The Incredible Hulk is one of Marvel's most recognizable characters. He was one of the founding members of The Avengers and has been an integral part of some of the biggest crossovers in the history of Marvel Comics, such as the time when he invaded the Earth with his gladiatory buddies in World War Hulk and almost succeeded in taking down the entire superhero community on his own.

There is no denying the fact that the Incredible Hulk is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe. He may lack the reality-altering powers of beings like the Beyonder, but his strength and durability has allowed him to survive against almost unstoppable odds.

The Hulk may have undergone more changes than any other Marvel character. We have seen his body change on numerous occasions, as well as the personality that controls him. The Hulk has gone from being a mindless beast to a gangster, to Bruce Banner's super-powered form, and even a dictator.

We are here today to reveal the secrets of the Hulk's amazing physiology. From the true extent of his intellect, to the result of his confrontation with the last son of Krypton.

Here are Twenty Weird Facts Only Super Fans Know About The Hulk’s Body!

20 The Fourth Smartest Man In The World

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The Hulk might be one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe, but that doesn't diminish the fact that Bruce Banner is also incredibly important in his own right, as he is one of the most intelligent people on the planet Earth.

Bruce Banner's intelligence is often overlooked, due to the fact that he is constantly trying to maintain control over his Hulk persona and not give in to his anger. Norman Osborn believes that Bruce Banner is the fourth smartest person on the planet Earth.

This puts him in the same league as people like Tony Stark and Doctor Doom.

Bruce Banner has an amazing mind for science, to the point where he has invented several useful gadgets that have benefited mankind. These achievements are often overshadowed by the fact that Banner has a tendency to transform into a monster that will often destroy all that he has sought out to accomplish.

There have been occassions when Bruce Banner's personality has managed to take control over his shared body, so that he utilize the Hulk's super-powered form without losing his mind. This version of the Hulk is often weaker than the one controlled by the angry Hulk persona, but the trade-off is usually worth it.

19 He Was Almost A Hulk Sandwich

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The early Resident Evil games belonged in the survival horror genre, where part of the challenge was having to battle enemies using a limited amount of ammo and healing items. This meant that the player had to choose their battles carefully and had to preserve their dwindling supplies for when they were needed the most, such as during the difficult boss battles.

All of these points would have been made moot if one of the members of the S.T.A.R.S. team had the powers of the Incredible Hulk. They could just beat up all of the zombies and genetically-altered animals with their super strength, which they could also use in lieu of looking for keys and passwords to bypass the ridiculous security measures within Raccoon City.

The original trailer for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 showed Chris Redfield from the Resident Evil series battling against the Hulk. This would be referenced in the Hulk's ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, as the two of them teamed up in order to deal with all of the creatures from the mansion in the original Resident Evil. The Hulk is seen manhandling Nemesis from Resident Evil 3, who would actually become a playable character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. 

18 The Limitless Strength Of The Hulk

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It's possible to measure the physical strength of each Marvel hero through the use of several metrics, such as how much they can bench press (and for how long) and using evidence of previous battles in order to determine a tier system.

The Hulk is the one character who defies this analysis, as his strength actually changes depending on the situation.

The Beyonder has claimed that the Hulk's strength is adaptative, in that it will always change in response to the situation. This is why he can lift a mountain in Secret Wars but why he can struggle to break a cop car when being hunted by the police, or why he doesn't immediately destroy all of the villains who are stupid enough to engage him in physical combat.

The Hulk's strength is tied to his rage, which means that he becomes stronger the angrier he gets. This is why the more lucid version of the Hulk that is controlled by Bruce Banner is weaker than the original version of the character.

The Beyonder also claimed that there are no limits to the Hulk's physical strength, which means that he just needs a sufficiently powerful target in order to surpass his natural limitations.

17 The Root Of The Hulk's Powers

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There was never any external reason given for why the Hulk was so filled with rage, or why the creature seemed to reflect the intense inner-anger of Bruce Banner.

