In “Bring on the Bad Guys” this week we’re looking at villains who first became antagonists of the Hulk in the 1960s. In order to qualify, they must have appeared in one of the regular The Incredible Hulk series or during Hulk’s run in Tales to Astonish. Characters are ranked in the following categories: Personality, Powers, Cultural Impact, Design, and Mythology/Back Story. Each category is worth five points.
A word of warning, this week’s list is a bit thin. You’ll see what that means in a bit.
#1) General “Thunderbolt” Ross
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1), #1 – July 1962
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 12+
- Real Name: Thaddeus E. Ross
- Place of Origin: New Hampshire, USA – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
- Powers/Abilities: Expert in military tactics and leadership.
Even among arch-foes, it is unusual in comics to appear in nearly every issue of their nemesis’ series. But that is the case with General Ross. The number of appearances listed above are only those where Ross is the primary antagonist in a comic, but, as fans of the green-skinned behemoth know, Ross rarely ever stops hounding the Hulk.
Ross, for most of his history, has been a regular ol’ human. But even one of the toughest military men of Marvel has his limits. In an effort to finally match the monster he’d hunted for so long, Ross became the fiery Red Hulk, but even then, the original proved too much for the copycat.
There are two big screen renditions of General Ross. He was played by Sam Elliot in Ang Lee’s Hulk, and by William Hurt in the MCU, where he has appeared in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and the Marvel One-Shot The Consultant. He’s also been a featured character in over a dozen animated Marvel TV shows and video games.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 4
- Powers: 3
- Mythology/Back Story: 4
- Design: 2
- Cultural Impact: 4
- TOTAL: 17
#2) The Leader
- First Appearance: Tales to Astonish (Vol. 1), #62 – December 1964
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 13
- Real Name: Samuel Sterns
- Place of Origin: Boise, Idaho, USA – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
- Powers/Abilities: Supergenius-level intellect, with particular expertise in probabilities and genetic engineering. Psionic abilities.
His star has faded lately, but the Leader historically has presented the most complex challenges to the Hulk. As intelligent as Hulk is strong, the Leader’s schemes have enveloped the Marvel Universe for years, and he’s proved himself capable of going up against some of the most power beings in existence.
The Leader shows no allegiance to any country, and his ring of spies, robots, and mercenaries provide layer after layer of insulation, allowing him to be the spider at the web’s center, pulling on whatever thread moves him closer to his goal.
Tim Blake Nelson plays the role of Samuel Sterns in the MCU’s The Incredible Hulk. In this version of the character, Sterns is a cellular biologist in New York City, and not a janitor in Boise, Idaho. In the film, the beginning of Stern’s transformation into the Leader is shown, and it is confirmed in tie-in comics that he had been moved to a secure SHIELD prison.
The Leader is a playable character in both the LEGO Avengers and LEGO Super Heroes video games, and has appeared in several other games as well. He is a primary antagonist in the Hulk movie spin-off game, as well as the 1994 Hulk game for Genesis and SNES. He has also been featured in some of Marvel’s animated series, although his most significant presence in that realm was as a regular antagonist in the 1990s Hulk series on UPN channels.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 3
- Powers: 4
- Mythology/Back Story: 3
- Design: 3
- Cultural Impact: 3
- TOTAL: 16
#3) Abomination
- First Appearance: Tales to Astonish (Vol. 1), #90 – April 1967
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 3
- Real Name: Emil Blonsky
- Place of Origin: Zagreb, Croatia – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, Gil Kane
- Powers/Abilities: Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. Healing factor. Gamma radiation immunity.
Many of Hulk’s foes are incredibly strong. Many of them are related in some way to gamma radiation. Abomination falls in both of these categories.
In the comics, Blonsky is a soviet spy assigned to discover the secrets of American gamma technology. He gets caught in a place where he shouldn’t be, gets bombarded with radiation, and transforms into a monster who could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk. However, Blonsky doesn’t have the ability to transform from one persona to the other (usually), but he does retain his mental capacity (usually).
