Warning: contains spoilers for Heroes Reborn #2!
The Hulk just revealed his intense respect for Captain America in the most tragic way, calling for Steve Rogers during a battle with Hyperion that ended in the Green Goliath’s death. Marvel’s ongoing Heroes Reborn has transformed the Marvel Universe, as an unseen force tampers with the timestream to create a world where the Avengers never formed and the Squadron Supreme of America are Earth’s mightiest heroes. Few characters remember reality as it was, but Heroes Reborn #2 reveals that the Hulk is among them, leading to the heartrending scene as Bruce Banner’s alter ego tries to figure out why the world no longer makes sense.
The Squadron Supreme began life as an obvious pastiche of DC’s Justice League, and Heroes Reborn has only built on that core concept. Heroes Reborn #2 – from James Aaron, Ed McGuinness, and Dale Keown – recasts several Marvel characters as parodies of Superman’s rogues gallery, with Hulk taking the role of the reverse-speaking Bizarro. Escaping from the Negative Zone, where he was exiled by the Squadron Supreme along with their other major threats, Hulk finds his brain scrambled, attempting to explain the way the world should be to terrified civilians until Hyperion steps in.
Hulk demands to know where the Avengers are, but Hyperion won’t let up, realizing Hulk is strong enough to kill him if their fight continues. Citing Executive Order SSA-1939, Hyperion murders Hulk with his heat vision. It’s a daunting task given the Hulk has recently embraced his ability to return from death by reconstituting his body, but Hyperion relentlessly attacks Hulk on the cellular level until he stops healing. “With his last words, I hear him call out like a desperate sinner searching for god in his final moments,” Hyperion thinks. “But it’s not god he calls to. ‘Steve,’ he whimpers. ‘Where Steve?’ And with that… the Hulk rages no more.”
It’s a heartbreaking way for Hulk to go, unable to adequately express a truth that no-one else will admit, and calling for Captain America with his last breath. Little does Hulk know that Steve Rogers is already out there, working to fix the damage done to reality. At the end of the issue, it’s revealed that Blade located Captain America, reasoning that the Super Soldier was never thawed out in the modern day, and Steve even confronts Hyperion to better understand what’s wrong with the world. Of course, that all comes a little late for Hulk.
It’s perhaps surprising that Hulk thinks so highly of Captain America, but the moment isn’t without precedent. Avengers vs. X-Men showed Steve Rogers recruit Hulk to fight against the Phoenix Five, expressing his respect for the Hulk’s desire for peace, and assuring him he would never interrupt his solitude unless it was essential. Like Marvel’s other heroes, Hulk has spent enough time around Steve Rogers to understand he’s the linchpin of the Avengers and the man most able to help fix a world gone mad.
Still, the fact remains that at his lowest moment, Hulk doesn’t call for best friend Rick Jones or uber-powerful ally the Sentry, but Steve Rogers. Hopefully, Captain America and Blade will be able to restore the world to its rightful state – one in which the Hulk might have the chance to express his respect for Steve Rogers in less tragic circumstances.
