In The Immortal Hulk: Great Power, Spider-Man gained the powers of the Hulk thanks to Loki and needed to figure out how to return everything to normal. The solution involved bombarding the two of them in radiation and punching the Hulk a lot, but, ultimately, everything was sorted out just right. This is not the first time Spider-Man has had trouble with the Hulk, of course. Even back during the first appearance of the Green Goblin, Spider-Man was put in conflict with Bruce Banner.

Obviously, Spider-Man has never killed the Hulk, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to. During the J. Michael Straczynski run of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker discovered a method to kill any gamma-empowered superhero or supervillain, be they the Abomination, She-Hulk, or, yes, the Incredible Hulk. The only person who knows this is Mary Jane Watson and a now very dead gamma-empowered villain known as Digger. So, let's breakdown how the Wall-Crawler could take down Bruce Banner's monstrous alter-ego.

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DIGGER

Digger isn't really a person, but rather an amalgamation of bodies held together by gamma radiation. In 1957, seven mafia bosses and their most trusted goons met in Las Vegas, only for a rival boss, Morris Forelli, to kill them all where they sat in a brutal massacre. Forelli then dumped the "Vegas Thirteen" in the desert in Nevada.

Of course, Forelli probably didn't foresee that the desert he'd dump the bodies would become a nuclear testing site. With the bodies bombarded over and over again by gamma radiation, their genetic material fused until they created a new entity. Thirteen people fused into Digger, who possessed each of their collective memories and strength, amped up to Hulk levels of intensity.

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Digger came to New York City seeking revenge on Forelli, which meant that Spider-Man ended up trying to stop him. They clashed a few times, but each time Spidey ended up getting beaten down until he got a hold of Digger's tissue, and found the fused cells that comprised of the original dead mafiosos was collapsing. This leads Spider-Man to understand a key component to gamma-irradiated individuals: their transformed states take up fuel. Eventually, without a source of energy, they would start breaking down.

This aligns with a theory he's had about the Hulk for many years. He'd see the Hulk disappear into Banner, indicating that there is some sort of recharge mechanism required to hold himself together. When Banner transformed, that consumed energy, while, when the Hulk returned to normal, that allowed him a chance to recover. Peter suspects that adrenaline or some other bio-chemical is responsible for the change that triggers Hulk's transformation (again, which makes sense, given his status as a green rage monster). Once that adrenaline ran out, however, the Hulk needed to return to normal. Digger might be out of that adrenaline, and, thus, unable to recover. This means the gamma radiation isn't enhancing his body; it's breaking it down.

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SPIDER-MAN KILLS DIGGER

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Peter ends up using this knowledge against the Digger. He can't stand up to Digger's Hulk-like strength, so he weaves and dodges around, using his agility to wear down the villain. The longer the fight lasts, the more the transformation breaks down Digger's body until a single punch to the arm is enough to nearly rip it off. From there, the fight ends rather quickly, with Spider-Man not giving Digger a chance to recover until his whole body falls apart into bloody shambles.

Afterward, Mary Jane asks Peter if he's thought of how he can apply this strategy to other gamma-powered individuals, such as the Hulk. Peter rationalizes that he could, in theory, use this technique on the Hulk. While the Hulk isn't thirteen separate people sewn together with gamma radiation, in theory, if Spider-Man pushes the beast past the point where his adrenaline fuels his transformation, he could in theory also kill it.

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COULD THIS STRATEGY WORK?

spider-man-vs-hulk Cropped

This strategy works on Digger quite well, but it's hard to tell how well would this strategy and approach actually fare against the Hulk today. During the events of both Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, Hulk remains transformed, but his body doesn't start breaking down. That's because the triggering agent Peter described, the adrenaline, doesn't go away. Hulk has also figured out a way to draw in gamma radiation around him, further fueling his transformed state.

Peter would need to fight the Hulk for a prolonged period before he could wear the Hulk's adrenaline fuel down, which, arguably, would not happen. He'd dodge and weave until the Hulk's body starts to break down. Peter would probably have to do something to accelerate that process, yes, but, in theory, if it worked with Digger, it would work with the Hulk.

Or, at least, it might. Against the Savage Hulk of old, Peter would only need to endure the fight until Hulk's transformation wore off. Given Peter's reflexes and agility, he could bob and weave until the Hulk's adrenaline just gave up. Alternatively, Peter could use a chemical to suppress the Hulk's adrenaline, leaving his body worn out and unable to refuel on the transformation agent. From there, his body could, in theory, decay, meaning Peter does have a way to beat the Hulk, he just might not be able to pull it off.

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