Publisher Marvel Comics Place of origin Earth Supporting character of Hulk | Species Human Mutate Notable aliases The Devil | |
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Created by Paul Jenkins
Ron Garney
Sal Buscema Alter ego Doctor Robert Bruce Banner First appearance The Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #13 (March 2000) Creators Sal Buscema, Ron Garney, Paul Jenkins Similar Hulk, Brian Banner, Guilt Hulk, Alternative versions of the Hulk, Rebecca Banner | ||
Devil Hulk is a fictional villain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Contents
Publication history
The Devil Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #13 (March 2000) and was created by Paul Jenkins, Ron Garney, and Sal Buscema.
Fictional character history
The Devil Hulk is a malevolent alternate personality of Bruce Banner, personifying all of Bruce's resentment at the way he is treated by the world, as well negative emotions such as self-hatred. The Devil Hulk is also one of the Hulk's enemies, constantly threatening to escape the confines of Bruce's mind and destroy the world that has tormented and abused them. While the character's physical appearance varies, he is always depicted as having glowing red eyes, and reptilian traits.
The Devil Hulk first appears when Bruce uses a machine created by Angela Lipscombe to travel into his own mind, which is being overtaken by the Guilt Hulk as he begins to die of Lou Gehrig's Disease. In a cavern containing innumerable other personalities frozen in ice, Bruce finds the Devil Hulk unfrozen but bound by chains. After explaining the nature of his existence, the Devil Hulk says he will banish the Guilt Hulk (his inability to feel guilt giving him the advantage over the entity) if Bruce releases him from his shackles, but Bruce refuses the Devil Hulk's offer to help, and flees, managing to keep the Devil Hulk contained and ensure the future safety of the world by making a deal with the three 'primary' Hulk personas (the Savage Hulk, the Grey Hulk, and the Professor Hulk) that they will share control of the body once Banner's disease becomes too serious while leaving Banner with some degree of awareness and control. Later, Bruce's mind is thrown into disarray by the experiments of John Ryker, allowing the Devil Hulk to escape the cave which he taunts Bruce at the entrance of on his way out.
As Bruce's condition became worse, the Devil Hulk enacts a plan to manifest in the real world by trapping Bruce's consciousness in an illusionary utopia. The three core Hulk personalities manage to break through the fantasy, and Bruce leaves it, rejecting the Devil Hulk's offer to repair it and allow Bruce to live peacefully within it in exchange for control of Bruce's physical body.
The Devil Hulk is last seen being overpowered by the Savage and Grey Hulks in the mindscape, while threatening everyone and everything held dear by Bruce, being apparently permanently contained back within the recesses of Banner's mind after his disease had been treated.
During the Chaos War storyline, Brian Banner is released from Hell and becomes a hybrid of the Guilt Hulk and Devil Hulk.
Powers and abilities
Like the traditional Hulk, he possesses superhuman strength and stamina. However, he appears to be stronger than any of the previously-introduced Hulks; when he attempted to escape while Banner was being treated for a presumably-incurable disease, it took both the Savage Hulk and the Joe Fixit Hulk personas to hold him down. However, since this confrontation took place on the mental plane, it is most likely simply reflecting the force of the Devil's will compared to the more child-minded Hulks and the subsequent effort needed for their weaker-willed personas to hold him down rather than providing a clear indication of their actual physical strength.