The Incredible Hulk burst onto the scene with 1962's Incredible Hulk #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Since then, he has had an indelible effect on comics, television, film, and pop culture. Given the Hulk's importance to Marvel, it's no surprise that the character has had many watershed moments.
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Bruce Banner and his anger-prone alter ego, the Hulk, have undergone many changes through his decades-long comics presence. Banner was forever changed when he gained his powers, but he has also been transformed through his numerous team-ups, love interests, tests of his limits, and battles with his enemies. Some of the moments that have defined the Hulk have been positive, while others have sent him into a negative spiral. With a character as complicated as the Hulk, it's a given that his defining moments come with good and bad.
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12 The Incredible Hulk's First Appearance
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The Hulk made his impactful debut in The Incredible Hulk #1 by Lee and Kirby. In his first appearance, Dr. Bruce Banner is a nuclear physicist who saves a teenager from Banner's Gamma Bomb, which, of course, is loaded with gamma radiation. The gamma rays saturate Banner's body and turn him into the Hulk — a gigantic, superstrong being — from sundown until sunrise. The Hulk transformation did not remain affected by sunlight; instead, Banner would transform only when his adrenaline spiked from excitement or anger.
This first appearance marks the origin of Hulk's powers, which are both a gift and a curse. At this moment, Dr. Bruce Banner's life changed forever as he began juggling the rational version of himself with the destructive, emotional Hulk.
11 The Hulk Helps Found The Avengers
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When the Hulk is used as Loki's pawn against Thor, the heroes Iron Man, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Thor, and the Hulk band together to form the Avengers in 1963's The Avengers #1 by Lee and Kirby. The team-up quickly sours, however, as the group turns against the Hulk. First, the team is manipulated by Space Phantom to not trust the Hulk. Then Mephisto — in snake form — lies to the Hulk about his team members, which prompts him to quit not long after forming the team.
The Hulk's original and catastrophic involvement with the Avengers catalyzed a series of events that were not in the Hulk's favor, resulting in the team facing off against their previous member. As a result, the Hulk becomes more isolated than ever and learns to not trust anyone, even fellow "supers."
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10 The Hulk First Unites with the Defenders
Despite his experiences with the Avengers, the Hulk is, in fact, a co-founder of another iconic Marvel team: the Defenders. The Hulk first teams up with Doctor Strange and Namor the Sub-Mariner in the 1971 story "The Day of the Defenders!" by Roy Thomas, Ross Andru, Bill Everett, and Sam Rosen from Marvel Feature #1. In this first appearance of the Defenders team, this unexpected trio work together to save the world from the doomsday machine known as the Omegatron. Though the Hulk once again makes his dissatisfaction working with other superheroes known, his association with the Defenders is long-running and an essential part of his character history to this day.
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9 The Hulk Meets Jarella - And Loses Her
The Hulk first meets Jarella in '71's The Incredible Hulk #140 by Thomas, Harlan Ellison, Sam Grainger, Herb Trimpe, Mimi Gold, and Artie Simek, and the Hulk-Jarella saga is an essential part of his story until her death five years larer in The Incredible Hulk #205 by Len Wein, Sal Buscema, Joe Staton, Glynis Oliver, and John Costanza. The Hulk discovers a micro world that contains a city being overrun by wild boars. Hulk saves the city and, as a result, is brought before the princess, Jarella. Bruce Banner, in the form of the Hulk, feels welcome for a change, as all the citizens are green like him. Jarella takes a liking to him, making him her consort. The pair plan to marry, but they are always separated by some sort of outside interference — including her death.
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8 The Hulk Holds Up A Mountain in Secret Wars
Marvel's original Secret Wars series was a massive hit with fans and turned out to be quite impactful for the Green Goliath. When Molecule Man plans to take out the heroes by slamming a mountain range on top of them in Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars #4 by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, John Beatty, Christie Scheele, Joe Rosen, Hulk majorly steps up to the plate. He not only catches the 2-mile-long, 150 billion tons mountain range, but also holds the mountains up while the heroes find a way to escape, setting the bar for what fans thought of the Hulk's strength. Moreover, this event — and the Battleworld War more generally — caused Hulk's savage side to reemerge.
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Peter David's run of Hulk comics was incredibly important, as it focused on the vulnerability and true anguish of Bruce Banner. The Incredible Hulk #377 by David, Dale Keown, Bob McLeod, Glynis Oliver, and Joe Rosen introduced Bruce's Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). By positioning Bruce as having DID, David and the other creators set the foundation for Banner's many alternate selves. Likewise, since the issue also shows Dr. Samson piecing together that Bruce's Hulk selves are manifestations of his inner rage towards his father's violence against his mother, readers start to fully understand how Bruce's trauma affects him and his Hulk persona.
