Hulkbusters

This article is about the Marvel Comics organizations. For Iron Man's Hulkbuster armors, see Hulkbuster armor and Hulkbuster armor (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Hulkbusters is the name of three organizations appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. All three groups exist within Marvel's shared universe known as the Marvel Universe and are so-named for their attempts to battle the Hulk.

Hulkbusters
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
In-story information
Member(s)	Craig Saunders Jr. Carolyn Parmenter Samuel J. La Roquette Armand Martel Hideko Takata

Publication history

Bruce Banner's incarnation of the Hulkbusters first appeared in Incredible Hulk #317 (March 1986) and were created by John Byrne.^[1]

Fictional history

The U.S. military's Hulkbusters

The original group called the Hulkbusters was a sizeable joint task force consisting of personnel from both the U.S. Army and Air Force, created to capture or destroy the Hulk. The headquarters for this operation was the Hulkbuster Base located in New Mexico, resembling a peace sign (also called Gamma Base), after it was damaged by the Hulk,^{[volume & issue needed]} and General Thunderbolt Ross commanded them along with General John Ryker and Major Glenn Talbot. The U-Foes later destroyed the Hulkbuster Base.^[2] After learning to retain his intelligence and personality as the Hulk, Bruce Banner is pardoned and the Hulkbusters disband.^[3]

During this Hulkbusters operation, Clay Quartermain served as its S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison.

Originally, Gamma Base was Project Greenskin: Hulkbuster Base and it was the base for the Hulkbusters. The US Government shut it down and it was opened again for Bruce Banner's Project: Hulkbuster.^{[volume & issue needed]} When that group broke up, it was shut down again.^{[volume & issue needed]} It was later opened again for the use of Operation: Zero Tolerance.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Bruce Banner's Hulkbusters

After the Hulk reverts to his bestial personality, he is captured by Doc Samson.^[4] Samson persuades the government to rebuild and finance Gamma Base. There, Samson manages to separate Bruce Banner and the Hulk, although the Hulk manages to escape.^[5] Banner leads a new iteration of the Hulkbusters in tracking down the Hulk.^[1]

Members of this group of Hulkbusters included:

• Craig Saunders Jr. – Demolition expert (later known as Redeemer)
• Carolyn Parmenter – Marine scientist
• Samuel J. La Roquette – Explorer (later known as Rock)
• Armand Martel – Xenobiologist
• Hideko Takata – Geophysics professor

Saunders and La Roquette later became Rock and Redeemer, a supervillain team who faced the Hulk on various occasions,^[6][7][8] after much of Banner's Hulkbuster team were killed.^[9] Rock had an external hide made of deadly minerals which can be used to impale and grow in size. Redeemer had an exoskeletal suit with weapons like repulsor blasters, and rocket fuel. The Leader later recruited them into "New Freehold" along with the Riot Squad.^[10]

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Hulkbusters

Hulk's exile from Earth by the Illuminati during the events of "Planet Hulk" leads to his enemies causing chaos unopposed. As a result, S.H.I.E.L.D. forms a team called the Hulkbusters to capture the villains and implant them with nanotechnology to nullify their powers. The team was led by Clay Quartermain and members included Agent Cheesecake, Agent Crimson, and She-Hulk.^[11]

Other versions

An alternate universe incarnation of the Hulkbusters from Earth-1610 appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe. This version of the group works under Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.^[12]

In other media

Television

• The original Hulkbusters appear in The Incredible Hulk (1996). Similarly to the comics, this version is led by Thunderbolt Ross and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Gabriel Jones in tracking down Bruce Banner.
• The original Hulkbusters appear in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
• S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Hulkbusters appear in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "The Incredible Spider-Hulk". This version is led by Phil Coulson.
• The original Hulkbusters appear in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.. These versions are a countermeasure for the eponymous Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
• The Hulkbusters appear in Avengers Assemble.

Video games

• The Hulkbusters appear in Hulk (2003). These versions are military units controlled by John Ryker.
• The Hulkbusters appear in The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. These versions are soldiers who mentally control mechanical armor of varying sizes and capabilities.
• Armored Hulkbusters appear in The Incredible Hulk (2008), with two voiced by S. Scott Bullock and Chris Edgerly.^[13][14] These suits are identified as StarkTech models.

Novels

Craig Saunders Jr. and Samuel J. La Laroquette appear in the novelization of the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, written by Peter David. These versions are members of a military strike team sent to capture the Hulk and also appear unnamed in the film.