Like the two previous entries in this list, Abomination has appeared on the big screen, in animated series, and in video games. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is played by Tim Roth, and serves as the Hulk’s opponent in the final battle of The Incredible Hulk. In tie-in comics, it is revealed that he has been successfully reduced to human form and imprisoned by SHIELD.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 3
- Powers: 4
- Mythology/Back Story: 2
- Design: 3
- Cultural Impact: 3
- TOTAL: 15
#4) Rhino
- First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, #41 – October 1966
- First Appearance in a Hulk comic: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 2, #104 (June 1968)
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 1
- Real Name: Aleksei Sytsevich
- Place of Origin: Russia – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, John Romita, Sr.
- Powers/Abilities: Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. Enhanced speed. Rhino armor provides extra protection against projectiles and horn that allows for charging an enemy.
While primarily a Spider-Man foe, Rhino’s brute strength and power have led him into multiple conflicts with the Hulk.
Aleksei Sytsevich hails from Eastern Europe, where he was first experimented on to use as a weapon against democracy. Instead, he hired himself out and headed to the United States to try to kidnap astronaut John Jameson. Spider-Man naturally rebuffed that plan and sent Rhino to jail. But apparantly when you’re as strong and as dumb as Sytsevich, you become a target for quite a few super-villains who want to use you to take on “the strongest one there is.” Of course, Rhino usually loses these battles and finds himself without a job.
Rhino has not been properly introduced to the big screen. Paul Giamatti plays the character for five seconds in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but his version of the character is no more than a thug in a mech-suit and is better off forgotten. He has appeared in five different Spider-Man animated series, and over a dozen Marvel video games. He is a playable character in both Lego Marvel Super Heroes games, as well as in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe?
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 1
- Powers: 4
- Mythology/Back Story: 3
- Design: 2
- Cultural Impact: 4
- TOTAL: 14
#5) Boomerang
- First Appearance: Tales to Astonish (Vol. 1), #81 – July 1966
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 4
- Real Name: Fred Myers
- Place of Origin: Alice Springs, Australia – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
- Powers/Abilities: Mastery of weaponized boomerangs, skilled marksman and hand-to-hand combatant. Utilizes jet-powered boots for limited flight.
Full disclosure: DC’s Captain Boomerang predates this character by almost six years.
Marvel’s Boomerang, like many Hulk foes, first rose to prominence as a hired hand sent to hunt down government secrets. Coming into contact with the Hulk, Boomerang has done surprisingly well for himself, given that he has no super-powers of his own and could be killed with one blow from the Green Goliath.
He’s also come into conflict with Spider-Man (who probably is his primary foe), Daredevil, the Punisher, and others. His lack of enhanced abilities often leads him to team up with other villains or groups, such as the Sinister Six, Masters of Evil, or the Secret Empire.
Boomerang has yet to appear on the big screen, and has only appeared in three animated shows: the 60’s Marvel Super Heroes, The Avengers: United They Stand, and Ultimate Spider-Man. He also appears in a handful of video games, most notably in Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom’s Revenge.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 3
- Powers: 2
- Mythology/Back Story: 3
- Design: 2
- Cultural Impact: 2
- TOTAL: 12
#6) Tyrannus
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, #5 – January 1963
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 2
- Real Name: Romulus Augustulus
- Place of Origin: The Roman Empire – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
- Powers/Abilities: Youth elixir used for perpetual life, mind control, telepathy, life absorption, military acumen.
Aside from Ross, who has always been more of a nemesis than a villain, Tyrannus is the first person on this list to originate in the original volume of The Incredible Hulk, which began publication in 1962.
Tyrannus has been around for awhile. Born in ancient Rome, he has discovered the secret to unlimited youth. Never one for docility, Tyrannus has spent his long life almost constantly in conflict. King Arthur (yes, that one) and Merlin once banished him for trying to conquer Britain, and he’s often seen leading underground armies against the Mole Man, in an attempt to become sovereign of Subterranea.
While he is immortal in the pages of the comics, his life outside them has been very brief. He appeared in one episode of Marvel Super Heroes in the 60s, as a boss in the 1994 Incredible Hulk video game, and as a minor character in the Game Boy Advance video game of the same name.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 2
- Powers: 2
- Mythology/Back Story: 2
- Design: 2
- Cultural Impact: 2
- TOTAL: 10
#7) Ringmaster
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, #3 – September 1962
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 1
- Real Name: Maynard Tiboldt
- Place of Origin: Vienna, Austria – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
- Powers/Abilities: Hypnosis tech used to control behavior of others.
