General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross | |
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Art by John Romita Jr. |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) |
Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
In-story information | |
Full name | General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross |
Team affiliations | Hulkbusters, United States military |
General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character of Marvel Comics. He is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, ex-father in-law of Glenn Talbot and the father in-law of Dr. Bruce Banner, who transforms into an immensely powerful monster known as the Hulk.
A veteran of several wars, Ross was the military head of the Gamma Bomb Project although he treated the project's research head, Banner, with contempt. When Banner is caught in a test blast of the weapon and acquired his Hulk condition, Ross personally volunteers to kill the monster and pursues him with a growing obsessiveness. As he is not initially aware of the truth of Banner's condition, Ross merely suspects he is a compatriot of the beast. However, when he does learn the truth, Ross hunts Banner as well.
Originally, many early Hulk stories had General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross as an Army general trying to capture or destroy the Hulk with his U.S. Army battalion, called the "Hulkbusters". Ross' military affiliation has been inconsistently portrayed in the comics. At times, Ross has been portrayed as an Army general. However, he is also frequently seen in an Air Force uniform, and indeed, he wore Air Force blues in his first appearance in Incredible Hulk #1. However, stories about his service during World War II correctly portray him as an Army officer in the Army Air Forces.
The army continuity would be maintained in various other tellings of the Hulk story, such as in the original 1966 and 1996-1998 cartoon versions of the Hulk as well as the 2003 Ang Lee movie, Hulk in which he is portrayed by Sam Elliott, and in the 2008 superhero movie The Incredible Hulk, where he is played by William Hurt. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Hulk 2004 issue officially lists Ross as a Lieutenant General (3 stars) in the U.S. Air Force. In 2009, Thunderbolt Ross was named IGN's 71st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[1]
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Fictional character biography
Ross is a General in the Air Force who is in charge of Bruce Banner's gamma bomb project. His daughter, Betty, takes a liking to the young scientist, a fact which only enhances the dislike the rough Ross has for the "weakling" scientist Banner. After Banner's transformation into the Hulk, Ross spends years chasing the monster, becoming obsessed enough with it to commit treason by allying himself with the Leader, MODOK and the Abomination[2] in order to destroy the Hulk. Dishonorably discharged, he shows up at Betty and Bruce's wedding with a gun, and shoots Rick Jones. He is recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain to merge with the electric creature Zzzax, a process that gives Ross superpowers, but also makes him mentally unstable. He is later restored to human form but retains some residual energy-generating powers.
Finally, a mutant who drains people of their mental energy attacks Gamma base in search for a strong host, in this case the Hulk. After witnessing Rick Jones (who was the Hulk at that time) and Banner heroically engaging the mutant, Ross, realizing that he has been wrong about the Hulk being a mindless monster, saves his daughter from being slain by allowing the mutant to latch onto him, and discharging the energy resources he retained from Zzzax. Giving his blessing to Bruce and Betty, he dies in his daughter's arms.
Ross' body is later stolen by the Leader, who uses the powers of one of his followers to resurrect Ross. He turns him into a mindless replacement for his fallen soldier Redeemer. Ross is eventually recovered and revived by agents of the alien Troyjan, and returns to the Air Force. He would later come up with a more cost-effective method of confronting the Hulk when he is in his child-like stage: active non-resistance. He and his men simply do not fire on or engage the Hulk in any way. The Hulk, confused, does not smash and leaps away.
Ross would make friends with Banner, but when Betty is seemingly killed due to what both Ross and Banner believed to have been Banner's gamma-irradiated DNA interacting with hers, he once more pursues the Hulk with a vendetta.
Around this time, General Ryker takes over the pursuit of the Hulk. Ross is indirectly involved, observing when Ryker mentally tortures Banner in order to try and figure out how the Hulk works. The Hulk escapes from Ryker's control and after several adventures, is lost in space.
