====== World War Hulk ======
===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary =====
  *   **Core Identity: **World War Hulk** is the 2007 Earth-616 crossover event detailing the Hulk's cataclysmic war of vengeance against the Earth's heroes who exiled him into space.**
  *   **Key Takeaways:**
  * **Role in the Universe:** A direct sequel to the seminal [[planet_hulk]] storyline, //World War Hulk// serves as the climax of the Hulk's rage and grief, positioning him as a terrifying, righteous, and unstoppable force of nature against the established superhero community.
  * **Primary Impact:** The event shattered the fragile alliances of the superhero world, which were already fractured by the recent [[civil_war_comics|Civil War]]. It exposed the moral failings of Earth's smartest heroes, publicly humiliated its most powerful champions, and directly led to subsequent major events like [[secret_invasion]].
  * **Key Incarnations:** In the Earth-616 comics, this is a literal, planet-shaking war waged on Manhattan by the Hulk and his alien allies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has **not** adapted this storyline; instead, it borrowed visual and thematic elements from its prelude, //Planet Hulk//, for the film [[thor_ragnarok]], but completely altered the context and motivation, omitting the core themes of betrayal and revenge that define //World War Hulk//.
===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution =====
==== Publication History and Creation ====
//World War Hulk// was a Marvel Comics crossover event that ran from May to November 2007. The core story was told in a five-issue limited series, ''World War Hulk'' #1-5, written by the architect of the Hulk's modern saga, [[greg_pak]], with blockbuster art by penciler [[john_romita_jr|John Romita Jr.]], inker Klaus Janson, and colorist Christina Strain.
This event was not a standalone story but the explosive culmination of a multi-year arc for the character, meticulously built by Pak. It directly follows the events of the widely acclaimed //Planet Hulk// storyline (//Incredible Hulk// vol. 2 #92-105). The central premise, "What if the Hulk came back to Earth... and he was //pissed//?", was a natural and terrifying progression. The marketing for the event was built around the simple, chilling tagline: "Let them fight." The event was a massive commercial and critical success, celebrated for its high-stakes action, emotional depth, and lasting consequences for the Marvel Universe. It was supported by numerous tie-in issues across titles like ''Iron Man'', ''Avengers'', ''Ghost Rider'', and ''X-Men'', creating a truly universe-spanning sense of crisis.
==== In-Universe Origin Story: The Road to War ====
The genesis of //World War Hulk// lies in a secret decision made by a cabal of Earth's most brilliant and influential heroes. Their actions, born from fear and perceived necessity, set in motion a tragedy of galactic proportions.
=== Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) ===
The story begins with the formation of the [[illuminati]], a secret council comprising [[iron_man|Iron Man (Tony Stark)]], [[reed_richards|Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)]], [[doctor_strange|Doctor Strange]], [[black_bolt|Black Bolt]] of the Inhumans, Professor Charles Xavier of the X-Men, and Namor the Sub-Mariner. Following a particularly destructive rampage by the Hulk in Las Vegas, the Illuminati (sans a dissenting Namor and an absent Xavier) concluded that Bruce Banner was too great a threat to remain on Earth. They believed that no matter his intentions, the Hulk's power was a ticking time bomb that would inevitably lead to catastrophe.
Deceiving him with a mission to destroy a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite, they instead launched his shuttle into deep space, targeting a peaceful, uninhabited planet where he could live without harming anyone. However, the shuttle was knocked off course and passed through a wormhole, crash-landing on the brutal gladiatorial world of [[sakaar]].
This betrayal led to the events of [[planet_hulk]]. On Sakaar, the Hulk was enslaved, forced to fight as a gladiator, but rose to become a revolutionary leader. He forged a powerful "Warbound" pact with his fellow gladiators—Korg, Miek, Hiroim, Elloe Kaifi, and others. He overthrew the corrupt Red King, became the new ruler, and, for the first time in his life, found peace, acceptance, and love with his queen, Caiera the Oldstrong. He was hailed not as a monster, but as a savior, the "Sakaarson."
