In Marvel lore, theHulkis famously ‘The Strongest One There Is’ - but one character coming soon to the MCU proved he doesn’t quite deserve this title…by breaking every bone in his body. It’s a feat almost no-one else has ever equaled, however one forgotten piece of Marvel lore suggests there’s a truly jaw-dropping reason Hulk was destined to lose this fight.
In 2005’sSentry #3from Paul Jenkins, John Romita Jr., Mark Morales, Dean White and Rus Wooton, Bob Reynolds’Sentryasks for Hulk’s help. He’s chasing his enemy the General into the Negative Zone - a place where his own powers are vastly weakened. Hulk agrees, but when the two arrive, they find the Void waiting for them. Sentry’s nemesis lashes out, shattering the Hulk’s bones as a ‘lesson’ not to oppose it.
Bob Reynolds' Sentry will soon make his MCU debut in 2025’sThunderbolts*,played by Lewis Pullman. While the Void was originally believed to be a separate entity, it was eventually revealed to be an aspect of Bob’s own personality, which - once he became the Sentry - bonded to an eldritch power source, guided by his suppressed fears and self-loathing.
Void vs Hulk exposed the Green Goliath’s little-known vulnerability, and the class of beings who even the Hulk can’t match.
Hulk Has Only Been Using His MINIMUM Strength for 62 Years, & He Only Needs to Do 1 Thing to Power Up
I just realized that despite his incredible power, Hulk has been operating at his minimum strength his entire career - but he can easily get stronger.
Sentry’s Void Form Broke the Hulk
The Upcoming Thunderbolts* Hero Has a MAJOR Dark Side
The Hulk’s gamma powers make him the strongest and most durable mortal being in Marvel lore, but next to the Void,even Hulk was beaten and broken. Part of this may be because the Sentry has a calming effect on Hulk, meaning he was at a low level of rage when he fought the Void. But even then, the Void still crushed Hulk like it was nothing, with the next issue confirming the villain had made good on its promise to break ever bone in Hulk’s body.
Sentry’s origin has been changed and tweakedsince his 2000 introduction, but in modern lore he gained powers after ingesting an extremely concentrated version of the recreated Super-Soldier Serum. This gave him the power of"a million exploding suns,“but also seemingly attracted a primordial force of darkness. Unable to cope with his powers as a human,Bob effectively created both the Sentry and the Void as alternate personas, siloing off his new powers into different forms who initially believed themselves to be separate beings.
Hulk’s fight against Zeus explains why the Void hurt him so badly - it’s actually an ancient god.
Sentry has always been a deeply troubled hero, suffering from intense agoraphobia and paranoia regarding the Void, but is also perhaps the most powerful superhero in Marvel lore.Bob Reynolds' true power is to control reality on the molecular level, however as the Sentry he tends to use this ability to generate more traditional superpowers such as flight, superstrength and energy projection. Connected to Bob’s unconscious, the Void has far fewer limits, and has been known to resurrect the dead, teleport between dimensions, and manifest an energy form so powerful, the unified Avengers couldn’t beat it without being enhanced by Asgardian magic.
Thor vs Sentry: Who Won Every Time They Actually Fought (Including to the Death)
Clashing more than a few times throughout their history, both Thor and the Sentry have had some wins - and they have even had some deaths too.
However,as powerful as the Sentry is, previous lore suggests that the Void’s ability to beat the Hulk wasn’t just due to physical strength, but rather to its inherent nature as a literal god.This is one of Hulk’s few vulnerabilities, and the source of hisothergreatest beating in Marvel history.
Sentry Beat Hulk Because He’s a God
Hulk vs Zeus Revealed the Green Goliath’s Biggest Vulnerability
Hulk’sothermostdevastating defeat came at the hands of Zeus, king of the Greek gods. The two fought in Greg Pak, Paul Pelletier, Danny Miki, Paul Mounts and Simon Bowland’sIncredible Hulks #622. Hulk attacks Zeus in an attempt to force the god to heal his friends. Sadly,Hulk finds himself grievously outmatched - Zeus brutalizes the Jade Giant, shattering his ribcage, and then sentences him to be eaten by vultures for eternity (while secretly knowing Hercules will help Hulk escape.)
The story later explains that Zeus destroying Hulk wasn’t a matter of physical power - Hulk confronted Zeus on Mount Olympus, a place where his godly power is at his height and the laws of reality essentially follow his command.Gods have a unique ability to hurt the Hulk, which might explain how the Void damaged him so badly. In Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato Jr., Rain Beredo and Cory Petit’sDark Avengers #13, it’s strongly suggested that the Void is the Biblical Angel of Death.
While Marvel hasn’t expanded much on this backstory, the issue shows Void energy present during the final plague in 1600 BC, suggestingthe entity that bonded to Bob is some form of ancient embodiment of the wrath of God. Breaking theHulk’s bones would seem to support this jaw-dropping possibility, especially given the Green Goliath’s weakness to deities, and makes it clear why theSentry’s upcoming MCU debut is such a huge deal for Marvel’s movie universe.
Hulk
The Hulk, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is physicist Bruce Banner transformed by gamma radiation. He morphs into a giant, green-skinned creature of immense strength and invulnerability when angered. Struggling with his transformations, Hulk allies with other heroes, battling villains while balancing his intellect with uncontrollable rage, making him a central figure in Marvel’s universe.
