Few Marvel characters are physically stronger than Hulkbut physical strength can only help one. In a world where there are people who can fly and shoot beams from their eyes or even warp reality, super strength is simply not enough. This is why Hulk has evolved over the years through several key fights.
Although the Hulk is known for his physical strength, he can do many more than just that, as well as being able to use your physical strength in fun and new ways. Over the years, the Hulk has learned a lot from the various fights he has fought and has mastered several skills that allow him to use his impressive strength to the fullest. This includes things like creating sonic booms from his popping sounds or even the ability to see ghosts. These are ten unique and useful abilities that the Hulk has acquired over his decades in comics.
10
Hulk’s sonic pop was one of his first steps
The Incredible Hulk No. 4 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
One of the Hulk’s most iconic abilities has always been that he could slam his hands and create a giant shockwave that flowed in front of him. This is one of his most consistent ranged attacks, and he has used it many times over the decades. This ability was first used in The Incredible Hulk #4, where the Hulk used it to disperse a rowdy film crew who decided they wanted to use the Hulk for their next horror movie. Naturally, the Hulk took offense to this and used his incredible strength to disperse them with ease.
Over the years, this move has been the Hulk’s signature ability when fighting enemies he can’t immediately beat up, or multiple enemies that surround him. This is a fantastic ability that the Hulk acquired early in his career.
9
Hulk can breathe underwater
The Incredible Hulk No. 77 by Peter David and Lee Weeks
No matter how strong the Hulk is, you’d think the easiest way to kill him would be to simply drown him. After all, it worked with other Marvel heavy hitters like Wolverine. If someone is physically impossible to defeat, depriving them of oxygen is a fantastic way to kill them, but it doesn’t work on the Hulk. It turns out that every time the Hulk is in space or underwater, a gland appears in his body that allows him to find the oxygen he needs. Whether it’s pulling him out of the water or letting him hold it longer when he’s in space.
While most people think of the Hulk as just a big, strong beast, that’s not actually what makes him scary. What makes the Hulk terrifying is the fact that he is virtually impossible to kill, he cannot be drowned, and he also cannot die from suffocation in outer space.
8
Hulk can see ghosts
Immortal Hulk #0 by Peter David and Adam Kubert
One of the Hulk’s strangest abilities is that he can see people’s ghosts. This ability has a heartbreaking origin, as it developed after Bruce Banner killed his father. Worried that his father’s ghost might come back and harm Bruce, the Hulk developed the ability to see ghosts to protect him. It’s unclear what exactly the Hulk intended to do if Brian Banner returned, but it’s a surprisingly satisfying excuse to develop such an ability. This power had other uses as well, as it allowed the Hulk to perceive the astral form of people such as Doctor Strange.
Although this ability is not used often, it is a surprisingly powerful tool in the Hulk’s arsenal. In a world where people constantly return from the dead, the ability to detect spirits is extremely useful, and detecting astral forms means that even the most powerful magicians will not be able to sneak up on them.
7
Hulk learned to use kung fu
Hulk No. 12 Gerry Duggan and Mark Bagley
The Hulk is notorious for using more brawn than brain. His whole catchphrase is “Hulk will smash.” This doesn’t leave much room for technique or skill, and it doesn’t seem like he really needs it when he has such overwhelming physical strength. But the Hulk’s fighting style is not due to a lack of skill, but rather his mentality. Often when the Hulk goes berserk, he appears as the Savage Hulk, which is nothing more than an angry child. His other personalities, such as Doc Green, are more than capable of using true fighting styles along with their overwhelming strength.
This was best shown when Doc Green sought out Danny Rand and asked him to teach him kung fu. As a result, the Hulk still had his overwhelming power, but was also able to purposefully harness and channel that power.
6
Hulk is absolutely immortal
Civil War II #3 Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez
When they call him the immortal Hulk, they’re not kidding. For Civil war IIHawkeye tried to kill the Hulk, but it didn’t work. There was a vision of the Hulk going on a massive rampage, and to make sure that didn’t happen, the Avengers stopped and confronted Bruce Banner. During this heated exchange, Hawkeye shoots an arrow into Bruce’s head, seemingly killing him. Hawkeye did this because he claimed he saw a “glimmer of green” in Bruce’s eyes, and Bruce had previously asked Hawkeye to kill him if he ever changed again.
