After more than 60 years, Hulk‘s latest strength feat settles an ages-old fan debate. The Hulk’s strength is incredible, but fans have long asked whether it’s enough to fully take down a fellow Marvel hero – now, we officially know the answer.
Hulk Finally Tears Mister Fantastic In Their Most Hardcore Fight
Reed Richards’ Stretching Powers Meet Their Limits
In this week’s Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 (from Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, Jan Bazaldua, Erick Arciniega and Travis Lanham), Hulk finally manages to tear Mister Fantastic. The Fantastic Four’s leader is famously stretchy, able to extend his body in a huge variety of ways. But as long as Hulk and Reed have existed in the same world, fans have debated whether Hulk is strong enough to find the limits of Reed Richards’ powers.
In the issue, the Fantastic Four’s origin is given a horror rewrite, as they return to Earth not just with superpowers, but with a flesh-eating zombie transformation. The adults-only series will follow the spread of the virus, as the undead FF take on the Avengers – including the Green Goliath himself.
As the FF chow down on the civilian population, the Avengers beg Hulk to back them up. Bruce Banner obliges, and is able to push Reed’s powers so far that he snaps in two, unleashing a gore-soaked spectacle only a red band comic can offer. Reed’s powers have always been extreme, but now it turns out they can’t keep up with a Hulk who isn’t holding back.
Mister Fantastic Has Never Been Able to Touch the Hulk
The Fantastic Four and the Hulk have clashed again and again, ever since they first met in 1962’s Fantastic Four #12. However, Hulk also has a history of tussling with Reed in particular. In World War Hulk, Hulk handed Reed a brutal beating, leaving him unconscious despite Reed’s ability to resist physical blows with his elastic body (something that makes it impossible for even Wolverine’s adamantium claws to cut him.) However, even when he believed Reed was responsible for killing his wife, Hulk didn’t manage to tear his stretchy body.
The two also clashed in Contest of Champions II, where Reed tried to beat Hulk by cutting off his air supply – something the FF had used to bring him down in the past. However, Hulk used his gamma-enhanced lungs to literally inhale Reed, flipping the strategy and winning their match.
However, it seems that even on these occasions, the Hulk was holding back. With Reed transformed into an irredeemable monster, Hulk is finally willing to kill, revealing that while Reed may be able to stretch enough to totally cover a New York skyscraper, even that’s not enough to resist the Hulk‘s unbelievable strength.
Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- First Appearance
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The Incredible Hulk (1962)
- Alias
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Robert Bruce Banner
- Alliance
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Avengers, Defenders, Horsemen of Apocalypse, Fantastic Four, Pantheon, Warbound, S.M.A.S.H., Secret Avengers
- Franchise
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Marvel