This fragile peace was shattered when the shuttle that brought him to Sakaar mysteriously exploded, killing millions, including his pregnant wife Caiera. The explosion incinerated the planet's capital and plunged Sakaar back into chaos. Consumed by a grief and rage of unimaginable magnitude, the Hulk immediately blamed the Illuminati, believing they had rigged the shuttle to self-destruct. With his surviving Warbound, he commandeered a stone starship and set a course for Earth. His goal was not conquest, but justice. He was no longer the Savage Hulk or the smart Professor Hulk. He was the Green Scar, the World-Breaker, and he was coming home to make his "friends" pay for what they had done.
=== Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ===
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has **never** directly adapted the //World War Hulk// storyline. The core premise—the Illuminati's betrayal and Hulk's vengeful return—is entirely absent from the MCU canon.
However, key elements from its //prelude//, //Planet Hulk//, were heavily adapted and integrated into the plot of the 2017 film //[[thor_ragnarok]]//.
  * **Sakaar:** The gladiatorial planet is a central location in the film, ruled by the hedonistic Grandmaster.
  * **Gladiator Hulk:** When Thor arrives on Sakaar, he is forced to fight in the Contest of Champions, where he discovers the Hulk is the planet's reigning champion.
  * **Warbound Members:** Korg and Miek are introduced in the film as fellow gladiators who befriend Thor and Hulk, though their origins and roles are significantly simplified.
  * **Hulk's State:** The MCU's Hulk didn't crash-land on Sakaar due to a hero's betrayal. After the events of //[[avengers_age_of_ultron|Avengers: Age of Ultron]]//, he commandeered a Quinjet and flew into space to isolate himself. The Quinjet passed through a wormhole (implied to be the one above New York, known as the "Devil's Anus") and crashed on Sakaar. He spent two years there, remaining in Hulk form and becoming a beloved celebrity fighter.
Critically, the MCU adaptation strips away all the tragedy and rage. The MCU Hulk on Sakaar is not a king or a liberator; he's a famous athlete who enjoys his life of adulation and smashing. He has no wife, no people to rule, and no reason to seek vengeance on Earth's heroes. The film uses the "Planet Hulk" setting as a backdrop for a buddy-comedy adventure with Thor, rather than the dark, epic tragedy of the comics.
While seeds for a future adaptation could exist—the introduction of a different version of the Illuminati in //[[doctor_strange_in_the_multiverse_of_madness]]// and the appearance of Hulk's Sakaaran son, [[skaar]], in //[[she_hulk_attorney_at_law]]//—as of now, //World War Hulk// remains a purely comic book event.
===== Part 3: Timeline, Key Turning Points & Aftermath =====
The war itself was a swift, brutal, and meticulously planned campaign. The Hulk did not engage in random destruction; he systematically targeted those he held responsible, executing his campaign with the tactical precision of a king leading his army.
=== The Declaration of War ===
Hulk's first stop was Earth's Moon. He confronted the Inhuman king and Illuminati member, [[black_bolt|Black Bolt]], on his home turf in Attilan. In a stunning display of power, Hulk withstood Black Bolt's quasi-sonic scream—a voice capable of leveling mountains—and defeated him with brutal efficiency.
With the Inhuman king as his prisoner, Hulk commandeered global broadcasts. He appeared before the world, seated on a throne with the defeated Black Bolt at his feet. He declared his intentions: he had not come to destroy the world, but to demand justice. He gave the people of New York City 24 hours to evacuate and for the remaining members of the Illuminati—Iron Man, Reed Richards, and Doctor Strange—to surrender themselves to him. The world watched in terror as the clock began to tick.
