One of the Incredible Hulk’s most iconic gladiatorial looks is officially returning to the comics, and I’m hoping that an equally iconic Hulk identity is coming with it. Later this year, Marvel’s Hulks will be cast to the cosmic corners of the Marvel Universe in Jonathan Hickman’s Imperial series. Now, Marvel has unveiled character art for the series with a Hulk design akin to his Planet Hulk identity.

Marvel Comics has officially unveiled the first look at Imperial, a four-part miniseries by the legendary author Jonathan Hickman and prolific comic artists Federico Vincentini and Iban Coello. While Earth has faced continuous apocalypses, the cosmos has been left in disarray and threatens to erupt in a gargantuan war.

Stepping into the fray, Marvel’s many Hulks are set to the fight as they don new costumes strikingly similar to the Hulk’s warlike outfit from Sakaar. Soon, we may see the emergence of one of the Hulk’s most dangerous alters: the Green Scar, the Gladiator Emperor of Sakaar.

Marvel Is Bringing Back Hulk's "Green Scar" Identity

The Emperor Of Sakaar Has Returned

Frankly, I’m pumped to potentially see the Hulk let out his Green Scar identity for the first time since the climax of Planet Hulk. In Planet Hulk the Illuminati forcibly launched Bruce Banner into space to avoid further Hulk rampages for good. When the Hulk prematurely awoke, his rage critically damaged his ship, causing the Green Behemoth to crash on the Imperial planet of Sakaar. Soon, Hulk was made to become a gladiator, where he led a rebellion against Sakaar’s emperor. After disposing of the Red King, the Hulk was anointed Sakaar’s leader.

The Green Scar was born from Bruce’s need to survive on the alien planet. This dissociative alter combines Banner’s intelligence and Joe Fixit’s cunning while packaging the mental prowess in one of the Hulk’s most dominating physical forms. During this time, the Hulk was at his most sustainable peak. However, following the assassination of his new family, the Green Scar receded into Banner’s mind, allowing the World Breaker Hulk to emerge. Since then, the Green Scar has been waiting for the need to emerge. I think if there was ever a time to bring the identity back, it’s with Imperial.

Marvel Has Set Up The Perfect Motivation To Bring Back Green Scar

Imperial Threatens The Hulk Family

Realistically, I don’t think the Green Scar will emerge simply because the Hulk is forced into further interstellar combat. In Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe, Hulk and Thor are coerced into deep-space gladiatorial combat for the Grandmaster, yet the Green Scar remains dormant. In the 2021 Hulk series by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley, Hulk is transformed into a living starship but still, the Green Scar remains hidden. However, Marvel’s Imperial series has me convinced, or at least hopeful, that Green Scar will finally be making his return.

The official synopsis for Imperial #1 is as follows:

IMPERIAL finds the galaxies of the Marvel Universe on the brink of major upheaval, following the elimination of several of its most prominent leaders. Nature abhors a vacuum, and empires fall, rulers are overthrown and power is seized in a saga of intrigue, mysteries and war, all taking place against the backdrop of the formation of new galactic order in the Marvel Universe.

With groundbreaking developments for HULKS, BLACK PANTHERS, NOVAS, GUARDIANS and COSMIC KINGS and QUEENS, IMPERIAL lays the foundation for an entire new landscape of interconnected space-set stories, making it the must-read comic book of the summer!

Marvel isn’t just hurtling Hulk into space this time, his entire family is following suit. The Green Scar was born to survive but stayed to protect his family and people. His Sakaaran family’s death is what triggered the World Breaker’s birth. His separation from Betty still wreaks havoc inside. Today, the Hulk has unofficially adopted a young monstrous girl in writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Nic Klein’s Incredible Hulk (2023) series. The Hulk’s inability to hold onto his family often inspires his rage, and now Marvel is threatening them all.

Only The Green Scar Is Prepared For The Pain Ahead

Marvel's Strongest Hulk Knows How to Wage War

While Iban Coello’s return to Green Scar’s imperial outfit could simply be a fun callback to one of the Hulk’s most popular storylines, the Hulk’s willingness to return to the look is what has me convinced that the Green Scar is returning. The Hulks exist because of Bruce Banner’s trauma. While we see the Hulk is a problematic hero, every time the Green Guy emerges, it’s because something has inflamed Bruce’s trauma. I can’t imagine that any other Hulk would willingly return to their Sakaaran wardrobe, which has since been associated with the deaths of their wife and kingdom.

For whatever reason the Green Scar may be returning, I’m excited. This gamma-alter is by far one of Bruce’s most terrifying. At the Green Scar’s peak strength, he could trigger devastating earthquakes that ravaged Sakaar. This identity is a tactical mastermind and an artist of war. Like a twisted version of Professor Hulk, the Green Scar is an amalgamation of Bruce and the Hulk’s best qualities. With the Green Scar’s hopeful return, the universe’s many warring empires better prepare for when Marvel’s most fearsome Hulk smashes through their forces is this space-faring epic.

Source: Marvel.com

Imperial #1 will be available June 4, 2025 from Marvel Comics