Hulk smashed!
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00:00So, as we all know, the Hulk is a raw embodiment of anger, power and might, a combination that
00:05makes him one of the most formidable characters in the Marvel Universe. But he's not unbeatable,
00:12as many have proved throughout his time in the comics and, indeed, in films. So let's
00:16take a look at some of them today, as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these
00:19are 10 different ways that you can actually defeat the Hulk.
00:2310. The Power Cosmic
00:26There are precious few comic book characters the Hulk has failed to knock out, but one
00:30that he tends to struggle with is the Silver Surfer. The pair memorably cross paths in
00:34Tales to Astonish number 92 and 93, a story which saw the Green Goliath attempt to hitch
00:39a ride into outer space on the Silver Surfer's board to flee from his earthly pursuers, led,
00:44as usual, by General Ross. The Surfer wasn't overly keen on the idea of a potential Hulk
00:48rampage in the cosmos, and declined to be his Silver Chauffeur, a disagreement that
00:53soon turned violent when Banner's alter-ego reacted the only way it knew how, angrily.
00:58Even without calling upon his godly abilities, the Surfer was capable of putting the Hulk
01:02on his backside, which he did without breaking a sweat by hurling his bloody board at him.
01:07When the not-so-jolly Green Giant refused to stay down, Rad used the Power Cosmic to
01:12send his opponent into unconsciousness, becoming one of the few heroes to make taking down
01:16the Hulk look relatively easy.
01:189. Stark Industries Tech
01:20There have been numerous attempts to cure Bruce Banner of his anger issues in the past,
01:25but most of them have succeeded only in triggering another Hulk rampage. This was indeed the
01:29case of Iron Man number 132, when Tony Stark exposed his science bro to chemicals, forcing
01:35the billionaire playboy to don his famous armour as a plan B.
01:39This was 1980, long before the Hulkbuster suit was a thing, but Iron Man's eventual
01:43victory proved that Stark Industries Tech definitely belongs on the list of Hulk Banes.
01:49After failing to stop the Hulk by drowning him and garrotting him with a length of chain,
01:53Stark took down the Green Behemoth by channeling all of his armour's remaining power into
01:57one earth-shattering punch. The result was a total knockout for both the Hulk and the
02:01Iron Man suit that Stark was wearing at the time. It's a good job he had a dozen more
02:05back home, right?
02:068. Divine Lightning
02:08Considering Bruce Banner and Thor are supposed to be buddies, they've definitely come to
02:12blows on a confounding number of occasions. And there's little to separate them when
02:16their head-to-head record is scrutinised. Sometimes the Hulk comes off worse, other
02:20times it's the Thunder God, but both are usually worse for wear by the end of the scrap.
02:24One thing that can be gleaned from their encounters is that Thor's Divine Lightning has proven
02:29effective at stopping the Hulk in his tracks. In 2001's The Incredible Hulk Annual, a
02:33sneak elemental attack to the back of the head was enough to put Banner's monstrous
02:37ego out cold. Of course, he later wakes up and beats Thor to a pulp, but the point still
02:42stands.
02:437. Adamantium
02:45Wolverine vs The Hulk is one of the greatest showdowns in Marvel Comics history, which
02:49is no doubt why writers continue to pit them against one another. The Green Behemoth may
02:54have raw strength and power on his side, but Wolverine's adamantium claws really do level
02:58the playing field. The unbreakable metal is robust enough to cut through the hide of some
03:02of the toughest comic book cookies, including Luke Cage, The Thing, and indeed, The Hulk.
03:07Wolverine has been known to hack, slash, gouge and stab his long-time rival something rotten
03:12in the past, but has rarely beaten him outside of the what-if scenarios. That said, there
03:17are times where he definitely could have killed him. During their battle in The Incredible
03:20Hulk 181, Banner was fortunate the pair eventually joined forces to take down the mutual foe
03:25of the Wendigo, because Logan basically had him on the ropes. Wolverine isn't the only
03:29adamantium-enhanced character in the Marvel Universe, another is Speedfreak, and he's
03:34also had some success in mutilating the Hulk, only for Banner's rapid healing abilities
03:38to save his hide.
03:396. Doctor Doom's Neuro Ray
03:42Bruce Banner has got a lot of Hulks on his back, one being Joe Fixit, a grey-skinned,
03:47more intelligent version of the classic green incarnation. When this personality emerged
03:51in Fantastic Four number 320, he proved no match for the infinite resourcefulness of
03:55Doctor Victor Von Doom. The pair did battle against a desert backdrop, and while Doom's
04:00armour and weaponry allowed him to hold his own for a while, the metal-faced Latverian
04:04knew that he'd have to get creative in order to win this particular fight. The Doctor used
04:08a Neuro Ray to incapacitate his foe, taking control of his movement until he was completely
04:13subdued, but this was only half the battle. With the Hulk at his mercy, Doom played on
04:18his ego, another Achilles heel for Banner, goading him into picking a fight with the
04:22Thing by accusing him of fearing the Fantastic Four's rocky behemoth and hiding away from
04:26him.