=== The Fall of Manhattan ===
As promised, Hulk and his Warbound arrived in Manhattan. The island became a warzone, with Hulk systematically dismantling every line of defense thrown at him. His power, amplified by his rage and grief to levels never before witnessed, was absolute.
==== Showdown with Iron Man (Hulkbuster Armor) ====
Tony Stark, now Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., met the Hulk in his most advanced Hulkbuster armor to date. The armor was a marvel of engineering, designed specifically to counter the Hulk, even injecting nano-machines to suppress his strength. The ensuing battle leveled city blocks, but Stark's technology was no match for Hulk's pure, unadulterated fury. Hulk tore the Hulkbuster apart piece by piece, leaving Stark defeated amidst the wreckage of Stark Tower.
==== The Humbling of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers ====
The combined might of the remaining Fantastic Four and the Mighty Avengers proved equally futile. Hulk out-muscled The Thing, stretched Mr. Fantastic to his limits, and shrugged off the Human Torch's nova-level flames. He systematically defeated the entire roster of heroes, demonstrating that their collective power was insignificant before his focused wrath.
==== Confrontation with Doctor Strange (Astral Plane) ====
Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, attempted a different approach. Knowing a physical assault was useless, he engaged the Hulk on the astral plane, attempting to reason with the Bruce Banner persona within. When that failed, he invoked the power of a vastly powerful demonic entity, Zom, merging with it to gain immense physical power. For a moment, it seemed Strange might have the upper hand, but Hulk's rage was so profound that it allowed him to perceive and attack Strange's astral form. In a creative and brutal move, Hulk caused a sonic boom by clapping his hands, disrupting Strange's concentration, and then crushed the sorcerer's hands, severing his connection to the magic.
=== The Gladiatorial Arena ===
With the Illuminati and many of Earth's most powerful heroes defeated and captured, Hulk transformed Madison Square Garden into a gladiatorial arena, reminiscent of his time on Sakaar. He fitted his captives—Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange, and the captive Black Bolt—with the same obedience disks they had used on him.
His intent was not to kill them, but to deliver justice as his people on Sakaar would have understood it. He forced them to fight one another, to feel the helplessness and humiliation he had felt. He wanted the world to see their heroes not as gods, but as flawed, fearful men who had committed a grave crime. He then intended to force them to fight a massive alien beast, forcing them to experience the life of a gladiator. This was the moral and emotional climax of his war: forcing accountability through shared suffering.
=== The Sentry's Intervention ===
Just as Hulk was about to deliver his final judgment, the one hero who had been absent from the conflict finally appeared: [[sentry_robert_reynolds|The Sentry]]. Regarded as having the "power of a million exploding suns," the Sentry was Earth's ultimate weapon and a deeply unstable man who feared his own power. He was the only being on the planet with the raw strength to physically match the World-Breaker Hulk.
Their battle was cataclysmic. The energy they unleashed threatened to tear the city apart. They were two forces of nature, equal and opposite, with Hulk fueled by righteous rage and Sentry by a desperate need to stop the destruction. The fight was so immense and so draining that it exhausted them both completely. The raw power they expended reverted them back to their human forms: a battered Bruce Banner and a weeping Robert Reynolds. For the first time, the war had stopped.
=== The Betrayal and Aftermath ===
As a weakened Banner stood over the defeated heroes, a shocking truth was revealed. The Warbound insectoid, Miek, confessed in a moment of panic that he had witnessed the Red King's loyalists planting the explosives on the shuttle. He did not warn anyone because he //wanted// the explosion to happen. He believed that the Hulk was becoming soft as a king of peace; Miek wanted to ensure the "Sakaarson," the World-Breaker, would never forget his rage and would continue his crusade. The Illuminati were innocent of Caiera's murder.
This final, ultimate betrayal shattered Bruce Banner. The realization that his entire war, the death of his wife, and the destruction he had wrought were all based on a lie and the manipulation of one of his own "brothers," pushed him over the edge. His rage spiked to a level so high that his gamma energy output began to physically threaten the entire Eastern Seaboard. He begged Tony Stark to stop him.
