Doctor Doom Already Revealed How He’d Kill the Hulk & It’s Incredibly Dark

Doctor Doom once revealed exactly how he would take down the Hulk, and his plan of attack is characteristically twisted, emphasizing that Doom is one of the most powerful, dangerous villains in the Marvel Universe. Despite Hulk’s seemingly overwhelming physical advantage, the Latverian dictator seemingly new precisely how to make short work of the Avenger.

A+X #17 – written by Gerry Duggan, with art by David Yardin – features a story in which Doom is put into an illusion where he believes he’s killing the Avengers and the X-Men. It’s here that he demonstrates the exact plans he would use against each of the heroes.

His solution for Hulk is surprisingly elegant: when Hulk goes for the attack, Doctor Doom uses magic to break Hulk’s arm, immediately causing Hulk to transform back to Banner, who Doom promptly kills. This solution is pretty dark when one takes into consideration how Hulk’s multiple personalities actually work.

Doctor Doom Easily Defeated The Hulk In Battle, Proving Strategy Triumphs Over Brute Force

A+X #17 – Written By Gerry Duggan; Art By David Yardin, Cam Smith, Terry Pallot, Andres Mossa, & Clayton Cowles

One major misstep that the MCU made with the Hulk was not exploring the actual depth of his personalities. Multiple personalities reside within Bruce Banner, and each one has its own Hulk form; the Savage Hulk, the one fans are most familiar with, is remarkably easy to manipulate. Savage Hulk is also known as “Child Hulk” and represents the rage and loneliness that Bruce experienced as a child. He is often naive and innocent, making him easy to manipulate, which is exactly what Doctor Doom exploited to bring Hulk down.

In A+X #17, what Doctor Doom did was effectively little more than break the arm of a child, and just like most children when they’re injured, Hulk responded poorly to pain. This resulted in Hulk transforming back into Bruce Banner, which left him vulnerable enough for Doctor Doom to kill him. Doom’s plan was as clever as it was simple, allowing him to bring down one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe with just one well-placed spell.

Doctor Doom Is Confident That He Could Take Down The Hulk In A Straight Fight

Doom’s Self-Assurance Is What Makes Him Dangerous

It is important, once more, to consider that this battle in A+X #17 was part of an illusion that Doom was trapped in. Yet while some readers might take this as casting doubt on whether Doom’s strategy would actually work against the Hulk, it’s worth noting that the illusion was only broken when the villain lifted Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, only to realize he was unworthy, and thus the battle was not real. In other words, Doom at least fully believed that he would be able to take the Hulk down so easily.

Since lifting Thor’s hammer was too unrealistic a feat, it broke Doctor Doom out of the illusion. However, he had no problems at all with how he killed Hulk, which means Doom truly thinks that this plan would work. Considering Hulk’s absurd healing factor, fans can debate this question in perpetuity. Nevertheless, it is indicative of the trait that truly makes Doctor Doom such a dangerous threat – his boundless confidence in his own abilities, including his conviction that he could defeat the Hulk.