After the Hulk returns from exile and initiates World War Hulk, General Ross makes his own return, electing to bring the fight to his nemesis once more after Iron Man is felled by the goliath. Ross now wears the stars of a full general. After a failed assault on the Hulk, Ross and his men are captured and placed in chains under the watch of Hulk's Warbound, the army he has brought back from space.
In the aftermath of the War, Ross is one of many experts called to investigate the appearance of a Red Hulk.[3] He reluctantly calls on the expertise of Bruce Banner who comes up with a report but not before the Red Hulk reaches the base[4] Following Red Hulk's defeat, it is revealed that General Ross and Doc Samson had a key in his creation after visiting Red Hulk and telling him that they are "cutting him loose."[5] It is later revealed that A.I.M. helped Thunderbolt Ross create the Red Hulk.[6]
After finding out that Domino had witnessed Red Hulk transforming from his human form, General Thunderbolt Ross and Doc Samson give the Red Hulk his team of mercenaries dubbed "Code Red" (consisting of Punisher, Deadpool, Thundra, Elektra, and Crimson Dynamo XII) to hunt her down within 24 Hours.[7] Ross later confronted Red Hulk whilst wearing Redeemer armor, and was subsequently killed.[8]
Other versions
1602
In the Marvel 1602 sequel 1602: New World, an Admiral Ross of the Royal Navy captains a vessel sent to Roanoke to quell the "Witchbreed", including the 1602 version of the Hulk.
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse, General "Thunderbolt" Ross is a member of the Human High Council; a movement dedicated to protecting humans from the murderous rampages of Apocalypse.
Amalgam Comics
Ross appears as the head of Project Cadmus. He is a far more likeable character, as he adopts Spider-Boy, giving him the name Pete Ross, after feeling sorry for the clone. He plays a role similar to Uncle Ben, as he is called "Uncle Gen" by Pete, and after he is killed by a mugger, Pete decides to become a hero.
newuniversal
In the alternate world of newuniversal, General Thad Ross is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After monitoring NSA communications, the army discovers the existence of a living superhuman, Ken Connell. When the army locates Connell, Ross receives a report that he is accompanied by three other superhumans - Ross then orders an airstrike, in the hope that this will kill them.
The initial airstrike has no effect on its targets and Ross orders a follow-up strike with a tactical nuclear weapon, a decision that is taken without the President's authority. However, the superhumans then vanish and the planned strike is aborted[9].
During a subsequent meeting at the White House, the President returns control of the superhuman situation to the NSA's Project Spitfire. Ross is criticised for his actions - and tasked with answering the Chinese Government's demand to know why the USA unexpectedly put nuclear weapons control in the field[10].
Ultimate General Ross
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, General Ross (clearly identified in Ultimate FF #1 as an Army general) is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D..
He decides to shut down the Weapon X program. Its director, John Wraith, stages a coup attempt by bombing Ross' offices. He somehow survives this, waking up on the autopsy table and telling the attendant "Hands off my precious bodily fluids, soldier." a nod to General Ripper of Dr. Strangelove. His body is still physically damaged so he has retired from active S.H.I.E.L.D. duty. He has taken a role as a liaison of the government for the think tank headquartered in the Baxter Building, the one that runs the Fantastic Four. Assisting him is General Glenn Talbot.
In other media
Television
- General Thunderbolt Ross appears in The Incredible Hulk voiced by Robert Ridgely.
- In the 1996 UPN The Incredible Hulk animated series, General Ross appears, voiced by actor John Vernon. He sends Army forces and Hulkbusters to capture or destroy the Hulk, but Ross is also capable of fighting the Hulk one-on-one, using a laser gun Bruce Banner created against the creature in Return of the Beast, part 1 and 2, and again in Darkness and Light, part 3. Like in the comics, Ross is a 3-star general.
- Thunderbolt Ross appears in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "Hard Knocks." He made a cameo at the end when the Army arrests Agent Pratt.
