Such Smashing Possibilities
Over the course of the past 50 years, The Hulk has faced many enemies, and fought for many causes. Indeed, many of those enemies have been parts of himself – hulking embodiments of his own emotional discomfort. He’s also built a family, of sorts, and through these developments, further exploration into his own experiences of kinship has been possible.
But, make no mistake, while cinematic adaptations to date have focused almost exclusively on General Ross chasing Hulk after the establishment of changed origins, The Incredible Hulk provides an opportunity to tie together the various intergalactic and inter-dimensional plot threads that have been established in the second phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just as much as any other MCU character.
As already mentioned, a previous Hulk storyline in the source material saw the rage monster manipulated by a dream demon, as part of Doctor Strange’s dimension shifting world. But it’s in the far reaches of space that The Incredible Hulk truly found a life for himself. The storyline of Planet Hulk, closely followed by World War Hulk gave Banner and his alter ego a brand new identity: as a father.
In Planet Hulk, an incident in Las Vegas leads the Illuminati to banish Hulk from Earth – tricking him into leaving the planet to solve a satellite problem, and then jettisoning him into supposed oblivion. His craft crashes on the planet Sakaar, though, where he’s captured and forced into slavery – compelled to fight in gladiator battles for the entertainment of the tyrant Red King.
Hulk raises resistance forces, however, and fights for freedom and liberty. He’s pursued by Red King’s lieutenant, Caiera, who eventually joins Hulk before he defeats the Red King. Hailed as the new King, Hulk marries Caiera and they conceive sons – but the shuttle Hulk arrived in explodes and appears to kill Caiera, which sends Hulk back to Earth for revenge.
The story continues in World War Hulk (not to be confused with the later story World War Hulks), as the angry creature returns to Earth from Sakaar with his alien allies in tow – seeking revenge against the Illuminati for banishing him, and against the Avengers for building the shuttle that exploded and supposedly killed his pregnant wife. He battles the Inhuman Black Bolt, the X Men, Ghost Rider, Iron Man and destroys Stark Tower in the process. He defeats the New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers and the Fantastic Four.
He gives them all the same obedience disks with which he was enslaved on Sakaar, and then defeats Doctor Strange, General Ross, and the U.S Army – opting to set up gladiator fights between the superheroes. It’s then revealed that the explosion on Sakaar was in fact caused by Red King loyalists, and Hulk is eventually imprisoned underground.