Bye Bruce did seem dead for a while, critically acclaimed Immortal Hulk the series showed that the Hulk cannot die. Every time Bruce dies, he is simply reborn again when the Hulk takes over. This concept ties into the Green Door and how the Hulk can simply come back again and again, no matter how brutally he is killed.
5
Even tearing the Hulk apart couldn’t stop him.
Immortal Hulk #8 Al Ewing and Joe Bennett
Another important strange ability of the Hulk is the fact that he retains complete control over his body, even if that body is cut and divided. As it turned out in Immortal Hulk #8, when a group of scientists capture the Hulk and try to conduct experiments. They manage to completely dissect him, separating his body and organs, and to his horror, they all continue to function normally. His heart continues to beat, his lungs continue to pump air, and he has complete control of his arms and legs.
What’s even more worrying is that no one has a clue How he does it. Scientists have ruled out any form of psychic connection between his body, and the way Hulk’s regeneration works is unlike that of characters like Deadpool or Wolverine. So, not only is this the Hulk’s terrifying ability, but no one knows why he has it.
4
Hulk is now immune to classic weakness
Immortal Hulk No. 45 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett
Considering how strong the Hulk is, there were a lot of people desperately trying to find any weakness they could exploit. One such weakness was cosmic radiation. It would destroy the Hulk almost instantly and has been used against him several times, such as by the U-Force team. In an attempt to subdue the Hulk, they expose him to cosmic radiation, which ultimately kills him. Unfortunately for them, when the Hulk regenerates, he becomes completely immune to radiation.
Not only does this give the Hulk a new red cosmic form, but it also makes him completely immune to the underlying weakness he had before. Considering how strong the Hulk is in general, removing any weakness is the main thing, since he already has so few of them. While U-Force easily defeated Hulk the first time, in this rematch they were completely outmatched and easily defeated.
3
Hulk can shoot gamma energy from his eyes
Hulk #5 Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley
It’s no secret that the Hulk and Bruce Banner share the same body. The two can influence and control each other from within, and this was taken to a literal level in Hulk #5, where Bruce controls the Hulk as a spaceship with an engine room. It is in this metaphysical engine room that the Hulk battles monsters and horrors to empower the real world Hulk. But when the engine room ramps up to a level of complexity unlike anything Hulk has ever seen, he must use everything he has to survive.
This involves the Hulk firing a powerful blast of gamma radiation directly from his eyes to destroy his enemies. The Hulk has never shown this ability in the real world, and due to the metaphysical nature of the story, it’s possible he never will.
2
Bruce Banner’s guilt has taken on its own Hulk form.
Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads No. 4 by Peter David and Greg Land
Most versions of the Hulk revolve around physical strength, such as the Savage Hulk, Devil Hulk, and Green Scar. But some of them focus on other things, like Joe Fixit, who relies primarily on the mind. This is where Vina Hulk, the terrifying gray lizard-like Hulk, comes in. Although this Hulk is incredibly physically strong, it is not his main source of strength. His true strength is his unshakable will.
This was proven when Guilt Hulk took possession of the Matrix Stone, an item that requires a strong will to use. Vina Hulk states that this would not be a problem for him at all, as he can easily use and wield the Matrix Stone. Vina Hulk is one of the most dangerous forms of the Hulk, as not only does he have incredible physical strength, but he is generally unable to be swayed or tricked into achieving his goals.
1
Hulk can absorb cosmic force
Immortal Hulk No. 24 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett
By far the Hulk’s most disturbing and destructive ability is the fact that he can apparently absorb celestial beings to gain their powers. This was proven in Immortal Hulk #24, when the Hulk absorbed the embodiment of the universe and thereby gained cosmic powers. The Hulk then entered the next iteration of the universe as a worldkiller, a man who could easily travel through space and destroy planets with a single blow.
This is the most destructive and dangerous thing the Hulk has ever become. He is such a huge threat that he has honestly never been defeated. There was no grand gathering of the Avengers or any other heroes. The only way to “defeat” this version of the Hulk is to prevent this future from happening. When it comes to abilities that Hulk Over the years, I have realized that consuming cosmic energy is definitely the most beneficial.