Hulk And Iron Man Share Some Unpleasant History In Original Sin #3.1

Long-buried secrets from throughout the history of the Marvel Universe are going to be coming to light when Original Sin begins in May, and some are bound to be more shocking to long-time readers than others. And when it comes to Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, one in particular will prove to be a doozy: was Iron Man responsible for the birth of the Hulk?

Marvel isn’t coming right out and saying that, but it sure is hinting at something big in the origin of the Hulk that involves the Armored Avenger.

“Original Sin reveals a deeply buried secret shared by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner that dates back to the fateful gamma-bomb explosion that created the Hulk,” Editor in Chief Axel Alonso said to USA Today.

The repercussions of this bombshell will be explored by Hulk scribe Mark Waid and Iron Man writer Kieron Gillen in a four-part story illustrated by Mark Bagley and Luke Ross. The story will begin in Original Sin #3.1 and run through Original Sin #3.4 (yes, it’s a separate thing from the regular Original Sin #3, and yes, it would be hard to make the titles of books involved in this event any more confusing). Bagley and Ross will switch off issues with JG Jones providing covers for all four.

We’ve got a look at Jones’ covers for the first three issues plus a variant by Greg Land for issue #3.1 below.

“People have been digging the love/hate relationship between Marvel’s polar opposite geniuses both on screen and in the comics,” Hulk and Iron Man editor Mark Paniccia said in a press release. “We’re delving into some really compelling history with Tony and Bruce … some very cool dots will get connected and you’ll see one of the best superhero fights in history.”