Hulk (Marvel Comics)

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Hulk

Gender	Male
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Origin
First Appearance	The Incredible Hulk #1 (1961)
Creator(s)	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
Alter ego	Robert Bruce Banner
Aliases	Greenskin, Jade Jaws, Joe Fixit, Green Scar
Abilities	Superhuman Strength He can leap huge distances Bullets bounce off him Healing factor Can create a shock wave by clapping his hands A stomp of his foot can create a minor earthquake.
Affiliations	The Defenders The Avengers Fantastic Four Pantheon The Order

The Hulk is a comic book superhero character published by Marvel Comics. He is scientist Robert Bruce Banner, who was caught in the blast of a new kind of nuclear bomb based on gamma radiation. Since then he changes into the green giant with almost unlimited strength, the incredible Hulk.

At first the changes began in the evening, and later were triggered by anger and emotion. The Hulk was originally gray, then later green. He has gone through times when he has changed back to gray, but is now green again. After a time, the Hulk usually reverts back to Bruce Banner. When Banner changes into the incredible Hulk, he is a different person mentally, often referring to "puny Banner" as another person whom the Hulk says he hates. In this way, the Hulk has always had a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde motif to his character. His "Hulk" personality has also changed over the years, as he as gone through different periods of the Hulk manifestation. At first he was just nasty, then more child-like, lately he is more integrated with his Banner self.

Hulk claims to be "the strongest one there is", and indeed there have been few to dispute this. His strength seems almost immeasurable, particularly since it seems to increase as he gets angrier. His strength is truly "incredible", and many consider him to be the strongest human Marvel character ever. He's considered stronger than the Fantastic Four's Thing, and about equal in strength to the Mighty Thor, Marvel's norse god character.

He can leap huge distances, bullets bounce off him, his claps can create a wave of sonic energy that can shatter large objects, and a stomp of his foot can create a minor earthquake. Hulk also has a healing factor, so if you you do manage to hurt him, he regenerates quickly. Because of how tough his hide is, this usually only comes into play if he is hurt as Bruce Banner and then transforms into the Hulk, or when fighting Wolverine, as his adamantium claws are one of the few things that can actually penerate his skin.

Feared as a monster, the Hulk is hunted by the very military that had such a strong hand in creating him.

The Hulk originally was gray.

1 Character Origin
2 Allies
3 Enemies
4 Hulk Portrayals
5 External Links

Character Origin

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner was a brilliant nuclear scientist, working on a special top secret project, the Gamma Bomb. The bomb would be the first based on gamma radiation, and the project was based in the desert of New Mexico, as many nuclear bomb tests were in the 1960s. The project was run by General "Thunderbolt" Ross and his second in command, Major Glenn Talbot. Also living on the secret base was Ross' daughter, Betty Ross. The General had hoped that Betty would fall for the attractive Major, but was surprised and disturbed to find her falling for the shy scientist, Dr. Banner, instead.

On the day of the test, after the countdown was begun, Dr. Banner became aware of a young teen-ager named Rick Jones who had driven out onto the testing range on a dare. It was too late to stop the test, so Banner drove out to the site to try to save the boy's life. He managed to get Rick over the protective barrier just in time, but was himself hit with the full force of the Gamma radiation. Instead of vaporizing him, Banner seemed to miraculously survive the explosion. It wasn't long after that that Banner found his tendency to change, for periods of time, into a savage giant with incredible strength, which the world soon called the Hulk.

The Hulk squares off against Wolverine

Allies

Rick Jones, Reed Richards, Jennifer Walters, Betty Ross, Doc Samson.

Enemies

Arch Nemesis: The Leader
Other recurring enemies: General Thunderbolt Ross, The Abomination, The American Military, and almost all the Marvel heroes and villains alike have, at one time or another, squared off against the Hulk. For example, in the picture to the right, he is in battle with the X-Men's Wolverine.