Marvel’s WORLD WAR HULK Storyline, Explained (and Why The MCU Should Adapt It)

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Planet Hulk and World War Hulk

There is no doubt that Marvel’s most powerful immortal is the Hulk. His connection to the One Below All grants him a version of immortal life, and he can adapt to nearly any situation. Thanks to Bruce Banner’s dissociative identity disorder, there are multiple identities of Hulks that live within the scientist’s mind, some more ruthless than others. Despite these facts, he is consistently underestimated by his supposed allies.

Prior to the world-shattering event that introduced the Hulk’s strongest alter, the seeds of Earth’s destruction were sewn during the Planet Hulk series. After a gamma bomb induced a mindless rampage from the Hulk, the Illuminati sent Bruce Banner off-world.

While he was supposed to land on an isolated yet luscious planet, the Hulk rampaged within the craft, resulting in a crash landing on Planet Sakaar, a combative planet ruled by a Roman-esque empire. Hulk thrived in this environment; he was a savior to the people, he made friends, and he was married and with child. However, peace is not forever.

The Strongest Hulk Was Born From Love, Betrayal, and Tragedy

Hulk: Planet Hulk – Written by Greg Pak; Art by Carlo Pagulayan, Aaron Lopresti, Gary Frank, & Takeshi Miyazawa

Sometime into his rule of Sakaar, Hulk brought his Sakaaran wife, Caiera, to the ship that had originally brought him to the alien planet. Upon rewatching the final goodbye message left by Mr. Fantastic, an accidental core meltdown of the ship’s engine caused a devastating explosion, killing thousands of civilians and Hulk’s wife. Hulk, now commonly known as the Green Scar in legend, flew into a violent rampage of grief before his pack of allies, the Warbound, harnessed his rage to direct it toward Earth. From there, Hulk and the Warbound traveled the stars to reap their vengeance.

By the time Hulk, and his allies Arch-E-5912, Hiroim, Miek, Korg, Elloe, and No-Name, set off toward Earth, a new Hulk identity was born in the shadow of the King of Sakaar – the World Breaker. To this day, the World Breaker is still regarded as Bruce Banner’s strongest and most ruthless alter. Hulk’s goal was simple; kill the Illuminati. In doing what they believed would spare both the Earth and the Hulk from a life of pain and suffering caused by the other, the Illuminati had unintentionally forged the Earth’s mightiest weapon, and it was directed at them.

Without a Doubt, Hulk Has the Power to Singlehandedly Break the World

Hulk: World War Hulk – Written by Greg Pak; Art by John Romita Jr.

One by one, Hulk systematically laid waste to the Illuminati and their self-aggrandizing ego. Black Bolt was the first to fall as Hulk easily endured the Inhuman’s sonic voice. With Black Bolt’s writhing body in hand, Hulk sent a definitive message to the people of Earth. He showed them his life on Sakaar, the friends he had made, the peace he had brought, and the family he had built, and then he showed the world how he had lost everything at the hands of the Earth’s most brilliant minds. Hulk vowed to destroy his enemies and the Earth alongside them.

In his rage, no one could stop him. She-Hulk, Doc Samson, and Rick Jones, all former friends, fell in his onslaught.

As New York City began evacuations, Hulk just as easily defeated Hulkbuster Iron Man, destroying the Avengers Tower in the process. In his rage, no one could stop him. Next was Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four, then any hero that dared to stand in his way. She-Hulk, Doc Samson, and Rick Jones, all former friends, fell in his onslaught. Even an endless amount of adamantium bullets and the U.S. military’s best weaponry bounced off of the Green Goliath as if his skin were impenetrable. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange was attempting to appeal to Bruce Banner’s humanity.

Only One Comic Character Was Able to Put the Hulk Down

Patience, Understanding, and a Strong Fist Are All That’s Needed

Traditionally, Bruce and his Hulks are often misaligned; they see each other as enemies. However, when Strange finally cracked through Hulk’s mind to reach Bruce, he was faced with a horror that had not been expected. Bruce Banner agreed with the Hulk. In a desperate ploy to subdue the Sakaaran King, Strange summoned forth the powers of an extradimensional demon. Overcome by the demon’s will, Strange inadvertently caused a building to collapse, killing dozens of civilians except those that the Hulk instinctually saved.

Burdened by the guilt of his actions, Doctor Strange surrendered himself to endure a violent beating from the Hulk. There was nothing Earth’s heroes could do to stop the monster they created. Hulk singlehandedly was winning, even forging his own gladiator pit that he forced his enemies to compete in as he once had to on Sakaar. However, the battle finally changed tides when Bruce Banner and the Hulk’s closest mutual friend appeared to put the duo down – Sentry.

What Could Have Been Redemption, Turned Into Another Massacre

The Hulk is an Endless Wellspring of Rage

Like Bruce Banner and the Hulk, Robert Reynolds, aka Sentry, is a supergenius imbued with almighty and unstoppable powers. Also, like Bruce and his alters, Robert struggles with mental illness; he has paranoid schizophrenia and struggles to maintain his sense of self and his powers. However, in great times of need, Robert will be there to save the day and his friends. The old friends’ battle was one of epic proportions resulting in supermassive explosions of raw power from both sides. Ultimately, Sentry was able to appeal to both Bruce and Hulk and the two finally surrendered.

