The Red Hulk’s Secret Identity Revealed!
07 May
Posted by JC as Hulk, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Comics
So Joe Quesada dropped a huge bomb in a subtle way in a recent interview, letting it all air out about who this mysterious Red Hulk actually is. As we approach Hulk #4, where Hulk and The Red Hulk square off - it would be nice to know just who this red monster is, and why he wants to destroy everything and why he killed off a giant villain with a gun of all things.
As with all intentional leaks like this, you don’t know how seriously it can be taken, ‘ol Joe could be pulling our legs.
We like to keep things spoiler free around here, so find out who’s behind the Red Hulk rampage going on in Hulk right now, after the jump.
And it’s none other than… Ares, god of war!? Really?
From Joe himself:
3) Red Hulk vs. Mighty Avengers. Coming up?
JQ: 3) It’s probably inevitable. I mean, after all, the Red Hulk is secretly Ares. Wait! Who said that?
Hmm… well, it does seem extremely interesting if it’s true. Does this make any sense to you Avengers fans out there?
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UPDATE!
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(7 votes, average: 3.57 out of 5)
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669 Responses
New Comics for 05/14/08 + Tuesday Wrap-up | ComicNerd: Comic Book Reviews
May 13th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
1[...] and Co., and it was very cool to see it in this new format. We think we may have uncovered the Red Hulk’s secret identity. Along with some big G.I. Joe buzz, we published 41 hi-res photos of the cast for 2009’s G.I. [...]
New Comics for 06/04/08 + Tuesday Wrap-Up by ComicNerd: Comic Book Reviews
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
2[...] a bit to check out. I noticed a lot of people were going crazy over the bomb dropped about the Red Hulk - Do not click that link if you don’t want to find out Red Hulk’s secret identity! A [...]
jerry
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
3Who is really the red hulk?
jerry
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
4Who’s the red hulk?
JC
June 4th, 2008 at 4:51 am
5…it says in the post above…
redhollywood
June 10th, 2008 at 9:01 am
6i sure hope its not ares god of war. I am going to be really mad if it is.
Giuseppe Gentile
June 14th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
7It’s Sampson… Come on… Think about it!….
redhollywood
June 14th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
8that is very plausible. Maybe it is a skrull…..oh and post 100…made it first..eat it.
Banana
June 18th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
9It’s Maestro!!! I think…
JC
June 19th, 2008 at 12:09 am
10Wow that is a GREAT guess… certainly something to mull over.
redhollywood
June 19th, 2008 at 10:00 am
11ooohh I hope it is maestro
Sethro109
June 19th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
12Red hulk is the punisher Duh.
redhollywood
June 19th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
13that would also be cool
Kemorak
June 21st, 2008 at 2:13 am
14General Thunderbolt Ross
redhollywood
June 21st, 2008 at 11:45 am
15i doubt it is ross
JC
June 21st, 2008 at 12:17 pm
16Hrm… I dunno about the Punisher - maybe if The Punisher didn’t have two ongoing titles and had been out of readers’ minds for a while…
redhollywood
June 21st, 2008 at 1:55 pm
17It literally could be anyone
punkymeadows
June 22nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
18it’s Doc Samson. haircut, identity known at gamma base, knows fight with Abomination quite clearly, has been affected by gamma rays, references Betty in non-caring way.
OR
it’s General Ross, holds a grudge with the Abomination for killing Betty, uses a load of guns, is going to love fight with green hulk, unknown if affected by gamma rays…
for me, i hope it’s Samson. i think it’d be cool to be someone who no one would expect. plus, i’d always wanted to collect a Doc Samson comic.
FrankC
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
19Its NICK FURY! That would explain the red (fury), and the use of weapons. And Nick Fury has always had a bit of distaste for the HULK. It also explains how he could get into the Shield system.
redhollywood
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
20I like the fury tie-in with the color red
Bill
June 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
21It’s Glen Talbot. Should be obvious.
Red_Hulker
June 24th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
22Could the Red Hulk be…….EMIL BLONSKY? Clearly whatever made Rick into A-Bomb could have made another new Abomination and perhaps that other Abomination is the body which was found in issue #1. It also explains why Red Hulk wants to off Rick…he’s killing all Abomination pretenders. He also meets the criteria of being previously gamma exposed, hates She-Hulk for beating him in their last encounter, likes guns cause (duh) he’s a spy.
lestat104
June 25th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
23It’s Tony Stark! At the end of WWH he was running with those satellites that knocked the Hulk out. He was in those beams and probably absorbed some of the gamma radiation from the Hulk as he was de-powered. The Hulk and Banner have been split before, so why not Stark and a new Hulk personality. Stark really does not like the Hulk, he did shoot him into space! Or…. the demon Hulk personality has finally broken free!!!
redhollywood
June 26th, 2008 at 12:10 am
24I like the Emil Blonsky theory. As far as Tony Stark goes that’s not real plausible considering he is in issue 2 or 3 I can’t remeber fighting the red hulk.
JC
June 26th, 2008 at 10:17 am
25Interesting theory lestat104, that would be quite a shocker if it’s the case.
Does anyone else think the “hint” dropped in #4 was a red herring? I think the coat hint was too obvious.
redhollywood
June 30th, 2008 at 10:26 am
26so it seems that the red hulk is Samson…but I have my doubts.
Smokkee
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
27I think that this Red Hulk is Banner. How he is both of the Hulks at once I cannot explain but it would not be right if the Hulk was anybody but Banner. The theories about the Punisher and Tony Stark are good and I would not be mad if it was either one of them.
Smokkee
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
28It could be Stark. The current Iron Man is a Skrull!
redhollywood
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
29Ok the red hulk is not tony stark considering that tony stark fought him already. Also tony stark may or may not be a skrull it is not definite. It could be that she only told him that to make him even more untrusting and scared. It would throw him off and let things slip by him.
Osmosis68
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
30It’s pretty obvious the guy is the “Devil Hulk” seperated from Banner at the end of WWH due to the massive energy blast. Look at the facts: 1.) Unlimited Strength fueled by unlimited rage (he has all the power that’s why his Green self can’t beat him), 2.) Doesn’t like Banner or the Hulk (DH all the way), 3.) Does very un-Hulk like things, carries and uses guns to kill his foes (just to be un-Hulk like and evil) 4.) Is his own monster (DH all the way) 5.), Is RED (a devil characteristic) 5.) Remember that art with him surrounded in flames (another devil Characteristic), 6.) Has been looking to get out for years now is finally out, 7.) The most obvious reason: Marvel would never ever let a secondary character do impossible feats of strength like this, this is the Hulk’s forte, it’s just that the worst part of him is finally out… The question is how do they get that back inside of Banner and repressed again… I like that they are using him to set the record straight at long last… I would like to see him get even with Void like he did when he set Gladiator straight… Imagine when this is all over everybody will really fear the Hulk in the MU because they have seen what he can really do if truly “unleashed”…
Osmosis68
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:27 pm
31Sorry about the two 5’s in the last post but to support my point here’s what Loeb said not to long ago:
“In many ways, the Red Hulk speaks to the worst in us,” Loeb says, “so when the Green Hulk comes back, it will remind us of the best in us.”
Note there is no disconnect. I believe he’s talking about the same character.
redhollywood
July 4th, 2008 at 8:04 am
32I think you have hit the nail on the head. I totally agree that they are one in the same. That will make this series even better.
Tygah
July 5th, 2008 at 2:57 am
33At first I thought that it was clay quartermain, but they found his mangled body, so the only reasonable person that it could be is Doc Samson.
1. look at the hair style
2. shield was able to identify him b4 he destroy the computer that was about to say who he is
3. he “thinks” things through. signs of a “cerebral” person
4. high gamma levels on Samson’s clothes, way more that what he would have given off from b4
5. not a stranger to gamma radiation’s affect on body, jusy not to that level
tell me what ya’ll think.
redhollywood
July 5th, 2008 at 8:48 am
34i think it is loebs way of throwing us off the trail but then again he could be pulling a double reverse feint and it just seems like he is trying to throw us off and it really is samson.
