What are the different personalities of Marvel Comics’ Incredible Hulk?
The Incredible Hulk is one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters. Before he was smashing Loki on Tony Stark’s floor, he was one of the original Avengers. Whether he’s on his own or teaming up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Hulk has helped save the world and the universe. He’s the strongest there is and has proven it on multiple occasions.
Besides his strength, however, the Hulk is known for something else. There’s more than one Hulk inside Bruce Banner. People who only know the Hulk from the Marvel Cinematic Universe may only know of a couple of those personalities. They recognize “childlike” Hulk and Smart Hulk but there’s more than that. For 58 years, Bruce Banner has exhibited different versions of the Jade Giant – and some of them aren’t even green! Here, this writer will explain some of Bruce Banner’s and Hulk’s other personalities.
Let’s start with one that isn’t all that well-known.
Kluh
The less said about the Marvel event Axis, the better. Nonetheless, it gave birth to a new Hulk personality called Kluh. Kluh describes himself as the Hulk’s Hulk. The best way to further explain him would be with his own quote. “All that confused idiot ever wanted was to be left alone. Me–all I want is to bathe in the blood of the innocent.”
Not very valiant or Avenger-like, but that’s the way he likes it. Kluh is a personality that hasn’t come out in Immortal Hulk. Devil Hulk may have been the one keeping him at bay. If he’s dead, Kluh may rise.
Hulk is Hulk
This is the Hulk that everyone knows. The one who smashes everything, talks in the third person and is difficult to control. This is the version that’s been around the longest. When the Avengers debuted in 1963, this was the Hulk we saw. One thing that people may not get is that he’s not dumb.
Sure, this Hulk isn’t winning any intelligence awards, but he’s not a dunce. If he was just a dumb brute, he wouldn’t win as many fights as he does. A perfect example of this was when he beat Red Hulk – he found out that the madder Red Hulk got, the hotter he got and he ultimately used this strategy to get a win. Moreover, when going up against faster fighters, Hulk finds their pattern and catches them off-guard. Villains may call him dumb, but they always regret it later.
Bruce Banner/Smart Hulk
We saw a glimpse of Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame. Bruce Banner keeps his intelligence and the Hulk’s strength – the perfect combination of brains and brawn. With these combinations, however, comes a disadvantage: Bruce Banner isn’t a fighter. He’s a scientist. Because of this, Bruce will lose fights the Hulk normally wouldn’t. He also doesn’t get the extra boost from getting stronger when he’s angry.
Bruce is calmer than his green counterpart. Sometimes he also overanalyzes situations instead of just fighting. Of all the people on this list, Smart Hulk is the last one you want in a fight. He just doesn’t have that killer instinct.
Joe Fixit
This is a personality unlike any of the others on this list. He isn’t the genius that Banner is, but he’s definitely smarter than the regular Hulk. Meet Joe Fixit. This particular personality has more common sense than Bruce and the Hulk. His look and personality is more in line with a mob enforcer from Casino. He even wears striped suits. Sure, Joe has done heroic things, but he’s not exactly someone you’d call a hero. In his defense, being a Hulk in Las Vegas will definitely get you work as security.
In Immortal Hulk, Joe can’t change into his grey form. However, that doesn’t make him a non-threat. What he lacks in infinite strength he makes up for with street savvy, innovation, and charm. All of this allows him to work his way out of anything – a quality he has used more than a few times during this run. Furthermore, Joe has managed to save the Hulk from dying in a situation he had no business living through – particularly when he was being chased by Bushwacker. He learned that thinking Joe was helpless because he wasn’t big and grey was a mistake – and a fatal one at that.
World War Hulk
There are few people in comic books that can be unbeaten. Among them is The World Breaker Hulk. As the phrase went, the angrier Hulk is, the stronger he is. In the Marvel Comics event World War Hulk, he was never angrier. The Hulk lost his wife and unborn son – a tragedy that he thought was caused by his former friends in the Illuminati. When the Hulk returned to Earth, he couldn’t be stopped. The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four (with Black Panther and Storm), and the Sentry couldn’t defeat him. At one point, he stomped in New York so hard it was felt in Connecticut. Had he continued, the eastern seaboard would have been gone.
This Hulk was a combination of Bruce and Devil Hulk (he’ll be mentioned later). He was astute. No matter what they threw at him, Hulk countered and made it worse for them. Not even the might of Doctor Strange could stop him. He outsmarted Strange by appearing weak and then breaking his hands – an attack that left Strange unable to maintain his spell and took him out of commission. All of that swagger and strength made this Hulk a leader, a hero to some, and a force that could stop anything.
Maestro
Maestro is a version of the Hulk that became evil. He woke up in a future where World War 3 killed 60% of the world’s population and, then, a group called Black Scythe killed more people. Finding out that Hercules is in power, Hulk kills Hercules and assumes his control. It wasn’t a fair fight. Maestro used devious means to gain power. Although, that’s who he is – a despot who will torture, murder, and more to keep control over his subjects.
This isn’t the friendly Hulk on the Avengers, Joe Fixit, or anyone else. He’s an evil, despicable Hulk. Time and again Maestro has shown that he doesn’t care about anything but his own pleasures. He’s been defeated before, but not often. He may not be stronger than any of the other Hulks, but he’s definitely crueler.
Earth 807128
This is Old Man Logan’s reality. The one where the villains win. It’s not certain when or how, but Bruce Banner goes crazy. He ends up having inbred children that have his power with none of his intelligence. Still as powerful as before, Hulk becomes the landlord for all of California and up through Washington State. The Hulk was uncontested by anyone until he went too far and had Logan’s family killed. Logan popped his claws for the first time in over fifty years and killed the Hulk and all of his family. The only relative that remained was the youngest who Logan and Danielle Cage were raising.
Devil Hulk
The best was saved for last. If you’ve never read Immortal Hulk, then you’re in for a shock. The Devil persona (as he’s called) was around before the gamma radiation turned Bruce into the Hulk. It was the one that protected Bruce from his life’s horrors. When Bruce’s infamous temper kicked in, it was the Devil personality you were witnessing. He was the one that killed Bruce’s father at his mother’s grave. All the moments Bruce couldn’t handle, the Devil was dealing with.
While Devil Hulk seems aggressive and scary (which he is), his actions stem from his need to protect Bruce. The truth is that Devil Hulk is overprotective of Bruce. He loves him. If anyone hurts him or the childlike Hulk that everyone knows, he takes it personally – and he’s killed people for hurting them. And it’s not just Bruce. In an issue of Immortal Hulk, Bruce killed a group of gangsters for indirectly causing the death of a girl. The guy responsible had every bone in his body crushed.
It’s not just the brute strength that’s terrifying. It’s how calculated he is. Devil Hulk once let himself get captured and dismembered to get information. He’s willing to do things that only Logan and Deadpool are willing to. Bruce has even admitted that this persona may be smarter than him in some ways. And he causes all this pain and destruction with a sinister smile.
Let’s paint this final image. This is a Hulk more powerful and durable than any of his personalities, possibly smarter than Bruce, and more cunning than most heroes. This Hulk is the strongest there is.
Which of the Hulk’s personalities are your favorite? Would you like to see more of them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments below!