Why Is Thunderbolt Ross’ Hulk Red?

We all know the story of Bruce Banner’s Hulk. Exposure to gamma radiation leads him to become the Jade Giant. As for General Ross’ Red Hulk, though, his origin story is a bit different. The supervillains MODOK and the Leader met with Ross after Banner was exiled off-world, warning that he could return as Hulk and seek revenge. Begrudgingly, he joins forces with them, and when Hulk did inevitably return for the “World War Hulk” storyline, the villains — along with Doc Samson — used satellites to take energy from him and later transfer it to Ross. A mix of gamma and cosmic energy would turn his skin red and blood fluorescent orange-yellow when he became a Hulk.

Also, from a design standpoint, Ross’ Hulk is red because it sets him apart from Bruce Banner’s green Hulk. It makes their battles more visually engaging and labels him as the bad guy since red is often a color reserved for villains. But how did Marvel Comics readers feel about Ross’ new look? Well, if Reddit user u/morgansdoor‘s thread is of any indication, fans were pretty critical starting out. The conversation is loaded with comments expressing disappointment in his appearance, referring to him as a lazy Hulk palette swap. The original post and other commenters even posit that Ross could’ve become an entirely different monster once transformed.

Regardless of where you stand on General Ross’ Red Hulk, he has undeniably become a staple of Marvel Comics in the years since his introduction. Surely with Harrison Ford now cast as Ross for “Captain America: New World Order,” we’ll see him take on his Hulk form in Marvel Cinematic Universe in due time as well.

We all know the story of Bruce Banner’s Hulk. Exposure to gamma radiation leads him to become the Jade Giant. As for General Ross’ Red Hulk, though, his origin story is a bit different. The supervillains MODOK and the Leader met with Ross after Banner was exiled off-world, warning that he could return as Hulk and seek revenge. Begrudgingly, he joins forces with them, and when Hulk did inevitably return for the “World War Hulk” storyline, the villains — along with Doc Samson — used satellites to take energy from him and later transfer it to Ross. A mix of gamma and cosmic energy would turn his skin red and blood fluorescent orange-yellow when he became a Hulk.

Also, from a design standpoint, Ross’ Hulk is red because it sets him apart from Bruce Banner’s green Hulk. It makes their battles more visually engaging and labels him as the bad guy since red is often a color reserved for villains. But how did Marvel Comics readers feel about Ross’ new look? Well, if Reddit user u/morgansdoor‘s thread is of any indication, fans were pretty critical starting out. The conversation is loaded with comments expressing disappointment in his appearance, referring to him as a lazy Hulk palette swap. The original post and other commenters even posit that Ross could’ve become an entirely different monster once transformed.

Regardless of where you stand on General Ross’ Red Hulk, he has undeniably become a staple of Marvel Comics in the years since his introduction. Surely with Harrison Ford now cast as Ross for “Captain America: New World Order,” we’ll see him take on his Hulk form in Marvel Cinematic Universe in due time as well.