ROCK & REDEEMER

 

ROCK & REDEEMER

Real Names: Samuel John LaRoquette (Rock); Craig Saunders, Jr. (Redeemer)
First Appearances: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #317, December 1985 (originally); The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #343, May 1988 (As Rock & Redeemer)

Powers: Samuel LaRoquette and Craig Sauders were S.H.I.E.L.D. advisors who were captured by longtime Hulk foe the Leader, who mentally manipulated and brainwashed both men until they became his loyal followers. Shortly after, he placed LaRoquette in a shape-shifting rock-like exoskeleton and Saunders in a powerful suit of high-tech armor, empowering them as his servants, Rock & Redeemer.

As Rock, Samuel J. LaRoquette was permanently bonded to a powerful rock-life exo-skeletal armor. In its default state, Rock resembled a man's face peeking out from inside a meteor. The exo-skeleton also gave him superhuman strength (Class 25) and was extremely durable. He could levitate and fly with the exoskeleton, and he could reshape it with his thoughts. Rock has used the exo-skeleton to protrude sharp spikes, shift his outer frame into a smooth ball, sprout enormous hands with bladed fingers, or even temporarily form into a roughly humanoid shape over 30 feet tall. The exo-skeleton had the ability to regenerate, and would re-form around LaRoquette's body even if it were completely shattered. Rock was mentally bonded to the exo-skeleton, feeling it and controlling it as if it were his own body; however, he also felt damage to the exoskeleton as if it were his own body being harmed.

As Redeemer, Craig Saunders Jr. wore an armored mechanical battlesuit that granted him enhanced human strength and durability. The battlesuit wielded a variety of powerful guns, rocket launchers, and energy cannons.

As a Hulkbusters, both men had access to advanced technology such as battlesuits, planes, and large land vehicles outfitted with weapons powerful enough to threaten the Hulk. LaRoquette is also a survival expert with experience in many harsh climates and terrains. Saunders was also a distinguished demolitions expert.

PANTHEON

 

PANTHEON

Roster: Achilles, Agamemnon (Vali Halfling), Andromeda, Atalanta, Cassiopeia, Delphi, Hector, Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner), Jason, Paris, Perseus,

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #368, April 1990

History/Powers: Several millenia ago, a youth named Vali Halfling, the offspring of a human and an Asgardian god, made a pact with the alien Troyans: In exchange for immortality, the aliens would be allowed to collect an occasional tithe in the form of Vali's descendants. His immortality manifested during his adolescence, never physically aged past 16 years of age. Realizing that Vali's descendants would retain less of his power in their genetic structure with each generation, the Troyans aided him in the form of genetic manipulation, allowing him to pass considerable amounts of his godly attributes to his offspring. After spending an extended period in Asgard, he returned to Earth taking the name "Agamemnon".

Centuries ago, Agamemnon assembled the massive Pantheon organization, a think-tank dedicated to observing the world for potential disasters and averting them. They built a mountain-sized base in the Nevada desert called the Mount, a self-sufficient community of over 1,500 inhabitants and science facilities far ahead of the outside world, also employing many agents and bases around the globe. Over the centuries, Agamemnon has gathered many of his descendants to act as core members of the Pantheon.

Due to their genetic conditioning, many of his descendants develop superhuman levels of strength, endurance, reaction time, durability, and regenerative powers. This includes Jason, Atalanta, Casiopeia, Hector, Perseus, and both Ulysses.

Ajax also has superhuman physical power, but his body cannot stand the strain of all his muscle. He has Class 100 strength, superhuman stamina and near-invulnerability, but requires an exoskeleton to constantly support his mass.

Many members also employ plasma-based energy weapons. Ulysses carries a collapsible energy shield built into his wristband, and a hilt that generates a plasma sword, Perseus carried a plasma spear, Hector carries a charged morning star that could produce gale force winds when spun, and Atalanta uses plasma arrows which she can guide by remote control and mentally aim towards specific targets.

Hector also seemed capable of self-levitation at times, and Cassiopeia can also absorb and process stellar energy, generating "white dwarf" power as blinding flashes of light and blasts of explosive and concussive force.

Another member, Achilles, is practically invulnerable to all assaults including physical force, temperature extremes, ingested or inhaled poisons, radiation, hard vacuum, and even forms of mind control. His only vulnerability is gamma radiation, which shuts down his power completely.

Other members are not direct combatants, and so seem not to possess the physical enhancements of their brethren. Prometheus has superhuman physical senses and near-psionic intuitive tracking skills. He is able to follow virtually any trail by locating and tracking spore across hundreds of miles.

Paris is an empath capable of sensing the emotional state of other beings and gauging their empathic reactions to different situations.

Delphi is a clairvoyant and precognitive who focuses her psychic powers through water. She can sense events happening around the world in the present or months into the future, generally based on if the events are somehow relevant to her or to others close to her physically or emotionally. These visions can appear in pools of water when she touches them, helping her to achieve greater clarity in honing her "sight". Her mother, Andromeda, shared a similar ability.