Tygah
July 5th, 2008 at 10:49 am
35From Wikipdeia, On Doc Samson:
“While attacking the Thunderbolts, the telepath Mirage noted that Doc Samson, who was present in Thunderbolts Mountain, had some fascinating thoughts. In his mind she saw that, while his mental reactions to Norman Osborn and Moonstone were Hulk-like, he was still able to control himself from physically acting on those impulses.”
I believe that the doses of Gamma Radiation released the new views of himself and caused him to mutate into the Red Hulk.
Plus, had it been Thunderbolt Ross, Red Hulk would’ve had a mustache.
Osmosis68
July 5th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
36My main reason for not believing it is Samson is that he too obvious, he is the perfect “Red Herring” (pardon the pun), and Doc Samson as the strongest in the MU… Nah, can’t see that happening.
The Hulk is Banner and has always been Banner. There have been other “False Hulks” like Rick Jones. But there is only one true “Hulk” and his stamp is doing the impossible. That’s why the other heroes go get him when facing things like Onslaught. I could see Samson if this character was not doing Hulk-like impossible to imagine feats of strength. But tetonic hits, cold-cocking Uatu, changing the environment around him with his presence? If Red H. beats Thor down and breaks his Hammer and this is Doc Samson, then the Marvel front office needs to call a meeting include Stan Lee and tell the world that they are changing the character’s entire back history.
I’ll add that when McG signed on as artist that he wanted to impossible Hulk feats of Strength. He ended up with Red Hulk and though surprised has continued with great art. I still think he is Banner. Remember back in the day when the Beyonder said that the Hulk was his near equal in limitless power. Maybe we are starting to see that in the limitless and ruthless Red Hulk version (the green version had to much history of being overcome by simple things and many foes)… And didn’t he state in Issue #4 that “He is the Strongest One there is!” When did anybody but the true Hulk say that?
If I am wrong then its clearly time to abandon Marvel and head to DC for the long haul…
Just my 2 cents…
redhollywood
July 5th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
37I will never head to DC…i just can’t get into them.
Spartan009
July 6th, 2008 at 1:45 am
38You’re all friggin idiots, you know that? It’s obvious that that Red Hulk is Samson. Picture Red Hulk and Samson’s face at the same time and you can realize that they look alike 100%. But if that doesnt work, then read issue #4 where the investigators find Samson’s shredded coat with tons of gamma exposure all over it. Why the heck some of you think it’s banner, or the punisher (as if), or ross is beyond me. I understand imagining who the red hulk is can be fun but face the facts that Samson is red hulk. FACE THE FACTS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!
redhollywood
July 6th, 2008 at 2:06 am
39I know it is samson. I was just hoping that loeb wouldn’t make it so predictable.
Tygah
July 6th, 2008 at 3:25 am
40Osmosis may have a point. Samson would be too easy an answer, so herez my twist on everything.
Itz Samson, just not “our” Samson!!!!!!!
In Doc Samson’s latest mini series, didn’t he come face to face with an alternate dimensions version of himself? Who knows how our gamma radiation can affect an alternate being, henceforth the color of red. Anything affected by gamma radiation in marvel universe 616 comes out “green”.
We’ve had stuff like this happen b4:
1. Dark Beast replaced Beast for a while.
2. She-Hulk boned the Juggernaut, only to find out that it was another She-Hulk that did it.
3. Spider Man’s Uncle Ben just came over from another dimension just recently.
4. Teenage Tony Stark replaced the regular adult Tony Stark.
5. When Banner was separated from the Hulk during Onslaught/Heroes Reborn, a long haired Hulk came from another dimension and fought the Banner-less Hulk. This was when Mike Deodato was drawing the book.
Not saying that this is whatz happening, but it could be an interesting twist to things.
Spartan009
July 6th, 2008 at 4:07 am
41Look, even if it is too obvious RH is Samson, it’s still the fact. unfortunately, I’m not aware that Samson met another him from another dimension. you may be right though but I think it’s the original Samson. Does it even make sense that Ares can be Red Hulk? I mean, through issues 3 and 4, RH kept talking about how much he hated Hulk. Did Hulk once fought Ares or something? There is another proof that Samson is RH. In issue 3 at the gamma base, a scanner was scanning RH’s eye and almost said a name but before the name got out, RH had to go and smash it. Obviously, it was about to say “Leonard Samson”. Unless Ares works at the gamma base, I dont know what to tell ya folks.
JC
July 6th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
42Spartan009, you DO realize that Ed Mcguinness draws EVERY face the same. Using Samson’s face as your proof is pretty silly.
Spartan009
July 7th, 2008 at 1:23 am
43shut it. you know i’m right. i havent seen one character in the hulk series with the similar hair cut and chin.
Osmosis68
July 7th, 2008 at 8:54 am
44Interesting… Theories here are very thought-provoking… However the basis of my thesis is the strength issue… That’s what does it for me… An added plus is that it is time for the Hulk to return as the “top dog” of the Marvel strength/major threat food chain… WWH was great and this takes it over the top. If I am correct and can stay with the MU, then the possibility of the RH returning takes the Hulk to an all new level. What is good about this is it sort of takes Marvel back to the beginning of the Silver Age when the major threat was the Hulk (despite his being a “good guy” deep down)… Here’s something that I would love to see: Gravage, Professor, Fixit, Savage, Savage Banner, the Maestro personality all coming out to take on this guy and put him back in his cave/cage. With him screaming all along - “I’ll be back! This isn’t over! I’m still stronger than all of you combined!” Now that would be an issue that would convert even the most die hard anti-hulk fans…
redhollywood
July 7th, 2008 at 8:58 am
45I was not aware that samson fought a different version of himself either. That would be a great twist.
kane
July 7th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
46There are many interesting angles to this story. If the Red Hulk is standing face to face with a figure in such a rage the picture has to be of Bruce Banner. The Red Hulk is his rage portion of himself, therefore, Bruce is of course not dead and they have managed to seperated the rage from Bruce. The Red Hulk is his remaining rage.
The Nick Fury is also probably the best/tie in with the Red Hulk.
Sampson couldn’t be the Hulk because in the picture with the question mark it is basically symoblizing that no one on that page is the Red Hulk. Therefore no Sampson or any of those people. Sampson seems like the obvious choice but it’s not.
Spartan009
July 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
47Kane, did somebody hit you in the head with a rock bigger than a bowling ball? ’cause your theory is wack. Care to explain why samson keeps disappearing before Red Hulk shows up? Care to explain what’s with samson’s coat covered in gamma radiation? your theory of the Red Hulk is ridiculous so therefore, you should not speak so nobody who reads this forum doesnt get confused. I’m right, you’re wrong. Samson is Red Hulk.
Opportunist
July 9th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
48Spartan009, your theories about the Red Hulk were dead on, but you come off like a pompous ass. Calling people “friggin idiots” and telling them to “shut it” basically negates the intelligence you obviously have.
Stick to reading your comics in silence until you learn to communicate with others properly.
hulknaut
July 10th, 2008 at 3:00 am
49you guys hulk has fought against ares before..yea sampson could be RH,but i think it would be cooler if someone else where RH..yea tony stark could be RH cause of the whole running through satellite and hulk power radiation thing..but also osmosis u put out a good theory to..but i kinda am pointing to ares more because marvel talked to the editor and chief and he hinted ares..i mean in WWH they where referring to hulk as a war god and worldbreaker right? well ares is suppose to be the war god now hulk is claiming his title?!? even more of a reason for him to be RH..
michael
July 10th, 2008 at 9:41 am
50Well, I finally read the issue in question and felt obligated to toss in my two cents. We’re talking about a Marvel comic here, and which basket is Marvel currently tossing all it’s eggs into? Secret Invasion. So let me posit another theory. What would happen if you took a super skrull with the powers of the Hulk(or Samson) and flooded them with additional Gamma radiation? Could you not conceivably get yourself a super-duper hulk skrull? And since natural skrulls are green, maybe gamma skrulls are red. It makes a certain sense, ties it into a massive crossover, and blah, blah, blah.
