World Breaker Hulk is an iteration of the hulk, and is the primary protagonist in the Planet Hulk storyline (2006), written by Greg Pak with John Romita Jr. as the penciller. In the storyline, the Hulk is tricked and stranded by the Illuminati in the planet Sakaar, after which he comes back to Earth for revenge.
The Hulk could be one of the most formidable characters in the entire Marvel Universe. He is a being of extraordinary strength and resistance, who is able to withstand powerful shocks and blows to his body. His invulnerability is bound to increase with his level of anger, which makes him quite dangerous to both friends and foes.
There are various iterations of Hulk throughout the comics, which shows the variations and extent of the Hulk’s powers and capabilities. Grey Hulk, Savage Hulk, Mindless Hulk and Space Punisher Hulk are the other versions of the fierce character. But putting all these versions to shame, the World Breaker Hulk is said to be Marvel’s strongest superhero ever. Even though the Space Punisher Hulk is stronger, he is not a superhero. What is it that makes the World Breaker Hulk the most powerful of them all?
Origins of World Breaker Hulk
During the Planet Hulk storyline, Hulk is deemed to be too dangerous to be on Earth due to the destruction that he causes. So the Illuminati (consisting of Doctor Strange, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Professor Xavier, Namor and Black Bolt) tricks him into a spacecraft and sends him to space, which then crash lands on the planet Sakaar. He is captured and forced to become a gladiator under the planet’s ruler, the Red King.
The Hulk is successful as a gladiator and grows into a champion, and begins to be courted to a resistance movement against the ruler. Though he initially refuses, he joins the resistance and defeats the Red King. He goes on to become the ruler of Sakaar and marries Caiera, who was the Red King’s lieutenant but joined the resistance when he betrayed her.
But when the spacecraft in which the Hulk was brought to Sakaar explodes and kills Caeira and her children, the hulk explodes with anger and absorbs all of the radiation on Sakaar. As the Old Power of the planet flowed through Caeira, it also got absorbed by Hulk, which turned him into an exceptionally stronger version of himself named World Breaker Hulk.
Hulk then vows revenge on the Illuminati who wronged him and returns to Earth to take them down.
Strength And Abilities Of World Breaker Hulk
As we have mentioned, the Hulk is one of the powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Although defined by anger, his strength has the versatile capacity to increase with the level of his anger, which means it is quite difficult to subdue or defeat him. He is able to quickly heal from his wounds and also has rare abilities to resist psychic powers and magic.
The World Breaker Hulk on the other hand is a being who is not just defined by his brute strength, but one with enhanced and advanced skill sets when compared to the regular Hulk.
Unlike his regular self, World Breaker Hulk is able to have an exceptional level of control over his self and powers, which he puts to good use when compared to the destruction he causes. He has a frightening ability to mimic his bones to turn into an external armour. He has an ability to traverse through the mindscape, that is he can maintain a conscious connection with Bruce Banner’s mind, and is also able to separate himself from Bruce without harming him. World Breaker Hulk is an exceptional strategist and tactical genius, rather than the brute force fighter that the original Hulk is.
What Makes World Breaker Hulk Marvel’s Strongest Superhero?
World Breaker Hulk has exceptional destructive abilities, due to which he can cause earthquakes across continents and planets. He is so strong that he can shake the earth to its core by simply existing, since he charges up and emits the radiation that he absorbs.
In The Incredible Hulk #632, when Bruce Banner transforms into World Breaker Hulk, it causes the shattering of stone and glass that is within a radius of his presence. His power is such that even if he does not move, it can cause huge amounts of destruction around him. When he faced the Avengers and Fantastic Four in battle, the planet rumbled due to him simply staring down at them.
He even changed the definition of the “Thunder Clap”, which became a wave of immense radiation that swept through the cities causing utter demolishment. All these heightened abilities gives him the credibility of the strongest superhero in the Marvel Universe.
The Aftermath Of His Return To Earth
On World Breaker Hulk’s way to Earth to avenge the death of Caeira, he battles Illuminati member Black Bolt on the Moon and defeats him, but it was actually a skrull who was posing as Black Bolt. Upon reaching New York city, Hulk orders the evacuation of the city and demands the presence of the Illuminati. Post the evacuation, he travels to the home of X-Men to take down Professor X, but leaves him alone due to him learning about the M-Day incident. But he faces several of the X-Men and battles the Juggernaut too.
After returning to New York, he faces Iron Man and defeats him, and proceeds to destroy the Avengers Tower. The Avengers then attack Hulk and his allies, Warbound (Korg, Miek, Hiroim, Elloe Kaifi, No-Name of the Brood, Mung and Arch-E-5912), Hercules, Namora and the Angel, but the heroes are defeated. The Hulk further defeats General “Thunderbolt” Ross, despite the US Army fighting to their best, by even using Adamantium bullets against Hulk.
Doctor Strange then mystically conjures a powerful enemy, Zom, and battles Hulk. Although there is a struggle, Hulk manages to defeat the Zom-possessed Strange. After implanting obedience disks on the fallen heroes, Hulk and his allies turns an area of the Madison Square Garden into a gladiator arena and makes Black Bolt, Iron Man, Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic to fight till their deaths. But Hulk later intervenes and spares them, stating that he meant justice, not murder
The Hulk then further reveals his plans to destroy New York city and leave the Illuminati to shame, but is then attacked by the Sentry. A devastating fight then ensues, which destroys the rest of New York. But after a few events, which involves Hulk returning to human form as Bruce Banner, his ally Miek reveals that the explosion which killed Caeira was not caused by Illuminati but by Red King loyalists.
Although Miek knew about this, he preferred not to intervene and stop the war so that Hulk would go about with the destruction. Upon hearing this, an enraged Hulk begins to radiate energy that puts the entire Earth at risk. Iron Man then activates a series of weaponized satellites and opens fire at Hulk, which leaves him unconscious in his Bruce Banner form.
S.H.I.E.L.D then goes on to lock up Banner in a facility three miles underground, and puts the rest of the Warbound members in US custody.
