| Thunderbolt Ross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) As Red Hulk: Hulk #1 (January 2008) |
| Created by | Thunderbolt Ross: Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) Red Hulk: Jeph Loeb (writer) Ed McGuinness (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | Hulkbusters United States Army Air Corp United States Air Force Federal Government of the United States Offenders Avengers Thunderbolts Power Elite Control |
| Notable aliases | General Ross,Red Hulk, Rulk, The Thing (Future Imperfect) |
| Abilities | As Thunderbolt Ross:
As Red Hulk:
|
GeneralThaddeus E. "Thunderbolt"Ross is a fictional character who appears in comic books published byMarvel Comics featuring theHulk. Ross is aUnited States militaryofficer, the father ofBetty Ross, and the ex-father-in-law of bothGlenn Talbot andBruce Banner.
A jingoisticwar hawk, Ross is portrayed as the military head of the gamma bomb project that turned Banner into the Hulk. After the creation of the Hulk, Ross pursues the creature with a growing obsession, and, after learning that Banner and the Hulk are one and the same, Ross hunts Banner as well. His motivations vary between different iterations, from a petulant hatred of Banner himself, to aCaptain Ahab-esque desire to defeat the Hulk in combat, and sometimes even more villainous motivations such as hoping to harness the Hulk's abilities and create similarbioweapons for use by the US government. Ross was transformed into the firstRed Hulk to better combat the Hulk, though this instead led him to become more sympathetic towards Banner and eventually become asuperhero, serving as a member of theAvengers and forming his ownThunderbolts team.
Ross has appeared in numerous media adaptations, including animated television series, video games, and live-action feature films. He has been voiced by numerous actors in animation, includingJohn Vernon,Keith Ferguson,Fred Tatasciore, andClancy Brown. In live-action,Sam Elliott portrayed the character in the filmHulk (2003). In theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU),the character is portrayed byWilliam Hurt (2008–2021) andHarrison Ford (2025).
Thunderbolt Ross first appeared inThe Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) and was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby as a nemesis for the Hulk.[1] He was a recurring character throughout this series. His character origin was revealed inThe Incredible Hulk #291. The Red Hulk first appeared inHulk vol. 3 #1 (January 2008), created byJeph Loeb andEd McGuiness, but his identity as Ross was not revealed until later. The origin of Red Hulk was revealed inHulk #23.
Red Hulk began appearing as a regular character inAvengers vol. 4, from issue #7 (January 2011) through its final issue #34 (January 2013). His popularity resulted in him becoming a main character in the 2012Thunderbolts series byDaniel Way andSteve Dillon.[2] He also appeared in the issues #1–3 of the 2011 seriesThe Avenging Spider-Man (November 2008) byZeb Wells andJoe Madureira as a team-up character forSpider-Man.
Born to a prominent military family, with both his father and grandfather having served, Thaddeus Ross was primed to follow in their footsteps.[3] He joined theAir Force straight out of high school and climbed the ranks quickly while raising a family.
