10 Iron Man Fates Worse Than Death

2. Facing Smart Hulk's Wrath - Original Sin

Marvel Original Sin Iron Man Hulk
Marvel Comics

It's bad enough having to face the wrath of the Hulk at the best of times, but even worse for Iron Man, the Original Sin story saw Tony Stark going up against an angry, blood-lusting, intelligent version of the Green Goliath.

This was at one of those rare points in time where Bruce Banner's mind and words are in control of the Jade Giant - hence Tony Stark finds himself butting heads with what fans have come to label Smart Hulk over the years.

In the greater scheme of Original Sin, at the crux of the overarching tale is the murder of Uatu the Watcher. As a direct result of that, plentiful heroes' dirty little secrets are revealed to the masses. When the Original Sin: Hulk vs. Iron Man four-issue element of this larger story opens, we find Stark getting beaten and brutalised by the Hulk. Even in a new Hulkbuster suit, Tony is helpless against his Avengers cohort.

Via a flashback, it's explained that Stark had previously charged General Ross $500,000 per day - plus two bottles of vintage whiskey - to amp up the gamma bomb that eventually led to the creation of the Hulk. It's Bruce finding this out for himself that sets him in a rage and on the hunt for the Iron Man.

The relentlessness, brutality and sheer viciousness of Hulk here is something that clearly has Tony Stark wishing for his death to come, and for it to come swift.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.