The Hulk is associated with plenty of interesting heroes and villains that have sadly been absent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though the series has had plenty of opportunities to include them. As of the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World, it seems as though the MCU has consigned itself to using characters associated with The Hulk in other characters’ movies, with Red Hulk starring as the primary antagonist of Sam Wilson’s first Captain America solo movie. There are still plenty of important Hulk characters that have yet to see use in the franchise.
There is an obvious reason as to why so many important heroes, villains, and side characters in the Hulk mythos haven’t yet appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sticky legal rights surrounding a Hulk solo movie prevented Marvel Studios from taking the time to explore more Hulk characters for a long time, leading to Bruce Banner becoming more of a supporting character in crossover movies instead. Even today, the MCU has missed out on using many iconic Hulk characters from the comics, although Red Hulk’s new inclusion may suggest this won’t be the case for much longer.
8 Rick Jones
The most important Hulk character MIA from the MCU
By far the most pivotal Hulk character that has been written out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe entirely is Rick Jones. While the MCU changed The Hulk to be the result of one of many attempts to replicate Steve Rogers’ super soldier serum, his true comic origin is the result of an atomic bomb testing. Punk kid Rick Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading to Bruce Banner tackling him away from the experimental bomb’s gamma ray bombardment, causing him to absorb the energy instead, giving birth to The Incredible Hulk.
Rick Jones went on to become a staple in Hulk’s comics, being the closest thing Bruce Banner has to a sidekick. In more recent years, Rick Jones also gained a monstrous alter-ego of his own, becoming the blue Abomination-like monster A-Bomb thanks to the genetic tampering of MODOK and the Leader. Considering how dramatically the MCU diverged from The Hulk’s original comic origins, it would be hard to justify including Rick Jones this late in the game, no matter how incredible seeing A-Bomb in live action would be.
7 Doc Samson
One of Hulk’s most recurring villains
With the inclusion of Red Hulk, the Marvel Cinematic Universe can at least be said to have featured each of the Hulk’s most important villains in some capacity, with its own interpretations of the Leader, Red Hulk, and Abomination. Arguably, the next most important Hulk villain yet to make an appearance in the franchise is none other than Doc Samson. Samson was once a normal psychiatrist and known womanizer who finds himself exposed to a healthy dose of the Hulk’s gamma radiation, granting him emerald green hair and super-strength.
Like his biblical namesake, Samson’s strength is proportionate to the length of his hair, having essentially all of The Hulk’s strength with none of the downsides of a split personality, though he later begins to suffer from such side-effects, albeit on a smaller scale. Doc Samson is an interesting foil to Bruce Banner, successful, collected, and calm while able to stand toe-to-toe with a relatively calm Hulk in close combat. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law seems like a particularly missed opportunity for Marvel Studios to introduce the character.
6 Red She-Hulk
The furious side of Betty Ross
The Hulk himself isn’t the only one to turn out to have a crimson doppelgänger. Shortly after Red Hulk’s introduction in the comics, a red version of She-Hulk is also introduced, making an attempt on Red Hulk’s life. Shockingly, the identity of this new Hulk is eventually revealed to be none other than Betty Ross, the daughter of Red Hulk’s General “Thunderbolt” Ross. Like Rick Jones, experimentation by MODOK incurred this transformation, which controlled Betty Ross’s actions in her muscular state despite allowing her a greater degree of speech and awareness compared to the original Hulk.
Eventually, Ross gains control of her Red She-Hulk form, becoming a hero and even being entrusted by the Avengers with an incredibly cool combination Stark-Tech and Asgardian Urdu metal greatsword. Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross has been missing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since her debut in the original The Incredible Hulk, though she is confirmed to reappear in Captain America: Brave New World. Perhaps the film will finally bring Betty Ross’s gamma form to live-action after years of set-up.
5 Glenn Talbot
General Ross isn’t the only military leader out for Hulk’s hide
In many of his stories, The Hulk’s enemies aren’t necessarily mutated monsters and mastermind supervillains, but the U.S. military itself, who seek to hunt down and weaponize the green goliath. At the head of these efforts is traditionally General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who happens to be the father of Bruce Banner’s love interest as well. However, he’s far from the only military leader spearheading the effort to apprehend The Hulk, with Major Glenn Talbot also being a major thorn in The Hulk’s side.