Holding the rank oflieutenant general, Ross is chosen to oversee Bruce Banner'sgamma bomb project. His daughter, Betty, takes a liking to the young scientist, deepening Ross' dislike for the "weakling". After Banner's transformation into the Hulk, Ross spends years chasing the monster, becoming obsessed enough to committreason by allying himself with supervillains such as theLeader,MODOK and theAbomination[4] to destroy the Hulk.Dismissed from the military, he shows up at Betty and Bruce's wedding with a gun and shootsRick Jones. He is recruited byS.H.I.E.L.D. agentClay Quartermain to merge with the electric creatureZzzax, a process that gives Ross superpowers but also makes him mentally unstable. He is later restored to human form but retains some residual energy-generating powers.[5]
Finally, the Nevermind, amutant who drains people of their life energy, attacksGamma Base in search of a strong host, in this case the Hulk. After witnessing Banner and Jones (who was the Hulk at that time) heroically engaging the mutant, Ross realizes that he has been wrong about the Hulk being a mindless monster. He saves his daughter by allowing the mutant to latch on him and discharging the energy resources he retained from Zzzax. Giving his blessing to Banner and Betty, he dies in his daughter's arms.[6]
Ross' body is later stolen by the Leader who uses the powers of one of his followers to resurrect him as a replacement for his fallen soldier Redeemer. Ross is eventually recovered and revived by agents of the alien Troyjan and returns to the Air Force. He later comes up with a more cost-effective method of confronting the Hulk: ignoring him.[volume & issue needed]
Ross would become friends with Banner, but when Betty is seemingly killed due to what both Ross and Banner believed to have been Banner's gamma-irradiated DNA interacting with Betty's, he once more pursues the Hulk with a vendetta.[volume & issue needed]
Around this time, GeneralJohn Ryker takes over the pursuit of the Hulk. Ross is indirectly involved, observing when Ryker mentally tortures Banner to try to figure out how the Hulk works. The Hulk escapes from Ryker's control and, after several adventures, is lost in space.[volume & issue needed]
After the Hulk returns from exile and initiates "World War Hulk", General Ross, now afull general, makes his own return, electing to bring the fight to his nemesis once more after the Hulk beatsIron Man. After a failed assault on the Hulk, Ross and his men are captured and placed in chains under the watch of the Warbound, the army he has brought back from space. The Hulk is eventually defeated via satellite weapons that revert him back to his human form.[7]
The Red Hulk (also known as theRulk[8] orthe IncREDible Hulk) was introduced in 2008 inHulk (vol. 2) #1.[9] The Red Hulk was created to be an uninhibited, tactically intelligent adversary to the Hulk.[10][11] AlthoughKenneth Johnson, the creator of the 1970s TV seriesThe Incredible Hulk, had suggested a red Hulk for that adaptation decades earlier,[12] Marvel editor-in-chiefJoe Quesada proposed the idea for the comics to debut a red version of the character whose human identity was a secret.[13] Initially, the Red Hulk's identity was unknown both to the characters in the story and the reading audience.[14][15]
The opening story arc of theHulk (vol. 2) series that premiered in 2008 established that the Red Hulk is very aggressive, as he murders theWendigo and Abomination; destroys the S.H.I.E.L.D.Helicarrier; defeats several Marvel heroes; and, after causing an earthquake inSan Francisco, is defeated by the Hulk andThor. In a subsequent storyline, theCollector places the character with other villains on a team called the Offenders, an evil version of theDefenders, in a bid to prevent the Hulk from reuniting withJarella. In that story, the Red Hulk siphons the Power Cosmic from theSilver Surfer, seemingly killing him, steals his board andTerrax's cosmic axe, and killsNamor,Tiger Shark,Doctor Strange,Baron Mordo, theGrandmaster, Terrax, Hulk, andPsycho-Man. When the Red Hulk reveals this to Galactus, Galactus takes back the Power Cosmic from him. Subsequently, almost everyone he killed is resurrected with no memory of the event.[16]
The Red Hulk was created as part of asuper soldier program by several persons, includingDoc Samson and the criminalthink tank theIntelligencia, headed by MODOK.[17][18][19] The 2009 "Code Red" story arc also made allusions to the Red Hulk's real identity, and introduced Red She-Hulk.[14][20]
In the 2010 story line "Fall of the Hulks: Gamma", the Red Hulk is related in flashback to have killed General Ross at the behest of Bruce Banner, with whom he has formed an alliance.[21] However, the 2010 "World War Hulks" story line reveals that the Red Hulk is Thunderbolt Ross, the Red She-Hulk is Betty Ross, and the Ross who was "killed" was aLife Model Decoy (LMD). The Red Hulk then thwarts the Intelligencia's plan to take over theUnited States with an LMD ofGlenn Talbot by destroying the Talbot LMD and attempts to take over the country himself.[7] He is thwarted by a restored Hulk, who beats the Red Hulk mostly due to the Red Hulk's exhaustion from overheating. The Hulk tells the Red Hulk that it was his idea to fake Ross' death and that he can never again resume that identity. After imprisoning the Red Hulk in Gamma Base, Banner makes arrangements withSteve Rogers for the Red Hulk to join the Avengers.[22][23]
