Red Hulk Origins
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re revisiting the origins of the Red Hulk. While there have been a few over the years, we’ll only be focusing on the Thunderbolt Ross version. We’ll also be getting into Hulk-sized spoilers, so consider this your warning!
Life as a General
It might seem counterintuitive to open up a video talking about the Red Hulk with a section from before he was Red Hulk, but it’s important to know who the man before the monster was. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross was a military brat basically right from the beginning. I mean just look at that ‘stache, he practically came out of the womb looking like a human swiss army knife! His dad and his dad’s dad were both in the military themselves, and that influence soon rubbed off on him. Once he joined it wasn’t long until he eventually rose within the ranks. He became a top general in the Air Force, and soon his path would cross with Dr. Bruce Banner. The two were involved with a top secret operation to develop a gamma bomb. Bruce later fell in love with Ross’ daughter Betty, which didn’t really fly well with him. To make matters worse, Bruce would get exposed to gamma radiation and become the Hulk, and the rest is history. Needless to say, after this, Thunderbolt Ross would be intrinsically linked with the Hulk forever.
Becoming Red Hulk
Hatred can lead someone to do some incredibly irrational and borderline hypocritical things. After countless years, maybe even decades of hunting the Hulk with no luck, Ross had pretty much nothing to show for it. To make matters worse, Betty was killed by the Abomination and eventually down the line Hulk would be sent off-world by the Illuminati. The loss of his daughter and the loss of his mortal enemy soon sent Ross down an alcoholic tailspin. This made it easy for a group called the Intelligencia to recruit him. Through villainous hijinks that involved using satellite technology, and stealing the Hulk’s own energy, the Red Hulk was born. You know, if you can’t beat them, become them, right?
Now things get really interesting when you realize that when these events were originally happening in the comics, the identity of Red Hulk was a complete mystery. That’s right, nobody actually knew who this new bad guy was. The news that this was Ross only became revealed in the comic “World War Hulks”. It was an especially shocking twist since earlier on, “Fall of the Hulks: Gamma” made it seem like it couldn’t have possibly been him. In that comic, a flashback showed Red Hulk killing Ross. So yeah, it sounds pretty confusing right? It would later be revealed that it wasn’t actually Thunderbolt Ross, but a life model decoy of him that he killed. Oh, and during this time, Betty Ross came back from the dead as Red She Hulk. Convoluted family reunions, soap opera-esque cheating of death, hey, that’s comic books for you!
Major Team Affiliations
An argument could be made that by becoming Red Hulk, Thunderbolt Ross was able to better understand and sympathize with the main Hulk. So like the Grinch, his heart probably grew three sizes. Well, regardless of if that’s accurate or not, Red Hulk eventually went from a villain to an anti-hero. Look, he might be a bloodthirsty rage-aholic, but he can also be a team player! He’s been a part of multiple groups, and has played nice with various superheroes too. After his rampage was stopped and he was imprisoned, Steve Rogers allowed him to join the Avengers. If this sounded like a bad idea, Rogers’ himself thought so too. Surprisingly though, Ross managed to be a useful ally. He was pivotal in key missions, especially during a catastrophe that involved the infinity gems. Later on, Captain America would send Red Hulk down to Vegas to investigate Agent Venom, another villain-turned-anti-hero. There the two would be joined by X-23 and a female Ghost Rider named Alejandra Jones to fight Blackheart, the son of Mephisto. This storyline that happened was known as “The Circle of Four”. While this ragtag group never had an official name, Circle of Four sounds awesome, so why don’t we just call them that? This also wouldn’t be the last time that Red Hulk and Agent Venom worked together either.
When Marvel did a comics-wide relaunch in 2012 called “Marvel NOW!”, the black ops team known as the Thunderbolts were relaunched entirely. This time they had an insanely stacked roster. We’re talking Agent Venom, Deadpool, Punisher, Elektra, oh, and Red Hulk as the one calling the shots. Even Ghost Rider and the Leader joined the team later too. In fact, the Leader ended up becoming red at this point as well. What is it with everyone trying to copy Ross’ style? Betty goes red and now the Leader? Marvel is really filled with a lot of clout-chasers, y’know? Anyways, this was a bonkers lineup, and the missions were never short of entertaining. But this group never got along too well sadly. So it should come as no surprise that eventually Ross’ version of the Thunderbolts came to an end. It’s a damn shame too, like, it’s a version of the Thunderbolts that’s literally led by a guy named Thunderbolt Ross. Come on, that's a match made in Heaven!
Powers & Abilities
When it comes to the Red Hulk’s perks, he sure got a sweet deal. Since he’s a mixture of both gamma radiation and cosmic rays he’s got some new features too. He’s basically got all of the powers of the Hulk, with the bonus of not losing his intelligence either. He might not necessarily be as strong as his green counterpart, but he can still do serious damage whenever he wants. What also sets him apart is the way he can weaponize his anger, because it’s a bit different than how Banner does. The more angry Ross gets, the more heat his body generates. It can get so intense that it’s like he’s engulfed in flames. Talk about too hot to handle! Ross’ intelligence also shouldn’t be understated. He doesn’t have to worry about becoming a feral beast every time he hulks up, so he can think clearly when he’s in a fight. Sure, he isn’t on the level of Banner or Stark, but his strategic mind shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s always searching for a tactical edge and that’s made him incredibly dangerous. He once managed to lift Mjolnir by essentially cheating and going into outer space. If that doesn’t get him extra brownie points then what will?
Adaptations & Future
Thunderbolt Ross has shown up in a variety of animated and live-action projects in the past and that’s yet to change. Remember “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”? He was in that. Remember “Agents of S.M.A.S.H.”? Yeah, Red Hulk was in that too, and voiced by Clancy Brown! Beyond animation, Thunderbolt Ross has shown up in the MCU, originally played by William Hurt. But following his passing, the role was recast. And with that recasting, Ross is set to return to the MCU in “Captain America: Brave New World”. With this latest installment, we’ll finally get to see him show up as the Red Hulk in live-action. And this time, he’ll be played by none other than Harrison Ford[a]. It’s also likely that Red Hulk will be butting heads with Captain America, which is a showdown we can’t wait to see. But “Brave New World” might not be the last we see of him. While there’s nothing officially confirmed yet, we could potentially see Red Hulk pop up again in a rumored “World War Hulks” project. It’ll take some time before we know what actually ends up happening. However, what we can say for certain is that Red Hulk will be a force to be reckoned with. And in the end, we’re looking forward to seeing him smash his way onto the big screen!
Is there anything about Thunderbolt Ross’ Red Hulk you think we missed? Let us know in the comments!
[a]7:17