HULK 2099

 

HULK 2099

Real Name: John Eisenhart

First Appearance: 2099 Unlimited (Vol. 1) #1, July 1993

Powers: John Eisenhart became Hulk 2099 after exposure to a massive dose of gamma radiation that was unleashed on him by the experiments made by the Knights of the Banner, a male survivalist group who worshiped the natural freedom epitomized by the original Hulk. Eisenhart became a massive green behemoth, roughly resembling Banner's form but with enlarged spines on his backbone and an elongated tongue. He possessed in excess of Superhuman Class 100 strength, tremendous stamina, the ability to leap several miles in height or distance, and was nearly impervious to all manner of physical harm. Like the original Hulk, his strength level and recuperative powers also increased with his rage. John could originally transform back and forth at will, maintaining his regular personality in either form but showing a different perspective on the world as John or as the Hulk. This perspective eventually developed into an outright personality shift during his transformation: Although he still retained all of his memories whether active as John or the Hulk, each side of his personality began vying for greater control over the body.

John Eisenhart holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree and is a practicing entertainment lawyer. Possessing extensive knowledge of the American legal system, he is both admitted to and licensed to practice law by the California State Bar Association. He has encyclopedic knowledge of the legal aspects of the entertainment industry, including film, music, television, theater, publishing, visual arts, and multimedia.

SHE-HULK

 

SHE-HULK

Real Name: Jennifer Susan Walters

First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk (Vol. 1) #1, February 1980

Powers: Jennifer Walters was originally a baseline human who received a transfusion of gamma-irradiated blood from her cousin, Bruce Banner (aka the Incredible Hulk). This gave her the power to mentally trigger a transformation into a gamma mutated form: Taller, more muscular and well-developed, and possessing superhuman Class 100 strength, endurance, durability, recuperation, and a high tolerance for disease, poison, and the effects of radiation. Unlike her cousin, Jen was capable of transforming back and forth at will, with no change in personality. There is a theory that the secondary form created through gamma mutation is governed by the psychology of the subject. Jennifer Walters' She-Hulk form is a result of her desire to be confident, assertive, and powerful. During her time with the Fantastic Four, however, She-Hulk received a dose of gamma radiation that froze her permanently in her gamma form. This was later explained as a psychological event, with Jen subconsciously blocking her own ability to turn back to normal since she truly preferred being She-Hulk.

After that point, She-Hulk was briefly reverted into a smaller, weaker, gray form and a stronger, more massive and aggressive "Savage She-Hulk". Both of these occasions were extremely temporary, resulting from some outside force affecting her, and apparently the changes manifested from Jen's knowledge of her cousin's transformations.

Some time back, Jen's gamma powers were upset by prolonged exposure to the Zero radiation powering a fellow Avenger named Jack of Hearts. This led to a brief change of status where she transformed from Jennifer Walters to a "Savage She-Hulk" in times of fear. Though she soon stabilized back to a normal She-Hulk mind and body, she retained the ability to transform back to Jen Walters. At this point, fearing for her safety in this weakened state, Jen had the Scarlet Witch cast a hex spell over her which prevented anyone from recognizing Jen Walters as the She-Hulk if they meant to do harm to her alter-ego, thus protecting Jen from her enemies when in human form. Further, it seems her "She-Hulk" strength level was now relative to that of Jennifer Walters, an exponential increase in the physical power she possessed as a normal woman. After a period of three months training herself vigorously as Jen, she gained a tremendous increase in her She-Hulk strength, greatly exceeding Class 100 strength levels. With the help of Reed Richards, she began employing John Jameson's old Jupiter Suit to inhibit her strength down to manageable levels. After a major fight with Titania, the Jupiter Suit was destroyed and Jen could no longer change into She-Hulk. Apparently, this is another psychological situation, with Jen having become far more comfortable in her normal form thanks to her time spent at GLK & H practicing law as Jen Walters and not "She-Hulk".

Doc Samson helped construct a bracelet device called a "gamma-changer" which could artificially trigger her transformations for her, but it required time to build a sufficient gamma charge between uses, limiting the amount of changes she could make. Eventually, a consultation with Doc Samson and Dr. Strange led to a fuller understanding of Jen's psychological inhibitions relating to her powers. By removing Wanda's hex spell over Jen, Dr. Strange fully restored her ability to transform between Jen and She-Hulk. However, it remains unclear whether She-Hulk's strength level has diminished back to its classic level or not. She also learned the body-mind transference technique from the extraterrestrial race known as the Ovoids, but she rarely employs this ability.

Jennifer Walters is a practicing attorney who holds a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA. She has extensive knowledge of the American legal system.

SASQUATCH

 

SASQUATCH

Real Name: Walter Langkowski

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #120, April 1979

Powers: Dr. Walter Langkowski was a physicist attempting to recreate the gamma exposure that turned Dr. Bruce Banner into the Hulk, but under controlled laboratory conditions. This resulted in a massive explosion in the northern Canadian wilderness. This explosion was severe enough that it briefly created a tear in the inter-dimensional barrier protecting Earth from the Great Beasts, and one of the Beasts named Tanaraq reached through to "touch" Langkowski. Awakening after the explosion, Walter discovered that he now had the power to transform into an orange-furred bigfoot creature. He reasoned that he had become a gamma mutate, and the normal green coloration caused by gamma radiation was altered by the methods he employed. In fact, Sasquatch was actually Tanaraq's body, and Walter was transpositioning his own mass with that of the Great Beast himself, and each time he did so, Tanaraq's influence on Earth was becoming stronger and stronger. As Sasquatch, Walter stood over 7' tall and was covered with shaggy orange fur. His strength level reached Superhuman Class 100, in addition to increased foot speed, agility, endurance, reaction time, and tremendous resistance to physical injury. He did possess some level of enhanced senses and his fingers ended in claws, but he was rarely interested in employing them. After Tanaraq eventually waxed full control over the Sasquatch body, Snowbird was forced to kill Walter's physical form in order to annihilate the Great Beast. His spirit was recovered and placed inside the Box Mark II robot for a time, but was later lost on the Crossroads to All Realities. Eventually, Walter's spirit found its way into the void inside Shaman's medicine pouch, and possessed the diminutive body of the brain-dead Smart Alec, who was being stored in there. Crawling out of the pouch, Langkowski then transferred his mind briefly into the Box Mark III to combat Pestilence, an evil spirit who had possessed Snowbird's body, which at that point was both dead and transformed into a recreation of Langkowski's Sasquatch body.