After Rogers recruits the Red Hulk, the Red Hulk stops the Intelligencia's failsafe plan "Scorched Earth". Although Banner had claimed that he removed the Red Hulk's energy-draining ability from him because it was killing him, he is shown to still possess this ability.[24] After the events of the Scorched Earth program, the Red Hulk is paired up with an LMD named Annie. The Red Hulk is occasionally assaulted by Ross' former protégé GeneralReginald Fortean, a scientist given superhuman mutations by MODOK namedZero/One, and the Indian serial killerBlack Fog.[25]
The Red Hulk plays a vital role in the Infinity Gem crisis of the "Heroic Age" story line.[26] During the 2011 "Fear Itself" story line, the Red Hulk attempts unsuccessfully to stop theThing (in the form of Angrir, Breaker of Souls) from destroyingAvengers Tower,[27] asMODOK Superior and Black Fog converge on both combatants during the fight. Angrir dispatches the Red Hulk by knocking him out of the city and intoVermont.[28]
As part of the 2012Marvel NOW! relaunch, the Red Hulk leads a non-government sponsored version of theThunderbolts.[2] This incarnation is a strike team that cleans up the messes left by Ross' military career, but the team later decides on a new arrangement in which the team will do one mission for Ross, then a mission for a random member.[citation needed]
Ross is later depowered by Doc Green, a new personality of Bruce Banner who believes that gamma-powered superhumans are a threat to humanity.[29] He is subsequently imprisoned, but eventually paroled for helping a resistance cell during "Secret Empire".[30][31] After being tortured byCutthroat, who is acting on orders of Alexa Lukin andCrossbones, Ross suddenly regains his ability to transform into Red Hulk.[32]
During theOne World Under Doom event, Ross is kidnapped byDoctor Doom, who forces him to join histhink tank. He is able to escape from theDoombots alongsideDeathlok and Machine Man. After making their way to theLatverian border, all three of them are arrested by the U.S. Army for violating the treaty with Doom. Wildstreak helps them out when former captiveSimon Ryker works for Project Alpha on Doom's behalf. Red Hulk manages to defeat Ryker'sWarwolf form.[33][34]
Marvel editor Mark Paniccia described the Red Hulk as "absolutely uninhibited, tactically intelligent",[10] while writerJeph Loeb said "The Red Hulk is the kind ofHulk we haven't seen before—a thinking, calculating, brutal weapon-toting kind of Hulk." To further distance the character away from the original: "Everything the Green Hulk isn't, the Red Hulk is. Except, of course, for his powers which are identical. And he looks the same, except he's red. And he's the same size. But other than that, they're complete opposites."[11] The character has abilities almost identical to those of the Hulk. The character can also emit heat at will from his eyes during non-enraged periods and can augment power levels by absorbing various types of energy, such asgamma radiation and thePower Cosmic.[19][35] When infected withCable'stechno-organic virus during the "X-Sanction" storyline, he was able to control this heat to burn the virus out of his system.[36] Red Hulk was created through a combination of gamma radiation and cosmic rays.[17] The satellites used to revert the Hulk to human form at the end ofWorld War Hulk were used to power the device used to turn Ross into the Red Hulk.[37] Unlike the green Hulk, the Red Hulk does not revert to human form when rendered unconscious, and his blood is a fluorescent yellow instead of green,[38] remaining that color even in human form.[7][37] Unlike the green Hulk, who gets stronger as his rage increases, Red Hulk'sbody temperature rises with his anger. Though the heat is intense enough to melt desert sand into glass, it causes him to weaken when it becomes too intense,[38] as his physiology lacks a cooling mechanism to deal with the excess heat.[37] Red Hulk has also been shown to have a weakness toNegative Zone energy, which caused him burning pain and drained him when he attempted to absorb it.[39]
In 2009, Thunderbolt Ross was ranked asIGN's 71st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[40]
Comics featuring the Red Hulk sold well but received mixed reviews. The first five issues of the 2008Hulk title sold out, and second printings featured new covers.[41] Issue #6 was the second-best-selling title of September 2008,[42] and issue #10 was sixth in February 2009.[43]
Augie De Blieck Jr. ofComic Book Resources gave the first six issues a positive review, describing it as a "silly fun action romp" and a "popcorn comic". De Blieck liked Loeb's lack of subtlety when giving out clues, saying "this is a book where anytime someone is about reveal the solution to the big mystery, they get knocked out by a slap in the face from the Red Hulk or a machine gun to the gut." His one criticism was that, although he liked the artwork, he would have preferredDale Keown as the artist.[44]
In 2012 Red Hulk was listed as #41 onIGN's "Top 50 Avengers".[45] IGN reviewer Jesse Schedeen was generally critical of the series, citing a lack of character development and the emphasis on action over the ongoing question of Red Hulk's identity.[46] Schedeen also derided the treatment of other mainstream Marvel characters within the pages ofHulk, saying about issue #5 "The series has already treatedShe-Hulk andIron Man like ragdolls who crumple under the awesome might of Red Hulk. Now it's Thor's turn".[47] Schedeen disliked the series for its poor dialogue, pacing, and characterization, and stated thatEd McGuinness' artwork was its only saving grace.[46][47]
Thunderbolt Ross appears inHulk (2003), portrayed bySam Elliott. This version is a four-star administrator of Desert Base, later known as Gamma Base, in the 1970s and was a colleague ofDavid Banner. After the murder ofEdith Banner, Ross continues to supervise Bruce Banner andBetty Ross at the Berkeley Lab.
