15 Superpowers You Didn't Know The Hulk Has
Those are the famous words from The Avengers that have gone on to represent both the enduring sense of
humor that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has, as well as the unmatchable powers
that the Hulk possesses. Tony Stark’s quote represents everything you need to
know about the Hulk in four little words; don’t screw with the green guy. No
matter what you throw at him, no matter what size army you control or what
weapons you have at your disposal, the Hulk will always win. If you find
yourself on a side of battle opposite the Hulk, you’re on the losing side.
So sure, the Hulk a giant green beast that can
lay waste to anything in his path, but what else can he do? Well, as one of the
most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, it turns out he can do a lot.
Strength and size aren’t all that the Hulk has on his side, and since his debut
to the world in 1962 the Hulk has accumulated a whole host of powers that would
shock and surprise you; and anyone he faced. Yeah, the Hulk is incredible,
but you don’t even know the half of it yet.
Here are 15
Superpowers You Didn't Know the Hulk Has
15
Unlimited
Strength
Ask anyone around the world what
the Hulk’s power is, and they’ll all say the same thing; “He’s strong.”
Everyone knows that the Hulk can rip a helicopter in two or punch a hole deep
into the ground, so strength is undeniably the Hulk’s most well-known power.
But the thing that very few people know is just how strong the Hulk is. How
just how strong is the Hulk? The answer; there isn’t one.
he amazing thing about the Hulk is
that unlike nearly every other superhero ever created, the Hulk’s strength has
absolutely no upper limit. He can lift a commercial airplane – which weighs
around 100 tons – when he is at his calmest; that’s no problem for him. But the
angrier he gets the stronger he gets, and if the Hulk is really pissed off then
he can lift anything, including mountains, planets, or any other inconceivably
heavy object.
14
Superhuman
Speed
When
you think of the Hulk you think of a guy who punches stuff into the ground and
lumbers around taking heavy fire while getting a little ticked off. Like any
giant creature found in nature, one would understandably assume that being big
and indestructible has its trade-offs. Trade-offs such as speed. But no. Not
only can the Hulk destroy anything he wants, he can also absolutely demolish
most superheroes in a race. He’s that fast.
Although
it’s rare in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Hulk to be shown as
lightning quick, in the comics the Hulk’s speed is one of his more amazing
powers. Often shown outrunning a rocket blast and catching up to the world’s
fastest heroes, the Hulk’s speed is an advantage to him purely because it’s so
unexpected. No one would expect a hero as giant and dimwitted as the Hulk to be
a speed machine, so when he takes off at full blast he has the ability to
surprise and disarm nearly every enemy the he faces.
13
He Can Leap Across Continents
We’ve
seen the Hulk jump far and wide in all forms of media, and yeah, his leaping
skills are impressive, but they aren’t Earth shattering. At least, not unless
you look at what the Hulk can do when he’s really trying – the stuff that we’ve
yet to see in a cartoon or movie. When you consider what the Hulk can really do
in a single leap, then it’s Earth shattering; sometimes literally.
With
super-powered muscles all over his body, the Hulk is able to do all sorts of
things that regular humans can only dream of. This includes his ability to
casually travel miles in a single jump – thanks to his leg muscles - which the
Hulk often uses as his main method of transportation. When he’s really trying,
however, the Hulk can leap into the Earth’s atmosphere or even travel across
oceans and land on different continents. Hulk never has to worry about airline
baggage fees or flight times, but he does have to worry about landing. With the
enormity of his powers and body mass, the Hulk has been known to create
earthquakes, shockwaves, and large craters when he comes back down to Earth
after a particularly big jump.
12
He Can Breath Underwater
The ocean is a scary place, filled
with nightmarish fish and sharks and creatures that we haven’t even begun to
understand. But now imagine swimming in the ocean and seeing the scariest
creature of them all; the Hulk.
The
Hulk has a rather unknown ability in breathing underwater, which he’s able to
accomplish due to a gland in his body that creates oxygen to fill his lungs
with. With his enhanced strength and massive size, the Hulk is also able to
withstand enormous amounts of water pressure, and as a result he’s been seen on
the ocean floor on more than one occasion. It’s something that often doesn’t
come in handy, but the ocean is definitely a cool place for the Hulk to hide
out when he doesn’t want anyone to find him. And considering our distinct lack
of an underwater Hulk movie thus far, maybe it will turn out that after the
Hulk’s disappearance at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron Bruce
Banner’s Hulk has been sleeping with the fishes – literally
11
He Can See Ghosts
Perhaps
this is a power that the Hulk will never show off in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, but it’s nonetheless an interesting one that is hidden among the
curiosities of the Hulk comic books. It all started when Bruce Banner
accidentally killed his father, and fearing that he would come back to settle
the score, Bruce gave the Hulk the ability to see ghosts. Because in the comics
that just a thing you can do, and you don’t need the type of Marvel Cinematic
Universe logic that equates things like gods and ghosts with science and
technology.
