The Marvel multiverse is a vast place, full of unique variants on plenty of classic characters. And while for the most part, this means different incarnations of the same heroes, some of these alternate realities can alter the identities of classic figures — such as the numerous people who’ve been transformed into the Hulk in series like What If…?.
Across the Marvel multiverse, multiple variants of the Hulk have been introduced who weren’t also Bruce Banner — and each of them ended up on a different (but uniformly destructive) paths. Here’s what happens to the Hulk if he isn’t Bruce Banner.
PETER PARKER
In the world of Bullet Points by J. Michael Straczynski and Tommy Lee Edwards, a German spy was able to assassinate Doctor Erskine and the nearby Ben Parker before the former could put Steve Rogers through Project Rebirth. While Rogers still became a hero as the Iron Man of this reality, the death of Ben Parker meant that his nephew Peter grew up without his guidance.
Becoming a more aggressive and confrontational young man, Peter was eventually exposed to gamma radiation and became the Hulk. He was hunted by the government and accidentally responsible for the eventual death of Rogers. Parker went into hiding for a time, only revealing himself when Galactus came to Earth. Throwing himself into battle, this variant of the Hulk was ultimately killed by Galactus — but his sacrifice was the key to inspiring Silver Surfer to turn on his master.
BEN GRIMM
On Earth-523003 (as featured in the story “What If Doctor Doom Had Become the Thing?” by Karl Kesel and Paul Smith), a college-aged Victor Von Doom befriended Reed Richards after he accepted Reed’s advice on his invention. In this reality, Ben Grimm was more or less left behind by Reed, who increasingly became close with Doom. Grimm joined the US Army, while Doom flew Reed’s ship through the fateful storm of cosmic radiation that would transform the passengers.
This means it was Doom who was transformed into the Thing instead of Ben Grimm, setting him up to go on a rampage. However, in this reality, their battle took them through the sight of gamma-bomb test run by the US Army. Recognizing his old friend, Grimm rushed out into the blast zone and was exposed to the Gamma Radiation — becoming the Hulk of this world. Fighting off Doom, Grimm and the rest of the group decided to unite as their world’s Fantastic Four.
THUNDERBOLT ROSS
In most realities, Thunderbolt Ross is the chief early antagonist for the Hulk, hunting him across the nation. But on Earth-523000 (as featured in the story “What If… General Ross Had Become The Hulk” by Peter David and Pat Olliffe), it was Ross who saved Rick Jones from the Gamma Bomb instead of Bruce Banner. Accidently crushing Rick Jones in his new state, the confused Ross quickly terrifies people and increasingly becomes seen as nothing more than a menace when his revenge on Igor (the spy who activated the gamma bomb and set up the birth the Hulk) results in the accidental deaths of numerous civilians.
Fighting the military he once served, this Hulk throws a tank through the air and into his own home — accidentally murdering Betty in the process. This reverts the bereaved Ross back to his human form and gives Bruce Banner the chance to quietly and mournfully shoot him in the back of the head.
RICK JONES
On Earth-7812 — featured in What If…? #12 by Don Glut and Sal Buscema — Bruce Banner went to save Rick Jones from being exposed to gamma radiation as he did on Earth-616. But Rick is able to push Bruce to safety instead, becoming the Hulk instead. Banner dedicates himself to curing Rick of this affliction. This Rick Jones version Hulk ends up having a fairly similar life to his Earth-616 counterpart — working briefly with Captain America and the Avengers, but leaving both behind due to fear over his monstrous condition.
However, after Rick forms a connection with the original Captain Marvel and his Nega-Bands, Bruce is able to find a way to split Rick from his Hulk form. As Rick watches on, Hulk then switches places with Captain Marvel — allowing the Kree hero to fully escape the Negative Zone years early, and allowing the Jade Giant of this reality to become a dedicated protector and hero of the Negative Zone after defeating Annihulus.
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