Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Space: Punisher
In a twisted alternate future where the Punisher is about revenge among the stars, a nightmarish apocalyptic redesign of the Hulk reigns as the ultimate destroyer of worlds. This reality’s version of the Green Goliath is a cosmic force of unparalleled strength, who appears to take pleasure in his violence. Terrifyingly, this Marvel monster has an even worse variant in the main Marvel universe.
Space: Punisher – written by Frank Tieri, with art by Mark Texeira – is a four-issue miniseries that follows Frank Castle as he takes to the stars to avenge the death of his family. Instead of facing earthly thugs and gangsters, Castle faces the monstrous extraterrestrial crime lords known as the Six-Fingered Hand.
However, no amount of weapons or courage could prepare the Punisher for the Hulk’s infamous cosmic horror. With all the strength of Galactus and all the horrific traumas of Bruce Banner, this four-armed giant is a cosmic death sentence for the universe.
The Hulk became an all-powerful cosmic threat and Bruce Banner’s flesh prison
Space: Punisher – Written by Frank Tieri; Art and Color by Mark Texeira; Lyrics by VC’s Clayton Cowles
The Marvel Universe of Space: Punisher is filled with disturbing variants and symbiote-infected swarms of Brood, but no threat comes close to the cosmic terror known as the Hulk. Much like Earth-616’s Bruce Banner, this universe’s Banner first became the Hulk after an accident caused by his gamma tests. However, this Hulk’s transformations are uniquely brutal compared to Banner’s traditional transformations. Buried within the Hulk’s muscular cavities, Bruce Banner is conscious and immortal. Everything except his torso has dissolved into the Hulk, while he remains alive and begging for death.
Space: Punisher Hulk is in peak physical condition and has an extra pair of arms, armed to massacre his enemies. He single-handedly killed the Fantastic Four, destroyed an armada of anti-Hulk military ships, and destroyed a council of Watchers, just to name a few of his feats of power. At the end of the miniseries, After the Punisher fulfills Banner’s dying wish, the Hulk still fights forward, showing that Banner was never needed. However, as terrifying as this far-future variant is, the inevitable cosmic evolution of Earth-616 is far more horrifying.
The mainstream Hulk is already destined to become something scarier than his “Space: Punisher” variant
Immortal Hulk #25 – Written by Al Ewing; Art by Joe Bennett and Germán García; Paint by Ruy José; Coloring by Chris O’ Halloran and Paul Mounts
On Al Ewing and Joe Bennett Immortal Hulkit was revealed that all gamma mutants are connected to Marvel’s ultimate cosmic demon, the One-Below-All, and serve as the god’s avatars of destruction. In this far-future version, the Hulk persisted after the death of his multiverse, transforming into a Galactus-sized mass of writhing flesh cast in a noxious green glow. While Galactus may be the Eater of Worlds, the “Breaker of Worlds” is the inevitable Anti-All from the future of his timeline.
The Hulk is a consistent and terrifying force of nature, destined to transform into a nightmarish mass of unimaginable destruction.
Space: PunisherThe Hulk is a terribly brutal and savage monster; he immediately overpowers his enemies with ease and tears their bodies apart. However, the worst possible outcome already exists in the mainstream Marvel canon, as Immortal HulkCronenberg’s disgusting Devil puppet is much more terrifying in comparison. However, as Banner is forced to endure both transformations, the feeling of terror that both creatures cause becomes apparent. THE Hulk it is a consistent and terrifying force of nature, destined to transform into a nightmarish mass of unimaginable destruction.
Space: Punisher and The Immortal Hulk are now available from Marvel Comics.