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6 The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect Adds the Maestro to Marvel Lore
In The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #1 by David, George Pérez, Tom Smith, and Joe Rosen, readers are introduced to Maestro: a future version of the Hulk who has become a murderous tyrant. He killed all superpowers heroes and villains, and he crowned himself emperor of the post-apocalyptic Earth. This future version of the Hulk is unhinged — but also stronger, more powerful, and just as smart as Bruce Banner. Maestro is so powerful that he broke the Hulk's neck with ease and then kept him prisoner. The Hulk eventually uses his intelligence to best the physically-stronger Maestro, sending him back in time to the Gamma Bomb accident and, in effect, killing this ruthless dictator. Maestro acts as a cautionary tale, something to forever haunt the Hulk: what he could become if he completely lost control.
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5 The Hulk Vs. Superman Answers Schoolyard Debates Everywhere
Fans finally knew who would win in a battle between the Hulk and Superman thanks to the aptly titled The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1 by Roger Stern, Steve Rude, Al Milgrom, Steve Oliff, and Jim Novak. In this issue, Clark Kent recounts to Lois Lane his experience with fighting the Hulk not once, but twice. First, Superman tries to stop the Hulk from rampaging through Arizona, where Hulk pitches Superman into a general store and escapes. In the second fight, Lex Luthor is to blame, pinning the two heroes against each other until they decide to team up to destroy Luthor's Gamma Gun.
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Superman is ultimately the winner, as he catapults the Hulk into the Gamma Gun, winning the fight and destroying the lethal weapon in one swift action. This face-off between Superman and the Hulk would not be the last, but it brought to life a fight that Marvel and DC diehards had debated for years.
4 Planet Hulk Introduces the Warbound & Skaar
The Planet Hulk storyline starts in The Incredible Hulk #92 by Greg Pak, Carlo Pagulayan, Jeffrey Huet, Chris Sotomayor, and Randy Gentile when the Hulk gets stuck on the planet Sakaar, which is controlled by an evil tyrant who forces Hulk to be a gladiator for his entertainment. Hulk instead bonds with his fellow gladiators and forms the Warbound to overthrow the corrupt regime. The Warbound are successful, and Hulk marries the former ruler's ex-bodyguard, Caiera the Oldstrong, and it's soon revealed that she's pregnant. A happy ending is not to follow, though, as an explosion destroys the planet Sakaar.
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Planet Hulk sets the stage for the arrival of Hulk and Caiera's son, Skaar, an important character to modern Marvel history. Skaar, alone and with his father, will have many important storylines in the years after Planet Hulk, the story that makes his character possible (and quasi-introduces him in What If? Planet Hulk #1.)
3 World War Hulk Gives Marvel Its Best Modern Event
Taking place after Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, one of the best Marvel events to occur in the past two decades, sees Bruce on his quest for revenge against the Illuminati, the group responsible for Sakaar's destruction . In World War Hulk by Greg Pak, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, and Christina Strain, Hulk and the Warbound set out to destroy the Illuminati and show the world what the so-called heroes are actually capable of: betraying a former friend and ally.
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In a twist, one of the members of the Warbound knew that the plotters who caused the lethal explosion were not actually the Illuminati, and they killed Hulk's friend and confidant Rick Jones, resulting in more betrayal for the already emotional Hulk. The storyline was one of great suspense, but also of great pathos, with Hulk a raw emotional nerve throughout. In the end, the Hulk ends up punished, imprisoned, and at one of his lowest points.
2 Red Hulk Transforms Thunderbolt Ross
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The transformation into Red Hulk shows Thunderbolt Ross becoming what he hated most: a Hulk. Recruited by M.O.D.O.K and the Leader, Thunderbolt Ross is changed into Red Hulk using the energy siphoned from the Hulk in order to enact revenge against Abomination and defeat Banner. As a result, Ross is changed into the Red Hulk in Hulk #23 by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, and a superstar line-up of artists, inkers, and colorists. Despite otherwise having the same powers as the Hulk, Red Hulk can consciously change forms when he desires. With his new powers, Red Hulk kills Abomination and becomes one of Bruce Banner's fiercest foes.
1 Immortal Hulk Reinvents Hulk Mythology
The Immortal Hulk series, which begins with a #1 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Paul Mounts, and Cory Petit, introduces an alternate Hulk who has been overtaken by resentment and anger. He is used as a force of annihilation by a puppet master — who readers come to find out is a mystical, cosmic being. Further, Immortal Hulk is the strongest incarnation of all the Hulks, and he is made all the more dangerous by his rage at the world.
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The Immortal Hulk is an interesting entry into the Hulk character's makeup. The series expanded the mystical elements of Hulk lore. For instance, the series introduced the One Below All, a cosmic entity whose purpose rests in the destruction of the multiverse. Also, the series even suggests that the Hulk may become the next Galactus, an ultimaye "breaker of worlds".