After Pestilence was driven out, Walter possessed the Snowbird-Sasquatch and impulsively attempted to transform back into his human self. Snowbird's power was that she always transformed into female, white-haired versions of different animals. By attempting to morph into his human self, Walter ended up transforming into a female version of himself with white hair. This process seemed to disrupt Snowbird's powers, and so Langkowski was never able to access any of Snowbird's other morphing or psionic powers. Now, the he//she combination could only morph back and forth from the white furred female Sasquatch to the white haired "Wanda Langkowski". In the end, though, Narya's patron gods intervened and remove all traces of Snowbird from Sasquatch's body, restoring him to his male human form and orange-furred Sasquatch form. Since that time, Walter has referred to himself as a gamma mutate again, so it seems that the gods transformed him into the very thing he originally thought himself to be. The second Sasquatch was an actual "missing link", one of a hidden race of creatures resembling Langkowski's altered form. He had considerable mass, standing over at least 7' tall, in addition to superhuman strength, running speed, endurance, and resistance to physical injury. He also possessed razor sharp claws and teeth, and presumably had enhanced senses as well.

Walter Langkowski holds a Ph.D. in physics and is also a genius-level intellect with expertise in the effects of radiation on human physiology. He also has extensive knowledge of physics and was a talented football player.

ZZZAX

 

ZZZAX

Real Name: Zzzax

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #166, August 1973

Powers: Zzzax is an "electromagnetic intelligence". It was the product of an accident that occurred at a Consolidated Edison nuclear power plant when a group of heavily armed terrorists attempted to shut down the power for New York City. The explosion that their stray gunfire caused started a chain reaction in the atomic reactor, creating a psionically-charged electromagnetic field of humanoid form. As the electromagnetic form grew, it incinerated those people who stood in its way, absorbing the electro-psionic fields generated by their brains, and thus acquired a human intelligence. As it began to think and become aware of its surroundings, it developed rudimentary speech and named itself "Zzzax" in imitation of the electrostatic "crackle" it made when it moved. As it killed more human beings, it grew more intelligent; consequently it began a campaign of murder and destruction in order to increase its intelligence further.

It is capable of crude human level intelligence (variable up to normal) and superhuman strength (at Class 100 maximum). Zzzax generally appears as a gargantuan mass of electrical "sparks" in humanoid form. It is highly luminescent, whitish-yellow in color, and gives off the scent of ozone. Zzzax can hover or fly in the air.

Zzzax can fire extraordinarily powerful blasts of electricity. Zzzax's tremendously high voltage enables it to incinerate matter which lies in its path. Zzzax's superhuman strength has enabled him to battle the Hulk nearly to a standstill. Zzzax has incinerated whole city blocks in minutes. Zzzax has burned the Hulk's skin to a slight degree. At its most powerful, Zzzax is 40 feet tall and carries a voltage of several hundred thousand volts that can be almost totally expended over a 20-minute period.

Zzzax subsists by drawing all available electromagnetic fields into its own. Those electromagnetic fields housed by human brains, when absorbed, add to Zzzax's level of stored psionic energy, making it more intelligent. For an unknown reason, Zzzax finds this absorption of electrical/psionic energy from human brains pleasurable, and therefore undertakes the murder of human beings for their psionic energy whenever possible, In absorbing this psionic energy from a human victim, Zzzax will incinerate the victim's body, Zzzax is seemingly unable to absorb psionic energy from its recurring adversary, the Hulk. However, Zzzax can take control of the electrical/psionic impulses in the Hulk's nervous system, and thereby control the activities of the Hulk's muscles.

Zzzax's own thoughts and behavior can be influenced by strong desires on the part of the human beings whose psionic energy it has consumed. However, only in the case of General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross has another being's consciousness supplanted Zzzax's own as the dominant one controlling Zzzax's physical form.

RICK JONES

 

RICK JONES

Real Name: Richard Milhouse Jones

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #1, May 1962

Powers: Rick Jones is typically a normal human. All of humanity, however, have a potential in their genes to achieve vast power over time, space, matter, and energy. All forms of benevolent mutation among super-beings on Earth are theoretically micro-expressions of this potential. Rick's mind has a greater connection to the ultimate potential of this "Destiny Force" than nearly any other human. He can rarely access this power consciously or repeatedly, but it has manifested temporarily in various ways. He has demonstrated telepathic and clairvoyant awareness across galaxies, summoned people from various points in time and space, frozen time around two space armadas, in addition to feats like levitation, healing, energetic discharges, size-changing, and more.

Rick Jones's first super-hero career was as the new Bucky. Lacking super-powers, he trained extensively for weeks with Captain America to improve his athleticism and martial prowess.

