Red Hulk - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios. 5/20/13 11:00 PM Red Hulk As a young man, Thaddeus Ross enlisted in the military and received his nickname from his troops because he "struck like a thunderbolt" when leading them into action. Now he has become the very thing he hated most in life. He is the Red Hulk. Military Man General Thaddeus E. Ross was born into a family with a proud tradition of military ser- vice. Both his father and his grandfather served heroically in past American wars. As a boy Thaddeus immersed himself in military history, and he learned how to fly by barn- storming at country fairs. When he came of age Ross enlisted in the military, graduating first in his class at West Point. He married Karen Lee, the daughter of his commanding officer at the time. Ross rapidly rose in rank to captain and then major while serving in his first war. Ross made a great reputation as a leader in combat, but after the war, he was stationed at the nu- clear research facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico. There he met nuclear physicist Brian Banner, the father of Robert Bruce Banner. Ross had risen to the rank of colonel by the time he was sent to his next war, during which he became a general in the U.S. Air Force (Ross never rose beyond three-star gen- eral). As he gloried in combat, he was dissatisfied with the "desk jobs" he was given be- fore and after the war. Ross's wife, Karen, bore him only one child, his daughter Betty. Karen died when Betty was in her early teens. General Ross came to command Desert Base, New Mexico - a missile base and nuclear research site. He resented the fact that Bruce Banner, a civilian, was appointed supervisor of the gamma bomb project. Moreover, the general had con- tempt for the scrawny, intellectual Banner for failing to live up to Ross's own vision of true manhood. Making matters worse was the growing attraction between Banner and Betty, whom Ross hoped would marry a military officer. A New War to Fight Banner was transformed into the Hulk as a result of intense radiation exposure during http://marvel.com/universe/Red_Hulk Page 1 of 12 Red Hulk - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios. 5/20/13 11:00 PM the first test of the gamma bomb. The savage Hulk quickly became a menace, and Ross began his long career of hunting the Hulk. Banner's frequent, unexplained absences made Ross suspect Banner of treasonous activity and of a possible alliance with the Hulk himself. To prove his suspicions, Ross brought Major Glenn Talbot to Desert Base as the new security chief. The Pentagon designated Ross as head of Operation: Hulk. Even after Banner's dual identity became public knowledge, Ross continued his pursuit of the Hulk, causing Banner to become a fugitive. Ross incorrectly suspected that Ban- ner controlled the Hulk and was thus a menace to national security. Over the years, Ross succeeded in capturing the Hulk or Banner, but the Hulk usually thwarted the gen- eral's attempts to permanently put him down. Embittered by these failures, Ross be- came obsessed with the Hulk. Ross frequently found himself in conflict with other superhuman foes too, most notably the Leader and the Abomination. Invariably these threats were defeated by Banner or the Hulk, forcing the general to regard the Hulk with a grudging respect. When Banner actually did gain control of the Hulk, Ross reluctantly approved of his marriage to Bet- ty. However, the Leader sabotaged the process, transforming Banner back into the sav- age Hulk before they could be wed. Ross himself was injured in the ensuing conflict. Calling All Hulkbusters The U.S. Government commissioned Operation: Greenskin, based out of Hulkbuster Base, a special site for operations to capture or kill the Hulk. Due to his experience, Ross was given command of the base and its troops, commonly referred to as the Hulk- busters. The primary directive of the Operation was to capture the Hulk and cure him, as well as study the effects of radiation on the human body to bring about major med- ical breakthroughs. Ross led a team of Hulkbusters to pursue the Hulk into the Arctic Circle where he was captured by the Gremlin, a Russian agent. Ross was freed by the combined efforts of Glenn Talbot and Air Force colonel Jack Armbruster. However, in the process, Talbot was captured in his place and presumed by the others to be dead. As a result of his cap- ture, Ross was relieved of command of Operation: Greenskin and replaced by Arm- bruster. Though