Summary

  • Debuting in 1964, the Hulk-Killer is one of the Incredible Hulk's oldest enemies in Marvel Comics.
  • An android, the Hulk-Killer was designed to be as strong and as durable as the Hulk.
  • Despite its impressive power, the Hulk-Killer has only made sporadic appearances in the Marvel Universe.

Over the past six decades, the Incredible Hulk has faced off against some of the most impossibly powerful foes that the Marvel Universe has to offer. From alien assailants to interdimensional horrors, it seems like there is nothing that the Hulk can't overcome. That doesn't mean there aren't some villains who haven't come close to taking the Hulk down. One aptly named "Hulk-Killer" has never received the credit it has long been due.

When the Hulk-Killer was first introduced back in "The Birth of... The Hulk-Killer!" (by Stan Lee and John Buscema, from the pages of 1964's Tales to Astonish #86), it immediately stood out among its fellow androids. Compared to the rest of Samuel Sterns, better known as the Leader's army of Humanoid androids, the Hulk-Killer was of a different breed entirely. The Leader's Humanoids were already tailor made for withstanding a battle with the Hulk thanks to their elastic, near indestructible plastic forms. The Hulk-Killer was made from the same substance, but it was also modeled after the Green Goliath himself. In terms of strength, the Hulk only barely outmatched the Hulk-Killer. In terms of overall resiliency, the two were a more than even match for one another.

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What is the Hulk-Killer?

The Hulk-Killer fighting the Hulk in Tales to Astonish (Vol. 1) #87 by Marvel Comics

Rather than relying solely on its innate resilience, the Hulk-Killer boasted strength, agility, and a healing factor that rivaled the Hulk's own. Thankfully, for the Hulk and his human alter-ego, this first version of the superpowered android only lasted two issues before it fell to a previously unseen flaw in its design. With so much power at its command, the Hulk-Killer required its vast internal mechanics to fuel its endeavors. Despite being constructed from what would have seemed to be a non-conductive substance, the Hulk-Killer was prone to having its circuits overloaded when struck with a massive burst of electricity.

For being such a capable threat, the Hulk-Killer wouldn't make a comeback until over five decades later. In all that time, it received the one upgrade it most desperately needed. When the Hulk-Killer finally reappeared in 2019's Dead Man Logan #8 (by Ed Brisson, Mike Henderson, Nolan Woodard, and Cory Petit), a repurposed version was unleashed to rid the wastelands of Bruce Banner Jr., better known as Hulk Jr.

Sporting a more streamlined look and a more powerful punch, this future Hulk-Killer made quick work of the young Hulk Jr. In a gruesome display of its superiority over the previous model, the Hunter-Killer also tore Logan's lungs out of his chest with a single strike when the elder mutant stepped into the fray. Despite its enhanced abilities, the Hulk-Killer of Dead Man Logan would once again fall prey to being overloaded with an immense electric shock just a single issue after its introduction, calling into question just how much if any work at all had actually gone into improving its design.

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Where is the Hulk-Killer Now?

A close-up of the Hulk-Killer in Marvel Comics

Considering how powerful it is, the fact the Hulk-Killer has been relegated to obscurity within both the Marvel Universe and the world of pop culture is genuinely surprising. The bright pink behemoth might not be an especially exciting character on its own, but its connection to the Hulk's most iconic enemy opens the door for it to show up again at some point. Of course, things have changed drastically for both the Hulk and the Leader in recent years. That doesn't mean Samuel Sterns' old experiments have to stay buried. If anyone wanted to put up a serious fight against the Hulk, the Hulk-Killer Humanoid could very well be the best way to do so.

With everything Bruce Banner has been up to in the present, there might even be a good reason for someone to do just that. After embarking upon a disastrous interdimensional crusade, Banner returned to Earth and is currently being hunted by nearly every single monstrous being on the planet. At that rate, the Hulk is quickly becoming the world's next biggest problem all over again. Assuming there is anything left of the Hulk-Killer in the present, this could be the perfect time for it to return. Even if the Hulk-Killer doesn't get another lease on life in the primary Marvel Universe, the depths of both the Multiverse and MCU will undoubtedly provide plenty of opportunities for just that. Unfortunately, those opportunities are about as slim as they could get, at least in the comics, which doesn't bode particularly well for a potential debut elsewhere.

Although the Hulk-Killer made an appearance in 2016's LEGO Marvel's Avengers as a playable character, they didn't have any actual relevance to the game's story. Where the comics are concerned, someone other than Samuel Sterns would likely have to be behind any return of the Hulk-Killer, since the former Leader himself was depowered and taken into custody following the events of Al Ewing's epic Immortal Hulk. Then again, considering how many Marvel Comics luminaries have had their work repurposed by others previously, it wouldn't be any surprise to see the Hulk's next nemesis pick up the pieces of their predecessor's greatest creation.