00:00So as we all know, the Hulk is a raw embodiment of anger, power, and might,
00:05a combination that makes him one of the most formidable characters in the Marvel Universe.
00:09But he's not unbeatable, as many have proved throughout his time in the comics and indeed in
00:15films. So let's take a look at some of them today. As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:19and these are 10 different ways that you can actually defeat the Hulk.
00:2310. The Power Cosmic
00:25There are precious few comic book characters the Hulk has failed to knock out,
00:29but one that he tends to struggle with is The Silver Surfer. The pair memorably crossed paths
00:34in Tales to Astonish 92 and 93, a story which saw the Green Goliath attempt to hitch a ride into
00:39outer space on The Silver Surfer's board to flee from his earthly pursuers, led, as usual, by General
00:45Ross. The Surfer wasn't overly keen on the idea of a potential Hulk rampage in the cosmos and
00:50declined to be his Silver Chauffeur, a disagreement that soon turned violent when Banner's alter ego
00:55reacted the only way it knew how, which is angrily. Even without calling upon his godly
01:00abilities, The Surfer was capable of putting the Hulk on his backside, which he did without breaking
01:05a sweat by hurling his bloody board at him. When the not-so-jolly Green Giant refused to stay down,
01:10Rad used the Power Cosmic to send his opponent into unconsciousness, becoming one of the few heroes to
01:15make taking down the Hulk look relatively easy.
01:189. Stark Industries Tech There have been numerous attempts to cure Bruce
01:22Banner of his anger issues in the past, but most of them have succeeded only in triggering
01:27another Hulk rampage. This was indeed the case of Iron Man No. 132, when Tony Stark exposed his
01:33science bro to chemicals, forcing the billionaire playboy to don his famous armour as a plan B.
01:38This was 1980, long before the Hulkbuster suit was a thing, but Iron Man's eventual victory proved that
01:44Stark Industries Tech definitely belongs on the list of Hulk Banes. After failing to stop the Hulk by
01:50drowning him and garrotting him with a length of chain, Stark took down the Green Behemoth by
01:54channeling all of his armour's remaining power into one earth-shattering punch. The result was a total
02:00knockout for both the Hulk and the Iron Man suit that Stark was wearing at the time. It's a good
02:04job
02:04that he had a dozen more back home, right?
02:068. Divine Lightning Considering Bruce Banner and Thor are supposed to be buddies,
02:11they've definitely come to blows on a confounding number of occasions. And there's little to
02:15separate them when their head-to-head record is scrutinised. Sometimes the Hulk comes off worse,
02:20other times 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 effective
02:29at stopping the Hulk in his tracks. In 2001's The Incredible Hulk Annual, a sneak elemental attack to
02:35the back of the head was enough to put Banner's monstrous ego out cold. Of course, he later wakes up
02:40and
02:40beats Thor to a pulp, but the point still stands.
02:437. Adamantium
02:44Wolverine vs. The Hulk is one of the greatest showdowns in Marvel Comics history, which is no
02:50doubt why writers continue to pit them against one another. The Green Behemoth may have raw strength
02:54and power on his side, but Wolverine's adamantium claws really do level the playing field. The
02:59unbreakable metal is robust enough to cut through the hide of some of the toughest comic book cookies,
03:04including Luke Cage, The Thing, and indeed, The Hulk.
03:07Wolverine has been known to hack, slash, gouge, and stab his longtime rival something rotten in
03:12the past, but has rarely beaten him outside of the what-if scenarios. That said, there are times
03:17where he definitely could have killed him. During their battle in The Incredible Hulk number 181,
03:21Banner was fortunate the pair eventually joined forces to take down the mutual foe of the Wendigo,
03:26because Logan basically had him on the ropes.
03:28Wolverine isn't the only adamantium-enhanced character in the Marvel Universe. Another is Speed Freak,
03:33and he's also had some success in mutilating the Hulk, only for Banner's rapid healing abilities
03:38to save his hide.
03:396. Dr. Doom's Neuro Ray
03:41Bruce 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 in
03:51Fantastic Four number 320, he proved no match for the infinite resourcefulness of Dr. Victor Von Doom.
03:57The pair did battle against a desert backdrop, and while Doom's armor and weaponry allowed him to hold his
04:02own for a while, the metal-faced Latverian knew that he'd have to get creative in order to win
04:06this particular fight. The Doctor used a Neuro Ray to incapacitate his foe, taking control of his
04:11movement until he was completely subdued, but this was only half the battle. With the Hulk at his
04:16mercy, Doom played on his ego, another Achilles' heel for Banner, goading him into picking a fight
04:21with the Thing by accusing him of fearing the Fantastic Four's rocky behemoth and hiding away from him.
