# Where does the Hulks bulk come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647 "2010-07-22T22:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/1 "2010-07-22T22:01:59Z")
Get your mind outta the gutter. I mean where does all the muscle come from when he transforms from Bruce to Hulk? Where does it go when he changes back to Bruce? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/2 "2010-07-22T22:06:58Z")
I always wondered this too. It’s impossible. But the whole superhero genre is a form of fantasy/magic, so I guess it doesn’t matter. There may be a pseudoscience explanation, but I don’t know what it is. I remember going to see the first X-Men movie without ever having read the comic or really knowing anything about the characters. I sat there saying, “wait, WHAT…that’s impossible. That’s not what would happen. That’s not what a mutation is. What the fuck?” Until I finally figured out it was a costumed superhero movie, and all scientific objections were irrelevant. You might as well question the power of Harry Potter’s wand. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/3 "2010-07-22T22:12:41Z")
His whole body has been mutated so theoretically he only _looks_ like he’s made out of regular carbon-based cells. But it could be that he’s made out of entirely different materials, formed in entirely different ways than our own and those materials can unfold so that his total size grows as does the strength of the whole structure. Or his body sucks in massive quantities of air to fill the space, grabs matter from another dimension, etc. Who knows. There are plenty of possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/4 "2010-07-22T22:15:22Z")
From the Wikipedia: Charles Q. Choi from [LiveScience.com](http://LiveScience.com) further explains that unlike the Incredible Hulk, gamma rays are not green; existing as they do beyond the visible spectrum, gamma rays have no color at all that we can describe. He also explains that gamma rays are so powerful (the most powerful form of electromagnetic radiation and 10,000 times more powerful than visible light) that they can even create matter- a possible explanation for the increased mass that Bruce Banner takes on during transformations. “Just as the Incredible Hulk ‘is the strongest one there is,’ as he says himself, so too are gamma ray bursts the most powerful explosions known.” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/5 "2010-07-22T22:17:57Z")
I think the Handbook to the Marvel Universe suggests the mass comes from another dimension. I may be misremembering, though. The other popular Marvel miracle material is “unstable molecules” which are poorly explained, I think. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/6 "2010-07-22T22:18:38Z")
Hammerspace ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/7 "2010-07-22T22:22:24Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > His whole body has been mutated so theoretically he only _looks_ like he’s made out of regular carbon-based cells. But it could be that he’s made out of entirely different materials, formed in entirely different ways than our own and those materials can unfold so that his total size grows as does the strength of the whole structure. Or his body sucks in massive quantities of air to fill the space, grabs matter from another dimension, etc. Who knows. There are plenty of possibilities. It can’t be the air explanation; people would notice the draft. The “extradimensional space” answer is the canon one; a similar explanation obtains for, say, Cyclops’ optic blasts, and the mass Wolverine uses to replace lost tissue when he’s injured. I think Dr. Strange handles it all behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/8 "2010-07-22T22:39:29Z")
I know the extra dimension explanation is the canonical one, but personally, I prefer the view that the Hulk is a primal metaphysical manifestation of anger. His bulk is literally composed of emotion. The gamma bomb may have been the _origin_ of his powers, but it’s not the _source_: It just opened the door, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/9 "2010-07-22T22:42:35Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I think Dr. Strange handles it all behind the scenes. So, a wizard did it? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/10 "2010-07-22T22:44:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I know the extra dimension explanation is the canonical one, but personally, I prefer the view that the Hulk is a primal metaphysical manifestation of anger. His bulk is literally composed of emotion. The gamma bomb may have been the _origin_ of his powers, but it’s not the _source_: It just opened the door, so to speak. Well, that’s as much magic as the “extra dimensional space,” no? I think your explanation is actually part of the canon one, actually. At least, the Hulk is the way he is because Bruce Banner was crazy from the get-go. Except perhaps for Spider-Man, all the Marvel radiation-changed heroes are expressions of the personalities of their pre-powered selves. > [@pravnik](#): > > So, a wizard did it? Well done, my good & faithful servant! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/11 "2010-07-22T22:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, that’s as much magic as the “extra dimensional space,” no? Yes, but it’s _honestly_ magic. I don’t mind magic in superhero comics, but I do mind magic that’s trying to masquerade as science. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/12 "2010-07-22T23:08:39Z")
I remember seeing a webcomic once on Kevin Smith’s old Movie Poop Shoot site. It involved The Hulks origin story and Bruce Banner being reduced to radioactive ash by the Gamma Rays. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/13 "2010-07-23T00:01:11Z")
He takes it from the Atom. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/14 "2010-07-23T00:11:11Z")
As we say on the trading floor: “Let the back office worry about that.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/15 "2010-07-23T00:13:54Z")
> [@rolandgunslinger](#): > > Get your mind outta the gutter. I mean where does all the muscle come from when he transforms from Bruce to Hulk? Where does it go when he changes back to Bruce? The same place as Ant Man’s goes to and comes from. Hammerspace. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/16 "2010-07-23T00:25:02Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > The same place as Ant Man’s goes to and comes from. Pretty much as far as I know; there’s a specific dimension that matter gets draw/diverted into for such effects (unless they retconned it). I recall an issue where James Rhodes as Iron Man traveled there; it was sort of a grey void, size was indeterminate with overlapping huge and small versions of him. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/17 "2010-07-23T05:38:44Z")
Bruce Banner had an atavistic spleen. What does this mean? Well, his spleen, does what spleens are _supposed_ to do, which is freely convert energy into matter, and matter into energy. It’s like a squishy capacitor that stores up gamma radiation and then cranks out a special sort of quark-protein that attaches itself to iron in the hemoglobin in a special quantum-mechanical “energetic” state and then snaps into the appropriate magnetic-genetic-mimetic matter state based on adjacent stem cells. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/18 "2010-07-23T07:23:39Z")
Apparently he’s eating people these days, and we’re pretty fattening. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/19 "2010-07-23T07:42:22Z")
Where does the extra mass and energy of any superhero comes from? Cyclop’s eye beams? Superman’s strenght? Aunt May’s immortality? Just let it go. We could be here all week. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647/20 "2010-07-23T07:55:12Z")
Where does the Hulk get his bulk? That’s easy. [Hostess fruit pies](http://hulkcollection.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/3308662983_25aa1e24a8_b.jpg). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-hulks-bulk-come-from/547647.md?page=2)