Hulk Once Ate Captain America, Here’s Why

Hulk is known to be among the most savage and powerful superheroes. This is due to an accident with gamma radiation that split his body and his mind into two individuals, Savage Hulk and the genius Bruce Banner. Keeping that in mind, there have been multiple storylines in which Hulk’s savagery is apparent, and he is especially cruel toward his enemies; in one particular storyline, Hulk ate Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, but surprisingly, it wasn’t his fault. This is why we decided to dedicate today’s post to the incident. Let’s see how and why Hulk ate Captain America. 

Hulk ate Captain America during the 2018 ‘Thanos Wins’ storyline. Hulk was kept as Thanos’ pet in his palace built out of Celestial bones, and in one instance, Cosmic Ghost Rider and Thanos fed Hulk by throwing Captain America into the pit alive. The incident was never shown in the comics. Cosmic Ghost Rider only details what took place, telling Thanos that Captain America lost his mind during the ordeal. 

Now that we’ve covered that Hulk did, in fact, eat Captain America, and it wasn’t some kind of wordplay or metaphor in question, it’s time to analyze the events that led to it. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading. 

Thanos killed all of the Avengers and kept Hulk captive for billions of years 

‘What If…?’ stories expand on the existing stories by creating alternate timelines and Universes by showcasing what would have happened if “things took a turn for the worse.” Today’s ‘What If…?’ story that we’re going to analyze is the 2018 ‘Thanos Wins’ storyline created by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Antonio Fabela, and Clayton Cowles. 

In ‘Thanos Wins,’ we see the version of Thanos that managed to collect all of the Infinity Stones and decimate not half, but almost all, life in the Universe in order to please his long-time love, Lady Death. 

Avengers tried to oppose Thanos and his universal rule, which led to an all-out battle between Thanos and the Avengers. 

The battle did not end well for the Avengers, as the vast majority of them were killed during the ordeal. Thanos ripped Iron Man in half and can be seen killing the rest of the Avengers, including Dr. Strange and Spider-Man. 

Hulk was ultimately captured and kept in Thanos’ palace as a pet and servant, enduring billions of years of cruel treatment.

The battle was described from the perspective of Frank Castle, who lost his life in the ordeal as well, but he got the chance to become Ghost Rider and, ultimately, a chance to assume the mantle of Galactus’ herald, only to turn on him and join Thanos’ side and this is where our story actually begins. 

Hulk ate Captain America, but it wasn’t his fault, really 

Old King Thanos, the version of Thanos from Earth-TRN666 that managed to collect all Infinity Stones, tasked Cosmic Ghost Rider to fetch him the younger version of Thanos. This was done by giving Cosmic Ghost Rider a fragment of Time Stone. 

Cosmic Ghost Rider managed to travel back in time, bring younger Thanos to the current reality, and show him what he ultimately becomes. 

Old King Thanos told younger Thanos that he needed his help in defeating the Annihilation Wave, led by a Mjolnir-worthy version of Silver Surfer, the Fallen One. But he actually needed younger Thanos to kill him, as old Thanos considered only himself worthy enough to kill him. Despite killing almost everything in existence, Thanos wasn’t able to be Death because he was still alive, and to be with her; he needed to defeat himself. 

When younger Thanos arrived, the future Cosmic Ghost Rider gave him a tour of the palace, and at one point, he asked him whether he wanted to go “feed the dog” with him. Thanos accepts, and Cosmic Ghost Rider leads him to the pits where Hulk is kept as a pet, surrounded by bones and filth. 

At this point, Hulk has completely lost his mind. He is a savage but tired beast, twisted by eons of mistreatment at the hands of Thanos. 

During their exchange, Thanos asks Cosmic Ghost Rider how come he became the companion of Older Thanos since he understood that Ghost Rider punished the wicked and he wasn’t supposed to help Older Thanos achieve his twisted goals. 

Ghost Rider explained that the eons spent with Older Thanos changed him and that “everybody has some darkness in them,” followed by the shocking

“Oof you shoulda heard the @#$% that came outta Steve Rogers’ mouth when we fed him to the dog here… Man, oh, man–“

What does this mean? Well, it means that Steve Rogers’ last moments were exactly pleasant as he was fed to the Hulk. Cosmic Ghost Rider implied that everyone ultimately breaks under pressure; you just need to find the weakness. Steve Rogers’ weakness was the fact that he was about to get eaten by his former friend and teammate. 

Why did Hulk eat Captain America? 

Hulk presumably ate Captain America because he lost his mind. Hulk, an entity separate from Bruce Banner, was never exactly known to be the most patient and civilized. Add this to the fact that he was chained in Thanos’ palace for who knows how long; it’s bound to get ugly.

Hulk ate Captain America because he was rabid and insane by the captivity. It was not something that he would have done under normal circumstances. It’s also likely that humans and superheroes were Hulk’s primary source of nourishment, as Thanos considered this to be the fitting punishment for defying his rule. 

Hulk would go on to outlive Captain America by several millions of years. He will eventually regain his Bruce Banner form when he sees The Fallen One, his old friend attacking Thanos’ palace. Remembering everything he went through, Hulk asked to be killed, and Thanos granted him his wish. As Hulk and the Fallen One embraced, Thanos killed them both by stabbing them in the back. 

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