Devil Hulk
The Devil Hulk is a supervillain and persona that features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Devil Hulk (Bruce Banner)
- Main Article: Bruce Banner
The Devil Hulk was seen as a dark persona that stylised himself as the Devil. Bruce Banner came to encounter the personality whilst delving into his mind. (Incredible Hulk v2 #13) When his father Brian Banner would beat him up, the Devil hulk would appear to a young Bruce to release him so that they could have their revenge on him. (Immortal Hulk v1 #38)
The Devil Hulk first appears when Bruce uses a machine created by Angela Lipscombe to travel into his own mind, which is being overtaken by the Guilt Hulk as he begins to die of Lou Gehrig's disease. In a cavern containing innumerable other personalities frozen in ice, Bruce finds the Devil Hulk unfrozen but bound by chains. After explaining the nature of his existence, the Devil Hulk said he will banish the Guilt Hulk his inability to feel guilt giving him the advantage over the entity if Bruce releases him from his shackles, but Bruce refuses the Devil Hulk's offer to help, and flees, managing to keep the Devil Hulk contained and ensure the future safety of the world by making a deal with the three 'primary' Hulk personas including the Savage Hulk, the Grey Hulk, and Professor Hulk that they will share control of the body once Banner's disease becomes too serious while leaving Banner with some degree of awareness and control. (Incredible Hulk v2 #13) Later, Bruce's mind is thrown into disarray by the experiments of John Ryker, allowing the Devil Hulk to escape the cave from which he taunts Bruce. (Incredible Hulk v2 #19)
After Civil War II, Bruce Banner was killed by Hawkeye but came to be resurrected with the Devil Hulk personality coming into dominance. This persona revealed its true nature to Doc Samson as being born out of Banner's desire for a father figure and his inability to imagine life without pain which was why it was seen as a malevolent Satanic being. (Immortal Hulk v1 #15)
During Absolute Carnage, the Carnage host Cletus Kasady sought to free his master Knull from his prison. This involved targeting former Symbiote hosts to claim their genetic codex. During this time, Venom looked for a host strong enough to oppose them and bonded to Bruce Banner who was involved in stopping the villain. Whilst bonded, the various alter personalities of the Hulk gathered in Banner's mind to discuss the presence of Venom. The Devil Hulk was opposed to be involved in the matter and was even prepared to rip out his own spine to remove the Symbiote as he felt that they should be focused on their own mission. However, Banner refused and instead looked to work together with Venom in order to stop Carnage from accomplishing his goals. He gained support of Joe Fixit and the Green Scar with the Devil Hulk storming off as he warned them that they were making a mistake. (Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk v1 #1)
The Leader came to use a telepathic attack on the Hulk by Xemnu as an opportunity travel into his foe's mind via the Green Door. Once inside, he came to imprison the Devil Hulk deep within the inner world of his mindscape where the beast remained trapped and unable to help Banner. This allowed Sterns to torture Banner within his own psyche which angered the Devil Hulk to the point that he was able to break his prison. He then arrived at the scene to attack the Leader who had taken control of the Green Scar persona. (Immortal Hulk v1 #38) The Devil Hulk's rage caused him to beat Stern aside easily until he changed his appearance to that of Brian Banner that gave the Hulk alter persona pause. This also led to the Savage Hulk persona intervening in the fight as he wanted to stop the Devil Hulk from killing their father as he still loved Brian Banner. This served as a distraction that allowed the Leader to change his form into a monstrous shape which proceeded to decapitate and dismember the Devil Hulk. Sterns then took Bruce Banner deeper into his mindscape where he kept him chained alongside the remains of the Devil Hulk alter. (Immortal Hulk v1 #39)
Devil Hulk (Brian Banner)
- Main Article: Brian Banner
During the Chaos War, Amatsu-Mikaboshi actions caused the veil between the living and the dead to be torn asunder as he sought to unmake the universe. To aid him, he brought the soul of Brian Banner to aid him against the Hulk where he took the guise of the Devil Hulk. In this form, he gained power over the fear that the Hulk and others felt over him where he managed to overpower his foes. This was until Jarella of K'ai showed that the feelings of love could empower her which she used to defeat Brian Banner. (Incredible Hulks v1 #620)
Overview
In appearance, the Devil Hulk resembled a large Hulk-like creature with more reptilian features. (Incredible Hulk v2 #13)
This persona quoted the Bible when he identified himself as akin to the Devil. He considered himself and Bruce both being creatures of intellect. This Hulk said that Banner needed him as he allowed Bruce to ignore all the guild he experienced in his life. (Incredible Hulk v2 #13) The Devil Hulk persona was said to be colder and more brutal than Joe Fixit with a lot more ambition. (Immortal Hulk v1 #29) He promised to Bruce that he would emerge into the world. Once there, this Hulk vowed to destroy the world that rejected them and leave nothing intact that Bruce held dear. (Incredible Hulk v2 #13)
Initially, the Devil Hulk could only manifest at night but he began to operate even at night. According to Leonard Samson, this was based on Bruce's own acceptance of that alter persona. (Immortal Hulk v1 #29)
Notes
- The Devil Hulk was created by Ron Garney and Paul Jenkins where he made his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk v2 #13 (March, 2000).
