Hulk and Gray Hulk...

[Thing]

What's the difference between the two and why is the Gray Hulk gray?

Later...

[JLApe]

The Gray Hulk is the initial incarnation of the Hulk that emerged when Banner first transformed after the nuclear explosion. Over time, various incarnations of the Hulk exist because of Banner's multiple personality disorder, which is caused by a combination of abuse by his dad, witnessing his dad killing his mom, accidentally killing his dad, and repressing all the emotions from those experiences.

The core incarnations of the Hulk are:
1. Gray Hulk
2. Savage Hulk
3. Professor Hulk

For more information, check Incarnations of the Incredible Hulk (http://leaderslair.crosswinds.net/gammapeople/incarnations/incarnations.html)

[Supernovametalstar]

Something about seeing the Hulk in a suit and tie just seems odd to me :p .

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Something about seeing the Hulk in a suit and tie just seems odd to me :p .

Those were some of the best issues ever! I loved Vegas Hulk.

[Thing]

So... he turns into different Hulks randomly? Or is the gray Hulk supposed to be in an alternate universe?

Later...

[creeper]

So... he turns into different Hulks randomly? Or is the gray Hulk supposed to be in an alternate universe?

Later...

no...no alternate universe......it's just that banner has so many multiple personalities he can play the cast of a whole movie. From what i understand Gray hulk is the side of banner that doesn't care about anything but himself. This hulk undertakes more shady things, like even killing for one thing. This hulk is the epidome of that "gray area" everyone talks about.

[Matthew Williams]

Alright, long post...

As Peter David theorized it, there were three core personlaities: Banner, Gray Hulk (who adopted the name "Joe Fixit"), and Green/"Savage" Hulk. Each corresponded to a different area of Banner's personality-- Banner was the superego, the intellect, Gray Hulk as the ego, with all of Bruce's negative feelings that he tries to hide, and the Green Hulk is raging id, with the fury of a child with a temper tantrum.

Anyhoo, just centering on Gray Hulk for a moment. In the comics, he was actually the first to emerge after the Gamma Bomb incident. His skin was gray at first but soon changed to green (in reality more due to printing concerns rather than any signifigant personality change in the character... but in the comics it's been shown to be a gradual change.) Physically, Gray Hulk differs from the classic "Savage" Hulk in that not only does he have gray skin, he actually is weaker than his green counterpart. Mentally, Gray Hulk is much more intelligent than green Hulk. Accordingly he is much more crafty and tends to use tricks to outwit his opponents. Instead of rage, the Gray Hulk is also prone to other emotions; pride, braggadocio, jealousy, envy... he can be a pretty nasty guy when you cross his path but he can also be very full of himself at times.

As far as when the Hulks co-exist, that varies during different times. When the Hulk first appeared, the transformations happened at sunrise and sunset; the Hulk was a nocturnal creature. Soon after the Hulk's skin changed to green (but his personality remained that of Gray's), Banner got bathed in the cosmic rays that transformed the Fantastic Four and for the first time became the Hulk during daylight. From there, the Hulk evolved to the "savage" persona and the transformation became based on stress.

A nutrient bath accident drove the green Hulk into mental retreat and brought the gray Hulk back into prominence. Transformations, at this time, reverted to the sunrise/sunset pattern. After an incident with another gamma bomb explosion, Gray was transferred to another world and allowed to remain the Hulk during all hours, including daylight. That's when he established himself as a Las Vegas enforcer named Joe Fixit. That got shot to hell when the spell wore off and Banner returned...

Soon after that, the green "savage" Hulk returned, but the Gray Hulk didn't go into retreat. Banner began to transform between both gray and green forms for a time before the stress got too great, and all three personas fought for dominance. (Literally - his body was a mix of gray, green, and Banner body parts). The personas were seemingly "merged" into one, but that was soon undone. Paul Jenkins wrote a run where Banner kept alternating between all Hulk incarnations... but since Bruce Jones took over, Savage Hulk is now status quo. (Although I read a bit of the Abombination storyline and it seems like Hulk retained Banner's intelligence...)

So that's it. Gray Hulk lurks in Banner's persona but it isn't an "alternate universe" Hulk. He doesn't turn into them randomly, it depends on what timeline of the comic you're reading. And who's writing it. :D

[Dee]

OOOO weird! We discussed this today because someone had on a gray hulk shirt at the theater and We were like "it must be a different version of the comic"


deja vu!