Often depicted as being in love with his superior officer’s daughter, Major Talbot serves as not only a battlefield enemy to The Hulk, but a romantic rival to Bruce Banner, as well. Talbot has never appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper, though he did make his live-action debut in the alternate universe canon of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by Adrian Pasdar. Major Glenn Talbot would be a great character to fill out the busy situation rooms often seen in MCU movies as the government deals with the next major superhero disaster.
4 Mr. Fixit
One of Bruce Banner’s coolest alter egos
Bruce Banner and The Hulk are far from the only personalities rattling around in the genius scientist’s head. The Marvel Comics have explored a great many alternate personas that have occasionally surfaced over the years, taking over control from both Bruce Banner and The Hulk. By far the most fascinating and unique of these is Joe Fixit, who takes over the body of the original gray Hulk after a spell is placed on Bruce Banner that prevents him from taking control back over The Hulk.
Joe Fixit, also going by Mr. Fixit, makes a name for himself as an enforcer in Las Vegas, wearing massive pinstripe suits and terrorizing the enemies of his employer, casino owner Michael Berengetti. It would be quite entertaining to see The Hulk make a sudden and dramatic shift in ambition and personality like this in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and could serve as a good way to exorcise The Hulk from his current dorky Professor Hulk status quo. The Mr. Fixit persona is one of the coolest powers the MCU’s Hulk hasn’t used.
3 Lyra
The Hulk’s daughter
Another heroine to use the title of “She-Hulk” other than Jennifer Walters, Lyra is a very interesting take on a Hulk-like character paradigm. Lyra is the child of The Hulk and the warrior woman time-traveler Thundra, born with a unique, superhumanly strong biology as a result. Instead of her strength scaling up with her levels of anger, Lyra actually deals with the opposite problem, needing to maintain a calm, almost meditative state in order to get use out of her powers. As a result, Lyra has an subdued personality that sets her apart from other Hulk-like beings.
Lyra is originally sent to the mainline Marvel Comics universe, Earth-616, tasked with conceiving a child with Norman Osborn, only to be repulsed upon actually meeting him. She eventually goes on to help the original She-Hulk do battle with Red She-Hulk. Considering the sudden appearance of Hulk’s son Skaar at the end of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, it seems unlikely that the MCU will be willing to double dip with another Hulk child any time soon.
2 Devil Hulk
The dark side of Bruce Banner
Also known as The Immortal Hulk, Devil Hulk is a side of Bruce Banner’s twisted psyche that represents his trauma, resentment, and hatred boiling deep within, occasionally manifesting with a physical body as a Hulk variant. Bruce Banner first becomes aware of Devil Hulk’s existence while roaming through his own mindscape with the help of an advanced machine, where he sees the creature doing battle with the original Hulk and Mr. Fixit. Unlike most other Hulks, Devil Hulk is far less human-looking and far more bestial, being more of a republican monster than a musclebound human.
Devil Hulk is only briefly ever manifested in the flesh, usually being regulated to the confines of Bruce Banner’s mind. Still, it’s interesting to know that such a vile creature was born of Bruce Banner’s trauma and desire for a loving father figure in place of the abusive David Banner. If there was ever another solo Hulk movie in the MCU, having it take place entirely within Banner’s fractured mind with Devil Hulk as the ultimate antagonist would be a great concept.
1 Absorbing Man
A persistent Marvel villain with a creative power-set
Not every sorely-missed character from The Hulk’s comics necessarily needs to have some grand importance to the Hulk mythos. Sometimes, the absence of a cool side villain is bad enough, as is the case with Carl Creel, a.k.a. Absorbing Man. A bruiser of a villain that frequently clashes with super strong characters like Hulk and Thor, Creel first gets his powers after drinking from a magical potion given to him by Loki. With it, he found himself able to absorb and copy the properties of any living or non-living material, making him a versatile villain-for-hire.
Considering the ubiquity of Loki and Thor in the MCU, it’s shocking that the series never got around to the genesis of one of the Avenger’s most recurring minor villains. Absorbing Man did appear in a limited capacity in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Brian Patrick Wade, also appearing as an unpowered boxer in a flashback in Netflix’s Daredevil. Considering his importance in the Secret Wars crossover comic, perhaps the MCU can introduce Absorbing Man in the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars.
