Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross suffers his worstRed Hulktransformation so far as he gets acquainted with Doctor Doom’s reign. SinceDoctor Doom rose to power, Ross and other master strategists have been forced to be Doom’s think tank. However, there’s only so much Ross can take before his instincts kick in.
Ross, Deathlok, and Machine Man managed to escape Doctor Doom, but Ross fell into Doom’s custody again not long afterward. InRed Hulk #7, Ross finds himself deprived of his conscious Gamma transformation. What’s worse,the treacherous General Ryker has switched sides and now takes pleasure in toying with Ross' Gamma energy.
Gamma mutates have a nearly endless supply of energy and strength, but their power can also be used against them. Just like they can be overloaded or depowered with the right procedures, their bodies can also suffer painful transformations.
Thaddeus Ross Is Subjected To Partial Red Hulk Transformations Against His Will
Red Hulk #7; Written by Benjamin Percy; Art By Jethro Morales & Bryan Valenza
InRed Hulk #7, written by Benjamin Percy, Thunderbolt Ross goes through the worst transformations he has experienced since he received his first dose of Gamma energy.General John Ryker bombards Ross' body,“bone by bone, organ by organ,“causing each part to transform independently of the rest.
The physical toll of Thaddeus Ross’s forced transformation is brutal. Each part of his body expands violently, muscles and bones swelling and stretching in seconds to accommodateRed Hulk’s massive frame. The process is just as agonizing on the way back: Ross' flesh and bones deflate, his muscles collapse inward, and his skull visibly caves before it recovers its shape.
The psychological consequences are just as severe, if not more. There’s no time for Ross to process the feeling of losing one part of his body to the Red Hulk before another limb practically gains a life of its own. The loss of bodily autonomy, coupled with the confusion and sensory overload involved, must leave deep psychological scars in Ross’s already volatile psyche.
Red Hulk’s Transformations Are Still Less Horrific Than Hulk’s
Hulk Is Stuck On A Permanent Cycle Of Body-Horror Transformations
While excruciating, Ross' flash transformations inRed Hulk#7 pale in comparison to what Bruce Banner has been enduring sinceThe Immortal Hulk.Banner and Hulk’s metamorphoses are creatively torturous. Sometimes Banner and Hulk melt into each other, and sometimes they carve their way out of each other’s bodies. These changes are slower and far more disturbing than Ross’s rapid inflation-deflation cycle.
Adding to the horror,every transformation now sends Banner and Hulk into the Hulkscape, a hellish, mind-bending realm that traps whichever persona is dormant. This means that even when not physically transforming, Banner and Hulk are mentally suffering, locked away in a nightmare until the next switch. Compared to this endless cycle of psychological torment, Ross’s forcedRed Hulktransformations seem merciful.
