Summary

• The Hulk is facing an all-new villain: Patchwork Jack.
• Patchwork Jack has the ability to steal Hulk's strength, implying he could do the same to the other Avengers.
• Patchwork Jack might be the greatest threat the Hulk has faced thus far, as he's the only one who's successfully stolen the Hulk's power for his own.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Giant-Size Hulk #1! The Hulk is easily one of the strongest heroes in the Marvel Universe, meaning any villain who challenges him has to be just as strong - or stronger - if they hope to stand a chance. But, what about a villain who can just steal the Hulk’s strength for their own? That’s who the Jade Giant found himself against in his latest adventure, and the result was absolute body horror nightmare fuel.

In Giant-Size Hulk #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Andrea Broccardo, Bruce Banner is reeling after his companion, Charlie, was turned into a doll by the previous villain Hulk faced, Frozen Charlotte. Banner is hitching a ride in a train’s box car when he’s accosted by a strange entity named Patchwork Jack, who tells Banner that he needs to pay a sinister toll to ride ‘his’ train. If Banner had nothing to offer, then Patchwork Jack would take his payment in flesh - and the Hulk didn’t like that one bit.

Bruce Banner quickly transformed into the Hulk when Patchwork Jack attacked him, and the Strongest Avenger took great pleasure in ripping the villain limb-from-limb. However, just because the Hulk was clearly stronger than Patchwork Jack didn’t mean the evil entity would be so easily beaten. This is a monster with the supernatural ability to assimilate body parts, after all, and Patchwork Jack had his eyes set on the Hulk’s strength - specifically, his arms.

Patchwork Jack plunged his demonic hand beneath the Hulk’s flesh at his shoulder, and for a moment, took over that entire arm while it was still attached to the Hulk, effectively stealing the Hulk’s strength (albeit only briefly).

Hulk Faces a New Villain Who Can Steal His Strength in the Most Disturbing Way Imaginable

Patchwork Jack is a uniquely gruesome villain for the Hulk!

This storyline is set within the ongoing continuity of the latest Incredible Hulk run, in which Bruce Banner and the Hulk are being pursued by eldritch horrors as old as Planet Earth itself. An entity known as the Eldest wants to use the Hulk to awaken the Mother of Horrors, and she’s using every monster on the planet to locate the Green Goliath for that sinister purpose. While Patchwork Jack isn’t necessarily working for the Eldest, he is just one of the latest horrific monsters the Hulk has encountered throughout this storyline.

In fact, it may be fair to say that Patchwork Jack is perhaps the greatest threat Hulk has faced thus far. Aside from the Hulk being briefly possessed by another monster, Patchwork Jack is the first entity that has been able to actually steal the Hulk’s strength. Not only that, but this villain does so in a truly grotesque way, adding a level of grisly horror to the nearly unparalleled threat level Patchwork Jack represents.

Patchwork Jack Could Become Marvel Comics’ Next Avengers-Level Threat

Patchwork Jack has the power to steal powers, body parts, and even souls from those who owe him a toll on his train. While he couldn’t overpower the Hulk, Patchwork Jack did manage to steal his power for a time, which is a feat almost no other villain can boast. So, if he can do that much damage to the ‘Strongest Avenger’, how would Patchwork Jack fare against the rest of them? Imagine this villain stealing Tony Stark’s brain, Captain Marvel’s cosmic energy, and Doctor Strange’s magic - Patchwork Jack would become unstoppable.

Though the prospect of Patchwork Jack actually turning himself into a living amalgamation of the strongest Avengers is unlikely, this issue seems to indicate that he could do so. Not just because of his supernatural abilities, but because of how well Patchwork Jack did against the Hulk, implying that stealing powers from the other Avengers is more than doable. However, even without attacking the entirety of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Patchwork Jack more than proves his mettle in this Hulk issue, and in doing so, introduced fans to a new level of body horror nightmare fuel.

Giant-Size Hulk #1 by Marvel Comics is available now.