After his partnership with Cap ended, Rick found himself linked to Captain Marvel of the Kree. Mar-Vell's atoms had inverted into anti-matter, trapping him in the Negative Zone. Rick was guided to a set of Kree Nega Bands that created a psionic and molecular link between him and Mar-Vell. By striking the bands together on Earth, Rick could exchange places with Mar-Vell in the Negative Zone. The two could also communicate psychically during their connection. They separated their connection when Mar-Vell used the Negative Zone portal in the Baxter Building to retrieve Rick at the start of the Kree-Skrull War. It was here that the Supreme Intelligence first triggered Rick's Destiny Force, and he nearly died. Mar-Vell sacrificed himself to save Rick, allowing his atoms to bond with Rick's in order to restore his broken body.

Mar-Vell later re-emerged from within Rick thanks to a series of solar treatments that restored his body. Mar-Vell was now positive matter again, and Rick was forced to release him from the Negative Zone at least once every 12 hours. Over time, their bond grew, allowing each partner to animate the other's body across dimensions if they were unconscious. Mar-Vell and Rick could separate at will and rejoin on contact, with Rick's presence doubling Mar-Vell's powers when they were linked. However, their enhanced link was disrupted by a black hole, leaving them completely unable to contact each other anymore, and forcing them to change every 9 hours. Mar-Vell finally separated from Rick by tricking the Super-Adaptoid into duplicating his Nega Bands, then slapping them together to banish the Adaptoid to the Negative Zone and reclaim Rick.

When Bruce Banner and the Hulk were separated, a gamma nutrient bath was designed to merge them back together. Rick fell into that bath with them, absorbing a sizeable amount of their gamma radiation. As a result, he developed a secondary gamma form that copied many of the traditional Hulk changes. Rick transformed into the Hulk at nightfall, manifesting a "Rick smash!" personality based on the classic Savage Hulk. He possessed roughly Class 75 or higher strength, superhuman endurance, durability, and leaping ability. His gamma power was later drained by Samuel Sterns to restore his powers as the Leader, and a psychic link between Rick and the Leader remained for several years after that.

Rick later underwent molecular bonding with Mar-Vell's son, Genis, making him the partner of the next generation of Captain Marvel. Their abilities to communicate and exchange places using the Nega Bands were roughly the same as the original partnership. Because of cosmic happenstance, however, Rick and Genis exchanged places between Earth and the Microverse instead of the Negative Zone.

After separating from Genis, Rick was subjected to the prototype gamma/cosmic process used by the Leader and MODOK of the Intelligencia to create Red Hulk and Red She-Hulk. Rick became a new version of the Abomination, although his "Rick smash!" personality meant he shortened the name to "A-Bomb" for convenience. Rick initially transformed between his normal self and the mentally deficient "A-Bomb" before stabilizing with his normal personality in the A-Bomb body, unable to change back and forth. Eventually, his transformation ability returned as well. As A-Bomb, Rick possessed Class 100 strength, superhuman endurance, leaping ability, and hardened scaly skin with virtual invulnerability to physical harm. He also had a power not possessed by the original Abomination, the chameleon-like ability to alter his skin's appearance and blend in with his surroundings.

When Banner’s Doc Green Hulk persona/form exposed Rick to a process that removed his gamma power, it temporarily augmented his brain power. He turned his enhanced learning capabilities towards computer and communications technology. The effect eventually faded, but his new knowledge remained, making Rick a self-taught genius in the field of computer hacking and cryptology under the new name of the Whisperer.

Rick Jones is also a self-taught musician highly skilled in performing guitar-driven folk and rock n’ roll.

RED HULK

 

RED HULK

Real Name: Thaddeus E. Ross

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #1, May 1962 (As General Ross); Hulk (Vol. 2) #1, March 2008 (As the Red Hulk)

Powers: Lieutenant General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross had his consciousness absorbed by the electro-psionic entity known as Zzzax. The creature traditionally fed off of the neuro-electricity of the human mind, but Ross's willpower was so strong he essentially overpowered, possessed and directed Zzzax against the Hulk. Even after having his mind restored to his proper body, Ross maintained the ability to project some amount of electrostatic energy.

Upon becoming the Red Hulk, Ross was subjected to a revolutionary gamma-cosmic process envisioned by M.O.D.O.K. and the Leader. This allowed him to transform from Ross to a red-skinned, massively-proportioned Hulk at will. He mentally controlled his transformation, would not revert when angered, relaxed, or unconscious, and maintained the same mind and personality throughout the process. As the Red Hulk, he possessed a baseline Class 100 strength, superhuman stamina, and was virtually impervious to physical impact, injury, temperature and radiation extremes, etc. He could generate shockwaves by clapping his hands together and leap over a mile with his powerful leg muscles. If injured in some way, the Red Hulk also had a healing factor that rapidly restored his body. When angry or agitated, the Red Hulk began producing excess radiation to various effects. Some of this radiation manifested as heat, making his skin burn to the touch and even hot enough to melt metal on contact. This was also a symptom of the Red Hulk's body processing radiation at an accelerated rate, increasing his strength, stamina, durability, and healing powers like a traditional Hulk. However, it also meant he was consuming energy at an accelerated rate. So while an angry Red Hulk did become more powerful for a time, if he became too angry or remained angry and active for an extended period, he could exhaust his radiation levels for a period of time, forcing him to revert back to his human form.

