Summary
- General Ross' Red Hulk made a huge splash when he debuted in 2008, but there have been several other versions since.
- Robert L. Maverick is the second Red Hulk, who could access his powers for an hour at a time, while Red Hulk 2099 has godlike might.
- Ross' Rulk isn't our #1, beaten out by Joe Fixit's short-lived Red Hulk and Weapon H's new red form.
The Red Hulk is returning to the limelight in the Captain America: Brave New World, once again grabbing Marvel fans by the lapels.
However, since Red Hulk appeared in 2008, there have been many versions of the character in the pages of Marvel Comics. We've searched far and wide for every version of Rulk to ever exist in the comics, ranking them by their power level - and while the original Red Hulk may be the most famous, he didn't quite manage to top our list.
In the original comics, Red Hulk has immense strength and the ability to exude more heat the angrier he gets, setting his enemies on fire. He also had the power to absorb the energy of others - the real reason he was able to knock out so many of Marvel's biggest powerhouses on his debut. While this power set has remained the base for each version of Red Hulk, some versions of the Rulk archetype have extra abilities...
HULK: 13 Strongest Gamma-Powered Characters in Hulk Lore Right Now (Ranked Weakest to Strongest)
Hulk's gamma power has created many of Marvel's strongest characters - here's who's currently the mightiest in official canon.
12 Tsum Tsum Red Hulk/Strange Tales Red Hulk/Mini Marvels Red Hulk
These Joke Hulks Didn't Get Enough 'Screen Time' to Shine
Covering every version of a character means covering the versions that even Marvel doesn't take seriously. These three Red Hulks are joke versions of the character, featuring in various humorous stories. The Tsum Tsum Red Hulk appeared in Marvel's Marvel Tsum Tsum series (from Jacob Chabot and David Baldeón), and is an evil, quadripedal plush toy who fought Jane Foster's Thor.
Meanwhile, the Red Hulk from Strange Tales Volume 5 (specifically James Kochalka's 'Hulk Squad, Smash!') is an experimental clone who at least managed to give the original Hulk a bloody nose. Finally, there's the Red Hulk from Marvel's comedic short-form Mini Marvels comics, created by Audrey Loeb and Chris Giarruss.) These Rulks are presumably strong for their realities, but have no significant feats to speak of.
11 Red Harpy - Elizabeth "Betty" Ross
This Terrifying Predator Might Be Hulk's True Love
Betty Ross started out as the love interest of Bruce Banner and daughter of General 'Thunderbolt' Ross, essentially depicted as a damsel in distress. However, in the decades since she's gained multiple gamma forms of her own, including the vicious Red Harpy. The Red Harpy is a manifestation of Betty's rage at a world that has often turned her into a victim (not to be confused with her original green Harpy form.)
While Red Harpy isn't that strong for a Hulk, she's strong enough to effortlessly crush a human body into a ball (something she did to Bruce at one point.) Incredibly fast with razor-sharp talons and teeth, Red Harpy also has enhanced senses and the relatively rare Hulk power of energy blasts. She loathes Bruce Banner but has expressed affection for the Hulk, setting up the Green Goliath's weirdest love triangle.
Hulk's Most R-Rated Healing Feat Is Too Shocking for the MCU
Hulk has an incredibly powerful healing factor, but his most twisted use of this ability is too disturbing to ever appear in the MCU.
10 Red She-Hulk - Elizabeth "Betty" Ross
Marvel Tried Something New with a Superhero 'Tourist'
Before Red Harpy, there was Red She-Hulk. Red She-Hulk was created by the same villains who turned her father into the Red Hulk, with MODOK, the Leader and the rest of the Intelligencia brainwashing her into becoming a violent ally of Red Hulk. Red She-Hulk later took control of her mind once again and became a 'superhero tourist' - a reckless crime-fighter whose joy at finally having agency led to a lot of morally dubious behavior.
Red She-Hulk had strength and invulnerability somewhat lesser than Jennifer Walters' She-Hulk, but could absorb energy and exude heat, even being able to spit saliva so hot, it could burn through metal. She also spent some time wielding an Uru sword, gifted to her by Iron Man to fight in the Fear Itself event.
9 Red King
The Ruler of An Entire Hulk Nation
Red King was a result of the epic Secret Wars event in 2015, appearing as the villain of the Planet Hulk spin-off. The ruler of a wasteland populated by an all-Hulk species, the Red King was immensely powerful but was eventually killed by a barbarian version of Steve Rogers. Though strong and invulnerable, he appears to be a less powerful version of Red Hulk, given that Steve Rogers was able to beat him in one-on-one combat.
Captain America Beat Hulk Using Just His Fists
Even if he’s hardly considered one of Marvel’s strongest heroes, Captain America once defeated a rampaging Hulk using only his fists and shield.
8 Little Red Hulk - 'Young' General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross
Marvel's Cartoon 'Little Avengers' Have a Unique Power
Skottie Young's Young Marvel imprint depicts a comedic world where Marvel's biggest heroes are all children, maintaining some version of their powers but with the tempers and obsessions of babies. While it may sound like 'Little Red Hulk' belongs in the same category as Tsum Tsum Red Hulk, there is one difference.
In Saladin Ahmed and Javier Rodriguez's Exiles Volume 3, the team recruited 'Wolvie' - a child version of Wolverine. While Wolvie was terrible in a fight, he brought the physics of his cartoon world with him, and proved to be completely immortal. In the world of Young Marvel, death doesn't exist, and characters simply pop back to life when killed. That means that while Little Red Hulk might be a 'joke' character, he has the bonus power of being totally immortal even outside his home dimension - something no other Red Hulk can truly claim.