Still, my gut say Ross. I know it’s an unpopular option, but his comments scream Ross to me, maybe he finally snapped and irradiated himself so he could take the Hulk out personally. Although I agree with whomever said it earlier, he should have the stache!
Shawn
July 10th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
51The Red Hulk is Doc Samson.
Spartan009
July 10th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
52Why do you people keep saying it’s stark or ross? they’ve been encountering red hulk and fighting him you noobs. Did you guys even read the comics is what I wonder now.
clearthought
July 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
53Alright everyone calm down. Spartan, your hostile atacks don’t make you look smarter, but foolish. Every bit of evidence provided for either side can be minipulated either direction such as: RH fought Stark but it could be robots. Samson’s jacket is over radiated however it could have been a confrovtation. Not to make enemies here, all theories are good, however this is all fiction and to think that anything is concrete because it is on the pages is rediculous. What it comes down to is that the writer is going to send us down lots of paths and come up with the most provocative ending possible. Regardless of evidence!
Peace-maker
July 13th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
54As a MC and Hulk fan, and the current feel with invasion…WWH is the skrull and RH is Banner. Notice how the skrulls are super undetectable? Notice how these versions of skrulls are truly thinking themselves to be the ones they impersonate. Realistically (comically speaking) a skrull shouldn’t pass the detection of the Illuminati and said skrull that did was the first to get his @ss handed to him in WWH…mightily convenient. But more to my point, Electra was swapped a loooong time ago and it’s plausible that so was Banner. By the way, as to Doc Samson theory based upon gamma radiation being detected, ALL gamma powered metabeings in MC leave behind residual gamma radiation.
Another point, Banner’s adaptability has always been expressed by and linked to his mental state producing different Hulks. I believe it was Pro. X that warned about trying to shut down Banner psychically because of this very reason. You shut one down…and a new variation shows.
And finally, has everyone forgotten that She-Hulk even thought RH was Banner because they look a like? Of the characters in MC, I would think that She-Hulk would be able to recognize her cousin. (And yes, I know what RH said after knocking her out but Mr. Fixit would say the same thing.)
Spartan009
July 13th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
55sorry if i’m sounding like a jackass to you people but I just find other peoples theories to be, well… stupid. again, sorry if i’m sounding like a jackass. i’m too addicted into comic books and for the last #@%& time, samson is red hulk! it’s perfectly clear that the red guy is him because of what i’ve been seeing in the issues and i’m already guessing that all of you guys think my theory is wack and i dont care. i dont care if i’m either right or wrong. i have to admit that some others in here saying their theories about the red hulk is good. like ares being mad about hulk for making people think he’s a god of war. that could be a good plot i guess.
Peace-maker
July 15th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
56Mr. Spartan009, Doc Samson being RH is like Gambit being the betrayer of the X-men or Xorn being Magneto. Total comic mislead. They’ll retcon first! Lol. You can’t name not one new variation of the king of smash NOT being Banner. EVER.
And i forget which one of y’all said something about the Hulk using guns and it’s unlike him…um, he used guns as the Unified Hulk. In Planet Hulk he goes Conan. All I’m saying is that Hulk isn’t above using any weapons he see’s fit.
If anything, I’m sick and tired of Marvel misusing and abusing the Emerald Behemoth and Banner alike. In one you have the strongest body and the other one of the strongest minds in Marvel and his losses are often unbelievable at best. The main disappointment comes from Hulk/Banner being usually being justified for his actions but comes out on the losing side. WWH being a prime example. The only thing that makes up for this is a new Hulk every decade or so. MC has a good idea with RH, but I hope that they just don’t blow a good idea with a bad plot line…like Doc Samson being RH.
michael
July 17th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
57Peacemaker makes a good point. Marvel is fairly consistent, to the point of taking good characters and making them old characters no one cares about. I also agree that Hulk is generally not above using weapons, however, the gun seems outside of the scope a bit. I admit my Hulk knowledge is very limited and I don’t know who Unified Hulk is, but didn’t we see Mr. Fixit use a gun once or twice? Current Hulk and every incarnation of Hulk i’ve ever found to be “cool” seems to primal for the gun. Of course, that same gun makes me thing Samson is a bad choice too, he’s a man of science, first and foremost a user of his brain, he tends to not give in to his baser instincts. That’s why I still think it’s Ross, Military, knows how to fight, likes to shoot stuff. But again, we’ll see huh?
phineas curmudgeon
July 17th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
58I’m sick of so many characters being stronger than the Hulk now. It’s like he’s the benchmark for shock value. I mean it was always debatable in the past which characters were at his level or better, like Thor, Gladiator or the Abomination, but now it’s as though there is an effort to constantly dethrone ‘him’ in some way. Don’t even get me started on how much I hate the retroactive insertion of a major metahuman in the Marvel Universe a few years back that still flourishes as a legitimate mainstay to this day. That just pissed me off.
The Fury angle would explain the hair, the Samson angle seems where they’re leading us most and Devil Hulk makes great sense, but really….
it’s a friggin’ Loeb story. Which unfortunately means he’s writing up to the hailmary corkscrew that seems like the leading ambition for this scribe to ever lay pen on paper. I don’t care much for his writing, not because he’s bad at storytelling… he can write something compelling enough to suck you in and keep you there till the end, but because his story’s always rely on such a frailty in the end to pull it all together that it seems like a string on a potato sack. It’s always some precarious… “betcha din’t see dat comin’ didja?” And we didn’t see it, because we racked our heads trying to apply logic to the equation and that doesn’t work well when your trying to be the guy who dupes everyone. Yet without that string the whole story falls apart so you kinda have to accept it so that you don’t throw stuff across the room for all of the time and emotional investing you’ve wasted.
I’d like to think that Ross, Stark or Talbot would still have moustaches as Hulks just to cut them from the equation right there. Emil would be fun but would need some explaining. As far as Skrulls, well they may have us looking over our shoulders for years now, because thats a great back door for Marvel writers to fix problems.
I don’t know where to take this really, because I do believe strongly in what I said about trying to rationialize a Loeb story, but it’s fun anyway. I just want the Hulk to be as impressive as he used to be, not some constant tool to smack down for the instant awe factor. He’s not strong enough in the movie either. Either him or Emil would have broken those chains at the end.
peace. p.c./phinny/mudge
Spartan009
July 18th, 2008 at 12:45 am
59When will issue #5 come out? I want to see if Thor will beat Red Hulk or not.
mplayer
July 21st, 2008 at 4:25 pm
60We do know one thing, that is that Thor may not lose but will not destroy the RH due to it being a 6 issue series.
redhollywood
July 21st, 2008 at 7:40 pm
61I am interested on how hulk fits into the whole skrull thing
JTRobin
July 21st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
62Red Hulk is Ryker. He was behind the Gamma Corps, had the means and the motivation to become the Red Hulk. My theory is that that when the Gamma Corps inevitably turned against him, he took matters into his own hands and became the Red Hulk. He resembles the Hulk because Hulk DNA is the basis of his transformation.
Anyway, that’s my guess
redhollywood
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
63that is a sound theory
Barbarian
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
64I think the Red Hulk is a ticked off comic book nerd that has never kissed a girl and gets mad at ridiculous garbage like this.
JC
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
65hey now!
Let’s not insult ComicNerds around here, buddy.
I have in fact kissed a girl, I’ll have you know. She was sweet and smart and… yeah okay it was just on the cheek but still!!!
Anyway, lively debate is healthy, it just shows Loeb’s work is getting everyone riled up like it should.
Barbarian
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
66You’re absolutely right. Regardless of my insensitive comments, I too have a morbid fascination with this storyline. Don’t tell my wife that I sold her Coach purse to buy them to date. Rock on fellow nerds!
Peace-maker
July 24th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
67You know, a runaway clone theory is viable too. They (meaning Stark and Richards) have a depowering serum with programmed nanobots perfectly written to each metahuman. No registration = no powers. That’s very scary genetic understanding to the scope of Sinister…and they’ve shown that they’re not ashamed to flex that type of power like Sinister either: a cloned Thor…a fake Sentry. And it fits into the most evil deeds: duplication of said hero to the public! Scarlet Spiders anyone?! In other words, they recogized they may need Hulk’s strength but not the Hulk.