The Red Hulk initially had a programmed secondary ability to absorb and manipulate outside sources of energy or radiation. He could de-power Bruce Banner or other Hulks, draining away their gamma radiation into himself to refill his own radiation storage. The gamma-cosmic process also allowed him to harness cosmic energy sources, wielding them for his own purposes or reflecting them back on the source. It was through this ability that he temporarily controlled the Silver Surfer's surfboard while de-powering the Surfer himself, as well as striking the Watcher unconscious. Bruce Banner eventually removed this ability from the Red Hulk after testing showed excess use of the power would ultimately stabilize the Red Hulk's physiology, locking him permanently as either Ross or the Red Hulk.

"Thunderbolt" Ross is a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. With decades of military experience, Lt. General Ross is a skilled organizer, strategist and leader.

HULK

 

HULK

Real Name: Robert Bruce Banner

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #1, May 1962

Powers: Robert Bruce Banner is a nuclear physicist of genius-level intellect who experienced physical and psychological abuse from his early childhood to his pre-adolescence at the hands of his alcoholic father. After witnessing his father kill his mother, young Bruce began to repress his emotional feelings even well into his adult life. His inability to deal with emotions stemmed from a subconscious desire to avoid becoming like his violent father. However, his avoidance of emotion developed into a dissociative identity disorder (aka ‘multiple personality disorder’). This disorder began manifesting itself externally after Bruce was exposed to a massive dose of gamma radiation from a bomb of his own devising. Over the years, he has transformed into a wide variety of behemoths collectively known as “The Incredible Hulk”, each with varying levels of physical power.

Each Hulk is a massive physical specimen, possessing Class 75-100 strength, superhuman endurance, nigh-invulnerability backed by hyper-regenerative powers, and the ability to leap up to three miles in one bound. The Hulks have the capacity for superhuman strength ranging beyond the limits of any known humanoid being. The gamma radiation that mutated Bruce Banner's body fortified his cellular structure and added some as yet unknown (presumably extradimensional) source, several hundred pounds of bone, muscle, and other tissue. In times of stress, the Hulk's adrenaline level escalates, causing a corresponding escalation of strength. Thus, the madder the Hulk gets, the stronger he becomes. This is usually not accompanied by an additional gain in mass, but does appear to promote increased levels of energy efficiency. The Hulk has not let found an endpoint to his maximum strength, so its upper limit remains a mystery, While described at Class 100 strength, the Hulk has proven capable of exceeding this parameter several times over; following exposure to the warp core breach on Sakaar, his baseline strength was even higher.

The Hulks also have the ability to perceive astral forms, part of a subconscious fear that Bruce Banner has of his father returning to life to torment him. The Hulk also demonstrates a homing ability that allows him to pinpoint the desert in New Mexico where he was first “born”. This ability also gives the Hulk an uncanny accuracy and intuitive sense of direction. The Hulk has an incredible lung capacity, enabling him to last for over an hour without having to take a breath, and some incarnations have even manifested the ability to breathe underwater.

Although Banner has many splinter personalities existing solely in his mind, the Hulks that he’s manifested over the years represent the core personalities. Banner excluded, the core personalities also represent repressed aspects of Bruce Banner, sides of himself and even his ideal self. The core personalities that manifest as Hulks have had sufficient real-world experience to allow them to develop as individuals more so than the splinter personalities.

Bruce Banner is the central core identity. He’s meek, mild-mannered, reserved and filled with repressed emotions. Despite his insecurities and psychological hang-ups, he is one of the most intelligent men on Earth and has been shown to be affectionate with people (and capable of relationships with the opposite sex). He became interested in science at a young age, seemingly preferring the cold rationality of it to protect him from emotions. Banner’s childhood abuse molded him into the mild-mannered man he is as an adult. He views himself as weak and puny, which are obvious Freudian defense mechanisms to keep him from losing control and transforming into the Hulk. Since gamma-irradiated humans are molded by their own psychology, Bruce is an interesting case since his own psychology is broken. His own self-loathing (instilled by his father) split his repressed emotional sides into multiple personalities, the gamma rays that turned him into the Hulk(s) put him in a constant state of flux with those different aspects of his psychology fighting for dominance.

The grey-skinned Hulk was the first Hulk to appear after Banner’s exposure to gamma radiation. Initially, Banner began transforming into a gray-skinned Hulk every day at sunset, and returning to normal at sunrise. This Hulk was 6'6", with considerably larger muscle mass, giving him Class 75 strength. The Gray Hulk has at times been said to represent Banner's ego, or his repressed libido and desires from high school and college. Though not possessed of Banner’s genius intellect, he is exceptionally clever and crafty. He emerges at day and disappears at daybreak because of Banner's desire to hide this aspect of himself away in the dark. Initially, this Hulk's personality was also dependent on the phases of the moon, with the Hulk side of his mind being strongest when away from sunlight, even reflected sunlight off of the moon. And so, the Hulk was at his most savage and brutal during the new moon, and most reasonable during times of the full moon. Banner's transformations were completely controlled by an internal clock -- the Hulk was frequently locked up in a windowless cell during the night-time hours, yet even without a window or clock to know the time, he always reverted back to Banner at sunrise. The Hulk's skin turned green very early in his manifestations, giving rise to a splinter personality sometimes termed "Gravage Hulk" (halfway between grey and Savage). The Gravage Hulk's personality was similar to but somehow distinctive from the core personality of the grey Hulk, later referred to as "Joe Fixit". It wasn't really evident at this time, but as the grey Hulk developed into a distinctive and individual personality, the Gravage Hulk version still remained and occasionally surfaced on its own.