7 Red Hulk - Robert L. Maverick
Avengers Idea Mechanics' Forgotten Hero
Created by Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval, Robert Maverick's Red Hulk served on the heroic Avengers Idea Mechanics and later the U.S.Avengers, where he got his own Iron Patriot armor as the "Iron Hulk." Maverick is a member of Project: Troubleshooter - a government department dedicated to creating living weapons, and the group to blame for the existence of Marvel's Godzilla, the American Kaiju. Maverick was fitted with a 'Hulk Plug-In' by Project: Troubleshooter which gave him Hulk strength and durability for one hour a day (but not Red Hulk's energy absorption or heat powers.)
Sadly, Maverick was forced to exceed his "hour of power" by Hydra, leading to major health complications. In current comics, Maverick is depowered and living with the toll that becoming the new Red Hulk took on his body.
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Marvel's American Kaiju is their version of Godzilla, but he actually has a lot in common with Captain America's origin story.
6 Red Dog (aka the Absorbing Man) - Carl Creel
This Longtime Marvel Villain Gained New Powers
Created using a modified version of Maverick's Hulk Plug-In, Codename Red Dog is actually longtime Hulk villain the Absorbing Man. Infused with gamma energy, Absorbing Man was given the power to siphon off gamma energy and all but stripped Hulk of his powers when they fought (though he still didn't reach the original Hulk's actual strength level.)
Sadly, Red Dog didn't realize what he was letting himself in for, and was possessed by the One Below All (a Cthulhu like deity from which all gamma radiation flows.) This turned him into a terrifying, demonic being stripped of flesh. While this led to Absorbing Man losing his powers, the experience did set him on the road to redemption as a member of Gamma Flight.
5 Red Hulk Bunny
Spider-Ham's Universe Has Some of Marvel's Oddest Heroes
Thanks to Across the Spider-Verse, most Marvel fans know Spider-Ham - the porcine version of Peter Parker voiced by John Mulaney. In the comics, fans have visited Peter Porker's world many times, including 2020's Spider-Ham from Zeb Wells and Will Robson. That issue debuted the towering Red Hulk Bunny (so-nicknamed in reference to the green 'Bruce Bunny'), who ed the animal Avengers (aka Scavengers.)
While little is known of this rabbity Red Hulk, the animals of Spider-Ham's universe tend to be pretty exact matches for their mainstream variants, but with the added benefit of limited, Looney Tunes-style cartoon physics - sadly, not on the level of Little Red Hulk.
While Red Hulk was always meant to be General Ross, Marvel also introduced a 'back-up' character to give the creative team the option to back out.
DC Invented Red Hulk 10 Years Before Marvel (& Made Him More Powerful)
While Red Hulk has become an iconic character in Marvel Comics, DC had its own much stronger version of the villain a decade earlier.
4 Red Hulk - General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross
The Most Iconic Red Hulk Is Heading for the MCU
The original (and many would argue best) Red Hulk is General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross. Grief-stricken at the apparent death of his daughter, Ross agreed to a plan by the Leader's evil Intelligencia to empower him using the original Hulk's DNA and gamma energy. While initially a villain, Red Hulk later proved himself as a member of the Avengers and even founded his own Thunderbolts team with including Deadpool, Elektra and the Punisher.
While Red Hulk was always meant to be General Ross, Marvel also introduced a 'back-up' character to give the creative team the option to back out of this twist. This character was an agent of SHIELD named Jake Oh, who appeared in Agents of Atlas, setting up his existence just in case.
Red Hulk is incredibly strong and durable - nearing the original Hulk's powers - but crucially maintains control of his gamma form when he transforms, unlike Bruce Banner. The angrier he gets, the more heat his body pumps out, and the Red Hulk can even explode when he's truly enraged. Red Hulk also has the ability to absorb energy, making energy-based foes less and less powerful as fights go on, though this ability has been significantly reduced since his first appearance, when it was capable of weakening the near-omnipotent Watcher.
3 Weapon H - Clayton Cortez
Weapon H's Gamma Switching Means He's Part-Red Hulk
Surprisingly, General Ross isn't the top of the pile. Created by Greg Pak and Mike Deodato Jr., Weapon H is an experimental superhuman created by combining the DNA of the Hulk and Wolverine, as well as other heroes including Domino and Warpath. Weapon H has all the Hulk's strength along with Wolverine's healing and claws, as well as unique combinations of such, including the ability to fire his claws as deadly projectiles. Weapon H's military training makes him particularly deadly, using his strength consciously rather than in rage-fueled rampages.
But why does Weapon H qualify as a Red Hulk? In David Pepose and Carlos Magno's Secret Avengers #2, Weapon H realized he's capable of 'gamma switching.' This power allows him to inhabit different gamma wavelengths, manifesting the powers of any type of Hulk, though so far only one at a time. Weapon H notably switched to the Red Harpy's gamma wavelength, giving him claws and wings. While this power has only just begun to be explored, it means that Weapon H isn't just a Hulkverine, but can also switch to all Red Hulk's powers at a moment's notice.
Marvel's Hulk-Wolverine Has a Genius Use for His Strength That's Basically an Extra Power
Weapon H isn't just a combo of Hulk and Wolverine - his combat expertise allows him to use their strength and claws in genius new ways.
