Retiring Bruce Banner after 60 Years, Marvel's New Hulk Debuts

Bruce Banner is literally torn out of the Jade Giant's body and given a new host, so there's a new Hulk in town. A true monster is replacing Bruce Banner, who has terrorized the Marvel Universe since 1962 with unimaginable strength and rage. 

The Birth of the Infernal Hulk Bruce Banner was just replaced as Hulk's other half by The Eldest. 

The Infernal Hulk is created in the current issue of Incredible Hulk #30. The demon known as "Eldest" acquires the body of his former foe Abomination after baiting Hulk into a trap. Eldest rips Bruce Banner free from the Hulk's body and transfers its own essence into the Hulk's body using a combination of eldritch magic and impossible strength. The Infernal Hulk is born as a result of Bruce's death in an alternate dimension. Eldest's plan to steal Hulk's strength and free the demonic Mother of Horrors from her prison outside of reality has been established in the last thirty issues of Incredible Hulk. Her mission has been accomplished, but not in the manner she anticipated. Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit all contribute to the issue. 

Check out the New Hulk's New Look! A Dark New Era of Monsters Is Upon Us. 

Marvel's recent solicitations for the follow-up series Infernal Hulk have given fans a good look at the new Green Goliath, even though Incredible Hulk #30 does not show the new Hulk in its entirety. Hulk is now split in two, with the blue-grey Hulk body on the left and the Eldest's purple demonic form on the right after Bruce Banner was torn out of his body. A bubbling gamma scar in the middle denotes the distinction. Take a look at Nic Klein, Juan Ferreyra, Stephen Segovia, and Dan Panosian's contemporary art. The new Infernal Hulk tries to wake the Mother of Horrors in Incredible Hulk #30, but she is unconscious from years of being imprisoned in her prison. Eldest consumes its demonic mother out of frustration, harnessing the power of the monster that first created gamma energy. According to the summary for Infernal Hulk #1, the new Hulk plans to transform the entire world with this energy: 

Eldest, a demon, has taken the Hulk's body and literally tore Bruce Banner and the Hulk apart. The new, unstoppable Infernal Hulk is ten times more of a monster than anyone had ever imagined. By turning our heroes into terrifying beasts, their evil plan is to plunge the world back into ancient horrors! Even though he is powerless, the unstoppable Bruce Banner will stop at nothing to stop their evil plans! 

How We See the New Hulk The Hulk It Is Deservingly Arriving in the Marvel Universe Every Marvel hero

From Hydra Cap to Superior Spider-Man, eventually experiences an arc in which they are replaced by a villain, and Hulk's appears to be truly epic in scope. Despite his heroism, Bruce Banner has always been viewed as a monster by the Marvel Universe as a whole. The new Hulk will now demonstrate to the world what a real monster can accomplish with Hulk's power. Marvel is pointing Infernal Hulk in the direction of some kind of event at which all of Marvel's heroes will gain access to monstrous new forms. This will be a fantastic conclusion to a story that delves deeply into Marvel's ethereal lore and explains how "monsters" first appeared and how they relate to the gamma energy that gives Hulk his strength. Even though some fans will always be against a villain taking over, the creators of Incredible/Infernal Hulk clearly have a significant story to tell. It will be exciting to see the new dynamic of the Hulk becoming a real monster and Bruce Banner doing everything in his power to stop his former "partner." 

Marvel Comics offers The Incredible Hulk #30 right now for purchase.

Created By

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby

First Appearance

The Incredible Hulk (1962)

Alias

Robert Bruce Banner

Alliance

Avengers, Defenders, Horsemen of Apocalypse, Fantastic Four, Pantheon, Warbound, S.M.A.S.H., Secret Avengers

Franchise

Marvel