General Thunderbolt Ross attempted to get rid of the Hulk early in his career by launching him into space on board a rocket. Rick Jones made radio contact with the Hulk on the rocket ship, and an unexpected energy surge affected both men. When the rocket crashed back down to Earth, the Hulk remained active in daylight for the first time. In addition, he was now completely responsive to Rick's verbal commands, due to some psychic connection formed between them during the radio contact. Rick eventually managed to guide the Hulk to Bruce Banner's hidden lab in the New Mexico desert, and employed a gamma ray projector to transform the Hulk back into Banner. This became the set-up for the next few months: Whenever there was a threat, Bruce would go to his lab and blast himself with gamma rays, changing into the Gravage Hulk. Though their psychic connection was gone now, it was Rick who was responsible for ensuring that the Hulk eliminated the threat then returned to get bombarded by gamma rays and turned back into Banner. This was the period of time when Hulk helped form the Avengers. After a while, though, Banner decided that letting the Hulk out at all was ineffective, and began repressing the creature again. This just caused the Hulk to manifest in a new way, and the green-skinned Savage Hulk was born.

The most well-known Hulk, he was a larger, more powerful version of the Gravage Hulk, standing 7 feet tall and possessing Class 90 strength. He was unleashed whenever Banner began to experience intense stress, panic, anger, etc. Interestingly enough, though, the original reverse transformation was triggered in the same manner: Hulk would change back into Banner whenever he became significantly enraged or stressed by a situation. This was the beginning of the classic "Hulk Smash!!" personality, occasionally referred to as Banner's child-like id given form, his mind from when he first supposedly fractured mentally, when he was beaten by his father on Christmas morning during his childhood. At one point, Banner was shot in the head as he was changing into the Hulk. The bullet lodged there, somehow causing Banner's mind to remain in control of the Hulk once the transformation was complete. Realizing that he could not turn back without dying, the Banner-Hulk began using gamma ray bombardments to stabilize his physical state and prevent himself from changing back to Bruce Banner. Eventually, the bullet was removed with the help of the Leader, and Banner returned to his human form. This series of events catalyzed the last remaining factor of the classic Hulk scenario: Now, the angrier the Hulk became, the stronger Hulk became. Additional anger and stress released gamma-irradiated adrenaline throughout the Savage Hulk's body, geometrically increasing his strength level to Class 100 and beyond. This also affected his endurance and regeneration, increasing them to the maximum in the same way. The Hulk now would only revert to Bruce Banner when he relaxed to a certain degree, and his anger cooled.

Nothing would change for Banner and the Hulk for quite a long period of time, until Bruce began to actively search for a cure for his condition. During a period of gamma bombardments he was administering to himself, Banner was taken away for a series of space adventures, involving him confronting an old enemy who used gamma rays as a weapon against him, and culminated in him being teleported home to Earth using a matter transmission beam powered by gamma rays. All these various exposures to different forms of gamma radiation somehow affected Banner's condition, giving him total control over the Hulk. Bruce could now transform into the Hulk and back at will, and maintained the personality of Bruce Banner when he did so. Though possessing the Savage Hulk's body and powers, the Banner-Hulk was a bit weaker for practical purposes since he couldn't build up the same amount of rage as his counterpart could. Still, this was the best possible set-up for Banner, and could've lasted forever if not for the demon Nightmare coming up with a plan to turn the Hulk against his nemesis, Doctor Strange. Invading Bruce's dreams, Nightmare tormented him psychologically and ultimately triggered the manifestation of a new Savage Hulk more destructive than ever. Banner attempted to stop his other self by committing psychic suicide, literally willing himself to die. He succeeded to some degree, but the Hulk didn't die. It simply became a mindless, raging monster destroying everything in its path without thought or reason. Dr. Strange was forced to exile the Hulk to the Crossroads of Realities so that he wouldn't hurt anyone or himself. As time passed, Banner's mind actually "regrew" from his attempted suicide, but this only produced a slight calming influence on the Hulk, which was now somewhere between Mindless and Savage. He returned to Earth, and Doc Samson saw an opportunity in the making -- Banner and the Hulk were now mentally separate from each other thanks to their recent experiences, leaving open the possibility for physically separating them as well. A gamma-irradiated nutrient bath was constructed, and succeeded in separating off a portion of the Hulk's mass to create a separate body for Banner. Unfortunately, this once again created the Mindless Hulk scenario, and Bruce Banner was ironically the founder of a new Hulkbusters team. Their separation also wasn't the best of things, and soon both Banner and the Hulk began to grow incorporeal, each one dying without the other. The gamma nutrient bath was prepped to reverse the splitting, but interference by Thunderbolt Ross created chaos and it ended up that Banner, the Hulk, and Rick Jones fell into the bath. The end result was that Rick siphoned off some of the Hulk's gamma radiation, leaving Banner clearly the stronger of the two minds and bringing about the return of the weaker, grey Hulk for the first time since the earliest weeks of his transformations.