Stark, seizing the opportunity, activated a series of S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite weapons, unleashing a concentrated blast that finally rendered the Hulk unconscious. In the end, the Hulk was defeated not by strength, but by heartbreak.
The aftermath was profound:
  * **Hulk's Imprisonment:** The unconscious Hulk was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, held in his Bruce Banner form three miles beneath the Earth's surface. This led directly to the //Red Hulk// storyline.
  * **Broken Trust:** The reputations of Iron Man and Reed Richards were left in tatters. The world now knew about the Illuminati and their morally questionable decisions.
  * **A Vulnerable Planet:** With the hero community fractured, defeated, and distrustful of one another, Earth was left incredibly vulnerable. This vulnerability was immediately exploited by the Skrulls, setting the stage for the //Secret Invasion// event.
===== Part 4: Key Factions & Combatants =====
==== Core Allies: The Warbound ====
The Warbound were Hulk's sworn brothers-in-arms, former gladiators from Sakaar who followed him to Earth out of absolute loyalty. They were not minions, but a family forged in combat.
  * **Korg:** A Kronan made of living stone. He is the calm, strategic heart of the group, often acting as Hulk's trusted advisor and moral compass.
  * **Miek the Unhived:** An insectoid native of Sakaar. Initially one of Hulk's most fervent followers, his fanaticism and hidden betrayal ultimately caused the war's tragic conclusion.
  * **Hiroim the Shamed:** A Shadow Priest with immense mystical power over the planet itself, known as the Oldstrong Power. He is the group's stoic and honorable warrior-shaman.
  * **Elloe Kaifi:** The agile and fierce daughter of a Sakaaran aristocrat who joined the rebellion. She is often the most vocal and questioning member of the Warbound.
  * **No-Name of the Brood:** A rare Brood who developed a sense of individuality and honor, she fights alongside the Warbound as their monstrous heavy-hitter.
==== Arch-Enemies: The Illuminati ====
The targets of Hulk's wrath, the secret council whose decision to exile him triggered the entire saga.
  * **[[iron_man|Iron Man (Tony Stark)]]:** The pragmatist and futurist. Stark saw the Hulk as an equation of risk that needed to be solved, leading him to champion the exile plan. His technology was the first line of defense and the first to fall.
  * **[[reed_richards|Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)]]:** The brilliant scientist who agreed with Stark's logic. Richards's inability to see past the scientific problem and understand the human (and emotional) cost was his great failing.
  * **[[doctor_strange|Doctor Strange]]:** The master of magic. Strange reluctantly agreed to the exile, a decision that haunted him. He represented the mystical opposition to Hulk's physical might.
  * **[[black_bolt|Black Bolt]]:** The silent king of the Inhumans. As a monarch who understands great and dangerous power, his agreement lent significant weight to the decision. His defeat was Hulk's opening statement.
  * **[[professor_x|Professor Charles Xavier]]:** Though a member, Xavier was not on Earth when the decision was made. However, Hulk still sought him out, stating that Xavier would have agreed with the others, leading to a major confrontation with the X-Men.
  * **[[namor|Namor the Sub-Mariner]]:** The only member who voted against the exile, warning his peers that they were making a terrible mistake and that he would welcome the Hulk's eventual, vengeful return.
===== Part 5: Iconic Events & Tie-In Storylines =====
The core series was the main event, but several tie-ins provided crucial context and iconic moments, showing the vast scope of Hulk's war.
==== World War Hulk: X-Men ====
Hulk travels to the Xavier Institute to confront Professor X. Believing Xavier would have sided with the Illuminati, Hulk demands his surrender. This leads to a massive battle with multiple X-Men teams, including the Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and X-Factor. The highlight of this conflict is the legendary confrontation between the Hulk and the [[juggernaut]]. When Juggernaut's unstoppable momentum is halted and reversed by the sheer force of the Hulk's rage-fueled strength, it serves as one of the event's most definitive displays of the Green Scar's power level.
==== Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #12-13 ====
In a fan-favorite encounter, Doctor Strange magically summons Johnny Blaze, the [[ghost_rider]], to stop the Hulk. As the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider's primary power is the Penance Stare, which forces its victim to experience all the pain they have ever inflicted on others. However, when he uses it on the Hulk, it has no effect. The Ghost Rider declares that Hulk is not guilty; he is not punishing the innocent, only the guilty (the Illuminati). He sees Hulk's war as a justified act of vengeance, and thus, he cannot be judged. The Ghost Rider simply rides away, leaving a stunned Hulk to continue his war.
==== Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #110 ====
This issue showcases the perspective of other heroes. [[hercules]] and the young genius [[amadeus_cho]] form an unlikely alliance. Cho, a devout believer in the Hulk's heroism, gathers a group of former sidekicks and allies called the "Renegades" to aid the Hulk. This story arc provides a crucial counter-narrative, arguing that the Hulk is not a monster, but a wronged hero, and that the Illuminati are the true villains of the story. Hercules's battle with the Hulk is a clash of mythological strength against gamma-powered fury.
===== Part 6: Variants and Alternative Versions =====
==== What If? World War Hulk ====
Marvel published a series of ''What If?'' one-shots exploring different outcomes:
  * **What If Hulk Won?** One story shows Hulk defeating the Sentry and becoming the permanent king of Earth, executing the Illuminati and ruling a broken world.
  * **What If Thor Intervened?** Another scenario depicts Thor returning from Asgard in time to confront the Hulk. Their battle is so destructive it results in the deaths of many heroes, forcing Thor to make the ultimate sacrifice and kill his friend Bruce Banner.
  * **What If Vulcan was involved?** Explores a scenario where the powerful mutant Vulcan, then emperor of the Shi'ar, engages the Hulk in a cosmic battle.
==== World War Hulks (2010) ====
This is a //different// storyline and should not be confused with //World War Hulk//. "World War Hulks" was a 2010 event focusing on the mystery of the Red Hulk and the Red She-Hulk. It involved an evil cabal of villains called the Intelligencia creating an army of gamma-powered heroes and villains. While the name is a deliberate callback, the plot and themes are entirely separate.
==== MCU's Thematic Echoes ====
As detailed previously, the MCU has not adapted this event. The use of the Sakaar setting and gladiator armor in //Thor: Ragnarok// is purely an homage to //Planet Hulk//. Future MCU projects could potentially explore a version of this story, especially with the introduction of Skaar and the concept of the Multiverse, but for now, the definitive version of the Hulk's epic revenge remains solely on the comic book page.
===== See Also =====
  * [[planet_hulk]]
  * [[illuminati]]
  * [[hulk]]
  * [[sentry_robert_reynolds|sentry]]
  * [[greg_pak]]
  * [[civil_war_comics|civil war (comics)]]
  * [[secret_invasion]]
===== Notes and Trivia =====
((//World War Hulk// #1 was the highest-selling comic book for June 2007.))
((The creative team of Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. was specifically chosen to give the event a grand, cinematic feel, uniting the writer who built the story with an artist known for epic, large-scale action.))
((The term "Sakaarson," which Hulk proudly adopts, is a title of honor given to him by the people of Sakaar, meaning "Son of Sakaar." It signifies his transformation from a monster into a beloved king.))
((The revelation of Miek's betrayal is one of the most tragic moments in Hulk's history. It reframes the entire event from a story of righteous vengeance into a tale of manipulated grief, making the Hulk a far more sympathetic and tragic figure in the end.))
((Source Material: The core event is contained in ''World War Hulk'' #1-5. Key preceding events are in ''Incredible Hulk'' vol. 2 #92-105 (''Planet Hulk'').))