Marvel Reveals the True Origin of Hulk’s Catchphrase (It’s 3600 Years Old)

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Incredible Hulk #15! The Hulkthe cataprax, “Hulk Smash“, is about as iconic as he is, as he says it in practically every adaptation (animated or live-action), as well as at least once per Marvel Comics story arc. The catchphrase is so intrinsic to the Hulk’s identity that even The most casual fan is well aware of it, but even the most hardcore fan doesn’t know where it originated, as it’s just been revealed that the Hulk’s catchphrase is Actually 3600 years old, and belongs to a completely different ‘Hulk’.

in The Incredible Hulk #15 By Philip Kennedy Johnson and Danny Earls, The Hulk is making his way to Las Vegas, because it is the location of the oldest fortress – and it has been for thousands of years. In the fortress, the Elder speaks with a lesser monster, telling them about her plans to defeat the Hulk and then use his connection to the One Below to awaken the Mother of Horrors. The Elder is confident that she will be victorious, recounting a time thousands of years ago when she encountered the first Hulk: The Fractured Son aka Enkidu.

3600 years ago, Enkidu made the same trek to the fortress of the Elder that the Hulk is making today. Enkidu was looking for a challenger strong enough to kill him, as he was tired of his eternal life. Indeed, immortality is a side effect of channeling power through the Green Door (as fans saw in the Immortal Hulk), and Enkidu was the first “Hulk” to do so. After killing several lesser monsters in his journey, one of the children that Enkidu saved expressed his gratitude by imitating Enkidu’s heroic feats, shouting as he did so, “Enkidu Smash!“.

Marvel Comics just made the connection from Bruce Banner to the first Hulk even more direct

Not only was the first Hulk attributed with the ‘break’ catchphrase long before the current Hulk, but the comic also confirms a deeper connection between Enkidu and Bruce Banner. Enkidu was not simply a gamma mutant who existed in the ancient past, he was the beginning of a long line of Hulks, whose purpose it is to roam the earth As the one beneath everyone’s avatar, killing the monstrous spawn of the mother of horrors that plague the planet.

In essence, the Hulk is not unique to Bruce Banner, but is instead something he inherited. The process by which Banner became the Hulk is still unique, but the fact that he is a ‘Hulk’ is due to his being chosen by fate to lead the ancient mob, one that began with Enkidu. And now, the connection has become even more direct, as even Hulk’s catchphrase originated with the Fractured Sun, along with his essence.

The Incredible Hulk is the perfect sequel to Immortal Hulk, and this issue confirms it.

The Immortal Hulk By Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

This particular flow of The Incredible Hulk Has felt like a follow-up to The Immortal Hulk Since the beginning, but this was primarily due to the pronounced horror elements and the overall style of the story arc. However, with this issue alone, that connection became more based in ‘history’, not just ‘do’. The One Beneath All was specifically named by the Elder as the mother of Horror’s cosmic rival, and the Elder also confirmed that the Hulk (aka Enkidu) is an avatar of the One Beneath All, which is a direct follow-up to. The Immortal Hulks history.

What began as more of a ‘sequel’ based in a shared tone as opposed to a continuation of a separate story quickly became a direct continuation of The Immortal Hulks history, making this new Incredible Hulk Run is even more special, as it takes elements of past story arcs and expands on them rather than ignoring them entirely. And that includes the true beginning of the Hulks catchphrase, which this issue confirms originated 3600 years ago.

The Incredible Hulk #15 by Marvel Comics is now available.