Banner's system was still unstable at this point, and the grey Hulk could potentially manifest itself at night or at times of great stress. Most of the time, however, Banner remained strong enough to prevent the Hulk from being unleashed by sheer force of will. However, during the night of the new moon, when the grey Hulk was strongest, he was able to influence Banner's mind, subliminally convincing him that another blast of gamma radiation would rid him of the Hulk forever. Just the opposite occurred, and the Gray Hulk now had full control of their shared body at night. The Gray Hulk was still only 6'6" and Class 75 strength, but now had the madder-stronger factor as well. When a nuclear detonation left the world thinking the Hulk dead, he was actually transported to Jarella's world in the Microverse. Helping the local priests deal with a problem, they sent him back to Earth under a spell that prevented Banner from emerging at all. Now in full command, the grey Hulk became a mob enforcer in Las Vegas, taking a name for himself as "Joe Fixit". The magicians' spell eventually began to falter, though, and for a time Joe was weaker during the day and suffered if sunlight directly touched his skin. After about three months since the nuclear detonation, Banner regained control of the daytime from Fixit. This continued until the Hulk was possessed by a being of strange matter from another dimension. In order to deal with the threat, Banner unleashed the Savage Hulk within his mind. It worked, but this upset the delicate balance of his psyche, always fluctuating between two personalities. Now Banner changed into Joe Fixit at nightfall and during the day would transform into the Savage Hulk when stressed or angered. This chaos was too much for his system, and his personalities began to go to war with one another, mentally and physically (Banner's body with one giant grey arm and one giant green arm, both trying to strangle himself). Doc Samson began some emergency psychotherapy for Banner to treat his mental disorder. Using the hypnosis talents of the Ringmaster caused Banner to accept Samson’s presence into the interactions between his personalities and prevent them from attacking each other. During so, Doc Samson forced Banner, Joe Fixit, and the Savage Hulk to confront each other inside their mind for a “group therapy” session. They reached an understanding over the love of their mother, their collective fear of their father, and the recognition that they were tearing Bruce Banner apart by fighting. Finally, Samson seemed to convince the three personalities that it was in their best interests to merge and become a unified, whole mind.

This new Merged Hulk was a homogeneous mixture of traits. He stood 7’6″ with the Savage Hulk’s body, but Joe Fixit’s facial features. He possessed Banner mind and intelligence (without his emotional issues), but with a large portion of Fixit’s crass humor and craftiness. He was stronger than any previous Hulk, having a base strength of Class 100 even when perfectly calm. The Merged Hulk could increase his strength in the same manner as the Savage Hulk, but if he ever became too angry or stressed, he would transform into “Savage Banner”: The body of Bruce Banner possessed by the mind of the Savage Hulk. This was his self-imposed defense against him ever losing control and hurting people around him. However, it was later revealed that this was not, however, the perfect Bruce Banner that he and everyone else thought he was. This merged Hulk is who Bruce Banner wishes he could be.

While the merged Hulk contained many of the united qualities of the three other personalities, he was really just a stopgap measure devised by Samson. The Hulk was dangerously unstable at that point, and Samson needed to create at least a temporarily stable version of Banner to prevent a total meltdown. So he lied about “curing him” and instead had Banner engineer a new dominant personality that would repress the others until a truly healthy merger could be achieved. That never happened since the merged Hulk realized that he was just another facet of Bruce Banner, a mentally ill man’s notion of his ideal self. While this Merged Hulk (now calling himself "Professor") had considerable psychic and emotional armor that prevented him from feeling too strongly or too openly about anything, that armor cracked once he met the Maestro, a tyrannical future despot version of himself. Seeing what he might become created uncertainty in Banner's mind, and caused him to subconsciously create a defense mechanism against himself. The Merged Hulk was now capable of feeling things stronger than before, but if he ever became too angry or stressed, he would transform into Savage Banner: The Savage Hulk's mind possessing the body of Bruce Banner. This was his defense against him ever flying out of control and hurting people around him. Sometime later, though, Savage Banner (believing himself to be the near-invulnerable Hulk), through himself on a grenade and had a blast of shrapnel penetrate his brain. He did manage to turn into a real Hulk to save his life, but it was a different version of the Hulk, as indicated by his skin being a different shade of green. This version of the Hulk wasn't really explored before Onslaught struck, splitting Hulk and Banner into two separate beings again. Banner dove into the Onslaught effect with the rest of Earth's Heroes to defeat the creature, but while Banner traveled to the Franklinverse, the Hulk remained on our Earth.

On the Heroes Reborn Earth, the reincarnated Banner was exposed to gamma radiation and became a reborn version of the Savage Hulk. Back on our Earth, the Bannerless Hulk operated as a form of the Gravage Hulk. No transformations occurred, and while his separation from Banner made this Hulk physically more vulnerable, his strength level continued to increase due to an odd connection to the Heroes Reborn universe. The Hulk eventually proved to be a major factor in bringing the Heroes back from the Franklinverse, and Banner and the Hulk were reunited. The Gravage Hulk remained the dominant Hulk, and now their transformations were controlled entirely by the two personalities in control. If both Hulk and Banner wanted to change or not change, then things were easy. If they disagreed, however, it became a battle of wills as to whether or not the transformation occurred or did not. Following Betty's death, however, Banner began manifesting the merged "Professor" Hulk again and, after a disastrous period of mind control by Tyrannus and diagnosing himself with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Bruce's system became even more unstable. Ultimately, Banner made a pact with his three core splinter personalities (Savage Hulk, Joe Fixit, and the Professor), so that they would take turns sharing the body and would eventually take over completely when "Bruce Banner" succumbed to his disease irreparably. Bruce ended up being cured, though, and Fixit and the Professor somehow completely disappeared.