The reason why the Hulk exists dates back to Bruce Banner's childhood. His parents were Brian and Rebecca Banner, and his father was abusive towards both Bruce and his mother at an early age. The reason for this was due to how jealous Brian was of Rebecca's love for Bruce, and how suspected that his own work in the field of radiation had caused him to birth a mutant son.

Rebecca Banner perished at the hands of her husband, which Bruce witnessed as a boy. Brian Banner was caught and sent to live in a mental hospital, which resulted in Bruce being sent to live with his aunt and cousin for the remainder of his youth.

It is due to Bruce Banner's tremendous rage concerning the events of his youth that the Hulk was born. The gamma radiation simply released a creature that was trapped in the weak body of a regular person. It's only when Bruce is able to come to terms with the terrible things that happened in his childhood that he will finally be able to resist the Hulk for good.

16 Who Can Survive The Voice Of The Inhumans?

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Rogue from the X-Men always used to complain about her powers, as they prevented her from being able to physically touch another person. Rogue has it easy compared to Black Bolt of the Inhumans, as he cannot speak without the risk of destroying the world.

Black Bolt's voice is so loud that it powers are equal to that of a nuclear bomb. It's possible for Black Bolt to communicate with the slightest of whispers, but even this is so loud that most people cannot stand to be near it. It's the duty of Medusa (Black Bolt's wife) to act as his voice to his subjects.

The Hulk is so durable that he is one of the few characters in the Marvel universe to survive a battle with Black Bolt. This happened during the World War Hulk event when the Hulk traveled to the home of the Inhumans in order to seek revenge on Black Bolt for exiling him from Earth.

Black Bolt spoke a word that was barely a whisper in order to strike the Hulk with a wave of sound that would have disintegrated a lesser being. This didn't even faze the Hulk, who came straight back at him and managed to capture the Black Bolt.

15 The Hulk Of A Doomed World

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The Age of Apocalypse was a crossover event that took place between all of The X-Men titles in the '90s. It showed an alternate timeline where Professor Xavier was accidentally slain by Legion and Magneto inherited the dream of peaceful cooperation between mutants and humanity. This led to a world where Apocalypse had taken over North America and Magneto led the X-Men in a doomed rebellion against him.

The Age of Apocalypse mainly focused on the characters from the various X-Men comic books, which meant that we didn't see much of the other Marvel heroes and villains. The fact that the world was so different meant that people like Bruce Banner and Peter Parker never received their superpowers.

The version of Bruce Banner that appeared in the Age of Apocalypse was a high-ranking member of the Human High Council, which operated out of Europe and opposed Apocalypse. Bruce Banner was secretly working for Mikhail Rasputin, who was one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, and Banner used the knowledge he gained in order to transform himself into a creature that resembled the grey version of the Hulk. Banner would later redeem himself by protecting the Human High Council from a missile of his own creation.

14 The Gamma Switch

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Bruce Banner's greatest weakness is that he cannot resist the transformation into the Hulk for very long. All it takes is something to raise his anger only a little bit, which will cause a chain reaction that will lead to the emergence of the Hulk. This is why he was constantly encountering bullies and jerks in The Incredible Hulk TV show, as he needed a regular reason to lose control and transform into his more famous form.

It was possible to activate and deactivate the transformation into the Hulk during the early days of the comics, as a sufficiently powerful blast of gamma radiation could force the Hulk to revert to Bruce Banner. This was one of the few methods that could be used to contain the power of the Hulk, but it didn't remain canon for long, as it no longer works.

The reason this forced method of transformation was written out was due to how easy it became to deal with the Hulk. All it would take is a sufficiently powerful gamma weapon to instantly turn the Hulk back into Bruce Banner and leave him vulnerable to harm. The Hulks allies and enemies would have an easy method for bringing him under control, which would go against the whole purpose of the character.

13 The Knights Of Banner Want To Bring The Hulk Back

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In 1992, Marvel released a series called Marvel 2099, which showed one of the possible future timelines of the Marvel universe. This showed a cyberpunk future, where many of the old heroes were recreated in new forms, such as Daredevil actually being the descendant of the Kingpin.