With
the Hulk’s unique ghost-seeing ability, he is one of the only beings that is
able to see Dr. Strange when he is in his astral form, and that’s something to
keep in mind should ghosts end up making their way into the MCU courtesy of
this November’s Doctor Strange.
If that happens, look for the Hulk to take on a much bigger role in the
metaphysical side of Marvel films going forward.
10
Healing
And Regenerating Abilities
The
powers just keep on coming, and apparently the creators of Hulk weren’t pleased
with unlimited strength, superhuman speed, and unrivalled adaptability. In
order to make the Hulk truly superpowered, they decided to give him one of the
more useful powers that any hero can have; superhuman healing and regenerating
abilities.
Like
Deadpool and Wolverine – but way less publicized – the Hulk has the ability to
grow entirely new tissues and heal from most wounds in just seconds. Severe
wounds as well – including the near-complete destruction of his body mass – are
also no match for the healing abilities of the Hulk. It’s been said that the
Hulk heals faster than anyone in the Marvel Universe, a fact which is perhaps
best illustrated during a battle with Speedfreek. Here, the Hulk’s stomach was
sliced open and Hulk held it together with his hands while fighting. In a mere
matter of minutes, not only was his stomach healed, but it had actually healed
around his fingers, resulting in his need to rip his fingers out and wait for
his stomach to heal again.
9
He
Can Survive In Space
By
now you should know that the Hulk is one of the most indestructible beings on
Earth, but what about outside of Earth? Since the Marvel Universe has always
traditionally explored the galaxy, the Hulk has always had a big part in
Marvel’s space-spanning adventures, and he’s aided by the fact that he can
survive in space better than almost every other Avenger.
Thanks
to his ability to grow new tissues at exceptional rates and regenerate tissue,
the human-killing void of space is no match for Hulk. And while in the comics
the Hulk has been launched into space in a pressurized vessel for safety, once
the vessel broke the Hulk just got angrier and as a result he got stronger,
thus causing his body to adapt into one that can survive anything space throws
at it. Similar to his ability to withstand the pressures of underwater life,
the Hulk can’t be stopped just because he isn’t in his natural habitat. In
fact, it’s safe to say that he has no natural habitat, which makes him one of
the unique superheroes that can decimate an enemy no matter where he is in the
universe.
8
Prolonged
Lifespan
Bruce
Banner never seems to be having a good time with his powers as the Hulk, which
kinda makes it worse for him that he has an extremely prolonged lifespan. As if
it wasn’t enough that he’s nearly indestructible, and that if he does get
destroyed he can just heal almost instantly, on top of all that he just
has a tough time dying of natural causes at any age.
Because
of his gamma-radiation acquired powers, the Hulk has gained a host of
immunities that will help him survive long past his normal due date. With a
known resistance to all Earth-based diseases – which includes AIDS (yes, this
was brought up in the comics) – the Hulk can survive almost anything, and as a
result, it’s tough to imagine a senior-aged Hulk rolling around in a wheelchair
or moving into a retirement home. Additionally, the Hulk’s constant
regeneration allows him to avoid fatigue altogether, so mid-day naps won’t be a
weakness for the Hulk as he transitions gracefully into old-age.
7
He
Can Punch His Way Through Dimension
One
of the most overlooked Hulk powers may be his strangest one, as it’s something
that doesn’t have as much use as, say, Hulk smashing his way through foes and
jumping across continents to enjoy a quick vacation. Nonetheless, it’s been
shown in comics before that Hulk has the unique ability to punch so hard that he
finds himself having forced his way into a new dimension.
Being
able to punch through dimensions is certainly an aggressive way of traveling,
but it means that the Hulk can’t be trapped by some of his more
trans-dimensionally gifted enemies. Adding to that the ability to punch a
villain so hard that he actually causes a rip in space and sends the bad guy
into a new realm – though it’s yet to be confirmed if he can send someone back
in time with his fist – and you have an idea why this strange power might come
in handy from time to time.
6
Thunderclap
At
one point the Hulk’s go to move in the comics, Hulk’s thunderclap isn’t seen in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe much, but that doesn’t mean it’s not as powerful
and badass as it was when it first debuted. Back in the day when every hero had
their signature move and not much else to accompany it, the Hulk was known for
pounding his hands together to create a large thunderclap so powerful that it
could drop enemies even large distances away from him.