“I know! Let’s clone him, Tony, after we shoot him into space!”
“Great idea, Reed!”
…shortly after WWH in the Negative Zone…
WARNING! WARNING! Cloning chamber #2 is breached!
…out of it come a Red Hulk passing out…
“I’ll need to run some tests to see if the color difference matters due to the nature of the Negative Zone.”
redhollywood
July 24th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
68i think it is stan lee.
lestat104
July 25th, 2008 at 8:34 am
69now that i think about it ,a little outside of the box, it’s actually the juggernaut!!! he hates the hulk, thinks he’s the strongest, finally is back to full power, his power comes from magic so no limit, the ruby is red which could have affects on his color!!!! it’s juggy!!! just kidding… still think it’s the demon hulk!
TYGAH
July 25th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
70JUST TO MESS WITH YA’LL IMMA SAY ITZ REALLY BETTY COME BACK TO LIFE!!!!
LOL LOL LOL LOL
redhollywood
July 25th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
71its steve rogers in zombie form
Breez500
July 30th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
72Alright enough playing around. The Red Hulk is either Nick fury or Captain America. Which one, I have no idea. But trust me gentlemen its one of those two. But if by some small chance i’m wrong, then its Bucky. I don’t care if he is Captain America now, its him.
Solmo
August 1st, 2008 at 5:42 pm
73This is really getting to me. I moved so, I got left back at the end of WWH. I’ve been trying to figure who is this and looking everywhere and anywhere. I found a site, that might help, although a little disappointing.
http://en.marveldatabase.com/Red_Hulk
Stuart
August 4th, 2008 at 7:07 am
74I like the Nick Fury Theory.
Spartan009
August 4th, 2008 at 11:45 am
75I just realized that Loeb overdid Red Hulk’s strength because there’s no frikkin way green Hulk would lose that easily. You might as well make up a comic book character that destroys the Marvel world with just a snap of his fingers. This is ridiculous!
kaygee
August 6th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
76Red Hulk is mos def Nick Fury. He has been gone for a while so that usually means a character chane in the Marvel Universe. Can’t wait til Banner Kicks his ass.
FACE
August 7th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
77There are several indications that Red Hulk aka: Rulk is not General Ross, which is the easy answer when the assumption is Doc Samson’s just too obvious. Most importantly the lack of a moustache. If Banner retains his hair thru the transformation where’s the moustache for Ross as Rulk?
There are a couple of lines of dialogue from Rulk in issue #4 which suggest against it being Ross as well:
just before Rulk breaks Hulk’s arm he says, “I showed them all. Iron-Man. She-Hulk. And those idiotic S.H.I.E.L.D. failures — Hill and ROSS.”
Then, atop the bridge as Rulk points the gun into Hulk’s face he says, “They might just give me a medal for doing this. If I even cared about that sort of thing.”
Ross has some appreciation for medals considering he’s a four-star general. Thus, the Ross suspiscion should be layed to rest. However, he does mention having hunted a Blue Hulk (Rulk also uses the word “Bulk” atop the bridge), leading me to believe he knows more than he’s letting on (i.e. the inaudible dialogue with Banner).
Now, as far as Samson being Rulk, well.. it is too simple. This is Loeb’s attempt to throw us off the trail. It’s a fairly successful herring based on Spartans’ insistance that Rulk is Samson. All evidence points this way, and the only other person recognized by the robotic gate guard was Samson. Or was it?
A little while ago I posted on another board that the key to knowing who Red Hulk is lie in knowing how Rick Jones became an Abomination. If Rick could become an A-Bomb, then it can be assumed that others can as well. So, maybe, that wasn’t Emil Blonsky’s A-Bomb carcass that was found dead at the beginning of the series, but another A-Bomb altogether. Meaning Blonsky’s still alive and mixed up in this story somehow.
Would gamma base security records allow them to distinguish Blonsky’s identity? He had infiltrated the base during his spy missions which led to him becoming the Abomination, thus, he’s likely on record at the gamma base.
If you check out King-Size Hulk you’ll find a lot of backtracking on Blonsky’s connection. The section ends with Ross looking at an image of Betty and the word “Revenge” in the notes.
So, yeah, I’m leaning towards the Blonsky connection, but I’m not commited to it. Any wild guesses like Iron-Man or The Punisher being Rulk are just that, wild guesses. Quesada threw Ares out there cuz he’s an ass that would rather have Aunt May live forever than Peter Parker grow up. Don’t believe a word he says.
lestat104
August 7th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
78Again… going with the Demon Hulk. Somehow it has split from Banner physically. I’m guessing those red beams of radiation, from the satellites at the end of World War Hulk, separated the Demon Hulk from the Green Scar Hulk. The WWHulk was the smartest, strongest, angriest, and the most cunning the Hulk has ever been. He did what ever he wanted… nobody could stop him. The question nobody has asked is why is the Green Hulk a stupid, third person speaking, limited vocab Hulk? Doc Samson has dealt with Banner’s multiple personalities before and has become a threat to the Red Hulk. That’s why he is out of the picture and being set up……..
redhollywood
August 8th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
79its not nick fury cause he showed up in SI
davegalio
August 9th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
80Its Doc Samson just compare the two. He has access to Shield and is a Genius as well. Plus he was exposed to Gamma Radiation to. Its him. Doc Samson is the Red Hulk.
Mordeth
August 11th, 2008 at 3:26 am
81thats a lot of specualtion guys, 2 viewpoints
one that the Red Hulk is the Maestro, he did not die and the gamma explosion probably turned him Red (over exposure).. but then he looks too young..
the second one is really over the top, Zom’s Essence (Zomling) while fighting the Hulk steals the Hulk’s Essence and enters Amadeus Cho.
Any Takers? Red Hulk is Amadeus Cho
Hulkhistoryfan
August 13th, 2008 at 2:43 am
82As a long time Hulk fan, the only way I could dig Samson as Rulk, is if they tied it to his hair being cut. Since the long standing rule on Doc Samson’s gamma mutation is that if his hair was cut off he’d lose his power. Since he is a bit vain. So it would be interesting if cutting his hair caused his mutation to instead develope another personality. If not I’m totally bummed that they just threw away the Samson long hair thing on a lark.
It also makes little sense that Rick Jones mutation caused him to become an Abomination. Since we’ve already seen during the original return of the Grey Hulk, what happens when Rick is dosed with Gamma Rays. He becomes a green skinned character much like the original savage she hulk in personality.
Really this whole story has holes in it with Hulk history. I’m guessing that it’s either Clay (not dead) transfered into the extra rage of the Hulk after WWH (maybe mixed with the 1000 exploding suns energy too) or General Ryker. Who seems a very obvious a choice too.
redhollywood
August 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
83I like the name rulk
moises
August 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
84I BELIEVE THE RED HULK IS BANNER. ALL THE CLUES LEADING US TO THINK THAT ITS SAMSON IS LOEBS WAY OF THROWING US OFF. BANNER WAS SEPARATED IN THE BATTLE WITH SENTRY.AND ABOUT THE JACKET I THINK IT GOT THAT WAY IN AN UNSEEN BATTLE WITH THE RED HULK WE MAY DISCUVER THAT SAMSON WAS KILLED BY HIM I HOPE THIS IS THE CASE IT WOULD BE LAME IF IT TURNED OUT TO SAMSON,
moises
August 20th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
85I WAS RE’ READING THE BOOKS AND I NOTICE SOMETHING ABOUT THE CLOTHING OF THE RED HULK HIS PANTS ARE DARK GREY DOC SAMSONS PANTS ARE LIGHT BROWN YET ANOTHR CLUE FOR ME THAT IT NOT SAMSON I HPOE IM RIGHT WE FIND OUT NEXT ISSUE CANT WAIT.
jec
August 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
86red hulk, is an angry banner. green hulk the child like persona of his split personalities. the banner side still pissed off about caiera. the energy release at the end of ww hulk was enough to split the two, and remember the hulk learned how useful a weapon could be in a fight while a gladiator.
jec
August 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
87red hulk is banner. green hulk is the childlike persona of his fractured personalities. banner’s still pissed about caiera and wants to destroy. he gave off tremendous amounts of radiation at end of ww hulk besides the red energy beams t stark blasted him with was used with alien tech.
banner did learn how useful a weapon could be while a gladiator.