Bruce Banner did not survive until the year 2099. The new Hulk was a person named John Eisenhart, who was a TV executive tasked with investigating the mysterious "Knights of Banner" who worshiped the Hulk and wanted to see him reborn into the new era.

The Knights of Banner set off a gamma device that transformed John Eisenhart into the new Hulk.

He starred in his own series, before being offed by the 2099 version of S.H.I.E.L.D. Proteus would try and take over the body of the 2099 version of the Hulk in Exiles, but even the durability of the new Hulk was not enough to resist the destructive presence of Proteus' possession.

In Timestorm 2009-2099, there were actually thousands of versions of the Hulk, due to the fact that a gamma bomb was dropped on Washington D.C., this meant that there were an entire species of Hulk running around in the year 2099.

12 Breaking Adamantium

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Adamantium is the fictional metal from the Marvel universe that is said to be totally indestructible. The only metal that even comes close is Vibranium, which is so incredibly rare that it can only be found in two of the most well-guarded locations on the planet (the Savage Land and Wakanda).

Adamantium is so durable that only those with the power to bend reality itself can alter its shape or cause it damage in any way. The Hulk could never hope to break adamantium, as he has been given many chances to do so during his many battles with Wolverine and has never even scratched the metal on his skeleton.

Adamantium isn't quite so durable in the Ultimate X-Men universe, which is set in an alternate reality that is closer to the Marvel movies. The Hulk was able to put Wolverine into pieces during their battle in the Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk series, though Wolverine still survived the encounter due to his healing factor.

11 The Omega-Level Threat

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There is an official designation used by most of the security forces in the Marvel universe that are saved for the direst of threats, all of which require the aid of superheroes to defeat. It is referred to as an Omega-level threat, which is used to define the most dangerous creatures in the universe.

The Omega level is used to refer to some of the most powerful mutants on Earth, such as Charles Xavier and Iceman, who possess the ability to inflict untold havoc upon the population of the world. The Omega-level threat can also be saved for powerful supervillains, such as Elektra or Victor von Doom, as well as intergalactic threats, like the Phoenix Force.

The Hulk is considered to be an Omega-level threat, as he is known for being able to destroy entire cities in a matter of hours. This makes him one of the few humans to appear in the list, which is otherwise dominated by aliens or mutants. It takes a lot of firepower on the part of the heroes in order to be able to weaken the Hulk enough so that he can be caught or chased off, which means that he deserves a place on the list.

10 Benching Billions

Via ScienceFiction.com

We had previously stated that the Hulk's physical strength can match whatever situation he is in. This isn't always true, as there are times when the Hulk's strength isn't up to snuff, no matter how angry he is.

The biggest example of this is the fact that the Hulk cannot lift Thor's hammer. This is due to a magical enchantment that prevents the hammer from being lifted by anyone who is unworthy of the power of Thor. The Hulk will never be able to lift the hammer, no matter how much he tries.

The other big example is adamantium in the main Marvel universe. The Ultimate X-Men version of adamantium may be breakable, but the original adamantium cannot be harmed through physical strength. The Hulk cannot bend or break Wolverine's skeleton, no matter how hard he tries.

The upper limits of the Hulk's strength were displayed during the original Secret Wars event, where he managed to lift a mountain over his head that weighed over one-hundred and fifty-billion tons. This is easily the most impressive display of the Hulk's strength in the main Marvel continuity.  It seems that even this level of strength was not enough to overcome adamantium or Mjolinir.

9 The Long Life Of The Hulk

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The Hulk's regenerative capabilities are so incredible that he is functionally impossible to destroy. This is partly the reason why he was banished from the Earth by the Illuminati, who saw no other long-term solution for dealing with him. The Hulk was shipped off on a rocket ship, with no means of returning home.

The Illuminati were attempting to save themselves and future generations from a lot of hassle, as the Hulk is also functionally immortal and will likely live to see the end of the world.

The Hulk's healing and adaption abilities are so amazing that they will allow him to live for centuries, if not millennia. The rate that the Hulk ages has slowed to a crawl, to the point where he may not be aging at all. We have seen many older versions of the Hulk on alternate future timelines and they all retain the youth and power of the present day Hulk. The majority of these future Hulks have also given in to their base desires and have become evil, rather than simply being a misguided monster.

