In a huge status quo change, Marvel recently announced a"new normal"for theHulkfranchise - one where Bruce Banner is no longer the other half of the Green Goliath. Bruce Banner has been the Hulk for 63 years, struggling to control his rage-filled other self. Now, he’s out in the cold, ina change that promises to transform the entire Marvel Universe.
This isn’t just a transformation for the Hulk - Marvel is officially entering the “Age of Monsters.”
Bruce Banner Is Gone, Creating the Infernal Hulk
The Demonic Eldest Has Merged with the Hulk
In a recent press release, Marvel announced itsnew seriesThe Infernal Hulk.The series will see Bruce Banner replaced as the Hulk, as a new ‘host’ takes over the Jade Giant’s ultra-powerful body. Along with this new host comes a major redesign from Nic Klein, as Hulk gains purple skin and a gigantic gamma scar down the middle of his body - a remnant of being torn in two to remove Banner from Hulk’s mind and body.
The Infernal Hulk will be introduced inThe Incredible Hulk #30,ending that series and beginningInfernalfrom the same creative team. However, the results won’t be contained to one title.
Johnson teases that the Infernal Hulk is"ten times the monster"of Bruce Banner’s version…
Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson promises this is the new normal for the franchise, and that the consequences will touch every corner of the Marvel Universe in a"New Age of Monsters.“That’s because the new Infernal Hulk isn’t alone…
Cover Artist:
NIC KLEIN
The evil known as Eldest has literally torn Bruce Banner and the Hulk apart and taken the Hulk’s body as their own. This new, unstoppable Infernal Hulk is ten times the monster that everyone always feared Hulk would be. Their diabolical plan is to plunge the world back into ancient horrors by transforming our heroes into nightmarish beasts! Meanwhile, the indomitable Bruce Banner, though powerless, will stop at nothing to thwart their evil schemes!
Who Is the Eldest? Hulk’s New Host Explained
The New Hulk Is a Cosmic Horror
Hulk’s new host is the Eldest - an eldritch demon born before creation.The Eldest is the child of the Mother of Horrors, an ancient demon which was the first creature in existence not created by Marvel’s supreme being,the One-Above-All. Locked outside of reality by the One-Above-All, the Mother of Horrors exists in a Cthulhu-like slumber, with the Eldest on a quest to awaken her and bring her back to reality.
The Eldest believes this is only possible using the Hulk’s flesh and blood, and has spent most ofIncredible Hulkmaneuvering Hulk into being her pawn, using his runaway sidekick Charlie Tidwell as leverage.Pushing Hulk into a deal was made easier by Bruce Banner’s earlier attempts to totally enslave his other half, which prompted Hulk to imprison Banner within his body.Given the opportunity to save Charlie and be rid of Bruce, Hulk allowed himself to be marked by Eldest.
Johnson teases that the Infernal Hulk is"ten times the monster"of Bruce Banner’s version, but the changes don’t stop there.By channeling the Mother of Horrors' cosmic power, the Eldest is able to exert control over any and all monsters. Johnson promises that with Eldest’s power-up, monsters are about to take over the Marvel Universe. Johnson states:
There are monsters way worse and more powerful than anything we’ve seen so far, bigger and stronger than Hulk with origins that go back to the foundations of the Earth. It’s time to take this story to the next level, and no corner of the Marvel Universe will be left untouched before the end.
Previously, John had promised fans"the biggest, boldest status quo change in Hulk’s history,“and withInfernal Hulkbeing its own series, it appears the Eldest/Hulk partnership will be around for a while, even as Bruce Banner tries to stop it.
Where Is Bruce Banner Now He’s Separate to the Hulk?
The New Avengers Are Recruiting the Hulk’s Former ‘Partner’
So if Bruce Banner is no longer part of Hulk’s body and mind, where is he? Currently,Bruce is locked within the Hulkscape- a phantasmic world that represents his own shattered subconscious.Bruce has always had more than one Hulk persona, with other selves named Joe Fixit, Doc Green and Devil Hulk also part of his mind.The personas all coexist within a Hellish realm in Hulk’s subconscious, where Banner is now trapped, being tortured for his sins.
However,it’s unlikely he’ll be there for long.Over inNew Avengers, Bucky Barnes' team are battling evil clones of the Illuminati, and they need their own super-scientist to battle the likes of Doctor Strange (Guru Strange), Mister Fantastic (Mr. Ouroboros) and Professor Xavier (Professor X-Tinction.) Bucky’s group recently attempted to recruit Bruce, finding him being tortured within the Hulkscape.
The New Avengers #3- from Sam Humphries and Ton Lima - will see the New Avengers attempt a ‘heist’ to steal Bruce Banner from within the Hulk. Coming August 30, the story is likely to end with Bruce and Hulk parting ways, opening the gap that Eldest will fill as the Infernal Hulk.
By introducing the Hell Hulk over inHellverine, Marvel is seemingly giving the Infernal Hulk a dark reflection of Bruce Banner’s gamma family.
This Isn’t the First Infernal Hulk
The Codename Has a Dark History
Interestingly, Eldest won’t be the first Infernal Hulk in Marvel lore.The original debuted in 2011’sDeadpool Annual #1, from John Layman and Al Barrionuevo. The story takes place in an alternate reality where Bruce Banner became Sorcerer Supreme, using magic to separate himself from the Hulk and exile the Jade Giant to Hell, where it merges with demonic spirits.
The original Infernal Hulk had increased strength and the ability to exude Hellfire - qualities the new Infernal Hulk may share, despite looking nothing like the original. Ultimately,this Infernal Hulk was only defeated by being absorbed back into Bruce Banner, who was then executed - a dark precedent as Bruce Banner tries to stop the new version.
What Does This Mean for Hell Hulk?
One odd detail in the rise of the Infernal Hulk is that Marvel recently introduced an evil Hulk with Hell-based powers over inHellverine. Benjamin Percy and Raffaele Ienco’sHellverine #5debuted Hell Hulk as a creation of the eldritch Project Hellfire - a Hellfire-wielding monster that exudes rage, causing those around it to engage in muderous violence.Hellverine is currently on amission to kill the Hell Hulk, but the arrival of the Infernal Hulk may change how this story plays out.
If the Infernal Hulk is about to be born with control over Earth’s monsters, then the Hell Hulk would make an ideal lieutenant - a dark echo of Bruce Banner’s own Hulk family.WhileHellverineintroduced the Hell Hulk, it’s possible that was only the prologue forThe Infernal Hulkto finally unleash him.
The Infernal Hulk Is Coming to Conquer the Marvel Universe
Recently, fans learned that when the One-Above-All discovered the Mother of Horrors and her creations, he was so enraged that the One-Below-All was born - Marvel’s ultimate force of evil, whose gamma energy powers the Hulk.Put another way, the Mother of Horrors' first reign literally created a multiverse-level devil.
Now, the Infernal Hulk is on a quest to bring this ancient demon back, using the unbeatable strength of the Hulk to do it. Bruce Banner has always wanted to be free of the Hulk, but he never truly considered that someone else might want to step into his place. That’s exactly what’s happening as theInfernal Hulkis unleashed, and the new Age of Monsters comes to the Marvel Universe.
The Incredible Hulk #30is coming October 15 from Marvel Comics, followed byThe Infernal Hulk #1on November 26.
