5 Powers Even Marvel Forgot The Hulk Had

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The Hulk is easily one of the strongest heroes in comic book history. While his basic story – a smart scientist transforming into a super-strong, green monster – seems simple, Marvel Comics has significantly developed his backstory and abilities over time. He’s become known for incredible powers like rapid healing, absorbing energy, quickly adapting to threats, and even a form of immortality. However, as writers have added many new powers to his repertoire, some of these abilities have been overlooked or forgotten after their first appearance.

The Hulk is far more powerful than most people realize, possessing many hidden abilities. In fact, some of these powers are so rare and appear so infrequently in stories that even Marvel’s own writers may not know about them.

5) Homing Ability

The Hulk has a peculiar and often unexplained ability to find specific places and people with incredible accuracy. First demonstrated in The Incredible Hulk #314, he instinctively located the New Mexico site where Bruce Banner was exposed to the gamma bomb that created him. He’s also effortlessly tracked down people like Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Vision, Abomination, and Onslaught. This power resurfaced briefly in The Immortal Hulk, but hasn’t been used or referenced since. Because it’s so rarely depicted, Marvel hasn’t ever explained how this tracking ability actually works.

4) Underwater Breathing

Marvel has recently portrayed the Hulk as a creature that quickly adapts to any situation. However, they seem to have overlooked a power he already had back in the 1970s. In The Incredible Hulk #138, it was established that the Hulk could survive deep underwater thanks to a gland that provides him with oxygen. This ability was also shown in The Incredible Hulk #145. Because most of his battles happen on land, this underwater breathing power is rarely used and many fans and even writers aren’t aware of it.

3) Heat Vision

Cyclops isn’t alone in the Marvel universe when it comes to shooting beams of energy from his eyes. The Hulk, constantly radiating gamma energy, has occasionally unleashed it in massive explosions. For a short period, he could also focus this energy into powerful optic lasers. This ability first appeared during Donny Cates’ Hulk comic series, initially manifesting when the Hulk’s darker side, called the Titan, took over. Surprisingly, even after the Titan was defeated, the Hulk kept his heat vision, using it in battles against heroes like Iron Man and Thor. Unfortunately, after Cates finished writing the series, other Marvel writers stopped acknowledging this powerful ability.

2) Fourth-Wall Breaking

As a huge comic and movie fan, I’ve always loved She-Hulk’s tendency to break the fourth wall – you know, acknowledging she’s in a comic book! But did you know her cousin, the Hulk, actually did break it once? It happened in Gwenpool Strikes Back #4. Gwenpool was trying to escape an angry Hulk by jumping between comic panels, thinking she was safe. But the Hulk just reached right out of his panel, grabbed her leg, and slammed her down! It’s the only time in official Marvel continuity where the Hulk directly shattered the fourth wall, and it’s a shame because it feels like the writers have completely ignored it since. It was a really cool moment!

1) Flight

As a longtime Hulk fan, I always remember that, surprisingly, he can actually fly! It first happened way back in The Incredible Hulk #3 where he took to the skies to escape the army. Now, the next issue tried to walk that back, claiming he was just making super-long jumps, but it wasn’t the last time! There’s a great moment in Tales to Astonish #63 where he’s battling one of the Leader’s robots on a train and gets thrown upwards towards a bridge. He literally flexed his muscles and lifted himself over it – defying gravity! It’s a cool power, but it’s funny, outside of Stan Lee himself, most other Marvel writers seem to have forgotten about it and stuck with the idea of the Hulk being just an incredibly powerful jumper.

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2026-05-06 23:14