If given enough time, the Hulk will amass enough power to take over the world and there isn't anyone powerful enough to stop him.

8 Telepathy Cannot Pierce Rage

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Telepathy is one of the most useful superpowers to have, due to the sheer range of effects that you can use it for. A sufficiently powerful telepath can read minds and see events from a distance, they can control their enemies and force them to harm themselves or others, and can even make themselves invisible in the eyes of others.

Telepathy can be devastating when used in a fight, as it can be used to paralyze someone's body. There are some telepaths who can even use their ability to predict the movements of their enemy.

The Hulk is immune to telepaths when he is enraged, as telepaths are unable to influence his mind when he has lost control. This defensive capability only works when the Hulk is enraged, as it is possible to influence the Hulk's mind when he is more lucid. The effect will break when he starts to lose control, which makes it dangerous to use any kind of telepathic manipulation on the Hulk.

There are other characters who possess the same ability, as Wolverine is able to resist telepaths when he is enraged, which is also helped by the fact that his skull is coated in metal.

7 The Hulk Can Always Sense His Birthplace

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The Hulk's physical senses are no more impressive than the average human being, but he does possess several supernatural senses that cannot be explained by science, one of which includes his ability to always find the location of his birth.

The Hulk has a tendency to always return to the site in New Mexico where Bruce Banner was first struck by gamma radiation. This ability functions even if he is on other planets or residing in a different plane of existence. If left to his own devices, then the Hulk will eventually return to New Mexico and seek out the site where he was born.

We have never been given an official reason for this, though it's possible that there is some lingering gamma radiation on the site that attracts the Hulk on a subconscious level.

The Hulk's homing ability can also extend to people, as he has shown the ability to be able to track individuals across huge spaces. The Hulk has mainly used this ability to find Betty Ross or Rick Jones. This ability was once turned against the Hulk by Onslaught, who purposely manipulated the Hulk into finding him. Onslaught would go on to regret this, as the Hulk was a key figure in Onslaught's downfall.

6 The Astral Vision

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The Hulk lacks any kind of superior senses, outside of the fact that the organs that he uses for said senses cannot be damaged by external forces. The Hulk's eyesight is not much better than the average man, but his eyes will never physically deteriorate.

The Hulk does possess one unique trait when it comes to his vision, in that he can see creatures who are inhabiting the astral plane.

It's possible for some characters in the Marvel universe to leave their physical body and enter a spirit state, that allows them to become invisible to the untrained and pass through solid matter, making it an incredibly useful ability for scouting and spying.

Doctor Strange might be the most famous user of astral projection, as he can do so using the power of his magic. Professor Xavier of the X-Men and other powerful telepaths can also do the same thing with their abilities. Telepaths also possesses the ability to alter their form on the astral plane, so that they can create weapons and armor that they can use to battle each other.

The Hulk's astral sense also extends to ghosts and other supernatural creatures. The reason he developed this power is due to how afraid the Hulk is of facing the ghost of Bruce Banner's father.

5 Zombies > The Power Cosmic

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The Hulk may have one of the most powerful regeneration abilities in the Marvel universe, but that doesn't mean he is totally invulnerable to harm. It's possible to injure the Hulk through the use of a sufficiently harmful disease or virus, so long as it is strong enough to overcome his healing factor.

The Marvel Zombies series shows a world that becomes overrun with zombies, due to the bulk of the heroes and villains being infected with a super-powered version of an undead-making disease. The Hulk falls prey to this condition and is transformed into a zombie.

The fact that the Hulk was transformed into a zombie didn't slow him down one bit, as he was able to defeat the Silver Surfer by biting his head off. This is no small feat, considering that the Silver Surfer is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe.

The Hulk and several other zombie heroes were able to defeat Galactus. These zombies devoured the World Eater and gained the power cosmic in the process, turning them into an intergalactic threat.

The zombie version of the Hulk would appear in the sequels to Marvel Zombies, as the zombies would return to earth in order to seek a way to travel to new dimensions, as they had almost devoured all of the life in the universe.

