WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #46 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts and VC’s Cory Petit on sale now.
Since the creation of the Hulk, Betty Ross has been an integral part of Bruce Banner‘s journey. As the love of Bruce’s life, Betty has naturally been swept up by the chaos and destruction in his life.
However, Betty has been most affected by Bruce when she’s transformed into two different gamma monsters, the Harpy or Red Harpy and the Red She-Hulk.
Harpy
Betty made her first major transformation during 1973’s Incredible Hulk #168, by Steve Englehart and Herb Trimpe. In an attempt to destroy the Hulk, MODOK captured Betty and placed her inside of a gamma-ray transformer. As a result, Betty mutated into the Harpy, boasting green skin, wings, talons and “Hell Bolts” which emerged from her hands. The Harpy was ordered to destroy the Hulk, engaging him in battle.
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As Harpy, Betty also fought the US military, while her father, General Thunderbolt Ross, tried to reach his daughter. Eventually, when the Hulk and Harpy met the strange being known as the Bi-Beast, Betty was cured of her mutation. Of course, Betty would occasionally transform into the Harpy again. For example, a flashback during 2019’s Incredible Hulk: Last Call, by Peter David and Dale Keown, saw the Harpy return to fight Professor Hulk.
Currently, Betty is another version of the Harpy, known as the Red Harpy. When Betty was killed in 2019’s Immortal Hulk #14, by Al Ewing and Kyle Hotz, she re-emerged from the Below-Place as the Red Harpy. The primary differences between Red Harpy and her original form are that Red Harpy is a lot less verbal than her previous iteration, and her skin is red instead of green. As Red Harpy, Betty has helped the Hulk fight General Fortean, Roxxon and will soon aid him in battle against the Avengers.
Red She-Hulk
Before Betty became the Red Harpy, however, she was transformed into the Red She-Hulk. This new Hulk made a cameo in 2009’s Hulk #15, by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill, before making her first full appearance in the next issue. When Betty’s father, General Ross, became the Red Hulk, he came into conflict with X-Force. During the ensuing battle, Red She-Hulk emerged, seemingly to help the Red Hulk. Of course, as soon as the Red She-Hulk seemed to be on Ross’ side, she betrayed him, raising further questions around her identity. It wasn’t until the end of 2010’s Incredible Hulk #609, by Greg Pak and Paul Pelletier, that the Red She-Hulk was revealed as Betty Ross.
The Intelligencia, including the Leader and MODOK, had transformed Betty into the Red She-Hulk. In this form, Betty was much angrier, expressing disdain for Bruce Banner and the Hulk. Still, by 2010’s Incredible Hulks #612, by Greg Pak and Tom Raney, Bruce and Betty had formed an uneasy alliance, with Betty joining the “Incredible Hulks.” Calling this alliance uneasy would be an understatement, considering how often Hulk and Red She-Hulk fought. Even so, Betty helped Marvel’s other heroes during “Chaos War” and “Fear Itself,” saving the Earth on more than one occasion.
It wasn’t until 2014’s Hulk #8, by Gerry Duggan and Mark Bagley, that Betty was de-powered by Doc Green, an intelligent version of the Hulk who was hunting down gamma mutates. Although Betty is no longer the Red She-Hulk, her Red Harpy form retains Betty’s red skin.
Overall, both the Harpy and Red She-Hulk shared the same sense of anger, lashing out at those who had wronged Betty Ross. Moreover, both creatures had feelings of serious resentment toward Bruce Banner for their gamma mutation and the chaos that had consumed Betty’s life. It’s also interesting that MODOK had at least a small role in the creation of both the Harpy and the Red She-Hulk.
Now, as the Red Harpy, it seems that Betty is living out her past lives as both Harpy and Red She-Hulk. While taking on the Harpy’s form, Betty is also working alongside the Hulk, just as the Red She-Hulk did. Additionally, Betty’s alliance with Bruce is fairly tenuous, just as it was before. Ultimately, as both Red She-Hulk and Harpy, Betty Ross has received a chance to walk in Bruce Banner’s shoes.
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