England with Dr. Bruce Banner as a human test subject, and somehow became the first incarnation of the creature. He was believed to have died in the unexplained destruction of his lab, but in fact, Williams escaped to South America, where he became a drug lord under the alias of Tyrone Cash. S.H.I.E.L.D. located and blackmailed him into joining them, lest his wife and son, who believed him to be dead, be informed of the truth.^[7] He participates in the battle to defend the Vice-President (arriving in a nice car with two women, claiming there is a sexual tension between him and Black Widow and asking to be called Mister Cash). He tries to defeat Blackthrone but is defeated twice and nearly killed if not by the intervention of Ghost Rider.

In the mini series Ultimate Mystery, elderly, wheelchair-bound Dr. Samuel Sterns, a member of Roxxon Brain Trust is transformed by a modified version of the Hulk serum gathered by Doctor Octopus (in an attempt to trap his creation: a rogue female clone of Spider-Man).^[8] She, under the alias "Dr. Julia Carpenter'" is caught and almost experimented on, but was stopped by Spider-Man, while Sterns injects himself into a version of the Hulk. Sterns is later defeated by both Spider-Woman and Spider-Man.

Other Hulks

For the Marvel 2099 imprint, Gerard Jones and Dwayne Turner created a new version of the character. First appearing in 2099 Unlimited #1, John Eisenhart, a selfish film producer in "LotusLand" (future Hollywood) is inadvertently exposed to gamma radiation by the Knights of the Banner (a cult worshipping the original Hulk) who intend to create a Hulk of their own. As the Hulk, Eisenhart finds himself representing freedom to a closed-off society. A Hulk 2099 series was published for 10 issues.

In the Bullet Points mini-series, Peter Parker finds himself on the test site for a Gamma bomb and absorbs a large dose of gamma radiation, becoming the Hulk. In a further twist, later in the series, in an attempt to find a cure for Peter, Dr. Bruce Banner examines specimens taken from the test site and is bitten by a radioactive spider, becoming Spider-Man.

In the DC-Marvel Crossover Batman vs the Incredible Hulk, Banner infiltrated a Wayne tech project as lowly technician to get close to an experimental gamma-ray gun. The Joker attempted to steal gun but was thwarted when Banner transformed into the Hulk. When the Hulk reverted back to Banner, Bruce Wayne surprised him by offering Banner full access to the project. The Joker's real reason for stealing the gun was to fulfill a bargain with an extra-dimensional entity who was stranded on Earth. The entity needed gamma-ray powers to return home and offered the Joker ultimate power on Earth in exchange. When the Joker finally succeeded in stealing the gamma-ray gun, its power was insufficient but the entity realised the Hulk contained the key to his power being restored - so the Joker had to plan a way to "steal" the Hulk instead!

References

1. ^ Age of X: Universe #1
2. ^ Incredible Hulks Annual #1
3. ^ Marvel Zombies Return #4-5
4. ^ Mark Millar (w), Bryan Hitch (p). Ultimates 5 (July 2002), Marvel Comics
5. ^ http://www.comicvine.com/news/wolverines-son-vs-sabretooth-in-ultimate-x-5/143095/
6. ^ Mark Millar (w), Steve Dillon (p), Andy Lanning (i). "Blade Versus the Avengers" Ultimate Avengers 3 1 & 2 (October & November 2010), Marvel Comics
7. ^ Mark Millar (w), Leinil Francis Yu (p), Gerry Alanguilan (i). "Crime and Punishment, Part 2 of 6" Ultimate Comics: Avengers 2 2 (July 2010), Marvel Comics
8. ^ Ultimate Mystery #4