The Hulk’s Infinite Power: Exploring the High Cost of Strength

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Power Man: Timeless #1

Transforming into a Hulk is fraught with challenges and dire consequences that no one would willingly embrace. Each gamma mutate embodies a fragment of the One Below All’s dark power, an embodiment of ultimate evil. Although this godlike power bestows nearly limitless strength, the price of becoming a Hulk is steep. Once a person becomes entwined with this fate, they are bound to an unending existence tied to Marvel’s most formidable Devil.

The process of resurrection among Hulks often involves intense agony and trauma, compounding the suffering of their previous deaths. The narrative in Power Man: Timeless #1, crafted by the creative team of Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Bernard Chang, unveils a distant future where Luke Cage triumphs against the apocalyptic forces of Khonshu, emerging as Earth’s ultimate protector.

Luke Cage reawakens after dying and returning through the Green Door.

Now infused with the combined abilities of the Hulk, Iron Fist, and Sentry, Cage becomes an immensely powerful hero. However, even such overwhelming strength cannot shield him from the horrific repercussions of his transformation. When it comes to confronting the Green Door, Luke Cage’s mental resilience falters, revealing that even the mightiest heroes grapple with the horror of death.

Hulk’s Immortality: An Exhausting Curse of Existence

Hulk, Abomination, and the Leader, among other characters, looking up at the One Below All.

Once a being is intertwined with gamma energy, they invariably connect with the One Below All, a nihilistic entity representing pure destruction. This entity is the cosmic antithesis of the One Above All, utilizing gamma mutates like Luke Cage to impart its malevolent influence on the world. Regardless of the pain associated with a gamma mutate’s death, one thing remains certain: the sounding call of the Green Door will inevitably guide them back to existence.

In this issue, Luke Cage encounters a formidable extradimensional force that causes his body to split in two, leaving him a lifeless husk in space. Yet, for a gamma mutate, death translates merely to a transient condition. The narrative delves deeply into the bleak and agonizing experience of confronting the Green Door, depicting Cage’s awakening: “He’d forgotten the terror of dying as the Hulk. And the shame of being exiled, even from eternal rest.” There is no prospect of peace for the Hulks, as they are perpetually subject to an unending cycle of torment, unable to find true rest.

Hulks: Instruments of the One Below All’s Expansion

Their Souls Have One Grim Fate

Historically, the essence of Hulk’s power has not always been cosmic in nature. Initially presented in a strictly scientific framework, the true depth of gamma energy emerged prominently in Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s Immortal Hulk series. Just as Moon Knight serves as the avatar for Khonshu, Hulks serve as avatars for the One Below All. When they perish, their souls venture into the realm governed by this cosmic entity. The Below Place, where the One Below All resides, is a surreal nightmare stemming from body horror.

Strikingly, the One Below All does not retain the souls of its avatars indefinitely. Even as avatars, Hulks invariably fall short of the cosmic desires of their dark master, prompting their release for further growth. The Green Doors facilitate a gradual seep of the One Below All into the tangible world, fostering its agenda to mold an avatar sufficiently powerful to embody its immortal vessel. This theme is explored further in Immortal Hulk #20, featuring a far-future iteration of Bruce Banner who becomes an expansive vessel for the One Below All.

The Green Door Appears to All Gamma Mutates

The One Below All Is Always Waiting

The Hulk standing before the Green Door.

This relentless demand for souls means gamma mutates are never afforded rest. The One Below All’s need for its vessels overpowers the concept of mortal death. Consequently, when exposed to gamma radiation, a soul is tethered to a new purpose—serving an indifferent master as their individual identity slowly deteriorates.No greater power exists than the One Below All, apart from its equal opposite, the One Above All. This forms an existential horror that no mortal consciousness can truly fathom.

While individual Hulks might manifest unique abilities, the grim curse of immortality remains a universal aspect. The notable exception is Amadeus Cho, whose powers derive from gamma-infused nanobots, potentially exempting him from true gamma mutation. For the rest, however, an eternity riddled with suffering, rage, and despair is unavoidable. Once the rage subsides, the soul remains trapped in the Below Place, reducing gamma mutates to wandering shells.

A Hulk’s Fate Is Unavoidable and Eternal

Once an Avatar, Always an Avatar

The Hulk wants to know why he has to suffer.

This singular aspect unites all Hulks: anyone subjected to gamma energy risks becoming linked to the One Below All. Regardless of attempts to dispel this energy, the spiritual bond persists. Manifesting absolute horror, the One Below All demands its avatars execute its dreaded will, indifferent to their personal struggles. The brutal cost of Hulkish strength is a horrific immortality that condemns them to perpetual torment.

Despite Bruce Banner’s numerous attempts to free himself from the Hulk’s influence, the Green Door’s ominous presence remains inescapable. This torment fuels Banner’s thought of self-destruction; however, the One Below All relentlessly revives him. The Green Door thus symbolizes an everlasting servitude to a dark power with which one never intended to forge a pact. Each resurrection brings fresh pain and suffering, compounding the previous trauma of death.

This is the grim reality that all Hulks must confront. Their fate is inescapable, infinite, and relentless. The One Below All cannot be thwarted, save for the opposition offered by its counterpart. No sorcery, relic, or clever contrivance can sever the ties to the One Below All.Ultimately, it represents a supreme, nihilistic destiny devoid of any possibility of evasion. Where the destructive potential once seemed the greatest burden, it pales in comparison to the true horrors that await beyond life itself.

Power Man: Timeless #1 is available from Marvel Comics.

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