John
August 20th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
88Joe Q assigned Jeph Loeb to make this new Hulk series a mystery. I know he’s the Editor and Chief at Marvel, but I don’t think he would really give away that secret. Unless Joe Q talked it over with Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Mark Panccina, and Brian Michael Bendis about Ares being the new Red Hulk, it just doesn’t seem real. Why would a “god of war” expose himself to gamma rays in the past or lead up to exposing himself to become the new Red Hulk, it just doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t this red Hulk carry around an axe? What does Ares have to do with Shield and replacing all of the Hulk files? Ares fights alongside Ironman so why would he attack him? I feel as though I could go on and on about questions relating to how Ares can’t possibly be this new red Hulk. At first it seem like everyone was buying into Rick Jones being the new Red Hulk, but we now know he’s the new Abombination known as A-Bomb. Now it would seem like the spotlight is on Doc Samson. By the way things are looking, Doc Samson makes a whole lot more sense then Ares does. It seems a bit strange that this new red Hulk isn’t Bruce Banner, being that he is the original Hulk and he has undergone alot of transformations, but if that is how it is suppose to be, then so be it, no other hero should stop this red Hulk except Bruce Banner’s green Hulk. I was kinda hoping that this new red Hulk could kinda be like Onslaught, but instead of using his mind powers to control you, it would be lending you the power of a combination of Hulk and Sentry to those who were exposed to gamma rays past or present, so if it’s Doc Samson, it would make sense since he has been exposed to gamma rays. Just wishful thinking on my part.
mm4 aug 27
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
89It’s got to be Doc Samson there’s like 4 clues in the series you just got to look close also it can’t be ares he’s going to help hulk in the next comic
moises
August 24th, 2008 at 6:24 am
90HEY GUYS I WAS JUST THINKING UPCOMING FIGHTS HERE ARE MY TOP FIVE . 1,WOLVERINE 2,THE U-FOES 3,HERCULES 4,THE MASTER WHO MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH ALL THIS 5,SKRULLS.
phineas curmudgeon
August 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
91I kinda like what ‘FACE’ said above, and I’m a big time Blonsky fan so that would be a twist I’d actually like. We really don’t have any definitives about the dead Abomination’s identity do we? Besides it would fit the dialogue and Blonsky - who’s a long time veteran character, deserves better than some hype driven rub out.
Nick Fury, Cap or Bucky? Definitely interesting, but no matter who it is, the revelation will only be as satisfying as the explanation grants it to be, and with Loeb… that’s where I worry. Would Rulk have an eye thing going on if he was Fury? Hmmmm.
Mebbe Loeb will say that Red King and Hulk had a secret love affair and…..
p.c./phinny/mudge
TYGAH
August 24th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
92I WAS JUST RE-READING THE THEORIES MENTIONED ABOUT THE RED HULK BEING THE MAESTRO AND THEY WERE VERY GOOD.
ITZ GOT ME TO THINKING THAT IT COULD BE Y THE RED HULK LOOKS SOOO MUCH LIKE THE GREEN HULK, MINUS ITZ COLOR. IN ORDER TO LOOK SOO SIMILIAR, WOULDN’T DNA BE A FACTOR? SO I FIT COULDN’T BE THE MAESTRO, THEN MAYBE
ITZ BRIAN BANNER COME BACK TO LIFE!!!!!!!!!!
THINK ABOUT I, HE HAS REASON TO HATE SHIELD AND ROSS AS STATED BY THE RED HULK IN ISSUE #4. WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW GAMMA RADIATION AFFECT A RE-ANIMATED CORPSE. HIS BODY COULD’VE ABSORBED THE RADIATION FROM BRUCE WHEN HE VISITED HIS GRAVE WAAAAY BACK WHEN THE HULK SPLIT IN TWO DURING ONSLAUGHT. AT THAT TIME THE BANNER-LESS HULK WAS RADIATING OBSCENE LEVELS OF RADIATION AND COULD’VE SLOWLY HEALED BRIAN’S BODY AND SINCE HE WAS THE EXAMPLE OF RAGE THAT BRUCE SUPPRESSED FOR SOO MANY YEARS UNTIL ITZ RELEASE DURING THE GAMMA BOMB EXPERIMENT. IT WOULD’VE BEEN EASY FOR BRIAN BANNER TO ACHIEVE HULK LIKE STATUS.
JUST A STRAY THOUGHT…..MIND U, I STILL SAY THAT ITZ DOC SAMPSON.
Drew
August 25th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
93Red Hullk Is Jugarnaut. Jugarnaut hates hulk because hulk is stronger than him. Also you have not see Jugarnaut lately. His last quote was you will not like what I become and he has not been seen since Red hulk appeared
Rick
August 26th, 2008 at 8:56 am
94he’s May Parker…
Silverback
August 26th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
95I think it’s the Thing. He has a long history with the Hulk, and he has undergone a lot of mutations in his career as the Hulk’s punching bag. Maybe the exposure to Sentry’s and Hulk’s energies did the trick? Remember, most people exposed to gamma radiation wind up indulging their negative emotions. Ben Grimm, with his resentment over the effects of the superpower registration act, his frustration with not beating the Hulk and his anger at being considered an “abomination” himself (hence the murder of Blonsky), makes a good Red Hulk candidate, in my opinion.
Drew
August 27th, 2008 at 12:09 am
96no he is Juggarnuat my source knows people who work for marvel plus he is the only level 13 intellect in the world
John
August 27th, 2008 at 11:49 am
97I have to say looking at all these replies, there are alot of good theories as to who this new red Hulk is. The two that really catch my eye are the guesses of Juggernaut and Thing. These two in their own right are mighty powerhouses, but if any of these two were to become this new red Hulk, do you realize what that would mean? All those times they fought the Hulk and you would hear the famous battle cry, “HULK IS STRONGEST ONE THERE IS”, well if they can’t beat him, why not join him, but in my opinion to their character, that would be such a cop-out. You would also have to ask yourself, why now? If the Hulk was really this bad, why become something like him now? Out of these two it would make more sense if it was Juggernaut then the Thing, because to have Thing step out of The Fantastic Four just to be this new red Hulk, I think it would hurt his character instead of helping him and I would say the same for The Fantastic Four. The Juggernaut like the Hulk is a force of nature, but how come the Juggernaut didn’t become a new Onslaught during when Onslaught was a threat to the Marvel Universe and we know how Onslaught kicked Juggy’s @$$ really bad, so again, why now and does this mean that the Hulk is a greater threat then Onslaught himself? This new red Hulk has to be someone from the Hulk universe, to have someone outside the Hulk universe, although depending who it is and how they go about it might be cool, but it just wouldn’t be fair and wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever. For right now it makes sense that the red Hulk could very well be Doc Samson. If it isn’t Doc Samson and it turns out to be the original Abomination or Bruce Banner’s dad or somehow it’s a Banner-less Hulk that could survive without him, who knows, they all make great twists, adding more plot to the mystery, but it’s best to have Jeph Loeb reveal it when the time is right.
