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The Incredible Hulk was originally exiled by the Avengers long before the events of Planet Hulk and the ensuing World War Hulk.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The Hulk has been many things over his nearly sixty years in the Marvel Universe, from Incredible to Immortal, but for a time in the eighties the only word to describe him with was “lost.” In his long super-heroic career the Hulk has seen all sorts of otherworldly realms and alien planets, although rarely by choice. Planet Hulk is the most well-known example of the Jade Giant being sent elsewhere for the safety of the planet, but that wasn’t the first time he was exiled by his fellow heroes.
Most recently in the pages of Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads #1 by Peter David, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata, and VC’s Joe Sabino, the titular wall-crawler has been ousted from his own reality and into one that he can hardly comprehend. To make matters worse, waiting to greet him when he arrives is an absolutely enraged Hulk, who at the time the story takes place is not happy to see any of his fellow Avengers.
Things had started to go downhill for the Hulk back in 1984’s Incredible Hulk #297 by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema during a time when the hero was being secretly tormented by the demon Nightmare. These clandestine manipulations had driven the Hulk into an uncontrollable fury, which in turn put him on the radar of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. No matter how many various methods were employed to calm, subdue, or defeat the Hulk, nothing could stand in the way of the now feral Green Goliath. That being the case, Doctor Strange resorted to sending the Hulk somewhere he would hopefully never escape.
First glimpsed after the Hulk was exiled in 1984’s Incredible Hulk #300 by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, the Crossroads exist far outside the universe as we know it, acting as a Nexus point between countless alien realms. Without any signpost to guide him or even the laws of conventional physics to rely on, the Hulk was left wandering the myriad of other worlds connected to the Crossroads, though he always found himself right back where he started.
Along with the almost incomprehensible alien Puffball Collective, a being comprised of smaller, fluffier versions of itself, the Hulk traversed even more confounding worlds in his search for a way home. On some of these he was reduced to quite literally a child’s plaything, while on others he fought valiantly against skeleton warriors and iron-clad knights. For a time, he even found love amidst the agonizing backdrop of his own subjugation, but nothing greater than tragedy ever lasted long in his new prison.
Even if it isn’t a particularly well-known story, the Hulk’s time spent in the Crossroads is easily one of his most unforgettable tales. Now that Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads has returned to the bizarre realm, there’s a good chance that the worlds comprising the strange dimension will garner new interest.
Still, it is understandable how this particular saga has been overshadowed by the Hulk’s other, more recent exile in Planet Hulk. Even if it is at times hard to follow, the Hulk’s short-lived life in the Crossroads is well worth revisiting.
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