Hulk’s Most Underrated MCU Villain Is More Dangerous Without His Powers

Warning: spoilers ahead for Hulk #4!

Partly because of The Incredible Hulk‘s questionable canonicity, General Thunderbolt Ross remains the Hulk‘s most underrated MCU villain, but in Hulk #4, he shows he is even more dangerous without his Red Hulk powers. The issue, now on sale in print and digital, catapults the Hulk to an alternate reality, one where Thunderbolt Ross has ascended to the presidency, using his clout to destroy not only Iron Man, but the X-Men, and has even weaponized a gamma-powered Spider-Man. Hulk #4 is written by Donny Cates, drawn by Ryan Ottley, inked by Cliff Rathburn, colored by Frank Martin and lettered by Cory Petit.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 as head of the gamma bomb project that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk. He has been a constant thorn in the Hulk’s side, complicated by his daughter’s feelings for Banner. After the World War Hulk event, Thunderbolt Ross turned himself into the Red Hulk as a way of leveling the playing field between him and the Hulk. Ross has made the jump into various film adaptations, including 2003’s Hulk, where he was played by Sam Elliott and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by William Hurt. Indeed, Hurt’s Ross has not only hunted the Hulk, but has run afoul of the Avengers and Earth’s other heroes as well. These films made Ross an antagonist of superhumans as a group, and this promise is horrifying fulfilled on an alternate Earth.

Banner has turned the Hulk into a living starship – a ship that has found itself on Earth-122; an alternate Earth where Thunderbolt Ross became President of the United States. He was brought there by Earth-122’s Banner, who brings him up to speed on the atrocities Ross has been behind, including ruining Tony Stark by stealing away his company and driving him to drink, then using his technology to wipe out mutants. Ross saw homo superior as a menace and dropped an atomic bomb on Xavier’s school. The Ross of Earth-122 learns of the arrival of the 616 Hulk, and sets out to confront him, first tearing him to pieces with specialized weaponry, then unleashing a gamma-irradiated variant of Spider-Man.

In the comics, Ross’ hatred for the Hulk led him to turn himself into a Hulk, but his Earth-122 counterpart proves he has no need for powers to be a truly effective villain – all he needed was his cunning, guile, and obsession. The results speak for themselves; Ross was able to outfox and ruin Tony Stark and committed genocide against the X-Men. Yet turning Spider-Man, here depicted as a teenager, into a living weapon might be Ross’ most heinous act. The issue ends with Ross kicking Peter out of a plane, knowing he’ll transform by the time he lands to become a major threat to the Hulk.

Ross has at times been depicted as an honorable man with an unhealthy obsession, but ultimately he’s always been willing to neglect his loved ones, sacrifice innocents, and even betray his country to put his enemies in the ground. In a world without Bruce Banner as the Hulk, Ross’ focus drifted to other targets. While he might be able to punch out cosmic beings like the Silver Surfer in his Red Hulk form, it turns out Ross is far, far more dangerous as a regular man stripped of his moral compass. Earth-122 is a bleak place, devoid of heroes, and a large part of the blame can be ascribed to the Hulk’s most underrated MCU villain: General Thunderbolt Ross.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1379 Articles Published)

Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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