This article contains potential spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #43
Despite the series' title, an issue of The Immortal The Fantastic Four. The U-Foes are looking to give Hulk a permanent dirt nap in Immortal Hulk #43, and judging by the comic's solicitation info, there's a chance they might succeed... somehow.
But who even are the U-Foes? And how can they possibly stand a chance against the Green Goliath? First introduced in the 1980s The Incredible Hulk #254, from the minds of writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, the quartet consists of Vector (real name Simon Utrecht), Vapor (Ann Darnell), X-Ray (Jimmy Darnell), and Ironclad (Mike Steel). Trying to recreate the accident that created the Fantastic Four, the team intentionally launched a space shuttle, aiming to expose themselves to similar cosmic rays in the hopes of gaining superpowers for themselves. They even went out of their way to remove their ship's protective shielding, hoping to become even more powerful than Reed Richards and Co. While they're successful in exposing themselves to the powerful energy, their shuttle is remotely piloted back to Earth when Bruce Banner happens upon their base of operations and returns the group back to terra firma.
Though successful in their attempts to gain powers - Vector gaining telekinesis, Vapor gaining the ability to convert herself into a gaseous form, X-Ray becoming essentially a living field of energy, and Ironclad transforming into a Colossus-like metal giant- they feel that Banner cheated them. They wanted to be exposed to even more cosmic rays, thus increasing their powers. The four, now officially the U-Foes, attack Banner, who quickly dispatches of them after turning into the Hulk. This Bizarro-Fantastic Four (complete with their own brother/sister pair in Ann and Jimmy) would sporadically pop up in future Marvel stories, usually as foils for the Hulk, though they've been defeated time and time again. But now they're back and looking to take Hulk out once and for all. Check out the cover art and solicitation details below:
- IMMORTAL HULK #43
- Written by Al Ewing
- Art by Joe Bennett
- Cover by Alex Ross
- Homage variant cover by Joe Bennett
- Marvel Vs. Alien Variant Cover by Declan Shalvey
- New York City holds eight million people...and harbors one monster. A creature of chaos and anarchy, driven by rage and contempt for the structures of man. His criminal activities continue even while the beast is hidden in the skin of an ordinary human. But don’t be afraid, citizens. This radioactive disease has a cure. The U-FOES are here... and they’re going to kill the HULK. Say “thank you.”
The synopsis seems to be framing the U-Foes as somehow being the heroes in the book, which actually might not be too much of a stretch, considering the sort of damage and destruction Hulk regularly leaves in his wake whenever he loses control. Referring to the Avenger as a "radioactive disease," what little that's been revealed about the plot of the book seems that it's possible Hulk will be playing the villain in this story.
Considering the team's track record, it seems unlikely they're actually going to succeed in their mission to kill the Hulk, but stranger things have happened in comic books. Only time will tell, as fans will have to wait until the January release of The Immortal Hulk #43 to find out.