Craig
August 27th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
98I sincerely hope that he has been empowered by the power gem or is a masquerading rogue celestial or some other such super empowered cosmic entity. With him being able to handle Thor with the Odin-Power so easily must be explained thoroughly. Ares or Samson or even a Demon Hulk is not going to explain it. He has to be a serious entity on par with Surtur, Arishem, Galactus, or at least Korvac or some other elder god. If not, marvel has made a major snafu.
bandit18
August 28th, 2008 at 7:56 am
99all this guessing at who the red hulk is makes me wonder if people even think about stuff before typing it down..the thing!?…did u not read the last comic…Amadeus Cho dude that guy is in love wit hulk..onslaught!? juggernaut!? punisher!? cap america!? bucky!? brian banner!? nick fury!? bruce banner!? i wont even go there wit the rest of those thought less guesses
John
August 28th, 2008 at 11:39 am
100I understand on one hand how it could frustrate some fans to see other fans predict certain things that just seem way out there, but at the same time, not just because this is America, but because we are all fans, this gives us a chance to voice in our opinions. We place our trust in the comic creators to tell great stories about our favorite heroes and villians and granted, there will be some stories, just like some fans predictions that seem way out there and don’t make sense, but just as much as we have a right to write down our opinions, the comic creators are the one’s with the job telling the stories, not us. Some fans love Jeph Loeb, other fans hate him, I’m not here to tell any of you to choose on how you should feel about this writer, but Marvel gave Jeph Loeb the job to tell this red Hulk story, let it also be known that from time to time, Jeph Loeb has announced that Ed McGuinness not only draws the story, but he comes up with the ideas too, so this story is a joint production from both writer and artist. In my opinion these two make such a great team so I will place my trust in them to tell us who this red Hulk is when the time is right. My personal hope is that this new Hulk is someone from the Hulk universe, it would be nice that even though we know that Bruce Banner is still the green Hulk that somehow he is involved with this red Hulk, but if it’s Doc Samson, at least he is apart of the Hulk universe. Before I go, let me just say, I don’t think this new red Hulk is Onslaught, I was just thinking wouldn’t it be interesting if the red Hulk was able to pass on his power from one person to another in the Hulk universe.
phineas curmudgeon
August 28th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
101Hmmm….Juggernaut. Crimson Gem of Cyttorak could explain the red somehow I suppose.
I was kinda wondering too if it’s not really a Hulk at all, just some extremely powerful being like Craig said taking a Hulk form that may be revealed later.
I really hope that it’s not Onslaught, although he does have Magnus’ hair, and since Devil Dinosaur didn’t have white hair I don’t think it’s him either.
This could very well be an as of yet unrevealed side project gone awry to counterbalance his unethical treatment/ostracism in the Illuminati storyline. Not that this hasn’t been considered or even eluded to, but the Super Soldier/DNA aspect of the Hulk seems to be ripe with the potential to go off in many directions. The new contemporary way of looking at the Hulk is exactly that these days… duplicating the formula or harnessing that power for military applications. It doesn’t answer who, but it does create a whole new sense of irresponsibility in the world like nuclear armageddon.
Despite all of the wonderful theories here, I still feel puzzled by his use of a gun with all of that power at his disposal. That seems like it should mean something more.
I just wanna read the last damned issue now damnit.
p.c./phinny/mudge
Joe
August 30th, 2008 at 4:40 am
102What if hes the Red Skull? He has training, he’s currently in Luskins’ body and has been behind the scenes. Also hates SHIELD.
moises
September 1st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
103some of the thoughts on who the new hulk is are ridicules.RED SKULL,PUNISHER,THING,JUGERNAUT,ONSLOUGHT,NICK FURY,are you guys reading comics these days none of these make any sense.how about an alternate reality hulk escaped to our dimension can you say maybe we will see the exiles in these pages soon.maybe not but this sounds better than the red skull i,m just saying.
John
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:35 am
104I would just like to say again that I don’t think this red Hulk is Onslaught, but we do know Onslaught was able to take over other character’s minds, but instead of taking over their mind, maybe all that power that seperated the World War Hulk verison from Dr. Bruce Banner was passed onto someone else, hopefully though someone from the Hulk universe, because if it is someone outside the Hulk universe, it just wouldn’t make any sense. I love Jeph Loeb’s books and I’m so happy that he’s on this new red Hulk series, but if this new red Hulk is someone outside the Hulk universe, I just wonder how he’ll explain it? I don’t think fans should get mad over other fans opinions and guesses over this mystery, like I said before, I do understand that one could feel a sense of frustration, but at least all these fans aren’t just picking someone and leaving it at that, they pick someone and they leave a reason why they think this new red Hulk is that person so I don’t think they should be faulted for that. If this new red Hulk turns out not to be Doc Samson, I’m hoping it is a new incarination or hybrid of Hulk and I must say, I do like the idea of this being a alter-reality verison of a Hulk, because this isn’t the first time two Hulks from two different worlds have met.
Peace-maker
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
105Cyttorak himself just may be an option too that no ones considering. And that plays in a couple of different ways. It could explain why he would grant ole Juggy the strength when facing the WWH. The magical balance is totally out wack in Marvel too…Doc Strange getting addicted to summoning ZOM in order to deal with WWH…SI and Incredible Herc shows that Skrull Gods are even trying to take over Earth Gods…The Asgardians are already earth bound…I mean no disrespect to Ares but come on, an Avenger? Talk about desperate…ANYWAY back to the subject at hand, Cyttorak would be awesome because he fit’s nicely as to everything Rulk is displaying. The Marvel gods are all falling to earth and from grace but it would almost deify Hulk with Cyttorak being Rulk. He is a god that can go toe-to-toe with Thor, IMO. Thinking outside of the box a little bit…
Everyone else has been showing up and revealing themselves not able to be Rulk…except Banner himself which I think is a safe bet but that would over look WWH is Banner/Hulk at peace with the other’s existance do to the Illuminati betrayal. WWH’s not merged Hulk but more of shared body blend excepting the other much like it was with Banner/Fixit…
jec
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
106how about the red hulk is the red king. He was attacked by the wildebots at the end of planet hulk, but we never saw him dead. He followed hulk to earth and has a hate on for the whole planet. He would be able to get info on heros and villians via the starships just like the warbound.
John
September 4th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
107It’s no secret that Rick Jones has been a Hulk before.
It’s no secret that the Leader has wanted to steal the Hulk’s power so he could use his smarts and the Hulk’s brute strength to try and take over the world.
It’s no secret that there was even once a Spider-Hulk.
It’s no secret that when the Abomination came onto the scene, due to having more exposure to gamma rays, he was stronger then the Hulk.
It’s no secret that even before Bruce Banner turned into the Hulk that General Ross already had a disliking to him.
It’s no secret that over the years Doc Samson has tried to help cure Bruce Banner from the Hulk.
Fact: Rick Jones is not the new red Hulk. He’s A-Bomb.
Fact: The Leader has encounter Hulk’s Warbound crew.
?Fact?: Spiderman has nothing to do with this new red Hulk.
Fact: The Abomination is dead.
Fact: Before the Helicarrier went down General Ross was on the search for the new red Hulk.
Fact: The last time anyone has seen Doc Samson was when he was in the room with General Ross talking to Bruce Banner.
The three logical choices for who this new red Hulk could be is Bruce Banner, Doc Samson or The Leader. Those three know the Hulk better then anyone else so it would stand to reason that one of them has to be the new red Hulk. From the very get-go, Bruce Banner has been trying to find himself a cure to rid himself of the Hulk. Doc Samson has worked on trying to help Bruce with a cure, but maybe because so many people don’t take him serious, perhaps he would make them pay attention to him by becoming the new red Hulk, because any color Hulk is a force of nature not to be messed with. All the Leader cares about is power and to rule, maybe he found a way to become the Hulk without having to use Banner’s Hulk.
Here’s a wild theory guess.
Back in Civil War Reed Richards and Tony Stark worked on making a clone of Thor and we all know how that turned out. Now granted, these are the same people that put the Hulk into space, but with the kinda smarts these two heroes pocess, I know they probably didn’t think the Hulk would return, but there’s always the what if’s? What if they created a Hulk for just that purpose, if the Hulk returns, it will take another Hulk to beat him down.
Another wild guess…
Everyone knows about the Skrull Secret Invasion, there is a chance that this new red Hulk could be a Skrull.
jec
September 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
108thinking about it. the red hulk has gamma base security clearence. that should narrow it down a little. samson, quartermain, talbot(we never saw a body under the lava and the madder hulk gets the hotter hulk gets) I’m almost ready to bet it’s col. armbruster.
TYGAH
September 5th, 2008 at 2:16 am
109IF IT WERE THE MAESTRO, WOULDN’T HE HAVE REMEMBERED FIGHTING HIMSELF FROM A YOUNGER TIME?