04:275. Plasma Blasts
04:29One of the Hulk's least incredible moments came way back way in 1972, when he was taken
04:34down by a B-list X-Man in Incredible Hulk number 150. An unfortunate case of mistaken
04:39identity sparked a battle with Havok. Hulk erroneously believed the mutant Polaris was
04:43his former squeeze Jor-Ella, the green-skinned Princess of Kai, and snatched her King Kong
04:48style. Things got hairy when the arrival of a military jeep sent the jade behemoth into
04:53a state of rage, but Alex Summers arrived on the scene to rescue his ex-teammate.
04:57Havok's energy-based attacks didn't prove especially effective at first, but he was
05:01forced to strategize when the Hulk threatened to crush him with a cliff face, channeling
05:05a focused plasma blast into his opponent's forehead and sending him out for the count.
05:09It was quite the David vs. Goliath victory for Havok here.
05:134. Sleeping Gas
05:14It turns out that you don't need divine elemental capabilities, cosmic powers, or
05:18even super strength to put the Hulk down, because good old-fashioned sleeping gas will
05:22suffice. In a dramatic twist, it's actually a DC Comics hero who demonstrated this during
05:271981's DC Special Series number 27, in which Batman crossed paths with Bruce Banner.
05:32This rare crossover comic found Banner exploring the medical potential of a gamma gun from
05:36Wayne Tech, before the Joker arrived on the scene, stole the device, unleashed the Hulk,
05:40and manipulated him into attacking the Caped Crusader. Batman, a mere mortal, knew that
05:45he stood no chance in a toe-to-toe battle against the rampaging embodiment of anger,
05:50but the world's greatest detective always has a trick or two up his sleeve, or in this
05:53case, tucked into his utility belt. The Dark Knight hit the Hulk with a hefty dose of sleeping
05:58gas, and his opponent's only response was to hold his breath. One precise kick to the
06:02solar plexus later, and Banner choked down a lungful, sending him to the land of Nod.
06:073. Teamwork
06:08The Hulk has been known to smash his way through some of the Marvel Universe's most powerful
06:12collectives, including multiple versions of the Avengers and the X-Men. But other teams
06:17have taken him down by functioning like a well-oiled machine. A classic example is the
06:21Fantastic Four in issue number 166 of their eponymous series, which dates back to 1979.
06:27The Human Torch temporarily blinded Hulk with fire, Mr. Fantastic then bound his limbs,
06:32and the Invisible Woman generated a force field around his head to deprive him of air.
06:36It was Banner's frequent combatant, The Thing, who delivered the knockout blow, though.
06:40But in all fairness to Ben Grimm, he felt super bad about it afterwards.
06:432. Hitting him really, really, really hard
06:47Contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to defeat the Hulk through brute
06:51strength alone. You just have to hit him really, really hard. There aren't too many characters
06:55in the Marvel Universe capable of mustering this kind of force, but they do exist, and
07:00there are also a few in the world of DC Comics as well. In the 1996 crossover event DC vs
07:05Marvel, Superman proved a match for the Hulk throughout their slugfest, and took him out
07:09by landing an almighty punch after weakening him with a dose of heat vision. Back to the
07:14Marvel world, though, and The Thing has always been enough of a heavy hitter to topple the
07:17Tower of Green Chaos, although their scraps can go either way.
07:21Moreover, X-Men villain the Juggernaut has also served Banner with a beatdown or two
07:25in the past, notably in 1993's Incredible Hulk number 402, when he choked the Hulk into
07:30unconsciousness during a jungle showdown.
07:331. Taking out Banner before he's able to change
07:36Obviously the Hulk is most vulnerable in brute Banner form, but an attack on the mild-mannered
07:41scientist usually sends him spiralling into the Green Goliath mode. Hulk has been known
07:45to parry or shrug off anything that's thrown at his alter ego, but Marvel characters with
07:49lightning-fast reflexes can beat this defence mechanism. Hawkeye proved enough of a sharp
07:53shooter to hit Banner with an arrow to the head before he could transform in Civil War
07:572, but before you go gunning for Clint Barton, it's important to note that he was acting
08:02on Bruce's instructions. Long story short, Ulysses experienced a prophetic vision indicating
08:07the Hulk was destined to kill the rest of the Avengers. Upon learning this, Banner ordered
08:11Barton to neutralise him if there was ever a hint of him turning again. A flash of green
08:15appeared in Bruce's eyes, and Hawke begrudgingly hit him with an arrow. He spent the rest of
08:19the storyline on trial for murder, but was later acquitted.
08:21But you know what, he probably would have gotten off with this charge sooner if his
08:24lawyer had just played the nobody-actually-stays-dead-in-comics card. Because you know what, that's the
08:29bloody truth.
08:30And there we go my friends, those were 10 different ways you can actually defeat the
08:32Hulk. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down
08:35in the comments section below. As always I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter
08:39at RetroJ with a zero, or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice where I do all of my
08:43streaming outside of work, as well as my Warhammer Battle Reports, and it'd be great to see
08:46you over there. As always I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that,
08:50and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.