Summary
Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Incredible Hulk #15!TheHulkwho existed centuries before his more infamous counterpart makes Bruce Banner and his counterpart look quite puny by comparison. As Bruce and the Jade Giant continue to be at odds with one another, the vile entity known as the Eldest reflectson the first Hulkthat ever gave them trouble.
InThe Incredible Hulk #15by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Danny Earls, the monster ruler Eldest tells the story of Tammuz, aka ‘Enkidu’, a gamma mutate from several millennia ago. Under the guise of a beggar, Tammuz comes to a city that’s been overrun by monsters guided by Eldest. When confronted, Tammuz transforms into his twisted counterpart and brutally slaughters Eldest’s forces.
Tammuz talks to several survivors from the city who tell him how their city was conquered by Eldest.The original Hulk warns the survivors to leave, saying they will not be safe from the violence about to come.
Marvel’s First Hulk Was So Much More Brutal Than Bruce
Bruce Banner might bethe most famous gamma mutatein the Marvel Universe, but the first person to be touched by the odd, cosmic power was Tammuz, a man who lived thousands of years ago. After a gamma-irradiated meteorite crashed to Earth near his village, Tammuz was sacrificed by being kicked into the crater the meteorite created, only to travel through the Green Door, the metaphysical gateway that empowers all gamma mutates.Tammuz returned to life as a Hulk-like being, and he spent the next several centuries traveling alone, with no clear indication as to what happened to him.
In the same way that Hulk has leaned into the body horror angle in recent years, Tammuz is just as frightening when it comes to transforming from an average person into a monster of unbelievable size and strength. But Tammuz (or Enkidu as he’s known in later years), has a greater control of his powers. He seems not at odds with himself like Banner and Hulk are. Not to mention he savagely brutalizes several of Eldest’s enforcers, ripping them apart like they were rag dolls.Hulk may say he’s the strongest there is, but Marvel’s original gamma mutate is better.
Tammuz Reveals What Hulk’s Potential Could Be
It’s no secret that Banner and Hulk are rarely on good terms. Right now, the hatred they share is weakening the two of them and allowing Eldest to take advantage of them. Even though Tammuz was a ‘fractured son’ like Banner, he doesn’t direct his fury inwards, but rather, outwards on his enemies. This is an internal strength that Banner/Hulk sorely lacks and ultimately makes them weaker. If they could be a bit more like Marvel’s originalHulk, then Banner and his alter ego could perhaps know true strength.
Hulk
The Hulk, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is physicist Bruce Banner transformed by gamma radiation. He morphs into a giant, green-skinned creature of immense strength and invulnerability when angered. Struggling with his transformations, Hulk allies with other heroes, battling villains while balancing his intellect with uncontrollable rage, making him a central figure in Marvel’s universe.