Appalled by Bruce’s willingness to let go of his hate, Miek of the Warbound revealed that it was him that had caused the explosion so as to inspire the Hulk’s continuance as a warlord rather than a peaceful ruler. The Hulk once again emerged to slaughter his old allies and vowed to break the world. Fortunately, Tony Stark summoned one last weapon to stop Hulk, which successfully reverted him back to Bruce before the superpowered system of Hulks fell unconscious. And with that, World War Hulk ended.

The MCU Has Already Tried to Adapt Planet Hulk

After Infinity War, the Hulk No Longer Exists

The combined magnificence of both Planet Hulk and World War Hulk has been regarded as the Hulk’s greatest comic storyline next to Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s Immortal Hulk series. Fans love a spectacle and both series fully encompassed both the gentler side of the Hulk as well as the raw power that he is capable of. It also showed a rare moment where Hulk and Bruce Banner had aligned goals, both reeling from the loss of the wife who loved them both wholly. This is why it wasn’t much of a shock when the MCU finally embraced the story.

Because Marvel Studios still doesn’t have the distribution rights to a solo Hulk movie, he has had to be shoved into other characters’ movies as a temporary side plot. Thor: Ragnarok was Marvel’s attempt at giving the Hulk some justice. While the movie is generally regarded positively, it’s obvious that, due to its nature, the implemented Planet Hulk storyline had been grossly stripped of its most important elements and reduced to a soft series of references. After Bruce and Hulk mended their differences following Infinity War, the MCU’s Hulk has admittedly become too soft to give justice to this event.

Is There Hope For a Future Adaptation of World War Hulk?

While Planet Hulk May Be Lost, There is Still a Chance for the World Breaker to Return.

Since then, the MCU has continued to embrace Bruce Banner while completely ignoring the Hulk as his own entity. However, in the finale of the She-Hulk miniseries, the MCU suddenly introduced Hulk and Caiera’s son, Skaar. This decision has caused some serious backlash from fans, considering that the MCU never fully expanded on Hulk’s time on Sakaar and had never mentioned Caiera. In the comics, Skaar was originally introduced as a jaded continuation of his father’s immeasurable rage. In the MCU, nothing has yet to be said about the spontaneous revelation of Skaar’s existence.

The MCU may never produce any solo film that relies on Bruce Banner, but that doesn’t mean it can’t adapt a story like
World War Hulk.

While Marvel Studios clearly flubbed the Planet Hulk story and seemingly skipped World War Hulk, there is still hope for a future solo Hulk movie filled with the violent catastrophe gamma mutates are known for. Universal may own the rights to the Hulk, but they don’t own the rights to Skaar. For the foreseeable future, the MCU may never produce any solo film that relies on Bruce Banner, but that doesn’t mean it can’t adapt a story like World War Hulk to fit within the narrative of a gamma spawn like Skaar. In fact, it may be their only chance.

An MCU Adaptation May Only Ever Be a Pipedream

Although, Hulk Isn’t the Only Gamma Mutate Marvel Studios Owns

With the introduction of She-Hulk, and soon the Red Hulk and a fully realized Leader, into the MCU, Marvel Studios has begun to slowly find workarounds to its licensing issues. Both Thunderbolt Ross and the Leader are consistent menaces to the growing gamma-powered family. While the MCU lacks enough of the Illuminati to fully adapt it, it does have enemies of the Hulk; villains who will always see the Hulk as a villain. One potential workaround to this entire licensing problem would be to kill the Hulk. Yes, it would be a bold move, but the idea has potential.

Hypothetically, Red Hulk and the Leader inevitably team up together, both fueled by their hate for the Hulk. They successfully kill the now-pacified Green Goober, sparking a fury of rage from the MCU’s other Hulks. Skaar, still a product of Sakaar’s ruthless society and carrying the combined powers of the Hulk and Caiera, would launch himself into an unbridled fury. Not held back by any allegiance to Earth’s heroes or citizens, Skaar would be the perfect substitute to pull off an adaptation of the World War Hulk story.

Skaar is the Key to Saving the Hulk

Do You Think the MCU Would Take the Chance?

Even the name World War Hulk could potentially have a fun new spin. In the comics, it meant a war between Hulk and Earth, but in this context, it could refer to a war between the Hulks. Before, the only souls capable of stopping a rampaging Hulk were Black Widow and the Scarlet Witch, but, as of now, they are both dead. So, the only people left to stop a Hulk would be other Hulks. She-Hulk would reluctantly partner with Abomination, Red Hulk, and the Leader to stop the mad gladiator Skaar, resulting in an Earth-shattering apocalyptic battle.

This hypothetical movie could also serve to introduce many of the Hulk’s closest comic book allies; Rick Jones, Doc Samson, Red Harpy, and Amadeus Cho would all be exceptional additions to the MCU’s growing gamma heroes. While it feels like a pipe dream and would require killing off Hulk himself, the MCU has almost left itself with no other choice. It sucks to say, but the MCU has doomed itself narratively from ever making Hulk a threat again. Hopefully, by the chance that Kevin Feige ever reads this article, the world may finally see an adaptation of World War Hulk.