The Hulk Killed His Best Friend (And They Stayed Dead)

Despite being a founding member of the Avengers, The Hulk has spent most of his comics career on the run from one authority figure or another. Mostly, the Green Goliath is portrayed as either misunderstood or, under the guidance of his human aspect, Bruce Banner, even heroic, but there have been occasions where the Hulk has lived up to his public perception as a violent, villainous brute. No occasion showcases this better than the time the Hulk killed his best friend, permanently removing them from the Marvel Universe.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Incredible Hulk #1, the Hulk is one alternate persona of Doctor Robert Bruce Banner, unleashed after Banner was caught in the explosion of a gamma bomb he had created for the military. While the Hulk’s most famous portrayal is in his savage, childlike state, that’s only one ‘Hulk’ form Banner can adopt. Others include Joe Fixit, a grey-skinned gangster, Devil Hulk, a devious killer, and Green Scar, a freedom fighter born out of Hulk’s experiences on the planet Sakaar – a location movie fans will remember from Thor: Ragnarok. But it was in his usually innocent, childlike state that Hulk knowingly killed his only friend.

The story begins in The Incredible Hulk #127 when the Hulk is confronted by the monstrous Mogol. Mogol has been sent by Tyrannus – a subterranean tyrant at war with Fantastic Four villain the Mole Man – to escort Hulk to his underground kingdom. As freakishly strong in Tyrannus’ kingdom as the Hulk is up above, Mogol is kept in check by missing memories and an ingrained loyalty to Tyrannus. After the two reach a stalemate in combat, Hulk accepts his offer of friendship, and they are teleported to Tyrannus’ domain. Surprisingly, Mogol’s friendship is enough to quell the Hulk’s constant anger, and the two happily work together, preparing Tyrannus’ kingdom for war.

Sadly, things fall apart when the forces of Tyrannus and the Mole Man meet in battle. The two subterranean armies – each staffed by thousands of nearly mindless creatures – clash, and it emerges that Tyrannus needed the Hulk’s might because Mogol is particularly vulnerable to the Mole Man’s heat rays. Wounded in battle, Mogol reaches out to the Hulk for help, which is when they both realize why Mogol possesses this peculiar weakness – he’s a robot.

It’s a fact that was hidden from even Mogol himself, explaining both his absent memories and his blind loyalty to the cruel Tyrannus; Mogol was built as just another piece of equipment in the ongoing war for the underground world. Sadly, the Hulk – associating machinery with his persecution on the surface world – instantly turns against Mogol, accusing him of being a lifeless robot built only to trick him. Though Mogol protests that he has developed real emotions, and is truly the Hulk’s friend, the Hulk rips him in two.

Though Mogol refuses to fight back, Hulk continues to attack him, reducing Mogol to a harmless metal box. Mogol pleads, “Please, Hulk, do not SMASH me, do not DESTROY me. I am your FRIEND, Hulk,” but the Green Goliath takes the box in both hands and crushes it into nothing. Mogol is dead, never to be rebuilt or resurrected, and the Hulk meant to do it. Enraged at having been fooled, the Hulk destroys both the Mole Man’s fortress and Tyrannus’ kingdom, ending the issue by admitting that Mogol’s friendship was real and wondering if he was wrong to throw it away.

About The Author

Robert Wood
(401 Articles Published)

Robert Wood is a comics editor for Screen Rant and the author of ‘The False Elephant (and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories).’ He received his Master’s in English Literature from Lancaster University, and now happily spends his days applying it to Daredevil and the Hulk.

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