WHILE I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT ITZ DOC SAMSON. HOW ABOUT THIS?
1. THE ENERGY RELEASED FROM THE HULK AT THE END OF WORLD WAR HULK GOES INTO SPACE, MINGLES WITH COSMIC ENERGY TO FORM A NEW BEING, i.e. the RED HULK. THUS STILL MAKING HIM BANNER, IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING.
2. ITZ REALLY CLAY QUARTERMAIN, HENCE THE KNOWLEDGE OF SHIELD OPERATIONS AND SECURITY KNOWING HIS IDENTITY.
John
September 5th, 2008 at 11:51 am
110We have to remember in Peter David’s Future Imperfect that the Merged/Professor Hulk sent the Maestro in the past on the very day Dr. Bruce Banner became the Hulk and that gamma blast destroyed the Maestro.
Before Peter David left the Hulk, there was a story that pitted two green Hulks against eachother, the Marvel 616 Hulk against an alternative universe Hulk and that Hulk said that he defeated the Maestro, so how many other alter universes have a Hulk becoming the Maestro? I think it’s safe to say this is probably a reason why some think this new red Hulk could be the Maestro.
The idea of the red Hulk being Shield agent Clay Quatermain is a rule out due to the fact that the character is now dead. There is a chance at one time he could have been the red Hulk, but I’ll get back to that in a sec.
I like the idea of the released energy that parted Hulk from Banner at the end of World War Hulk # 5 could have went into space and mixed itself with cosmic energy to become a new entity within itself. This is how Banner could be involved with the red Hulk.
Taking that idea and kinda mixing it with the “Onslaught” idea, again I don’t think the red Hulk is Onslaught, I’m just saying, instead of taking over a character’s mind, the power of this red Hulk passes from one person to the next. We know that the gun used to kill the Abomination was a Shield Operations model and the red Hulk had clearence on the base, but I think Clay was never exposed to gamma rays so when the red Hulk sensed that Doc Samson was around, he left Clay and went into Doc Samson. Remember that the Hulk had different personas, so while he was with Clay, it makes sense that he would know how to use a gun and mess up Shield’s files on the Hulk. Now if he’s in Doc Samson, you got his power mixed with the combination power of cosmic and gamma rays and he’s a doctor in two different fields, one for the mind and the other for the body, this is a unique mix of brains and muscle, together perhaps nothing can stop this new red Hulk. We know that Doc Samson was involved in both Civil War and World War Hulk, he knows that heroes are still dealing with Captain America’s death, that Mr. Fantastic and Ironman made a clone Thor and when Hulk came back, he was alot stronger then he was before he left and the Warbound crew that he had with him was just as strong as he was if not almost as strong as he was, so you take all of that and remember that he’s a doctor in two different fields, how can one like that take advantage? Let’s not forget that Doc Samson was a friend of the late Betty Ross, if Bruce wasn’t willing to kill the Abomination for what he did to Betty, maybe he would take matter into his own hands, but using a Hulk to do his dirty work.
If it’s not Doc Samson, if this is a new hybrid of a Hulk, since the Hulk lost Cieria during Planet Hulk, maybe that loss was having him remember the loss of Betty Ross so he finally got his revenge against the Abomination.
You wanna know what I find so strange? Do you remember when they first started to promote the new Hulk series and sure, it started with the picture of a half green Hulk and a half red Hulk, but when issue number one was going to come out, there was a cover where Ed McGuinness was paying tribute to the classic Jack Kirby cover, but then all of a sudden that cover was changed to a red Hulk yelling with flames in the background. In the original cover, Doc Samson is in the background along with General Ross and She-Hulk and Ironman is in the sky. We all know that usually it’s Bruce Banner that is suppose to stand in the center and behind him is the Hulk to show transformation, but since this is suppose to be a mystery, I suppose they had to change the cover. It’s an awesome cover, but maybe it was a dead give a way of sorts, who knows.
TYGAH
September 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
111UR RIGHT ABOUT THE MAESTRO BEING DEAD, BUT U GOTTA ALSO REMEMBER THAT HE WAS REVIVED BECAUSE OF THE EXCESS ENERGY THAT THE BANNERLESS HULK GAVE OFF JUST B4 HEROES REBORN. THAT ENERGY BROUGHT HIM BACK WHOLE. IN FACT HIS SPIRIT WENT INSIDE THE DESTROYER TO BATTLE BULK. IN FACT, IF I’M CORRECT, HIS SPIRIT IS STILL AROUND AFTER THE BATTLE.
AND DON’T FORGET THAT THE HULK TURNED INTO THE MAESTRO WHEN BATTLING THE AVENGERS WHEN ANGEL MEDINA WAS THE ARTIST. SO ITZ POSSIBLE THAT NO MATTER THE TIME LINE, HULK WILL OR COULD BECOME MAESTRO AT ANY GIVEN TIME DURING THE FUTURE.
BEING DEAD HAS NEVER BEEN A PERMANANT ISSUE IN MARVEL, LOL LOL. WITH THAT SAID ITZ POSSIBLE FOR CLAY TO BE ALIVE STILL. EVEN AS THE GRAY HULK, BANNER EMITTED LOW LEVELS OF GAMMA RADIATION, SO ITZ POSSIBLE FOR CLAY TO HAVE ABSORBED IT DURING HIS TIME WITH BANNER AND JONES WHILE SEARCHING FOR THE LEADER BACK WHEN TODD MCFARLAND WAS DRAWING THE HULK.
NOT TO MENTION THAT THE BODY WAS CHARRED, SO IT COULD BE “ASSUMED” THAT IT WAS CLAY THAT WAS BURNED UP.
LIKE I SAID B4, I STILL BELIEVE THAT ITZ SAMSON, BUT THE VARIBLES ARE OUT THERE CREATE OTHER OPTIONS FOR THE IDENTITY OF THE NEW HULK. PLUS, ITZ FUN, LOL LOL LOL.
WE MAY EVEN BE GIVING THE WRITERS NEW IDEAS TO USE, LOL LOL.
John
September 5th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
112I would just like to say that even if Doc Samson’s pants don’t match the red Hulk’s, that doesn’t mean anything. Who’s to say that along with skin color that the pants don’t change color during a transformation?
I like the idea that the fans response could give writers new ideas, not that they would ever need any, but maybe on the off chance that if they are working on more then one book and they feel like all their ideas are going in all sorts of directions, sure it’s a great possibility to turn to the fans.
Now that you mention it, I do remember the encounter between Hulk and the Destroyer which the Maestro was controling, but if the Maestro is the red Hulk, how come the red Hulk doesn’t appear to look old in age? The Maestro had long hair in the back, while the red Hulk has hair on top of his head. The Maestro is from the future so it is possible he could have advance knowledge in order to take away the Hulk files from Shield and for them not to be able to trace it or repare it. The Maestro is ruthless so I suppose it’s likely he could use a gun, but just like the present day Hulk, there will be an debate about, if you have the power that rivals a god, why use a gun, when it’s plain to see that you really don’t need one at all.
If the Maestro is a spirit and if you mix the energy that seperated the World War Hulk verison away from Bruce Banner, probably mix some of The Sentry’s energy as well and of course cosmic energy, could those four elements have formed the new red Hulk?
I know the way things look, there’s a chance that the red Hulk could be Doc Samson, but the more I hear things relating to Banner, I just love it. Sure we all know that Banner transforms into the green Hulk, but does that really mean that he couldn’t have any involvement with this red Hulk? Every change regarding the Hulk has always involved Bruce Banner and for this not to possibly involve Banner, it just doesn’t feel right. I am a huge fan of Jeph Loeb so I hope he pulls through on this. If Loeb decides to make it Doc Samson, I hope he gives us a good reason for it.
John
September 5th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
113I know that Ironman is apart of the team trying to figure out and fighting this new red Hulk, but during Civil War he knew about Reed Richards making a clone out of Thor, what if Ironman is on this team to make sure nobody links him up with the new red Hulk?
What if this new red Hulk is a Skrull? What if the Bruce Banner that turns into the green Hulk is a Skrull and the red Hulk is the real Bruce Banner?
