While most people only think of superhuman strength when they see the Incredible Hulk, Marvel’s Green Goliath has many superpowers, some of which have nothing to do with his muscles. Part of this is due to Bruce Banner’s gamma-powered shapeshifting ability which enables him to create multiple powers for the Hulk, including the power to see ghosts or breathe underwater. One of the Hulk’s most exotic abilities, however, has a much grosser origin.
Readers know that the Hulk was “born” when Doctor Robert Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of gamma radiation from a bomb he designed. Although Banner was many miles away from ground zero when the bomb exploded on the testing site, his body was still bombarded with sufficient amounts of radiation to allow him to mutate into a massively powerful green (or gray) skinned creature.
What is not so commonly known is that since he first transformed, the Hulk has had the uncanny ability to “hone in” to the exact spot in the desert where the gamma rays originally hit him. This has allowed him to return to that area no matter how far away his journeys take him (not unlike a salmon returning to its spawning grounds). For a long time, the origins of this power were a mystery, with some believing it was just another power Banner had unconsciously imbued the Hulk with. As it turned out, however, the truth behind this power was much more disturbing.
Decades after he was created in the early 1960s, the Hulk enjoyed a celebrated run by writer Peter David, who wrote many influential Hulk stories. These included a long-running storyline where Banner’s many Hulk personalities merged into a single powerful green Hulk with Banner’s intellect and greater confidence. Known as the “Professor” or “Smart Hulk,” a version of this character made it to the MCU in Avengers: Endgame. As it turned out, however, David wasn’t done with the Hulk’s transformations just yet.
In the miniseries Future Imperfect, the Smart Hulk was transported to an alternate future that had been all but destroyed thanks to nuclear war. While most of humanity was dead, the survivors were all ruled over by an older Hulk – now mutated into a corrupt, mad dictator named “The Maestro.” Possessing even greater strength but no morals, the Maestro fought the Smart Hulk and nearly killed him. In the end, however, the original Hulk managed to send his future counterpart back in time to the day of the gamma bomb explosion.
Although the Maestro decided he’d just take over this world as well, he soon realized that the Hulk hadn’t just sent him back in time – he made sure he arrived at ground zero of the gamma bomb test. Unable to survive a blast at that close range, the Maestro was instantly disintegrated when the bomb went off. Ironically then, the gamma bomb both birthed and killed the Incredible Hulk.
This was not the end of the Maestro, however. Although nothing but ash now, the remains of the Maestro continued to psychically call out to the Hulk in this timeline. Although the Hulk was only aware of these calls on an unconscious level, he still followed them – revealing that his ability to “hone in” on his birth site was actually the Maestro’s remains calling to him. Moreover, the Maestro has a reason for calling the Hulk – every time the Hulk comes “home,” the Maestro’s remains leech the gamma radiation from his body, allowing him to slowly resuscitate himself.
The Hulk manages to destroy this new Maestro – but the revelation that he his “homing sense” was basically the ghostly calls from the remains of his dead future self is certainly a grotesque reason for his “power.” Hulk has many strange abilities, but this one definitely ranks as one of the most bizarre.