Banner began training his mind through yoga techniques and self-hypnosis so that he could control his transformations, turn into the Savage Hulk at will, and undo the changes almost just as easily. After having a reanimation drug delivered into his bloodstream, Banner developed even greater control over the Hulk and its power than before. By concentrating, his eyes would glow with gamma radiation and "Puny Banner" would become superhumanly strong and resistant to physical injury all on his own. He also could transform into the Savage Hulk while maintaining his regular personality, though the Hulk wasn't always completely under his control. This period of Banner's life has since been revealed as either fully or partly a lie, implanted on his mind by Nightmare. How much of the "Zen Banner" period actually happened remains unknown.

Since then, Bruce Banner began changing regularly with a version of the Hulk that possessed a quiet demeanor, wily intelligence, and a mean streak. This Hulk took over almost completely on the planet Sakaar, at Banner's allowance. He grew stronger and more powerful on that world and, after everything he built there was destroyed, the Hulk's rage reached unprecedented and sustained levels, making him stronger than ever before during World War Hulk. The Green Scar's rage reached uncontrollable levels when he learned one of his own Warbound was responsible for the devastation on Sakaar, and Banner had to shut him down to prevent Hulk from venting his rage on the entire planet. Instead, Banner settled into a transformation cycle with the old Savage Hulk -- still prone to rages, but without the intellect or memory to fully comprehend the Green Scar's fury.

Faced with the energy-absorbing Red Hulk, Banner was drained of all his body's gamma charge, leaving him powerless and the Hulk effectively "dead". Still possessing many enemies, Bruce Banner armed himself with a number of gadgets and technology which he carries in a simple satchel. The satchel contains a pocket teleporter reverse-engineered off of the Leader's technology, enabling Banner to reach into the bag and out into his laboratory, pulling a wide variety of items out at any given time. Banner can also use the teleportation tech more traditionally, transporting himself (and other people in close proximity) around the globe in an instant. His BannerTech shield array provides Bruce with considerable protection from all manner of harm. He can even absorb Hulk-class body blows without injury. By expanding and redirecting the shields, Banner can simulate superhuman strength to some degree. The shields are powered by ambient energy, including the gamma rays and Old Power bleeding off from his son, Skaar. Bruce also carries a simple remote device capable of executing BannerTech computer virus, nanoparticles, and software programs. This lets him quickly hack into many kinds of electronic systems. He can access government databases for information on different people and subjects, intercept and reroute phone conversations, jam tracking equipment, override security systems, and assume remote control over technology like orbital satellites and computer-guided missiles. His remote also connects him with Spy-Eyes, tiny flying cameras capable of transmitting real-time video back to him. Banner can hear and speak through the Spy-Eyes, and also use them to perform medical monitoring scans on other people. Finally, Banner carries an Old Power "taser" which channels the tectonic force of the planet into energy bolts that register on the Richter scale.

When Banner's gamma levels were restored, he and the Green Scar Hulk began co-habitating, switching back and forth as circumstances required. After being transformed into one of the Serpent's Worthy, however, Hulk went to Doctor Doom for assistance and physically separated himself from Banner. Bruce went mad during this period, as the heroic aspects of his character remained in the Hulk. During a gamma bomb explosion, Banner disintegrated in the Hulk's arms, ultimately being reabsorbed into his system. Hulk developed an antagonistic relationship with Banner where he reverted to his weaker self whenever suited relaxed or unconscious, until the two once again made peace inside their mental architecture.

Banner tried a new method of controlling the Hulk by using him in controlled, cathartic exercises to relieve stress and aggression. By releasing the Hulk on a regular basis to exert himself, Banner experienced a peaceful cohabitation with his two sides. The Hulk's exact disposition and intelligence level varied during this period, but he proved largely cooperative with the Avengers, SHIELD, and Banner's needs. Only when Banner lost control of his emotions would he produce an uncontrollable Hulk.

Later, Banner was near-fatally wounded by a bullet to the brain. Although he somehow survived, it resulted in a brain damaged Banner and an extremely dangerous rampaging Hulk. Short of killing Banner, Tony Stark decided the best option was an upgraded Extremis Virus dosage, designed to repair the missing parts of Banner's brain. Banner himself then further tweaked the Extremis dosage, resulting in his already prodigious intelligence boosting to superhuman levels, but also producing a new, super-intelligent version of the Hulk, dubbed "Doc Green". Unlike other "smart Hulks" of the past, Doc Green is not Banner's mind in the Hulk's body, but the basic Savage Hulk persona made super-intelligent. Doc Green rejects both Banner and past versions of the Hulk, citing himself as unique. His strength level appears to meet or surpass any past incarnation of the Hulk short of the Worldbreaker. He still needs to "smash", almost pathologically: When experiencing a setback, he demonstrated an uncontrollable desire to sublimate his anger through destruction, although all he needed was breaking a pencil to calm down. Doc Green also apparently does not or cannot sleep without allowing Banner to emerge, and took steps to prevent Banner from regaining control during these periods.

Robert Bruce Banner is a genius level intellect with Ph.D.'s in nuclear physics and two other areas. He possesses extensive knowledge of the subject, particularly gamma radiation.