After decades reading the adventures of the Green Goliath, I just realized that despite his inhuman power, the Hulk is actually operating at his minimum possible strength. What's more, Hulk should be able to increase his strength massively with just one simple, relatively low-effort change. The catch? The change he needs can only be made by his hated other half, Doctor Bruce Banner.

The Hulk is famously 'The Strongest One There Is,' with physical power beyond any other mortal. He's beaten the God of Thunder unconscious, held up 150 billion tons of solid rock, and fought Superman to near-victory. However, because the Hulk is exponentially stronger than Bruce Banner, he can become far, far stronger if the mild-mannered scientist just increases his own muscle mass - and this isn't a fan theory, it's something Marvel already confirmed.

While I didn't make the connection when I first read the comic in question, I'm kind of shocked, as it's a really famous run that even influenced the MCU in a big way. Now, I want to see Marvel take advantage of this forgotten 'rule.'

Hulk's Strength Is Linked to Bruce Banner's

She-Hulk Proved Bruce Could Increase His Powers by Exercising

The issue in question is Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo's She-Hulk #8. Perhaps the best-loved She-Hulk run in Marvel history, this depiction of Jennifer Walters trying to salvage her legal career by taking on superpower-focused cases is essentially the blueprint for Tatiana Maslany's depiction of the Jade Giantess. In issue 8, She-Hulk takes on Tryco Slatterus, aka the Champion of the Universe. Tryco is one of the strongest beings in the universe and the wielder of the Power Stone. He lives for competition and takes every opportunity to prove his power.

Hulk's 'Breaker of Worlds' form reveals what his maximum potential actually looks like, and it's jaw-dropping.

To that end, the Champion takes over the alien world of the Skard species, who have an unshakable cultural belief that "might makes right." Marvel's strongest heroes line up to fight the Champion, only to be pummeled thanks to his vastly superior strength. Being carried away on a stretcher after her own bout, She-Hulk re the words of her friend Augustus "Pug" Pugliese, realizing that since Hulk forms multiply your existing strength, small gains as a human have exponentially more impressive results in gamma form.

She-Hulk's extra muscles effectively unlocked new powers, such as Hulk's ability to jump miles in a single bound.

After training to increase her strength, She-Hulk not only beats the Champion of the Universe, but - after being inspected by Reed Richards - realizes she is now stronger than both the Thing and Hercules. Since She-Hulk has the same powers as her cousin the Hulk (indeed, she got them from a transfusion of his blood), Bruce Banner should have the same option of training his human form to get even stronger as the Hulk. What's more, because Bruce Banner is a skinny 'milksop' (in the words of his eternal nemesis Thunderbolt Ross), he has the potential to become so much stronger as the Hulk.

Hulk Isn't Anywhere Near His Maximum Strength

At His Strongest, Hulk Is Able to Crush Planets into Powder

What makes this concept even more exciting is that Hulk clearly has no upper limit. In Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's excellent Immortal Hulk, readers see a future where Hulk has been possessed by the demonic One-Below-All - Marvel's ultimate force of evil and the dark source of gamma energy. Having taken control of Hulk's body, the One-Below-All eats the power source that gave Galactus his powers, growing into a gigantic new form far larger than any planet.

This Hulk is the Breaker of Worlds, gliding through the galaxy and crushing every last planet to dust as part of the One-Below-All's plan to end the cycle of the multiverse forever. Thankfully, the last species left in the galaxy manages to send a message back in time, ultimately preventing this future from coming to be. However, the story shows that under the right circumstances, there's no limit to how powerful the Hulk can become - he's officially a planet-crusher in waiting.

Bruce Banner Can Make Hulk Stronger... But Why Would He?

This Puts Even More Strain on Their Fractured Relationship

My favorite part about this realization is that it puts even more stress on the relationship between Bruce Banner and Hulk. The two famously hate each other, with Bruce regarding the Hulk as a monster and Hulk seeing Banner as his cruel jailer. The idea that Bruce could make Hulk more powerful by working out adds another dimension to the ways in which Banner controls his other half, while also opening up the possibility of a temporary alliance against any threat that manages to enrage them both equally.

While I can't believe I read this She-Hulk run multiple times and never realized the same logic applies to Bruce Banner, I really hope that someone at Marvel has a similar lightbulb moment and explores how Bruce Banner can make the Hulk even stronger with some light bodybuilding.