u/88y53

So, we know that the Absolute line at DC utterly dominated Marvel's new Ultimate line, and many fans have speculated what it would be like if Marvel had followed a similar formula — take an established character, remove a key aspect of their lore and see how that shakes up their story, and make them the underdog (and don't forget to include biting social commentary).

For the Hulk, this is what I came up with:

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Absolute Hulk — Big Change: Bruce was never abused by his father, and never develops his fractured psyche.

Bruce Banner was a normal, well-adjusted nuclear physicist, working as part of a team studying new ways of disposing nuclear waste using genetically modified extremophiles that eat radiation and self-repair their DNA. Unfortunately, in their testing, there was an accident, and Bruce was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation.

Desperate, they created an experimental drug using the extremophile bacterium as a base, and injected him with it. Miraculously, the bacterium mixed with their gut flora, which began producing the enzymes needed to repair his DNA. It wasn’t long, however, before they noticed that the drug wasn’t just healing him, but enhancing his body — making him inhumanly strong, large, and resistant to physical damage.

While he was being studied, Glen Talbot, an executive of the Atlas Corporation, attempted to experiment with the drug, planning to market it as a miracle cure. Unfortunately, Bruce’s unique gut bacteria cannot be replicated, so the results are totally unpredictable in other people. And, in Talbot's rush to exploit it, he accidentally released the bacteria into the environment, which created giant monsters called Moloids.

This coincides with Bruce’s debut, repelling a Moloid invasion in San Francisco.

Christened the Hulk by the media, Bruce became an overnight superstar; participating in charity strongman events and selling merchandise worldwide as a bona fide superhero.

Running the Hulk Foundation, a non-governmental think tank, Bruce consults with nations around the globe to combat the new threat of giant monsters and push forward his environmental efforts.

Meanwhile, the Atlas corporation, which helped finance the original project, is fighting a legal battle over the ownership of the extremophiles that mutated Bruce, as they were genetically modified, and thus their products. So Bruce must legally contend with a corporation trying to claim ownership of his own body.

And to make things more complicated, Bruce notices that the enhancements to his body are permanent — he can’t change back, and every fight makes him bigger and stronger. If he can’t figure out a way to cure, or at least slow down, the regeneration, he’s worried that he’ll keep growing until he’s literally so massive he’ll physically be unable to move.

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The problem with an Absolute/Ultimate Hulk is that you can't really make Bruce Banner's life worse, so I thought it would be fun if you went the complete opposite direction — the Hulk is a world-renowned superhero; basically a one-man Fantastic Four.

What do you think? I'm interested in what Hulk fans would have to share on this topic.

If I'm way off the mark, what would you suggest for an Absolute Hulk?

Okay, so, I’ve seen a lot of people speculating on what Marvel characters would look like if they got the Absolute treatment, and I’ve always felt something was missing from other pitches, so this is what I’ve come up with so far (tell me what you think):

Absolute Captain America — Big change: Steve was born in Modern Day. Steve Rogers was just a liberal arts student whose politics were shaped by his diverse peers, his disabilities, and the worryingly fascistic trends of the modern US government. One day, as his medical conditions worsened, he was selected by Alchemax Genetics to be part of a charitable study involving an all-expense-paid gene therapy program. The therapy would be a greater success than he even dreamed of, not only curing his disorders, but enhancing his mind and body to superhuman levels. However, Steve was soon contacted by an anarchistic hacker called the Fl@g_Smasher, who told him the truth of the program — it was part of a huge military contract to deregulate the biotech industry and make genetically engineered super-soldiers, with Steve (chosen purely for ethnicity, blond hair, and blue eyes) being their flagship company product, “Captain America.” Steve breaks out of Alchemax’s hospital, but not before stealing a prototype meta material shield, intending to make the identity his own. With the help of the Fl@g_Smasher, Steve tries to unearth the massive conspiracy within the biotech industry and the military-industrial complex, all leading back a corrupt senator, William Burnside, and an enigmatic Argentinian financier, John Schmidt.

Absolute Iron Man — Big change: Tony isn’t a billionaire. Tony Stark was once just a womanizing, alcoholic, blue-collar auto-mechanic, until he got into a bar fight which resulted in a bottle being smashed over his head and getting brain damage. Fortunately for him, his brain developed a strong case of acquired savantism, and he began building ingenious inventions in his garage all by himself. One of which gets the attention of a local newspaper: a miniaturized fusion reactor. Tony was contacted directly by tech CEO, Spencer Smythe, not two days later, and was offered to finance the construction of a more advanced model for a “green energy initiative,” as well as have him oversee the development of artificial muscles for “medical purposes.” Tony, however, soon discovered that Smythe planned to use the reactors and artificial muscles to construct giant spider-like war drones called “Slayers” for the military. When Tony protested, he was fired and blacklisted for “corporate espionage,” and they claimed his inventions as company assets. Using memorized designs, Tony created an entire suit out of artificial muscles and became Iron Man, an anti-corporate vigilante and industrial saboteur.

Absolute Thor — Big change: there’s no Asgard. Donald Blake was just a traumatized war vet who lost a limb in a “weapons testing accident,” and he was just trying to switch careers from field medicine to electrical engineering. One day, when he was working on a power line, he endured severe electrocution, but didn’t die; the electricity unlocked something dormant inside him, a powerful thoughtform called the “Thunderer,” who manifests as a wrathful smiter of evil. Donald must get to the bottom of his condition and reconcile with this new part of himself, which had attracted the attention of the authorities and the agents of a clandestine group who are trying to control society by controlling powerful ideas. All of which ties back an ancient fungi, known only as the “Sublime,” which seems to connect human minds to a higher form of consciousness.

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That’s what I’ve got so far, and I think that’s more in the style of the Absolute line than what I’ve seen other suggest — you take something away from a character, make them the underdog, and show they can still be the heroes they were meant to be, with a LOT of social commentary thrown in.

For Steve, I imagine he’d be the youngest superhero, and be kind of like that world’s Spider-Man — someone on their own and has to prove themselves.

Tony’s now fighting tech oligarchs rather than being one of them, essentially being this world’s Ghost.

And for Thor, he’s kind of like a 90s Anti-Hero — something dark, violent, with an emphasis on horror rather than heroics. Kind of like the Hulk mixed with Chainsaw Man, but with the Devils being the good guys.