The Hulk is an incredibly popular Marvel character, appearing in many movies and shows across the MCU. The character is a household name, which is why it is so surprising that Marvel has constantly fumbled the investigation of the Hulk together with another most popular character, Poison.
On the surface, Venom and the Hulk should be a match made in heaven.
A horrifying potential outcome for the Hulk is revealed in the story “Host” by Benjamin Percy, Brian Level, Ruth Redmond and Travis Lanham from Venomverse Reborn #1. In the story, the Venom symbiote crash lands on Earth and immediately takes over Captain America’s body. From there, it slowly jumps to each subsequent Avenger, taking over Tony Stark and Black Widow, looking for the perfect host.
Eventually, the symbiote decides that The perfect boss is none other than the Hulk. Despite doing his best to fight it off, the Hulk eventually succumbs and is taken over by the Venom symbiote, becoming the perfect killing machine. Hulk presumably continues to destroy the world, and surprisingly, this story is one of the few times readers get to see a Hulk fused with Venom.
Hulk-Venom is a surprisingly untapped idea
Second printing cover for Absolute Carnage: The Immortal Hulk #1 by Felipe Amdrade and Chris O’Halloran
When it comes to physically strong characters in the Marvel Universe, the Hulk and Venom are usually at the top of the list. Venom even defeated Juggernaut, another major heavy hitter, to prove that he deserves to be at the top. The Hulk and Venom have rarely fused over the yearsWith the most notable example being when Venom fused with the Hulk to try and defeat Dark Carnage in the lead-up to Knull’s invasion. But this fusion did not even work, as the Venom Hulk was quickly defeated.
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Another disappointing aspect of this could-be-iconic team-up is that it’s usually pretty boring. While the form always looks incredible from an art perspective, Venom Hulk is just a bigger, more muscular version of the Hulk. The last thing Hulk really needs is more muscles. The venomized version in Venomverse Reborn #1 does something new, though, by adding a ton of new muscular arms to the Hulk’s traditional form. Increasing his muscle mass isn’t special, but increasing his number of arms and the range of his attacks would be a seriously terrifying addition to the Hulk’s abilities.
The Hulk and Venom deserve a true bond together
This team should be a winning combination
On the surface, Venom and the Hulk should be a match made in heaven. With Venom’s abilities, the Hulk would have a whole new level of agility and ranged abilities. The fusion could make him incredibly dangerous, but for some reason, Marvel has never committed to fully explore this particular “team.” The few times a Hulk/Venom fusion shows up, they are quickly and easily defeated, or the story takes place in an alternate universe that fans will never see again. Hopefully, some day, Marvel will realize that this concept is pure gold and finally give fans these Hulk And Poison Team-up what they have been missing.
Venomverse Reborn #1 is now available from Marvel Comics!