Ringmaster’s father was a Nazi operative who once fought Captain America during World War II. Naturally, Cap prevailed, and Ringmaster’s parents were murdered by the Nazis as punishment.
Inheriting the family circus, Maynard Tiboldt moved it to the United States and called it his “Circus of Crime.” Although there was nothing fake about the talented performers in the show, most days ended with the Ringmaster absconding with the audience’s valuables after hypnotizing them.
Ringmaster has never been incredibly successful, and is usually beaten rather easily by Hulk, Thor, Daredevil, Spider-Man, or whoever he happens to be up against.
Tiboldt made his debut in the MCU in season two, episode three of Jessica Jones. This version of the character is a hypnotherapist. He has appeared in five different animated series: Marvel Super Heroes, The Avengers: United They Stand, the 1980s Spider-Man series, Avengers Assemble, and The Super Hero Squad Show.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 2
- Powers: 2
- Mythology/Back Story: 2
- Design: 2
- Cultural Impact: 2
- TOTAL: 10
#8) The Glob
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 2, #121 – November 1969
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 1
- Real Name: Joe Timms
- Place of Origin: Miami, Florida, USA – The Planet Earth
- Creators: Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe
- Powers/Abilities: Super strength and stamina. Body is composed of swamp material, allowing for fast healing of wounds and near invulnerability.
And here we go, starting to scrape the bottom of the proverbial barrel in terms of Hulk villains in this decade. On the bright side, you can use this opportunity to learn more about the lesser-known folks that the Jade Giant has battled over the years.
The Glob is basically a poor man’s Swamp Thing, or Man-Thing, whichever you choose. He came into existence when a man named Joe Timms escaped from jail, only to drown in a swamp. Naturally, when a bunch of radioactive material ended up in the very place that Timms’ body rested, the result was this monstrosity. He’s good for a fight, but not a conversation, so you can imagine that talking out their issues is not something that Hulk and the Glob do.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 1
- Powers: 3
- Mythology/Back Story: 2
- Design: 1
- Cultural Impact: 1
- TOTAL: 8
#9) Qnax the Amphibion
- First Appearance: Tales to Astonish, Vol. 1 #73 – November 1965
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 2
- Real Name: Qnax
- Place of Origin: The Planet Xantar
- Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
- Powers/Abilities: Alien, amphibious physiology allows for life on land and underwater. Skilled fighter and tactician. Thick scales act as armor against projectiles and fisticuffs.
Another brute able to match fists with the Hulk, the two first came into conflict at the home of Uatu the Watcher. They were both attempting to steal the Sphere of Ultimate Knowledge. Hulk had been sent by the Leader to do so, while Qnax was doing the bidding of his people, on the planet Xantar.
The Watcher, sticking to his vow of non-interference, let the two battle, with the winner allowed to leave with the Sphere. Hulk triumphed, and Qnax was exiled for his failure.
The only appearance of Qnax outside comics was in the 60’s Marvel Super Heroes animated series.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 2
- Powers: 3
- Mythology/Back Story: 1
- Design: 1
- Cultural Impact: 1
- TOTAL: 8
#10) Metal Master
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, #6 – March 1963
- Number of 60’s Appearances: 1
- Real Name: Molyb
- Place of Origin: The Planet Astra
- Creators: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
- Powers/Abilities: Able to control and telekinetically move all types of metal.
Not a very nice fellow, the Metal Master was exiled from his home planet as punishment for his tendencies towards conquest. While the rest of his race chose to live peacefully, using their natural control of metal in artistic and uplifting fashion, Molyb chose a different road.
This road led to the aforementioned exile, which led to his discovery of Earth, a world rich in metal for him to manipulate. Attempting to conquer the planet, he came into conflict with the Hulk, Rick Jones, and pretty much every nation around the globe. Fortunately for humanity, he was eventually scared away, back into space, by the Hulk.
He appeared in The Marvel Super Heroes animated show in the 1960s.
Points Breakdown:
- Personality: 1
- Powers: 2
- Mythology/Back Story: 1
- Design: 1
- Cultural Impact: 1
- TOTAL: 6
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