Film
- Actor Sam Elliott played the role of General Ross in the 2003 movie Hulk, directed by Ang Lee. The film portrays him as a 4-star general. In the film, it is revealed that Ross was responsible for locking away David Banner, Bruce's father, when Bruce was 4 years old after learning of David's dangerous experiments. He thinks that both Bruce and David are dangerous to his daughter, Betty. His motive of thinking is that Bruce is dangerous because he might follow in the footsteps of his father, who was creating the same experiment in Bruce's childhood. Ross hunts the Hulk after the Hulk breaks out of the military base. Upon discovering that Bruce Banner is the Hulk, he releases David and takes him to Bruce. When David transforms into a being similar to Absorbing Man, Ross deploys a bomb in order to destroy David. Months after that event, Ross talks to Betty, who was sad from the loss of Bruce, who is believed dead. He asks her if she can do anything to find him, which she denies.
- William Hurt portrayed General Ross in director Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk released on June 13, 2008.[11] In this version, he was in charge of Banner's research into creating potential 'super soldiers' using gamma radiation, but Banner had been told that he was working on a means to help treat people for radiation poisoning. After he experiments on himself, Banner goes on the run from Ross, who wants to learn how to use the Hulk's mutation as a weapon, stating "As far as I'm concerned that man's whole body is the property of the US army." When he meets Emil Blonsky, a Royal Marine serving as part of his team, he is impressed by Blonsky's dedication and provides him with samples of a super soldier serum that allow him to briefly fight the Hulk, although he is badly injured as a result. During his encounters with the Hulk, it is clear that Ross regards the Hulk as a monster, allowing Betty to watch the fight because he reasons that she will 'see the truth' about Banner. When the super-soldier serum, combined with a sample of Banner's blood, transforms Blonsky into the Abomination, Ross is forced to allow Banner to attempt to use the Hulk against this new foe. After Blonsky's defeat, witnessing the Hulk actually listening to Betty and allowing his opponent to live, Ross does not give the order to fire on the Hulk and allows him to escape, suggesting that he is more open to the idea that Banner is not a total monster than he was. At the conclusion of the film, he is seen drinking in a bar, only to be confronted by Tony Stark, who comments that he's always felt hardware was better than biology, and offers to talk to Ross about a team 'they're' putting together.
Video games
- Thunderbolt Ross appears in The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction video game voiced by Dave Thomas. In the game, he teams up with Division Director Emil Blonsky to get rid of the Hulk by sending armed forces. In the Proving Grounds section, Ross creates the Hulkbuster Destroyer prototype to battle the Hulk but destroyed it. In Turning Point, Ross creates a Hulkbuster titan for him to control that can shoot missiles, chainguns, and laser beams. After the Hulk's capture, Ross opens his mind, and Samson reminds him to treat Banner fairly. After Hulk and Abomination destroy his base, Ross orders his enforcers to destroy the two. By the end of the game, the Abomination attempts to flood the city, but is stopped by the Hulk. It is presumed that General Ross begins his hunt for the Hulk once again.
- General Thunderbolt Ross appears in The Incredible Hulk video game voiced by William Hurt.
Footnotes
- ^ Thunderbolt Ross is number 71 IGN. Retrieved 10-05-09.
- ^ Incredible Hulk #159
- ^ Hulk #01 (March 2008)
- ^ King-Sized Hulk #01 (June 2008)
- ^ Hulk #03 (June 2008)
- ^ Incredible Hulk #600
- ^ Hulk Vol 2. #14
- ^ Fall of the Hulks: Gamma #1
- ^ Warren Ellis (w), Salvador Larroca (p,i). "Mystery" newuniversal (5) (2007), Marvel Comics
- ^ Warren Ellis (w), Salvador Larroca (p,i). "Tumble" newuniversal (6) (2007), Marvel Comics
- ^ "William Hurt Joins The Incredible Hulk!". SuperHeroHype.com. 2007-06-13. http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=5847. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
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