I know this might sound out of reach, but what if this red Hulk is Mephisto? I have to go with another Peter David Hulk story reference. If you recall Rick Jones’ wedding the Hulk and Mephisto had a fight encounter, could the red Hulk be the payback that Mephisto has had in store for the Hulk?
TYGAH
September 5th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
114OR IT COULD BE NIGHTMARE. HE STILL HAS ISSUES WITH THE HULK FROM WHEN HE DESTROYED HIS DIMENSION BACK WHEN MIKE MIGNOLA AND BILL MANTLO(?) WAS DRAWING THE BOOK.
THIW WAS WHEN BANNER GAVE IN TI THE SAVAGRY OF THE HULK AND BECAME BRAIN DEAD, SO TO SPEAK. SAVAGE THEN EVEN CHASED NIGHTMARE INTO AN ISSUE OF SPIDERMAN, LOL LOL.
TYGAH
September 5th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
115WHEN ANGEL MEDINA WAS DRAWING THE HULK, HE SHOWED THAT THE HULK CAN MUTATE HIS APPEARANCE INTO THAT OF THE MAESTRO, AS WELL AS A LONG HAIRED HULK. MIND IT WAS BECAUSE OF A SHRAPNEL THAT WAS LODGED IN HIS BRAIN BUT HAPPENED NONE THE LESS.
HULK USING A GUN COULD BE LIKE THE ROPE A DOPE, HE KNOWS EVERYONEZ EXPECTING HIM TO USE HIS FIST, SO Y NOT THROW THEM OFF BY DOING WHAZ NOT EXPECTED OF HIM. NOW THEY ARE GONNA PLAN ON HIM USING A GUN AND THEN HE SWITCHES BACK TO THE NORM OF USING HIS FISTS.
BEAUTIFUL STRATEGY…..ONCE AGAIN PROVING THAT IT COULD BE SAMSON, LOL LOL LOL.
John
September 8th, 2008 at 11:45 am
116I do recall a issue when the Hulk had to deal with a conflict of mind between Bruce and his dad, it would appear that their heads were coming out of his body, it was like the whole conscience thing when you have a little devil and angel verison of yourselves talking to try and convince you to go one way or another.
I do recall before the Merged/Professor Hulk changed into the Savage Hulk that he did turn into the Maestro and he had a showdown with Thor.
This whole color pants debate shouldn’t really be a issue. If Doc Samson is the red Hulk, we know that the angrier he gets, the hotter he gets, who’s to say that those pants of his don’t become a charcole black color when he turns red?
I once heard a debate years ago when they were asking how does Banner’s blue pants turn purple when he transforms into the Hulk. The answer I heard at that time was due to the gamma rays, but here’s the thing. If you mix green and blue together, you won’t get purple, but if you mix blue and red, then you get purple. So I guess fans will ask, how do tan pants turn black? I’m still sticking with the whole heat thing, when the red Hulk gets hot, things burn or the ground turn into glass, but since we don’t want to see a nude red Hulk, the pants won’t burn off, they’ll just turn black.
Jamgreen
September 10th, 2008 at 8:43 am
117Alright, lets put it to rest. I have an inside connection, and All of you are wrong. Its not Samson, or banner, or fury or ares, or any one else. Think to yourselves who really hated Bruce banner the most, besides ross? The answer is simple. Glenn Talbot.
TYGAH
September 10th, 2008 at 10:26 am
118ARE U SURE U DON’T MEAN “MATT TALBOT”? GLENN HAS BEEN DEAD FOR YEARS.
IF THIS IS TRUE, THEN THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE PANTS COLOR FOR THE GUY THAT MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT THE RED HULK’S PANTS FROM BEFORE. “MATT” COULD’VE BEEN IN UNIFORM DURING TRANSFORMATION INTO RED HULK AND ITZ COLOR DARKENED BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF RADIOATIVE OUTPUT OF RED HULK. IN ESSENCE…..THEY WERE BURNT. AS WELL AS, THE MILITARY KNOW HOW TO USE A WEAPON LIKE THE RED HULK AS BEEN DOING.
I STILL SAY ITZ SAMSON THOUGH, SAMSON.
TYGAH
September 10th, 2008 at 11:19 am
119NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, IT MAY NOT BE EITHER TALBOTS. IT COULD BE GLENN TALBOT’S BROTHER, BRIAN!!!!!!!!!!
BRIAN BECAME A MUTATED HULK AFTER BEING GIVEN THE HULK’S AND LEADER’S DNA TO BECOME “GREY” OF THR GAMMA CORPS. SUPPOSE HE WAS EXPOSE TO EVEN HIGHER LEVELS OF SOMETHING CLOSE TO GAMMA RADIATION (I SAY THIS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF GREEN HUE) AND IT CUZ’D HIM TO MUTATE FURTHER.
John
September 10th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
120Is it just me or does anyone get tired of someone saying they know for sure who it is due to the fact that they know someone from the inside? From what I recall there was someone that said it was the Juggernaut and now we hear it’s Glenn Talbot. Now granted by some miracle if it turns out to be the Juggernaut or Glenn Talbot, I will say that I’m sorry, but fans come on here to take a guess at who this red Hulk is and when you have a person say, you are all wrong, this is the real deal, it can be frustrating to say the least. Marvel’s own Editor and Chief Joe Quesada threw us a curve ball by saying it was Ares, but we all know that Joe likes to kid around, but EIC Joe hired Jeph Loeb to create a mystery that involves a red Hulk so sure fans can come here and keep on guessing who the red Hulk might be, but when the time is right, Jeph Loeb will reveal once and for all who the red Hulk really is. At one time there were fans that thought it was Rick Jones and that was proven wrong. For some time now it really looks to be Doc Samson, but who knows, this could very well be a miss instead of a hit. My hopes are that this is a new hybrid incarination of the Hulk that of course has something to do with Bruce Banner and like I’ve said before, if it’s not Bruce Banner, then have it be someone from the Hulk Universe, because that is the only way it would make any true sense, at least that is my opinion on this matter.
TYGAH
September 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
121HEY JOHN, U GOTTA LOVE THE CREATIVITY, OR LACK OF IT, WHEN IT COMES TO THIS, LOL LOL LOL.
IF NOTHING ELSE, IT GETZ OUR PSEUDO-WRITER SELVES A CHANCE TO COME UP WITH VARIOUS ALTERNATE ANSWERS TO WHAT WE KNOW THE TRUE WRITERS ARE GONNA USE.
FOR ALL WE KNOW IT COULD BE THE “IRON-ENFORCER” FROM STAN LEE’S “SO YOU WANT TO BE A SUPERHERO” TV SHOW, LOL LOL LOL.
Jamgreen
September 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
122You really cant say that anybody from the marvel universe has been dead for years. Sure talbot had lava poured on him. maybe it was radioactive red lava? who knows. just dont discount the possibility.
John
September 10th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
123I hear what you are saying Tygah.
Here’s the deal. The focus on the new red Hulk series was based on what happen at the end of World War Hulk #5, now the death of Glenn Talbot that was years ago, how in the world would that share any real reference to this storyline with the exception that he used to be a key character in the Hulk Universe? There was another Talbot during the World War Hulk series and I can understand the spotlight being on him, then again Jeph Loeb has done a great job not bringing up the name Talbot so this could be another hit or miss. Doc Samson was only in one issue and came up missing in the second and it was his jacket that was found all torn up and bathed in gamma rays, so no one can blame the spotlight being taken away from the Talbots and being placed on Doc Samson. Again I’ll remind all of you, the spotlight was once on Rick Jones and that was a huge miss so it’s anyone’s guess as to who it could be, but Joe Quesada, Mark Pannicca, Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness knows who truly is the red Hulk and I can’t wait on how they plan to make the big reveal. I love the team of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness but I must admit that I do like what Arthur Adams and Frank Cho are doing on the book. Hey those are two more that might know who the red Hulk is. Ah what the heck, most likely the whole Marvel staff knows who it is, but us fans have to wait until the big reveal. HA!