Thaddeus Ross has appeared in various media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), initially portrayed byWilliam Hurt and subsequently byHarrison Ford.[62] Hurt portrayed the character inThe Incredible Hulk (2008),[63]Captain America: Civil War (2016),[64][65][66][67]Avengers: Infinity War (2018),Avengers: Endgame (2019),[68][69] andBlack Widow (2021).[70] Ford portrayed the character inCaptain America: Brave New World (2025) where he also turned into the Red Hulk.[71][72][73][74][75] Alternate versions of Ross in theMultiverse appear inWhat If...? (2021) voiced byMichael Patrick McGill,[76][77][78] andYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025) voiced byTravis Willingham.[79][80]
Red Hulk has been merchandised in the form of action figures[86][87] and miniature statues.[88]
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hulk Vol. 1: Red Hulk | Hulk (vol. 2) #1–6 | February 2009 | 0-7851-2882-4 |
| Hulk Vol. 2: Red & Green | Hulk (vol. 2) #7–9;King-Size Hulk #1 | July 2009 | 0-7851-2884-0 |
| Hulk Vol. 3: Hulk No More | Hulk (vol. 2) #10–13;Incredible Hulk #600 | February 2010 | 0-7851-4052-2 |
| Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude | Hulk (vol. 2) #2, 16;Skaar: Son of Hulk #1;Hulk: Raging Thunder;Planet Skaar Prologue;All-New Savage She-Hulk #4; | February 2010 | 0-7851-4315-7 |
| Hulk Vol. 4: Hulk vs. X-Force | Hulk (vol. 2) #14–18 | June 2010 | 0-7851-4053-0 |
| Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – Red Hulk | Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #1–4 | August 2010 | 0-7851-4795-0 |
| Hulk Vol. 5: Fall of the Hulks | Hulk (vol. 2) #19–21;Fall of the Hulks: Gamma | November 2010 | 0-7851-4054-9 |
| Hulk Vol. 6: World War Hulks | Hulk (vol. 2) #22–24 | March 2011 | 0-7851-4267-3 |
| Red Hulk: Scorched Earth | Hulk (vol. 2) #25–30 | May 2011 | 0-7851-4896-5 |
| Planet Red Hulk | Hulk (vol. 2) #30.1, 31–36 | October 2011 | 0-7851-5578-3 |
| Fear Itself: Hulk | Hulk (vol. 2) #37–41 | February 2012 | 0-7851-5579-1 |
| Hulk: Hulk of Arabia | Hulk (vol. 2) #42–46 | April 2012 | 0-7851-6095-7 |
| Hulk: Haunted Hulk | Hulk (vol. 2) #47–52 | August 2012 | 978-0-7851-6099-1 |
| Red Hulk: Mayan Rule | Hulk (vol. 2) #53–57 | November 2012 | 0-7851-6097-3 |
Each issue provides about 30 seconds of plot development, which usually centers around heaping more layers of mystery atop the Red Hulk's identity. The rest involves smashing, being smashed, or a bit of both.
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