The past month has been a time of change for the heroes of the Marvel Universe. First it was announced that the new Thor will be a female in a storyline that begins in October. Then just a few days later, the publisher revealed that the new Captain America will be The Falcon, who is replacing Steve Rogers as the Sentinel of Liberty.
Now, the House of Ideas is taking things a step further by revealing that this August, the Hulk will go from simple-minded brute to super genius in a new story that spins out of the "Original Sin" crossover event. This change began to take shape after Bruce Banner suffered brain damage when he was shot in the head. That’s where Tony Stark stepped in.
Stark used his Extremis technology to save Banner’s life, but it had some unintended side effects. Now, the Hulk is a being of limitless strength and intellect, which makes him much more terrifying than ever before.
"Some of these people are addicted to the power. They've been enhanced long enough that they're used to it and don't want to give it up," Marvel editor Mark Paniccia told USA Today. "Hulk fans love seeing big smash-ups and superhuman fights, so we're going to have some pretty epic battles."
The change really kicks in during next month’s “Hulk #5,” written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Mark Bagley. In the issue, the Hulk realizes that he needs to rid the world of gamma-powered beings, himself included. What that means for his future is uncertain, but you can expect plenty of mayhem.
Now, before fans get all uptight about a change to the Hulk’s status quo, you need to realized that this has happened before. In the early ‘90s, writer Peter David brought the world a super-intelligent Hulk that stuck around for close to a decade. That Hulk was dubbed “Professor Hulk” by fans, and it was one of the most popular incarnations of the character.
It isn’t known how long this version of the Hulk will stick around for, but the concept revolutionized the character 20 years ago, and it’s likely something that a new generation can latch onto. Just don’t expect Hulk to be quoting Shakespeare or pondering chess moves on the big screen any time soon.
