Red Hulk
The Red Hulk is a comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
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Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross)
- Main Article: Thunderbolt Ross
The original Red Hulk was actually U.S. military General Thaddeus Ross after he had secretly forged an alliance with the Intelligencia. In the wake of World War Hulk, the Jade Giant was defeated through an orbital beam strike that was actually engineered by the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. to siphon energy from the beast. This gamma energy was siphoned as they used Life Model Decoys masquerading as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrest Bruce Banner and took him to Gamma Base which was secretly under their control. Once there, General Ross was offered by the Intelligencia a chance to resurrect his dead daughter Betty Ross and in exchange he was transformed with the accumulated gamma energy into the Red Hulk to be their operative. An L.M.D. was used to maintain his General Ross identity whilst the Red Hulk was dispatched on various assignments for the Intelligencia where during this time he decided to settle a personal score by killing the Abomination thus making the Red Hulk known to the world when it investigated the death of the supervillain. (Hulk v2 #23)
Red Hulk (Robert Maverick)
- Main Article: Robert Maverick
The second Red Hulk's identity was known as being U.S. military General Robert Maverick who was given the power after Ross lost the ability to transform and returned to being human. His own transformation was a product of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hulk Plug-In which was a genetic enhancement that transformed the user half-way into the Hulk. The process was only in the testing phase when the support of A.I.M. allowed it to be perfected with it being used by General Maverick to become the new Red Hulk. However, the process could only work initially for one hour in a day and a half before he had to return back to his human state. With this power, the new Red Hulk came to join the U.S.Avengers that were led by Roberto da Costa who were tasked with ensuring that America remained a strong nation in the face of numerous threats. (U.S.Avengers v1 #1)
Overview
In appearance, the Red Hulk was similar in shape and form to the Hulk with its distinctive traits being its red skin and yellow eyes. (Hulk v2 #2) He was given the code name of Rulk on a account of his red skin and features. (Hulk v2 #7)
The first Red Hulk was created by combining the Cathexis Ray with cosmic energy. (Incredible Hulk v1 #610)
This version possessed great strength to the point of being able to overwhelm the Abomination. (Hulk v2 #1) The blows made by the Red Hulk were able to create seismic 10 level earthquakes. (Hulk v2 #3) He was capable of leaping to such heights as to enter into space. Whilst there, he had to hold his breath as the Red Hulk was unable to survive without oxygen. Despite that, he was able to hold his breath for a significant length of time to the point that he could battle in space and return to Earth. To return to a planetary surface, he simply braced for re-entry and landed back on the ground without any issue. (Hulk v2 #5)
Unlike the Hulk, increased anger does not make him stronger but causes him to emit increasing heat. In one case, this went to such levels where it turned the desert sand underneath him into a glass disc at least a dozen feet in diameter. Overheating though had a problem in that it caused the Red Hulk to weaken afterwards leaving him vulnerable to getting knocked out in a prolonged fight. (Hulk v2 #6)
Red Hulk had superhuman strength, durability, and endurance, comparable to that of the Hulk. He is capable of absorbing radiation, which his body can metabolize for increased strength.
The second Red Hulk's powers stemmed from the Hulk Plug-In that was a genetic enhancement able to turn the bearer half-way into the Hulk. However, the process could only work for those with the suitable genetic profile for he plug. When activated, the user could turn into the Red Hulk but the transformation only worked for a single hour after which it could not be used for around a day and a half. (U.S.Avengers v1 #1)
Notes
- The Red Hulk was created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness where it made its first appearance in Hulk v2 #1 (March, 2008).
- During X-Sanction, Cable refers to Red Hulk as Talbot suggesting that in his timeline that perhaps Glenn Talbot became the Red Hulk instead of Ross.
- In an interview with writer Jeph Loeb, he noted that Joe Quesada had informed him that Marvel had come up with the idea of a new version of the Hulk that was red and whose identity was a mystery.
Alternate Versions
- In Avengers: X-Sanction v1 #3 (2012), an alternate version of the Red Hulk appeared in an unidentified reality within the Multiverse. Glen Talbot seemingly became the Red Hulk and was acquainted with Cable in this world.
- In Planet Hulk v1 #1 (2015), an alternate version of the Red Hulk appeared in the Greenland reality designated Earth-71612 that came to be a part of Battleworld. This version of Ross came to take the name of the Red King. A variation of Captain America called the Captain was sent into Greenland by God Emperor Doom and Sheriff Strange to kill the Red King, who was holding Bucky Barnes prisoner. After the Red King reveals to that group that he already killed Barnes the Captain kills the Red King.
- In U.S.Avengers v1 #2 (2017), an alternate version of the Red Hulk appeared in the Year 20XX reality designated as Earth-15061 in the Multiverse. Red Hulk, along with several other heroes, was killed by Thanos during the events of Zero Day.
In other media
Television
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Red Hulk appeared in the setting of the animated television series. General Ross was turned into the Red Hulk after being injected with a modified version of the Hulk's blood. He then began a rampage which heavily damaged the Helicarrier, which attracted the Avengers and brawled with Hulk before leaving under Dell Rusk's orders. His LMD was leading his Hulkbusters in order to protect his secret identity. He was with Winter Soldier, Doc Samson and Falcon gathered in Dell Rusk's office, being congratulated in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Thaddeus Ross as the Red Hulk appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Clancy Brown. This version transformed himself in an effort to capture the Hulk before eventually allying with him to form the eponymous team while stopping Annihilus' invasion of Earth
Video games
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Thunderbolt Ross as the Red Hulk appeared as an unlockable character in the Facebook video game.
- In Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the Red Hulk appeared as an alternate skin for Hulk in the fighting video game.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, the Red Hulk appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game. As a young man, Thaddeus Ross enlisted in the military and received his nickname from his troops because he 'struck like a thunderbolt' when leading them into action. Now he has become the very thing he hated most in life after turning into the Red Hulk.
- In Marvel Future Revolution, the Red Hulk appeared in the setting of the mobile video game. During a crisis involving Ultrons in New Stark City, General Ross led his Thunderbolts, a special Counter-Convergence combat unit, into a dimensional rift that opened near the dimensional observatory. Instead of another reality, they were displaced into the unknown location on the Primary Earth. That location turned out to be the Hell itself, as Ross and his Thunderbolts were among the many across the Primary Earth who fell through dimensional rifts into the Dark Domain. The Thunderbolts found themselves in Mephisto's Netherworld, where Ross got an opportunity to wage an endless war against the hordes of demons. The Thunderbolts set up a defensive base, from which they could strike against their enemies on an Infinite Battlefield. When Ghost Rider and Spider-Man came upon Ross and his men, Reyes noted that although Netherworld tainted all inside it, Ross was dripping with sins that were far older than that. Ross berated them and send them to find the demons alongside his men, when Spider-Man discovered that the Thunderbolts were being played a cruel joke upon, as most of the demons were the souls of regular mortals. They discovered that the Darkhold was causing everyone to see those souls as demons, but Ross refused to believe it. Clea attempted to restrain the corruption of the Darkhold, but Ross saw this as an attempt to restrain his own power and unleashed the Darkhold's power to its fullest. The eldritch tome transformed Ross into a hellish version of a Red Hulk, but Spider-Man and Ghost Rider restrained him with webs and chain. Reyes then used his Penance Stare on Hell Hulk, draining most of his power, while Clea took care of the Darkhold.
Appearances
- Hulk v2: (2008)
- Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1:
- Avenging Spider-Man v1:
- U.S.Avengers v1:
- Spider-Man:
External Link
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