Hulk's Alters Explained

Bruce Banner grew up an ordinary kid in an unhappy home. His parents were Rebecca and Dr. Brian Banner; his father’s nuclear physics work shaped his later change into the Incredible Hulk, though not as people expect.

Brian became obsessed. He believed his son was corrupted by the radiation Brian took on the job. Rebecca saw Bruce as precocious, not a monster. She loved their son unconditionally. This made Brian intensely jealous. His jealousy became violence. He eventually beat Rebecca to death in front of Bruce. Brian served decades in prison for the crime.

Witnessing one parent kill another caused trauma for Bruce. He developed dissociative identity disorder and started creating different personality states, or "alters," in his mind. Despite this, Bruce still became a brilliant nuclear scientist. When his gamma bomb experiments blew up, Bruce’s alters took physical form as several Hulks.

The Savage Hulk is Bruce Banner's inner child made physical. People call him the “Green Hulk” or the “Classic Hulk.” This is the Hulk most people picture. The Savage Hulk uses limited words. He understands the world like a child. This is because he appeared when young Bruce faced huge trauma at age six. This is the part of Bruce that never got a full childhood due to the violence he faced.

Young Bruce also held back much anger. The Savage Hulk understands anger. He gets stronger as he gets angrier. Theoretically, his strength has no ceiling. This is the Hulk who joined the Avengers. He mostly just wants solitude and love.

Even when furious, the Savage Hulk avoids hurting anyone. He used to hate "Puny Banner," but the two have built a better relationship over time.

The Devil Hulk is not widely known, but he is one of the first alters Bruce Banner developed and the first Hulk to appear in the real world. Bruce created the Devil Hulk in his mind while his father abused him; Devil started as an imaginary protector and alternate father figure. Because Bruce felt complicated things about his father, Devil Hulk also took on aspects of Bruce’s fears, including a look inspired by the biblical snake that tempted Adam and Eve. The Devil Hulk shows Bruce’s inability to picture love without pain.

When the gamma bomb first irradiated Banner, he often became the Devil Hulk. This meant some early Hulk comic book appearances showed him speaking intelligently—even cruelly—and only appearing at night, a trademark of the Devil Hulk. Like the Savage Hulk, the Devil Hulk only seeks to protect Bruce from harm. However, unlike the Savage Hulk, the Devil Hulk does not care who he must hurt to protect Bruce. He ranks among the more powerful Hulks, and his healing factor surpasses others.

The Devil Hulk acts clever, ruthless, and cunning. Bruce has considered this, and he tried to suppress the Devil. The Devil Hulk caused massive violence, once breaking Thor’s skull. He claimed a desire to destroy all humans, which makes sense given Bruce’s experiences. People hurting others make the Devil Hulk angrier. You certainly do not want him when he is angry.

Called the “Gray Hulk,” the Joe Fixit personality entered the canon to correct a publishing error. Stan Lee planned for the Hulk to be gray, but green ink worked better, so Bruce Banner became a jade giant instead. Earlier appearances of a gray Hulk include the first one in 1962.The Incredible HulkIssues #1 explained the alternate personality state battled for control inside Banner's mind against the Savage Hulk and Devil Hulk. For many years, this conflict remained unresolved.

The Hulk spent time in a sub-atomic area. Upon returning, he sought a new life. The gray persona took over for a time, adopting the name Joe Fixit, and moved to Las Vegas. There, he found work as a casino enforcer.

Joe Fixit's personality started when young Bruce watched gangster movies. He wished to be as tough and manipulative as those characters. Joe Fixit became a way for Bruce to act less moral than his other Hulk personas. Joe Fixit focuses only on Number 1. Joe Fixit wears clothes, and good ones at that.

This moral flexibility carries a cost: a lack of strength. Joe Fixit is usually seen as the weakest Hulk. Although he gets stronger when angry, the increase happens much slower than in other Hulks. This explains how Joe enforced casino justice in Vegas without destroying the city. It also explains why Joe learned to use his mind instead of his strength to avoid trouble.

Some think a separate Gray Hulk exists, called the Savage Gray Hulk. Others believe this happens when Joe Fixit becomes extremely angry. The recent appearance of a calm, human-shaped Joe supports this idea.

The Mindless Hulk is Bruce Banner’s first personality state originating outside his mind. The demon Nightmare created this alter to cause maximum chaos and destruction.

The Mindless Hulk sounds exactly like this. Absent thought, save for destruction, the Mindless Hulk cannot be reasoned with. Rage is the sole emotion he feels constantly. This makes the Mindless Hulk incredibly strong, yet he remains uncontrollable, though direction can be imposed.

Nightmare used Banner’s fear of the Hulk's actions and made those fears real. Nightmare released the Mindless Hulk publicly, causing a massacre and a fierce fight with the Avengers. Doctor Strange, whom Nightmare targeted, guided Banner through the mental work needed to stop the Mindless Hulk. This persona has not appeared since.

Some people suggest the Mindless Hulk, and other alters, were more Nightmare-induced hallucinations than actual personality shifts.

Working with gamma psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Samson and other mental health experts, Bruce Banner worked toward merging his personality states. This effort produced a new alter, called the Merged Hulk or the Professor. This persona combines the best parts of Bruce, the Savage Hulk, and Joe Fixit.

The Merged Hulk has greater base strength and a larger size than most Hulks. He keeps Banner’s huge intelligence. As the dominant personality, he led his superhero team, the Pantheon, and worked to improve the world.

