Rise Of The Red Hulk!

We've already seen the life and career of Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross dragged down by his relentless pursuit of the incredible Hulk, a situation he had virtually made his peace with by the end of the run of the book by offering words to that effect to his deceased daughter, Betty, who had been killed by the Abomination. By that time, Ross's fruitless encounters with the Hulk had taken their toll on the old soldier. After he had been merged with the electrical creature known as Zzzax, and once again failed to destroy the Hulk, he lost his own life attempting to save Betty from a mind-usurping mutant; but he was subsequently retrieved by the Leader and made to serve him as the Redeemer. Once more defeated by the Hulk, Ross was later made whole again--but the wheels had been set in motion to bring Ross much closer to being able to deal with his green-hued enemy once and for all.

And when it came to Ross gaining the power he needed to destroy the Hulk, "hue" is indeed the operative word here.

There's no doubt that, with the appearance of the so-called "Red Hulk," the 2008 Hulk series breathed new life into the character, one who appeared to have changed so radically. The Hulk had last appeared in the epic World War Hulk crossover event, in which he returned from his exile from Earth to claim his vengeance against those he held responsible for the tragedy he'd suffered. Created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, the new Hulk's origin was shrouded in mystery for nearly two years (with no small thanks to one or two red herrings thrown our way), the better to milk his appearances in his own title as well as in others for all they were worth.

During that time, the Red Hulk trampled his opposition with ease, no matter how powerful his foes. It's part of the reason I'd stopped buying the book, since Loeb's approach was to basically have the Red Hulk arrogantly pound his opponents into the ground just to take advantage of the shock value, only to up the ante and make the threat against him next time seem more certain to put him down. The Red Hulk carved a swath of destruction through the heavy hitters of the Marvel lineup--and if you're decking the Watcher, it appeared that no stone was going to be left unturned.

Unlike the "Hulk will smash!" creature we're more familiar with, the Red Hulk proved to be canny and calculating, with power to spare as well as the ability to absorb energy from others. His prime opponent, the Hulk, was dealt with fairly early in the title--and from that point, facing further opposition was no sweat.

And then came... perhaps to no one's surprise... the Red She-Hulk, given life by the same procedure that created her predecessor. The twist to this character was that she was revealed to be none other than Betty Ross--and when she defeats the Red Hulk, we at last learn his identity, a revelation which lends new meaning to the phrase "all in the family."

And so Ross relives the events that brought him to this point. From his time as the Redeemer:

...to when he is restored to his original form--though now with his path set to put an end to what had become the bane of his existence, despite his comforting words to his daughter.

Through flashbacks, we discover that by the time the Hulk had returned to Earth from his forced exile, Ross's life had unraveled in his eyes. His daughter dead... himself having committed treason... Captain America, a hero and patriot he greatly admired, assassinated... Ross felt he no longer had a purpose. While drowning his sorrows at a bar, he's paid a call by the Leader and M.O.D.O.K., part of a cabal known as the Intellgencia--and they make him an offer that he finds hard to refuse, planning for the day when the Hulk returns to Earth to plague the human race once more.

And so the alliance comes to pass--and the Intelligencia is prepared when Tony Stark, at the culmination of the Sentry's battle with the Hulk, triggers a satellite to down the monster, though unknown to Stark the Hulk's energies are siphoned and put to use elsewhere.

In time, however, the original Hulk engaged the Red Hulk in a rematch--and the Intelligencia's plan for Ross fails because of their hired muscle's one weakness, which Betty kindly recaps for her beleaguered father...

...a weakness which the original Hulk exploited to achieve victory.

Following his defeat, the Intelligencia promptly washes its collective hands of the Red Hulk. (I know the feeling. By this time, I couldn't have cared less about the Red Hulk, the Green Hulk, or even Ross, who made his bed and was welcome to sleep in it.) But with the help of Bruce Banner, the Red Hulk goes on to defeat their immediate plans--and then seizes the White House in yet another act of treason, with the original Hulk putting an end to his bid for power. From there, hoping for redemption, the Red Hulk turns to Captain America, who taps him for the Avengers after once again dealing with the Intelligencia.

The Red Hulk kept his hold on the Hulk title until the end of its run in late 2012. The last time I touched base with the character, he was experiencing a bit of karma when the tables were turned and he found himself hounded by his own military nemesis--specifically, General Fortean, who vowed to take him down. "It's classic Hulk big action that breaks new ground [emphasis added]--breaks it to pieces, really," said writer Jeff Parker--but, haven't we been to this party before?

BONUS!

A checklist of the many, many mags that gave the Red Hulk a truckload of exposure--

and Marvel's coffers a considerable infusion.