Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re sticking with the Spooky Season theme or at least Spooky Season adjacent with the Top 5 Hulk Villains. Hulk has an odd array of villains because he spends a large portion of his time as a monster.

But the Green Goliath has his fair share of villains. Let’s see who made the list.

5: Absorbing Man

Absorbing Man could’ve been higher on this list. He has one of the most intriguing powers in Hulk’s rogue’s gallery; he can absorb any material he touches. Think of it like a physical version of the X-Men’s Rogue’s power. But Absorbing Man functions just as much as a Marvel Universe villain as he does a Hulk villain. His origins come from a classic Thor comic and has a link with Loki. And his most notable partner Titiania has a connection with She-Hulk, so Absorbing Man could be just as much of a She-Hulk villain.

Even so, he deserves a mention on this list. After fighting Thor for several rounds, Absorbing Man gets banished into outer space. Upon his return on a comet, Absorbing Man battles the Hulk. And the two became on again, off again rivals ever since.

4: Abomination

The Abomination is a classic Hulk villain. Had this been a decade or two ago, the Abomination could’ve landed much higher on this list, maybe even number one. But a few villains have taken his spot as the Hulk’s big bad. Emil Blonsky’s villainous origin plays out similarly to his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) counterpart. He started as a KGB agent and spy; he was switched to a British Royal Marine for the MCU. Blonsky subjected himself to a ton of gamma radiation and turned into scaly and larger version of the Hulk.

The Abomination is the oldest evil Hulk, but there have been other “evil Hulks” who have taken over higher spots.

3: Maestro

Okay. Maestro is just a future version of the Hulk. But he’s one evil son of a gun. This version of the Hulk comes from the Future Imperfect timeline where the world has been rocked by nuclear weapons. Hulk is uniquely qualified to survive such a future and the horrors he’s seen have driven him mad. Maestro may no longer be as strong as his younger counterpart, but his healing factor makes him virtually immortal.

It also doesn’t hurt that the legendary comic book writer Peter David and equally legendary artist George Perez co-created Maestro and gave the character a phenomenal run in the early 1990s.

2: Red Hulk

Red Hulk is yet another evil version of the Hulk, but he’s more than that. Red Hulk started as General Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross. Red Hulk may have debuted in 2008, making him the “newest” character on this list. But Thunderbolt Ross has been around since the very beginning. He was the father of Hulk’s long-time love interest and eventual wife Betty Ross. Thunderbolt hated the Hulk and led the military’s charge to subdue him.

Thunderbolt Ross turned himself into the Red Hulk to go toe-to-toe with the Green Giant. The Red Hulk retained Ross’s intellect and more importantly his military training, making him a force. Ross has yet to become the Red Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. William Hurt played the character until his passing. Harrison Ford will portray the character in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. It should be a matter of time before Red Hulk makes his MCU debut.

1: Leader

I may be biased, but the Leader remains the ultimate foil for the Hulk. Janitor Samuel Sterns gets turned into the ultra-intelligent Leader after exposure to gamma radiation. He develops telekinesis, telepathy, gamma ray manipulation, and can self-resurrect. He’s been a part of several major Hulk storylines, including the creation of the Red Hulk, our number two villain on this list.

The Leader is also one of the founding members of Intelligencia, a group of the greatest criminal minds on Earth. This group can affect the Marvel Universe as a whole. But the Leader works best when he squares off against the Hulk. He is the yin to the Hulk’s yang. The only villain who comes close to besting the Leader as the Hulk’s greatest enemy may be the Hulk himself.

Did we get the list right? Let us know who you would add or remove in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Despite his superhero persona, the Hulk is often viewed as a monster and many of his stories range between Hulk as a hero and as the hunted. He’s one of the rare Marvel heroes who started with their own solo series and then got absorbed into an anthology series (Tales to Astonish), only to receive a solo series again. Marvel often doesn’t know how to handle the green goliath, so it can be difficult to find which stories to read first.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here with a guide of starter Hulk stories.

Hulk: Gray (written by Jeph Loeb/art by Tim Sale; 2003-2004)

Loeb and Sale usually do a great job showing a hero’s formative years, and Hulk: Gray is no exception. For those who don’t know Hulk’s origin as well as other Marvel character’s this series delves into the accident that created him and his early struggles and failures to control his powers.

Hulk: Gray only ran for six issues, but readers get a good understanding on how at odds Banner is with his counterpart. It’s a quick and must read.

Planet Hulk (written by Greg Pak/art by Carlo Pagulayan and Aaraon Lopresti; 2006-2007)

Yes! This story should look familiar for Thor: Ragnarok fans. Humanity deems Hulk too dangerous to remain on Earth, so he’s jettisoned on an alien planet Sakaar. Once there, the locals enslave him and force the Hulk to fight in gladiatorial combat against other aliens. Planet Hulk is one of the wildest and best Hulk stories.

The story builds intrigue on who sent Hulk to the planet—I won’t spoil it here, but it’s eye-opening—and watching the Hulk battle to liberate Sakaar from the Red King is satisfying. Throw in Hulk getting married and a Hulk baby and you have a romp that’s well worth the read.

World War Hulk (written by Greg Pak/art by John Romita Jr.; 2007)

Remember the intrigue from Planet Hulk? Yeah, World War Hulk shows what happens when the Hulk discovers who sent him to Sakaar and the subsequent war. While this mini-series displays some intricate combat, it also manages to show a mindful Bruce Banner who remains trapped inside all the Hulk’s rage.

It’s a side of the Hulk that readers don’t get to see that often and it’s refreshing.

Indestructible Hulk (written by Mark Waid/art by Leinil Francis Yu; 2012-2014)

This story may seem out of place as it was published a good five years after World War Hulk, but Indestructible Hulk does a great job of showing why humanity may fear the Hulk enough to send him to another planet.

The Hulk chooses to do some good and allies with S.H.I.E.L.D.. This partnership leads to some of the Hulks battles, but as the title implies, the Hulk gains so much strength that he becomes indestructible. I won’t spoil the shocking reveal at the end, but this series shows how the Hulk struggles to be a hero, but he’s ultimately a force of nature.

Hulk: Destruction (written by Peter David/art by Jim Muniz; 2005)

The Hulk doesn’t have as many villains as other heroes in comics, but the Abomination (featured in the movie The Incredible Hulk) must be one of the key few, and Hulk: Destruction does a great redefining the two’s relationship.

Peter David also happens to be a long-time The Hulk writer and this mini-series does a good job showing what he can do with the character.

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk (written by Damon Lindelof/art by Leinil Francis Yu; 2005-2009)

The infrequent schedule of this mini-series left a lot of readers miffed at the time of its original run, but the six issues have been completed, and no collection of Hulk stories would be complete without including at least one battle between Hulk and Wolverine. Heck, Wolverine was first introduced as a Hulk foil.

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk shows how insane these battles get. It opens with Wolverine torn in half, his legs on top of a mountain. Yikes!

I could have done with so many flashforwards and flashbacks in a short series like this (Lindelof is one of Lost’s co-creators, so I guess he likes using a lot of these), but Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk gives insight to the brutality of these two primal beings.

That’s my list for new Hulk readers. Did I miss any stories or include some that I shouldn’t? Send me a smoke signal atop a mountain—preferably not the one the Hulk traveled to—or let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tag: hulk

Top 5 Hulk Villains