The Incredible Hulk turned 60 this past year, and he’s grown and changed a lot across his long life and career. Several versions of the Hulk exist, explained more recently as symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder and another, rarer condition Doc Samson calls “Hulk Syndrome.” The latter comes from high doses of gamma radiation, splitting one’s darkest impulses into a separate persona, waiting to be unleashed.
They don't win every fight, but when the Hulks work together they have the potential to save or destroy countless lives. As Banner and the Hulks become more stable, sometimes referring to themselves (including Banner) as a singular Hulk, their family outside their own mind has continued to grow. Hulk’s son, ex-wife, cousin, and father-in-law have all taken a shot at the title of “The Strongest One There Is," demonstrating incredible feats of strength.
10 The Totally Awesome Hulk Became A Problem
Incredible Hulk #716 by Greg Pak, Marco Lorenzana, Juan Vlasco & Frank D’Armata
Amadeus Cho became the “Totally Awesome Hulk” voluntarily, taking the curse of the Hulk from Bruce Banner in an effort to make the world safer. Cho was able to control his inner Hulk for a long time, but that changed.
Unable to control the Dark Hulk inside of him, Amadeus took on bona fide Avengers. He batted away the Protectors, Alpha Flight, Miles Morales, and Thor during the rampage, displaying more strength than even the times he nearly broke the east coast of the U.S. and almost shattered the moon.
9 Devil Hulk Single-Handedly Destroyed A Powerful Corporation
Immortal Hulk #28 by Al Ewing, Tom Reilly & Matías Bergara
A newish personality, the “Devil Hulk” took charge the last time Banner rose from the dead. In Immortal Hulk #28, he enacts his plan to end the human world. The Devil Hulk represents Banner’s destructive urge to do what’s right, and his primary targets are major corporations.
After dismantling gamma-powered Hulk-level security guards, he completely destroys Roxxon’s web servers and data banks. It’s not like lifting a literal star or a mountain range; this Hulk uses his strength to fight real-world evils to smash the systems that keep people down, defeating giant monsters, a Minotaur and Xemnu, the original living hulk, in the process.
8 She-Hulk Keeps Getting Stronger
The Sensational She-Hulk (1989) by John Byrne
Jen Walters, Bruce Banner’s cousin, was an accomplished lawyer. A feat in its own right, her life flipped upside down after she became She-Hulk, but she retained her mind, resulting in a Hulk unlike any other, smashing the fourth to interact with her creator, John Byrne, numerous times throughout The Sensational She-Hulk.
In her long career, she bested Hercules, Thor, and Abomination, and more, just for starters. More recently, Jen has become a more Hulk-like She-Hulk, speaking in fewer words and losing her temper more easily. Her newer feats in Jason Aaron’s Avengers Vol. 8 range from biting holes in unbreakable armor and holding Captain Marvel at bay, to resurrecting Thor with a kiss.
7 Skaar Is His Father's Son
Incredible Hulk #611 by Greg Pak, Paul Pelletier & Danny Miki
Skaar’s very existence beyond infancy is a remarkable feat. Orphaned on one of the harshest planets in the universe, he’s been slaughtering whole hordes of man-killing monsters since he was a baby. As he’s gotten older he has only gotten stronger, developing the ability to tap into the Old Power, which allows him to absorb raw kinetic energy.
He’s beaten the Thing, kicked heroes across state lines, and once chopped into Doctor Doom with his sword, which he bit into shape himself before his adult teeth had come in. Perhaps his greatest feats are surviving repeated death matches with his father, impaling the Worldbreaker.
6 Professor Hulk Held Up A Mountain Range
Secret Wars #4 by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton & John Beatty
Secret Wars #4 features one of the most iconic Hulk moments of all time. Faced with every threat imaginable and backed into a corner, the avengers find themselves buried under 150 billion tons of stone. If not for Bruce, they’d have been crushed.
Professor Hulk, sometimes called Doc Green, is limited by his capacity for rage while Bruce retains control. This feat is made more amazing by the relative calm of the Hulk, giving a rare look at the upper limits of his base-level strength. He lifts the entire mountain range to save his team, and he doesn’t rampage.
5 The "Weakest" Hulk Pulverized A Planet-Sized Asteroid
Marvel Presents #52 by Ron Wilson & Tom Morgan
Joe Fixit is the physical manifestation of Bruce Banner’s uninhibited will to survive. During his time behind the wheel, Joe built a career for himself as an enforcer for rich and powerful Vegas casino owners. He also assembled the best-tailored and coolest wardrobe of any Hulk or, possibly, any hero.
As far as strength goes, many readers have called Joe the weakest of all the Hulks. Marvel Comics Presents #52 illustrates why that claim is essentially meaningless. In the anthology issue’s final chapter, Joe leaps into space with a magnetic jetpack and shatters an asteroid twice the size of Earth.
4 Betty Ross Helped Destroy A Universe
Incredible Hulks #634 by Greg Pak, Paul Pelletier & Danny Miki
Betty Ross has been integral to the Hulk’s story since issue #1, way back in 1962. Across the decades, her relationship with Bruce and the Hulks was complicated by her father’s obsessions and her own transformations. She was Harpy first, then the Red She-Hulk, who broke She-Hulk's neck. Still fighting to be more than Hulk’s love interest, she's currently halfway between the two as Red Harpy.
In Incredible Hulks #634, Betty fought Green Scar. Their Dark Dimension battle destroyed several populated planets. Given Betty’s gamma absorption and Worldbreaker’s gamma generation, their endless strength was too much for the dimension to handle, and it collapsed on itself.
3 Red Hulk Never Held Back
Hulk (2008) by Jeph Loeb
Thunderbolt Ross’s quest to kill the Hulk led him to become that which he hates most. As the Red Hulk, he has displayed some of the most powerful and cruelest feats out of any Hulk, quickly making himself a perfect rival for ol’ Jade Jaws. Even when his true identity was unknown, he made serious waves.
Beginning with Jeph Loeb’s Hulk in 2008, Ross does whatever he wants. He absorbs the Silver Surfer’s power cosmic, then snaps his neck, breaks Doc Green’s arm, and even beats Thor with Mjolnir in the gravity-free vacuum of space. His strength is near limitless, like Hulk, but his rage is cold and calculated, giving him control and limitations like no Hulk before.
2 Green Scar Fixed And Destroyed Planets
Incredible Hulk #102 by Greg Pak, Aaron Lopresti & Sandu Florea
The Green Scar Hulk emerged during the events of Planet Hulk and is most known for waging World War Hulk upon his return to Earth. He cracked the Earth and defeated some of Marvel’s mightiest heroes, but his actions on Sakaar are perhaps his most impressive.
The Red King nearly blows up Sakaar. Hulk jumps into the planet’s core and holds the world together until it stabilizes, then jumps back to the surface and punches Red King to his death in a display of brute force that’s hard to beat.
1 Savage Hulk Is The Strongest There Is. 'Nuff Said
Incredible Hulk #126 by Stan Lee & Herb Trimpe
The Big Guy, as other Hulks have called him, is the hulk most readers know and love. He’s the one who loves his friends and teammates but lacks the mental capacity to control himself or his feelings. In Incredible Hulk #126, he battled a cosmic villain known as Night Crawler and shattered an entire universe, unwittingly freeing Doctor Strange.
Breaking or damaging dimensions isn’t new territory for this Hulk, who on multiple occasions has clapped hard enough to cause interdimensional damage. He’s considered the strongest of the Hulks for his unlimited capacity for rage and concurrent strength. He's carried stars and separated black holes, demonstrating immeasurable and unmatched strength.