The Professor is not perfect. Subconsciously afraid this combined personality is too strong, Banner built a failsafe. This safeguard makes the Merged Hulk revert to Bruce form, using the Savage Hulk's mind, if he gets too angry. When calm, the Merged Hulk beats any other calm Hulk, but anger makes him weaker, which hurts him.

The Professor feels he is Banner’s ideal self. Other alters do not see it this way.

The Guilt Hulk is one of Bruce Banner’s nastiest states. The Devil Hulk showed all of Bruce’s suppressed rage from tragedy. The Guilt Hulk shows all his guilt and regret. This includes guilt over things Bruce could not control, like his father’s abuse, plus the regret he feels every time the Hulk causes damage.

Dr. Leonard Samson poked Bruce’s mind. The Guilt Hulk first appeared. It took the shape of Brian Banner and believed itself to be him. After Betty Ross died temporarily, it changed. It became a huge, twisted monster inside Bruce Banner’s brain. Thankfully, the Guilt Hulk rarely appears in the real world. Banner and Samson built a prison for it in Bruce’s mind, trapping it there forever.

Marvel Comics’ brightest minds formed an Illuminati. Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, and others made a first decision. They thought Earth needed the Hulk gone. They tricked their friend into a spaceship. They blasted him off to a planet with vegetative life. He could live out his days there peacefully.

The Hulk’s rage knocked the spaceship off course. Hulk landed on the gladiatorial planet Sakaar. He entered the pits and became a champion. He gained popularity. This allowed him to overthrow the Sakaarian ruler and take the throne. Locals called him the “Green Scar.” This new name came with a new personality. Some suggest it was a return of a blended “Gravage Hulk” from Hulk’s early days.

Green Scar found inner peace working with Caiera, his wife, and Hiroim of the Shadow People. This made him more powerful. Green Scar still felt rage, but he gained patience and strategy. He uses many weapons and shows emotions beyond anger.

Green Scar did well for himself. Bruce Banner gave him full blessing. Bruce barely showed his face on Sakaar. Green Scar, not Bruce, married Caiera and had a child with her. That union ended in tragedy soon after.

As Green Scar, Hulk thought he had everything. He ruled Sakaar. He made Caiera his queen. They expected a child. Then, the spaceship exploded. It killed thousands, including Caiera. The inner peace Green Scar built vanished instantly. The toughest, strongest, most martial Hulk became the angriest Hulk. All that anger targeted the people of Earth.

Green Scar became the Worldbreaker. This alter was built for a single goal: vengeance.

The Worldbreaker took his Warbound. The Worldbreaker returned to Earth and wagedWorld War HulkThe Worldbreaker Hulk rampaged the planet. He beat everyone who betrayed him to the brink of death and conquered the world. Miek bombing Sakaar, not the Illuminati, stopped his vengeance campaign. This only made him angrier. The Worldbreaker’s strength grew so much he threatened to destroy Earth. The all-powerful Sentry had to step in to stop the Worldbreaker.

The Worldbreaker has made appearances since then. He never shows up with such extreme rage. Future stories show the Worldbreaker eventually breaks everything.

Bruce Banner worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for a time. An assistant shot him in the head, ending that work. Tony Stark and his Extremis virus saved Banner from severe brain damage. Consequences followed. Banner regained his faculties. He tweaked and tried to improve the Extremis in his system. This caused a new persona to develop.

Doc Green, sometimes called the Omega Hulk, blended Hulk strength with Banner's intelligence, like the Merged Hulk. Doc Green became the main personality for a time. He saw himself as his own man and hated being called 'Hulk.' Doc Green lacked friendliness. He soon decided gamma mutates harmed the world. He started forcing 'cures' on other Hulk-types, like A-Bomb, Red Hulk, and Skaar, his son from Sakaar. Doc Green might not have been evil, but he did not care about others' feelings. He was not popular with his peers.

The Extremis wore off. Doc Green felt his intelligence slipping back to Savage Hulk levels. Eventually, he vanished. The other personas took the lead.

During the action, the Nul - Hulk + An Asgardian Hammer appeared in the list 'Hulk's Alters Explained'.Fear Itself.In the crossover, Cul, the Norse God of Fear and Odin’s brother, invaded Midgard. He brought Mjolnir-like hammers. Cul let these hammers fall on Earth. They sought out those best suited to inspire fear. The Hulk picked up one of the hammers.

Picking up the Hammer of Nul, the Hulk became Nul, Breaker of Worlds. Cul’s Asgardian magic downloaded this personality into his mind. It offered little depth beyond a desire to fight and spread fear. Nul fought Red She-Hulk and battled Dracula, but his hardest fight came from inside.

Other Hulk personas did not like Nul forcing them into the background. They fought back for control. They finally took the steering wheel, crushing Nul's Hammer. This released its power from Bruce Banner forever. That was the last anyone saw of Nul.

The Kluh - The Inverted appears in the list 'Hulk's Alters Explained'.AXIS is mentioned.The event saw a battle with The Red Skull is mentioned. (with Professor X’s brain grafted onto his own) went horribly wrong. During this, the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom tried an “inversion” spell. They aimed to turn the Red Skull good. The spell slipped, affecting many others. Iron Man became a jerk. Sabretooth turned into a savior. Supervillains became altruistic.

The Hulk turned into Kluh.

Kluh looked very different from other Hulks. Kluh claimed sadness powered him, not anger. He called himself the “Hulk’s Hulk.” He planned to hurt the world that hurt him with maximum destruction. Bruce Banner always had more reason to be sad than angry. Kluh proved to be a powerful Hulk. He quickly defeated the remaining Avengers. Kluh almost ate Nova.

Thankfully, the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom reversed their inversion spell. Kluh ceased to exist after that.