The science behind Hulk's power, and is there more than meets the eye?

Banner infamously became the green-hued behemoth in The Incredible Hulk #1, when he was exposed to gamma radiation after saving Rick Jones. Banner absorbed the gamma rays, which affected his physiology. Whenever he's stressed and adrenaline hits his system, these rays kick in and rapidly grow his bones, muscles, and organs. When settled, the radiation recedes, and he returns to normal.

Of course, this was only half the story. The series The Immortal Hulk later revealed that there was a mystical side to gamma radiation, and it was connected to a powerful being known as the One Below All.

Hulk Was Born Through Science, But His Powers Are Actually Metaphysical

The Hulk is Connected to the One Above All's Doppelganger

The Immortal Hulk was a lauded run that added a few surprising twists to the hero's mythology, namely that the One Below All, the One Above All's destructive half, had a connection to every gamma mutate. When Banner was hit by the gamma bomb years ago, he was inundated with the One Below All's power, and became the god-level being's unintentional avatar. The Immortal Hulk also introduced the concept of the Green Door, a metaphysical gateway that is connected to the One Below All, as well as every gamma mutate, allowing Hulk to cheat death on more than one occasion.

Though initially presented as the result of Atomic Age science, the Hulk wasn't exposed to normal gamma radiation, but rather, the One Below All's raw gamma power. Just as the One Above All represents creation, the One Below All represents destruction, which is why Bruce becomes a powerful monster every time he loses himself to rage. He was created to break the world around him in fury, and the best way of doing that was for the One Below All to give him a form that only increased in power every time the Hulk grew angrier.

Hulk's Powers Make So Much More Sense as The One Below All's Personal Avatar

Science Can Only Explain So Much About Something as Powerful as the Hulk

Obviously, exposure to gamma radiation will kill an ordinary person. But in comics, particularly the Marvel Universe, science experiments were a great way of giving people powers (even on accident). But Bruce Banner being an avatar of the One Below All is a far more satisfying explanation for the Hulk's size and strength. Real gamma rays won't do anything to turn people into a beast, but radiation associated with the most powerful and destructive force in the universe? That goes a long way in explaining how the Incredible Hulk could possibly be as strong as he is in the comics.