Warning: contains spoilers for Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1!

Marvel's Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters just revealed the first human to become a Hulk, but their gamma transformation also offers a fascinating detail about the Marvel Universe's supreme villain that may offer hope for their defeat. The Immortal Hulk series has been so beloved by fans that Marvel has commissioned a number of one-shot stories ahead of the main series' conclusion in issue 50. Coming from series writer Al Ewing and artist Alex Paknadel, Time of Monsters is one of these single-issue stories, traveling back in time to reveal the first ever Hulk.

The first Hulk is Tammuz, a young man sacrificed by a village elder in order to counteract the radioactive effects of a comet that recently plunged to Earth, killing crops and animals. Pushed into the comet's crater as a sacrifice, Tammuz is transformed into a familiar green behemoth, gaining incalculable power in much the same way as Bruce Banner. But unlike Bruce, Tammuz has little inner darkness to express, and quickly begins thinking of ways to use his new form to help his people.

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The first Hulk intends to use his strength and claws to dig down and get his village fresh water, reflecting that, "like the streams underground that flow without surcease, it is too clean and too pure to be dangerous. He will share this power with his village -- with all the villages. From the Shell People of the West to the Bone Talkers of the East. He will carry them all into tomorrow -- on his back if need be." This Hulk may look like a monster, but he's compelled by incredible altruism and ambition. Sadly, the village elder who sacrificed Tammuz returns, seeing this new "beast" as the answer to the village's food shortage. Tammuz is slain by a hunting party, dying and coming face to face with Marvel's most imposing villain: the One-Below-All.

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The One-Below-All is the counterpart to Marvel's supreme being, the One-Above-All. Where the One-Above-All watches over every reality in the multiverse, the One-Below-All loathes them, and plots to destroy all life so that it may finally be alone, untroubled by anything different to itself. Immortal Hulk has already revealed the One-Below-All's epic plan to possess the Hulk and gain the power to permanently end the cycle of creation that spawns new realities, but Time of Monsters suggests a way for the Green Goliath to be free of its influence.

Previously, fans had understood that the supreme villain had an unbreakable connection to gamma energy. It was able to bond with gamma mutates, giving it the form and drive it needed to enact its plans. But it's only when the first Hulk dies that he encounters the One-Below-All, his anger at those who turned against him driving him to accept the One-Below-All's doctrine of hate. Tammuz returns to life as a force of destruction, taking his revenge on those he used to love and respect, but his earlier focus on using his powers for good suggests that the One-Below-All's influence may not be as strongly tied to gamma radiation as fans have been led to believe.

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Throughout Immortal Hulk, the One-Below-All has shown the ability to influence gamma mutates, even allowing its pawns to possess their bodies. Up until this point, it had seemed that gamma power was inextricably linked to this cosmic evil, but the first Hulk suggests this isn't true. Tammuz's initial transformation sees him thinking and acting like a hero, suggesting that rather than being inherently corruptive, there may be a way to tap into gamma power without falling under the One-Below-All's influence. That's something that's going to be essential in the future if the Hulk is going to keep his gamma connection without remaining vulnerable to Marvel's supreme villain.

The Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters offers a hint that gamma mutates may be able to exist without a link to the One-Below-All. While the Hulk's recently discovered immortality does seem to be core to the One-Below-All's influence, sacrificing this ability would be a small price to pay to scupper the plans of Marvel's immortal evil. As Immortal Hulk barrels towards its conclusionTime of Monsters offers the first glimpse of what might come next, and the possibility that being a Hulk doesn't necessarily have to mean becoming a monster.

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