4 New Organs As Needed

Via Den of Geek
Marvel Hulk and Thanos

The Hulk is incredibly durable, but he still shares a human physiology. This means that it should be possible to defeat the Hulk through other means, such as depriving him of oxygen or keeping him isolated until he is weakened by malnutrition.

The Hulk possesses incredible regenerative capabilities, which allows him to recover from almost any wound. It's also possible for him to transform so fast that even Bruce Banner cannot be permanently injured by outside means.

It's possible for the Hulk to survive in harsh environments, due to his Reactive Adaptation ability. This allows him to grow new organs that will allow him to survive, such as adapting to situations where he doesn't require oxygen. This means that the Hulk is immune to suffocation. The Hulk can also grow new organs that allow him to survive underwater and within the vacuum of space.

The version of Wolverine that appears in the Ultimate X-Men comics also possessed the same ability, to the point where his head could survive being removed from his neck. Nick Fury tested this ability out and proved that Wolverine's body was almost impossible to destroy. The Hulk's ability to adapt to dangerous situations is even more powerful than Wolverine's to the point where no one is sure if it's even possible to the Hulk down permanently.

3 The Clap Of Power

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It must be tricky to write a fight scene involving the Hulk, as he cannot actually connect with his hits against most foes, as he is so strong that they would be turned into mush after a single punch. Only the most durable and powerful of foes can tank a hit from the Hulk, which means that most heroes and villains had to be agile enough to constantly dodge the Hulk's blows. The Hulk is meant to have super speed, but he needs to be slowed down in order to give most of his opponents a chance.

There is one way in which the Hulk can deal a lot of damage without needing to crush his foes with punches and kicks. It's possible for the Hulk to clap so loud that it creates a huge sound wave that can knock over his foes. This effect is strong enough to cause a shockwave that can deal with a group of opponents at once.

The sound is also enough to paralyze foes who possess superior senses, such as Wolverine. Those with a level of hearing that is on the same level as an animal can be easily defeated by a single clap of the Hulk's hands.

2 Surviving A Nuclear War

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Apocalypse from The X-Men comics lives by the doctrine of the survival of the fittest. He has spent centuries preparing for a war that only the strong will survive, which will leave a world that he believes will be fit to rule.

Apocalypse is delusional, as he has been slain on many different occasions, which proves that even someone as powerful as he is can be defeated. People like Magneto and Nathan Summers have been able to deal with Apocalypse, so a full-scale war might prove to be too much for him.

The Hulk doesn't have to worry about being defeated during an international conflict, as he managed to survive the destruction of the world in Hulk: The End.

In Hulk: The End, the entire human race is wiped out during a war, leaving only Bruce Banner and millions of mutant cockroaches. The Hulk was strong enough to survive the annihilation of society, but it meant being left on his own for the rest of time. This is due to the fact that Bruce Banner was suffering from a heart attack and had to transform into the Hulk in order to survive, which meant that the Hulk couldn't risk turning back without causing Banner to expire, as that would result in both of them perishing.

1 The Battle Against The Last Son Of Krypton

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Superman is incredibly durable and only kryptonite or magic can bypass his power of indestructibility. It is possible to overwhelm Superman with a sufficiently powerful force, but there are very few people with that kind of physical strength in the DC universe.

The Hulk was given a chance to test just how strong Superman really is during their encounter in the DC vs. Marvel miniseries.

DC vs. Marvel was a miniseries where the fans got to vote on who won the battles between the heroes and villains of each respective franchise. This led to some ridiculous results, such as Storm from the X-Men beating Wonder Woman and Wolverine beating Lobo.

DC vs. Marvel also resulted in the creation of the Amalgam universe, where mixtures of the famous DC and Marvel characters lived. The version of the Hulk that appeared in the Amalgam universe was known as the Skulk, as he was mixed with Solomon Grundy.

Superman narrowly defeated the Hulk, though this was mostly due to the fact that Bruce Banner was in control of the body at the time. If it had been the mindless Hulk, then he may have narrowly squeezed out a victory against the last son of Krypton.