And
while the Hulk has been gifted with more amazing powers since his thunderclap
days, we’d still like to see his original move get some more love in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe. With its ability to deafen, concuss, or even be used to put
out fires, the thunderclap would be a one-stop weapon that could be pulled out
in a pivotal scene by the Hulk to make an audience erupt with a thunderclap of
their own.
5
Resistance
To Mind Control
With every weapon of mass destruction comes failsafes and backup failsafes to ensure that the weapon doesn’t fall under control of the wrong people. So considering that the Hulk is one of the most volatile and destructive weapons on the face of the planet, it’s probably a good thing that he has a resistance to mind control, because there wouldn’t be many things worse than a Hulk controlled by the enemy.
Theories
for the Hulk’s resistance to mind control manifesting as one of his powers
include the fact that there are multiple personalities lurking insider of the
Hulk’s mind. Not only is there Bruce Banner and “the green guy,” but other
facets of the Hulk are always somewhere beneath the surface. As a result, it is
said that no one – not even one with superior mind-control abilities such as
Professor
X – is able to control all of them at
once; and thus they cannot control the Hulk.
4High Intelligence
Joining the company of Tony Stark, Hank Pym, and Reed Richards, Bruce Banner is known as one of the greatest scientific minds on Earth. The foremost expert on Gamma Radiation – which is of course what led to his becoming the Hulk in the first place – Banner often rivals Stark on matters of scientific theory and practice. He has developed new scientific methods and inventions, but he has famously been unable to control the Hulk no matter how hard he tries. But the best part of Bruce Banner’s intelligence comes from the irony that it doesn’t carry over when he becomes the Hulk.
As
soon as Banner gets angry and the Hulk takes over, his memories and
intelligence are largely forgotten and the Hulk becomes a destructive force
with little guiding him save for his animal instincts. For someone as
intelligent and empathetic as Bruce Banner, seeing the destruction that the
Hulk causes and being powerless to stop it is what makes him one of the most
compelling characters in all of comics.
3Bulletproof
Remember
in The
Avengers when Bruce Banner said “I put a bullet in my mouth... and the
other guy spit it out?” Yeah, it turns out he wasn’t
exaggerating, bullets can’t stop the Hulk in the same way they can hurt Captain
America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, or any other number of superheroes. Shoot
the Hulk and all that will happen is he’ll get angry and most likely rip you to
shreds.
Because
of the thickness and strength of the Hulk’s skin, it’s nearly impossible for
any form of artillery to hurt him. Sure, everyone’s seen bullets bounce off of
the Hulk, but when we say he’s bulletproof what we really mean is he’s BULLETPROOF. Grenades,
rockets, supervillains smashing into him at full force, there’s nothing that
the Hulk can’t withstand, and it’s all thanks to his outer-layer being more
like an impenetrable shell than a irradiated mass of green skin.
2He Can Create More Hulks
One
of the things that makes the Hulk so interesting is that he was the result of a
freak accident involving Bruce Banner. All of the powers that stemmed from his
accident created a once-in-a-lifetime superhero; at least, you’d think he was a
once-in-a-lifetime superhero.
As
it turns out, the Hulk has another power that even he wasn’t aware of, and it’s
that a blood transfusion given by Bruce Banner has the ability to turn others
that match his DNA into the Hulk. And this was exactly what happened with his
cousin Jennifer Walters, who ended up becoming She-Hulk after an emergency
blood transfusion. Although Jennifer retained most of her personality when
becoming She-Hulk – including her intelligence and control – she too has the
unique ability to become stronger the angrier she gets. And it’s understandable
that she would be angry after becoming only the second Hulk in history
1His Different Colors Come With Different Powers
Most
people are aware of the different color Hulks that have graced the pages of
various comic books over the years, but what’s less known is that these
different colored Hulks all possess different powers. Examples of this are the
gray Hulk, a version of the Hulk that is crafty, sneaky, and corrupt. Rather
than turning into the Gray Hulk when he’s angry, Banner turned into the Gray
Hulk when the sun went down. This particular iteration of the Hulk moved to
Vegas to become an “enforcer” at a casino.
Eventually
going to therapy to control himself, Banner for a time became both Green Hulk
and Gray Hulk, which made for a version of the two where he wasn’t necessarily
a destructive force, but he was an angry beast that was also very smart. In
addition to this “Pale Green Hulk” is the infamous Red Hulk, a beast who gets
stronger depending on how much radiation he exposed to. Because of this, rather
than anger controlling him, radiation is what increases his abilities.
Comments
Post a Comment