7 Times Marvel Killed The Hulk

Despite often being called the strongest one out there, the Hulk has actually died several times in Marvel Comics. First appearing in 1962, he quickly became Marvel’s most famous monster, inspired by classic characters like the Wolf Man and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While those older monsters had weaknesses, the Hulk is incredibly powerful and could defeat almost anyone in the Marvel universe. He can heal quickly and even access a mysterious realm called the Green Door, making it nearly impossible to keep him gone for good.

Although the Hulk famously keeps coming back to life, he’s actually been killed several times in Marvel comics. Here’s a look at seven instances where the Hulk died, what caused his death, and how he was resurrected.

7) What If…? Planet Hulk

As a huge Marvel fan, I always find it fascinating to see the different ways they explore storylines in alternate universes. One example that really stuck with me is from the ‘What If…?’ series, specifically ‘Planet Hulk.’ In this version, set on Earth-7121, the explosion on Sakaar doesn’t take out Caiera – it actually kills the Hulk! It’s a total twist, and then she’s the one who comes to Earth seeking vengeance, leading to a completely different take on ‘World War Hulk.’ It’s a really compelling story!

Miek also dies, meaning we never find out if he was responsible for the explosion. This allows Caiera to pursue extreme revenge, killing Reed Richards and Iron Man, and forcing Black Bolt to kill Doctor Strange and Sentry. She continues her attacks, eliminating more heroes, before finally stopping and demanding the remaining heroes build a statue in memory of her husband. Hulk does not reappear in this storyline.

6) Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe / Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe

As a huge comic book fan, I recently dove into “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe,” and it’s a really dark take on things. The story is set on this alternate Earth – Earth-95126 – where the Avengers and X-Men are battling a Kree/Skrull invasion in Central Park. Tragedy strikes when Frank Castle – the Punisher – loses his family right in the middle of the chaos. Driven to the edge, he snaps and kills Cyclops, Hawkeye, and Shadowcat before being apprehended and thrown in prison. But, naturally, he escapes and starts gathering others who’ve also suffered losses due to superhero conflicts. It’s a brutal story, exploring the fallout of constant battles and the pain they leave behind.

This decision drives the Punisher to attempt to eliminate all superheroes, believing it will end the constant fighting. Tracking the Hulk proved difficult, so Frank attached a device to him. He waited for the Hulk to revert to Bruce Banner and then shot him, despite previous Marvel stories establishing that the Hulk transforms before a fatal shot could reach Banner. This inconsistency seems to exist only because the Punisher’s goal was to kill everyone, regardless of established abilities.

5) Onslaught

In a famous Marvel Comics storyline, the publisher led fans to believe that the heroes of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the Hulk had been killed by a villain named Onslaught. Onslaught came into being when Professor X attempted to stop Magneto by suppressing his mind. Instead of stopping Magneto, however, the combined negative emotions of Magneto’s rage and Professor X’s disappointment created this powerful new being, who then sought to wipe out all of humankind.

Onslaught was an unbeatable foe. He defeated the X-Men and killed major heroes like Hulk, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The only hero who even stood a chance was Hulk, because Jean Grey had managed to suppress Bruce Banner’s consciousness beforehand. This created a strange situation: when Franklin Richards saved these heroes by sending them to a new, blank-slate Earth, Hulk existed in two places at once – one where Banner was suppressed, and one where he wasn’t. This caused the Hulk to become incredibly savage. When the realities merged, both versions of Hulk came back, resulting in a much more unstable and powerful being.

4) Old Man Logan

The story of Old Man Logan takes place in an alternate reality where the Hulk has become a frightening and powerful ruler. In this world, the major Marvel villains joined forces and nearly wiped out Earth’s heroes. A particularly cruel trick involved Mysterio deceiving Wolverine into believing the Xavier Institute was under attack, leading him to kill all of his fellow X-Men. After dividing up the United States amongst themselves, the villains faced a new threat when the Hulk turned against them, killing Abomination and taking control of the West Coast. He renamed it ‘Hulkland’ and forced anyone who lived there to pay him protection money.

The story takes a dark turn when Hulk and his cousin She-Hulk have children, and generations later, those descendants are mutated due to the family’s inbreeding. Tragedy strikes when the Hulk Gang murders Wolverine’s family, driving him to seek revenge. He systematically kills all of Hulk’s children before Hulk consumes the mutant. However, Logan manages to heal and fight his way out from inside Hulk, killing the creature. But even after that, Hulk isn’t truly defeated. His head is placed on a robot, only for Logan to defeat him again, ultimately burying the head in the ground, planting seeds around it so the growing tree would eternally consume his skull.

3) SHIELD Orders Bruce Banner’s Murder

Sometimes, even in the main Marvel universe (Earth-616), the Hulk has been killed. For example, in Hulk Vol. 3 #8, Bruce Banner was employed by SHIELD. But a group called the Ancient Order of the Shield thought he posed a massive threat and instructed one of his colleagues, Melinda Leucenstern, to assassinate him. She shot him in the back of the head, seemingly killing the Hulk once more.

Marvel tricked readers into thinking Hulk had died once more, but it turned out Bruce Banner only sustained serious brain injury. Iron Man stepped in and used the Extremis process to heal Banner, which unexpectedly transformed Hulk into Doc Green. Doc Green then dedicated himself to stripping other Gamma-powered individuals of their abilities.

2) Hawkeye Kills Bruce Banner

The death was genuine and came as a major surprise. It occurred during the Civil War II storyline, where Captain Marvel was preemptively arresting people based on predictions of future crimes made by an Inhuman with precognitive abilities. This Inhuman foresaw the Hulk being involved in a terrible event. When the Avengers investigated, they discovered Bruce Banner was once again experimenting with gamma radiation. Sadly, before they could take him into custody, Banner was murdered.

Okay, so things got intense in the latest installment. Hawkeye actually ended up killing the Hulk, which led to him being arrested for murder! But the trial revealed a crazy backstory: Banner had actually created a special arrowhead designed to kill him, and asked Hawkeye to use it if he ever risked losing control and turning into the Hulk again. Then, just when you thought things were settled, the Hand brought Hulk back… and kept bringing him back! Honestly, all the resurrections sparked what I think is one of the best Hulk storylines we’ve seen yet. It was a wild ride!

1) Immortal Hulk

For fans of scary Hulk stories, The Immortal Hulk is widely considered the best. This storyline introduced the Below-Place, a sort of hell specifically for people mutated by gamma radiation. It also features the Green Door, a mysterious pathway that allows these characters to return to Earth – explaining why they can’t truly be killed.

What really makes this story stand out as horror is the way Hulk repeatedly died throughout the series, often in gruesome and disturbing ways. It quickly became a terrifying tale of body horror, and things only continued to escalate for the Hulk. Essentially, the story gave Marvel the opportunity to kill off this iconic hero again and again, subjecting him to a uniquely awful experience.

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2025-10-30 22:44