- Writer Al Ewing commented in an interview on CBR about him bringing in the Devil Hulk during his Immortal Hulk run.
In other media
Video games
- In The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, the character made an appearance as one of the primary antagonists who was an alternate mental persona of the Hulk with him being voiced by Richard Moll. He appeared as a reptilian creature with a deep booming voice and dark red glowing eyes. Its head was extended similar to reptile with exposed teeth as well as small horns on its neck. It has sharp teeth around its curved jaw and had a more feral appearance along with its sharp claws and tail. In Banner's mind the creature was gigantic, the size of a building and quite strong in mental presence alone. While being able to influence Banner's mind in times of stress, the creature never appeared on the physical plane. The creature believed little in the regard of other beings and focused on its single goal which was the corruption along with the takeover of Banner's body. It delighted in the despair that it brought on Banner by its slow manifestation. The Devil Hulk told Banner that scientists should not fear evolution suggesting that it believed itself to be the next stage of Human evolution. It believed itself to be more powerful then the Hulk who it considered to be a weak construct of Banner which wanted to be loved. It stated that it should not be blamed for the darkness that was already inside Banner and that it was the ultimate Bruce, the devil itself. The creature also stated that it had no intention of being banished or leaving Bruce's mind, that it wished to tear the world into a million pieces for rejecting Banner and itself. The Devil Hulk had a curious relationship with Banner in that it stated that its action were the benefit of its "child" namely Banner himself. It referred to Banner in an affectionate banner as its "darling Bruce" and that it was only trying to help him stating that what it did, it did out of love for its child. Some of the phrases it shouts during the battle include "I love you! I need you" suggesting that the Devil Hulk not only required Banner's body but believed in a twisted manner that it was doing this to help Banner. After being defeated by the Hulk, the Devil Hulk commented on where it went wrong with Banner and showed disbelief in the Hulks capacity to defeat itself. When questioned about whether the Devil Hulk was real, Banner responded that it was as real as the Hulk himself. The Devil Hulk first appeared after Banner was hunted by the Division and was being slowly affected by degeneration brought about by his gamma mutation. After a transformation as the Hulk in order to gain some machine parts to cure him, Banner began to become more distressed whereupon he heard a voice say "Bruce... I'm coming for you.". Banner quickly moved to the bathroom mirror where he asked who the voice was at which point a monstrous shape formed in the darkness on the mirror. It stated "My darling boy, don't be afraid. Scientists aren't supposed to fear... evolution." at which point Banner started screaming in despair. The creature stated that it came into existence where it found Banner and that it was not going to let him go. That Banner opened a door for it which it never had before. It stated that it and Bruce were going to be gods in the world that feared and rejected them. Once it emerged, it stated that it would tear the world into a billion pieces and that it was the ultimate Banner, the Devil itself. It quickly became apparent that in Banner's shattered psyche, a new darker personality began to develop that quickly became known as the Devil Hulk. At first, Banner seemed to ignore this development and continued about his attempts at gaining enough parts in order to develop a cure for himself. However, the creature began to slowly influence his mind in order to aid the Devil Hulk in manifesting in the real world. Its first task was shaping a mission of the Hulk making Banner believe that his friend Doc Samson had sent him on to fight the Division forces that were located in the city. What Banner was not aware of, however, was that these were civilian targets that the Devil Hulk tricked Bruce into believing were military points used for future assaults against him. The damage and destruction caused made it appear as if the Hulk was more of a menace to the world and make even Samson think that Banner was losing control. Banner eventually came to realize that he was losing a grip on who he was and enlisted his friend Doc Samsons help. A machine was readied to send Bruce into his own mind as the Hulk in order to fight for domination of his body. Before this was done, Samson inquired whether the Devil Hulk was real at which point Banner responded stating that "He's as real as the Hulk." At which point, Banner was sent into a painful state and sent into his own body. He appeared in a fiery desolate landscape in his mind where the massive Devil Hulk stood ready to confront the Hulk in order to determine who gained Banner's body. The creature informed the Hulk that it was a weakling that was created by Banner in an effort to be loved. Before they battled, the Devil Hulk also stated that the Hulk was afraid of it and had good reason to be as it intended to erase the Hulk from Banner's mind. During the mental battle between the two, the massive Devil Hulk used its might to defeat the Hulk and on certain occasions attempted to devour him. However, the Hulk managed to defeat the gigantic creature causing it to fall and weaken. Stunned, the Devil Hulk attempted to appeal to Banner's personality stating that it only wanted to help him but at this point, the Hulk attacked which banished the creature from Banner's mind.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, the Immortal Hulk appeared as an alternate uniform for the Hulk in the setting of the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, the Immortal Hulk appeared as a playable champion in the setting of the mobile video game. The Immortal Hulk has overpowered the other Hulks, becoming dominant. Now in complete control, even the Gods fear this green demon of the dark.
Appearances
- Incredible Hulk v2: (2000)
- Incredible Hulks v1:
- Immortal Hulk v1:
- Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk v1:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