04:275. Plasma Blasts
04:28One of the Hulk's least incredible moments came way back way in 1972, when he was taken down by a
04:35B-list X-Man in Incredible Hulk number 150. An unfortunate case of mistaken identity sparked
04:40a battle with Havok. Hulk erroneously believed the mutant Polaris was his former squeeze-dreller,
04:45the green-skinned Princess of Kai, and snatched her King Kong style. Things got hairy when the arrival
04:50of a military jeep sent the Jade behemoth into a state of rage, but Alex Summers arrived on the scene
04:56to rescue his ex-teammate. Havok's energy-based attacks didn't prove especially effective at
05:01first, but he was forced to strategize when the Hulk threatened to crush him with a cliff face,
05:05channeling a focused plasma blast into his opponent's forehead and sending him out for
05:09the count. It 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 even super strength
05:19to put the Hulk down, because good old-fashioned sleeping gas will suffice. In a dramatic twist,
05:23it's actually a DC Comics hero who demonstrated this during 1981's DC Special Series No. 27,
05:29in which Batman crossed paths with Bruce Banner. This rare crossover comic found Banner exploring
05:34the medical potential of a gamma gun from Wayne Tech, before the Joker arrived on the scene,
05:39stole the device, unleashed the Hulk, and manipulated him into attacking the Caped Crusader.
05:43Batman, a mere mortal, knew that he stood no chance in a toe-to-toe battle against the rampaging
05:48embodiment of anger, but the world's greatest detective always has a trick or two up his sleeve,
05:53or in this case, tucked into his utility belt. The Dark Knight hit the Hulk with a hefty dose of
05:57sleeping gas, 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 have taken
06:17him down by functioning like a well-oiled machine. A classic example is the Fantastic Four,
06:22in issue number 166 of their eponymous series, which dates back to 1979. The Human Torch temporarily
06:28blinded Hulk with fire, Mr. Fantastic then bound his limbs, and the Invisible Woman generated a force
06:33field around his head to deprive him of air. It was Banner's frequent combatant The Thing who
06:38delivered the knockout blow, though, but in all fairness to Ben Grimm, he felt super bad about it
06:42afterwards.
06:432. HITTING HIM REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD
06:47Contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to defeat the Hulk through brute strength alone,
06:52you just have to hit him really, really hard. There aren't too many characters in the Marvel
06:56Universe capable of mustering this kind of force, but they do exist, and there are also a few in the
07:01world of DC Comics as well. In the 1996 crossover event DC vs. Marvel, Superman proved a match for the
07:07Hulk throughout their slugfest, and took him out by landing an almighty punch after weakening him
07:12with a dose of heat vision. Back to the Marvel world, though, and The Thing has always been enough
07:16of a heavy hitter to topple the Tower 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 in the past,
07:26notably in 1993's Incredible Hulk number 402 when he choked the Hulk into unconsciousness during a
07:31jungle showdown.
07:331. TAKING OUT BANNER BEFORE HE'S ABLE TO CHANGE
07:36Obviously, the Hulk is most vulnerable in Bruce Banner form, but an attack on the mild-mannered
07:41scientist usually sends him spiralling into the Green Goliath mode. Hulk has been known to parry
07:45or shrug off anything that's thrown at his alter ego, but Marvel characters with lightning-fast
07:49reflexes can beat this defense mechanism. Hawkeye proved enough of a sharp shooter to hit Banner
07:54with an arrow to the head before he could transform in Civil War II, but before you go gunning for
07:59Clint Barton, it's important to note that he was acting on Bruce's instructions. Long story short,
08:04Ulysses experienced a prophetic vision indicating the Hulk was destined to kill the rest of the Avengers.
08:09Upon learning this, Banner ordered Barton to neutralize him if there was ever a hint
08:13of him turning again. A flash of green appeared in Bruce's eyes, and Hawke begrudgingly hit him
08:17with an arrow. He spent the rest of the storyline on trial for murder, but was later acquitted.
08:22But you know what? He probably would have gotten off with this charge sooner if his lawyer had just
08:25played the nobody-actually-stays-dead-in-comics card. Because you know what? That's the bloody truth.
08:29And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 different ways you can actually defeat the Hulk. I hope that
08:33you
08:33enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comments section below.
08:36As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on Twitter,
08:39at RetroJay with a zero, or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice, where I do all of my
08:43streaming
08:43outside of work, as well as my Warhammer Battle Reports, and it'd be great to see you over there.
08:47As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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