The Immortal Hulk just fell in defeat to villains he bested numerous times in the past, and the death replayed a classic battle.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #44 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
Hulk just hasn’t been the same since his most recent return from the dead. Instead of being the big green monster, the Hulk’s current form is scrawny and misshapen. Not only that, but when he reverts to a human, he is Joe Fixit instead of Bruce Banner.
The level of Hulk’s strength has diminished so much that it took Joe Fixit to save Hulk in a fight with The Thing. He barely escaped other scraps with his life, and his luck finally ran out against the U-Foes in Immortal Hulk #44. Those same villains, ones that Hulk almost routinely beat, returned and killed Hulk with the same powers he resisted in past battles. Now, we’re taking a look back at the Hulk’s lengthy history
The U-Foes Vs. The Hulk: A History
Hulk was involved in the incident when the U-Foes gained their powers. In The Incredible Hulk #254 by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, Bob Sharen & Diana Albers, Bruce Banner stumbled upon a test site where a rocketship was set to take off into space. Bruce realizes they are flying into a cosmic ray storm and tries to save them, without realizing that this was all the plans of industrialist Simon Utrecht to help them gain powers in a similar way to the Fantastic Four. He got them back after only a short time exposed to the cosmic rays, and they hated him for it because they didn’t have control over their powers and felt they could have received more. They eventually returned with better control of their powers and became some of Hulk’s more persistent villains.
The Hulk’s Healing Factor is Terrifying
Eventually, the U-Foes believed they could kill Hulk, and one member almost did. In Incredible Hulk #398 by Peter David, Dale Keown, Mark Farmer, Glynis Oliver & Joe Rosen, Hulk battled The Leader’s Riot Squad and the U-Foes, and Vector had Hulk just where he wanted him. Vector has the power of telekinetic repelling, and in this issue, he flayed the skin completely from Hulk’s body, leaving him as nothing but bones and shredded flesh. It didn’t stop Hulk, who pushed forward and hit Vector with a knockout punch. The panels were truly stomach-churning, with Hulk almost melting from his bones and reforming.
To get the full terrifying power of Hulk’s healing factor, look no further than Incredible Hulk: The End by Peter David, Dale Keown, Joe Weems, Livesay Inkers, Avalon Studios’ Dan Kemp & John Workman. In this book, Hulk was the last living being on Earth, outside of the giant, mutant, flying cockroaches. They would attack Hulk and eat him into nothingness. Bruce Banner watched the recording of the moment and admitted that seeing Hulk after the attack made his stomach wrench. After that grotesque moment, Hulk’s healing powers kicked in, and he was back to normal as if nothing had happened in just 18 minutes.
The Immortal Hulk’s Death
Things changed when the scrawny, childlike Immortal Hulk battled The U-Foes. This time around, The U-Foes work for Henry Peter Gyrich, who is currently running the Alpha Flight program. It all started with Ironclad attacking but unable to damage Hulk. Vapor followed up, and then Vector took his turn. The villain used the same offensive move that he used on Hulk years before. He flayed much of the flesh from Hulk’s bones, and this time, Hulk wasn’t able to keep fighting or instantly heal. He is not as strong as he once was, and his powers are at an exponentially weaker level with less gamma radiation in his body, which had been drained previously by The Leader. After this, X-Ray finished Hulk off by bombarding him with concentrated anti-gamma, which is sure poison to Hulk, and left him dead and back in the Below-Place, one of the darkest hells the Marvel Universe has to offer.
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