officially on leave, Ross often accompanied Armbruster on Hulkbusters http://marvel.com/universe/Red_Hulk Page 2 of 12 Red Hulk - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios. 5/20/13 11:00 PM missions. After Armbruster was killed, Ross and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain led a team to rescue Talbot. Ross rededicated his command post as Gamma Base, focusing even more on gamma re- search. However, injured when the Leader took over Gamma Base, Ross was pushed into a nervous breakdown by Moonstone, who used her psychiatric skills to crumble his psyche. Ross spent a length of time under the care of Doc Samson. During this time Bet- ty and Glenn Talbot had gotten married and divorced, the funding for Gamma Base was cancelled, and Talbot died while trying to kill the Hulk. Bad Decisions Ross eventually recovered and returned to active duty, hell-bent on avenging Talbot's death. He also blamed the Hulk for his nervous breakdown. Ross was unable to regain funding for hunting the Hulk, but the President made him a special advisor at the Pen- tagon on matters relating to the dangers posed by the Hulk. However, soon after, Ban- ner regained control of his alter-ego, and the President pardoned him for all of his past offenses. Ross made an alliance with both the Abomination and MODOK to eliminate his archen- emy. This effort, too, failed; when Betty Ross learned of these events, she was appalled, accusing her father of treason. Overwhelmed by shame, Ross nearly committed suicide in his office in the Pentagon. However, he instead dropped out of sight, during which time he was dishonorably discharged. Ross became a drifter, sinking increasingly fur- ther into insanity. Upon learning that Betty and the seemingly cured Bruce planned to marry, Ross at- tempted to stop the wedding at gunpoint. Ross shot Rick Jones when he tried to stop him, but Betty confronted her father and persuaded him to let the wedding proceed. Ross was hospitalized and placed under psychiatric care. Ross's old ally Clay Quartermain enabled Ross to participate in an experiment that would give him the powers of Zzzax. However, the experiment went awry and Zzzax absorbed Ross's consciousness, after which the Ross-controlled creature attacked Bruce Banner and Rick Jones, who had taken a Hulk-like form at the time. Ross/Zzzax fled af- http://marvel.com/universe/Red_Hulk Page 3 of 12 Red Hulk - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios. 5/20/13 11:00 PM ter being forced to recognize that he himself was now a monster, and Ross's mind re- turned to his own body. Still retaining some electrical powers, Ross sacrificed his life, using that energy to destroy the mutant Nevermind which had briefly terrorized Gam- ma Base. No Peace in the Afterlife Ross's body was taken by the Leader, who had the Soul Man restore it to a semblance of life as a nearly mindless servant, and placed it in the Redeemer armor after its previous occupant's death. After being exposed as the new Redeemer, Ross was nearly killed again during a battle with the Hulk, who believed him to another of the Leader's tricks. He was recovered by the Troyjans, who fanned the spark of life within him and brought him to the Leader's Freehold Base where he eventually regained his memories and per- sonality. Not long after this, Ross was restored to his previous position of Air Force General. The Loss of a Child Leads to Conflicting Emotions Ross blamed Bruce for Betty's apparent death from radiation poisoning and went on to lead a new incarnation of the Hulkbusters. However, while pursuing the Hulk he con- fronted the Abomination and learned that it was actually he who had poisoned Betty. Afterwards, Ross made his peace with Banner. Later, Ross was coerced into working with General John Ryker against the Hulk, but ul- timately Ross helped the Hulk free himself and defeat Ryker's plot. Soon after, Ross goaded the Hulk into seeking out and badly beating the Abomination. After using his former enemy to gain the vengeance that he himself lacked the power to accomplish, Ross allowed Banner to leave in peace. Murder, Mayhem and Betrayal The assassination of the Abomination in his homeland of Russia led to an investigation conducted by Iron Man, Commander Maria Hill, of S.H.I.E.L.D., General Ross, Doc Samson and the She-Hulk. One conclusion was of the majority; the person responsible http://marvel.com/universe/Red_Hulk Page 4 of 12 Red Hulk - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios. 5/20/13 11:00 PM was the Hulk.