Infernal Hulk is Shaping as the Monster’s Defining Moment in Comics History

Every now and then the powers that be at Marvel give the jade giant a break. We don’t mean in the figurative sense he’s always been chasing; to be isolated and away from “puny humans” and most other distractions since he ever muttered those famous words: “Hulk just wants to be left alone”. No, rather we’re talking about reminding everyone that Hulk truly is that other famous line -- “the strongest one there is”, and this has often come through in some truly iconic and unique storylines, but maybe nothing to the degree that Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Infernal Hulk is threatening to do, and be.

In its simplest breakdown, you could think of Infernal Hulk as Hellboy-like. The arc revolves about an entity known as Eldest (an old adversary of Hulk’s who last appeared in Immortal Hulk) bent on bringing about an “age of monsters”. To do this, she needs Hulk’s body but faces resistance in Banner and so swiftly, and physically, tears the human from the monster, casting Banner aside while possessing Hulk. An Eldritch Hulk is one thing, but a Hulk packing powers of the likes of the ‘Old Ones’ is simply another level.

“I’ve been promising Hulk fans the biggest, boldest status quo change in Hulk’s history,” Johnson said in the lead up to Infernal’s release. “And that time is finally here.”

Infernal Hulk takes over from Johnson’s most recent run in The Incredible Hulk, and was released in November of 2025 (with the lead-in running from Incredible Hulk 28 - 30, though from issue one, seeds for Infernal have been being planted). And after just two issues of the newly-titled run, things in the Marvel Universe will never be the same again. This is no longer a tale of an emergent ‘alter’ or something alien or tech-based; this is monstrous and horrific -- the power of the Hulk as possessed by an angry cosmic being akin to a fallen god. Power upon power with no remorse or reasoning beyond the goal to rule over earth -- above and below -- as a new ‘Mother of Horrors’.

Sleeping, ancient leviathans awakened, cities made of flesh and an army of undead are just the beginning of this run that threatens to reshape the Marvel “status quo” as we know it. And readers will be the better for it. It’s been too long since the supernatural and things of a truly demonic nature have had a genuine say in proceedings, but to finally also witness a side of Hulk without restraint and with new powers and a new look has, frankly, been long overdue, particularly in the shadow of the toothless version of him that’s been masquerading as “the strongest one this is” in the cinematic universe.

*Ahem*

If you’ve ever wanted to see an unleashed Hulk and to truly know the horror he is capable of, Infernal Hulk is for you and is currently releasing on a monthly schedule in both digital and physical release form.