Warning: Contains spoilers for Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #2! The Hulk Has a reputation for being the strongest hero in the Marvel Universe (in terms of physical strength), especially when considering those introduced in the MCU. However, during the last world-ending threat the Avengers are facing in Marvel Comics, the Hulk is overpowered by another MCU hero – one who takes the Hulk down like it’s nothing.
in Wonder Zombies: Dawn of Decay #2 by Thomas Krajewski and Jason Muhr, New York City is facing a zombie outbreak unlike anything Marvel fans have seen before. In the previous issue, Groot comes down with an alien illness that appears to be a common cold. However, the ‘mucus’ he produced is filled with a strange ‘zombie virus’, which is revealed after Groot sneezes on Captain America. Groot accidentally turns Cap into a plant-like zombie (like the zombies featured in The last of us), and before long, the single infection spread throughout the city.
The only ones not infected are Bruce Banner and Groot himself (because he is the asymptomatic ‘Patient Zero’). Banner has a plan to use Groot to create a cure, but he has to get to his lab in Avengers Tower. So, to keep himself from being infected, Bruce transforms into the Hulk after telling Groot that he has to make sure to get the Hulk to Avengers Tower, even against his will. Along the way, Hulk is distracted by fighting zombies, forcing Groot to wrap his vine tendrils around the Hulk’s neck, cutting off his oxygen and rendering him unconscious.
Groot proving to be stronger than the Hulk is not surprising
Groot was labeled a Hulk-strength hero in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 7 #7
While it’s certainly shocking to see the Hulk get taken down so easily, the fact that Groot is strong enough to do so isn’t all that surprising. Really, in Guardians of the Galaxy #7, Wiccan actually labels Groot a ‘Hulk-strength hero’ after casually saying that he’s always been strong enough to tangle with the Hulk one-on-one.
In the same issue (and throughout the entire Guardians of the Galaxy storyline), Groot proves as much by achieving a new gargantuan planet-consuming form called Grootspace. Like Grootspace, Groot could easily defeat the likes of the Hulk, so easily, in fact, that it’s likely that Groot wouldn’t even be aware that he was fighting the Green Goliath before Hulk was defeated.
Wonder zombies is not the first time great proved to be stronger than the hulk
Marvel’s Original Groot Fight Hulk in The Incredible Hulk Annual #5
Before becoming an A-list Guardian of the Galaxy, Groot was a fairly obscure Marvel character who first appeared in Stories to Astonish #13. This version of Groot was not a hero, but a terrible monster from another world – and his fight against the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk Annual #5 Proves how terrifyingly powerful Groot was, even back then. While the Hulk eventually comes out on top (given that he is the hero and Groot was the villain in the story), he does so by outmaneuvering Groot, not overpowering him, which all but confirms Groot’s superior strength.
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From their first battle in The Incredible Hulk Annual #5 to Groot’s cosmic upgrade in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 7, it’s clear that Groot is more than a match for the Hulk. And now, with Wonder Zombies: Dawn of DecayIt has become a simple fact that the MCU hero can overpower these Hulk without breaking a sweat.
Wonder Zombies: Dawn of Decay #2 by Marvel Comics is now available.