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Thaddeus Ross

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"I have dedicated my entire life to serving this country. The one person that matters... doesn't seem to understand. Betty never forgave me for... sending the Army after Banner. I had to survive so that... my daughter knew that there was more to her father. That I'm the same man that used to take her to see the cherry blossoms."
―Thaddeus Ross[src]

Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross was a decorated military officer, a lieutenant general in the United States Army. During Ross' time in the military, he led Project Gamma Pulse which aimed to ensure soldiers were completely protected from radiation, especially gamma radiation. Although he attempted to replicate the Super Soldier Serum and was utilizing the Project Gamma Pulse as a cover for his actual motives.

After the Project Gamma Pulse incident and Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk, Ross concealed the truth by claiming that Banner had stolen classified military information. Over the next three years, Ross led his military unit in an attempt to capture Banner. His goal was to replicate the gamma radiation experiment and give the United States Army the same extraordinary powers that Banner possessed when he transformed into Hulk.

In 2011, Ross experienced a heart attack, but managed to survive, thanks to thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass. He officially retired from the military and reached out to Samuel Sterns for aid, with Sterns providing him with medication to stabilize his condition.

In 2016, Ross embarked on a political career and was appointed as the Secretary of State by President Matthew Ellis. He played a notable role in the Sokovia Accords, which aimed to control the activities of superhumans, particularly the Avengers, against their free wills. This initiate ignited the Avengers Civil War, dividing the team into two different factions led by Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The conflict resulted from Tony and Steve's differing views on the Accords, with Steve and his group refusing to be controlled by the government.

Ross was among the many who vanished when Thanos completed the Infinity Gauntlet and wiped out half the life in the universe. He was resurrected five years later by Hulk via the Infinity Stones.

In 2026, Ross ran for president and successfully won the election. A year later, during a press conference at the White House, Sterns published a blog about Ross' misdeeds, sharing them with the media, exposing his crimes to the public. This was Sterns' act of revenge against Ross, who made him the scapegoat for the Battle of Harlem incident, imprisoned him in Camp Echo One without a trial, and coerced him into utilizing his superhuman intelligence to develop groundbreaking technologies and weapons for the United States.

Upon realizing what Sterns had done, an enraged Ross transformed into the Red Hulk, due to the "medication" that Sterns had been giving him. Although Captain America ultimately succeeded in calming Ross down and encouraging him to transform back into his human form, Ross' reputation was still completely damaged beyond repair.

Ross stepped down from the presidency and accepted complete accountability for both his previous and recent actions instead of attempting to conceal them. Ross also willingly allowed himself to be incarcerated in the Raft.

Biography[]

The Incredible Hulk: The Big Picture[]

Sometime after Bruce Banner's accident, Bruce spoke to Ross about the accident and revealed to Ross that he will find a cure, Ross refuses to allow him to get a cure, but Bruce disobeys him and runs away. Ross orders his men to capture Bruce.

Iron Man 2: Public Identity[]

With Tony Stark getting worse, Senator Stern called Ross. When Ross arrived in Stern's office, he told him to forgive him as he was in a bit of a hurry as this was taking him away from the Gamma Project and he wanted to get back to it. Ross said that the US army couldn't afford to wait Tony Stark to smarten up. He told both Stern and James Rhodes to follow him. Ross was about to show them something that was classified top secret, Stern asked where Justin Hammer was and Ross told him that Hammer was on the way, Ross told them that their new weapon would be the right way to send the right message to the enemies of freedom, the message being that they don't need Tony Stark. When Hammer arrived he presented to Rhodes and Ross the Aerodymamic Marvel, which he considered to be the next step on close-quarter combat with full protection and attack capabilities.

When testing the machine it was shot down and fell into an enemy zone. Ross was informed that Iron Man was heading in to clean up. Ross was interested in seeing what Stark could do. After Stark saved the pilot, Ross ordered him to land on Cairo Weat Air Base immediately. Stark met with Ross and asked if he had something to ask him, Ross told him that they picked up on a shoot out with the Congolese Army and Stark didn't return fire, stating that when someone fires on an American, that American has to fire back, he also told him that by claiming that he won't make any more weapons, he was distancing himself from his father's legacy. Stark warned him that if he heard about another innocent being put in harm's way there would be consequences.

The Incredible Hulk[]

Ross gets an agreement with the scientist Bruce Banner, his daughter's fiance, for working on a government's project to render soldiers immune to Gamma Radiations. The experiment fails and Bruce transforms in to a giant and amazingly strong brute, who flees after injuring Betty. Taken by a sense of guilt and rage, Ross puts his life at the service of a single cause; to hunt down and capture Bruce.

Five years later, Ross manages to track Bruce because of his contaminated blood, found in a bottle of Guaranito. Ross engages one of the best operatives at his disposal, Emil Blonsky, and sends him in the village of Rocinha, near Rio De Janeiro, where the drink is produced. The team fails to capture Bruce, who becomes the Hulk and flees.

When Blonsky comes back and is told how Banner has become the Hulk, he accepts to be injected with an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum, developed by Ross' researchers. When Leonard Samson, Betty's new boyfriend, warns Ross that Bruce has come back to Virginia, Ross and his forces, super-powered Blonsky included, attacks the Culver University in an attempt to capture Banner. Ross uses all his men and his new weapons created by Stark Industries, but fails once again, and Betty flees with Bruce.

With much of Ross' surprise, Blonsky manages to recover very fast from the wounds suffered in the battle with Banner, that because of the Serum. General Ross manages to track Banner's accomplice and has his lab taken in custody by the Army. Unknown to Ross, anyway, Blonsky goes to Samuel Sterns' lab and forces him to inject him with Bruce's DNA, which reacts with the Serum and transforms him into a Hulk-like monster. For stopping Blonsky, Ross accepts Banner's help, and has The Hulk fight the Abomination. At the end of the battle, Ross takes Blonsky in custody, while Banner is disappeared once again. Later, in a bar, Ross meets Tony Stark, who wants to talk with him about the "Avengers Initiative" that might interest him.

The Consultant[]

Tony Stark's meeting with Ross was arranged by Phil Coulson and Jasper Sitwell to prevent Ross from releasing Blonsky.

Fury's Big Week[]

In need of new information about the Hulk's movements, Ross obtained the World Security Council's permission to extract the data from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers. A few hours later, Ross was confronted by Nick Fury himself. Ross told Fury that he wasn't going to leave the safety of the world in his hands. Ross then left, claiming that he had "a Hulk to catch".

The Avengers[]

When Natasha Romanoff recruited Banner to help S.H.I.E.L.D locate the Tesseract, she mentioned that the organization had helped keep other interested parties off of Banner's trail, referring to General Ross.

Captain America: Civil War[]

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works."
―Thaddeus Ross[src]

To be added

Black Widow Prelude[]

Ross, believing that Black Widow betrayed him and helped Captain America and Winter Soldier escape, asked Councilwoman Hawley to lend her resources to aid him in locating her.

Black Widow[]

To be added

Avengers: Infinity War[]

To be added

Avengers: Endgame[]

Five years after the Snap, Ross, alongside his daughter and all the other victims of the Decimation, was resurrected by Bruce Banner via the Infinity Stones.

Ross attended Tony's funeral, after Iron Man sacrificed himself to destroy Thanos and his army.

Captain America: Brave New World[]

To be added

Thunderbolts*[]

"And you'll recall that our last president turned into a bright red superhuman monster who nearly destroyed this city."
―Valentina Allegra de Fontaine[src]

To be added

Character traits[]

In The Incredible Hulk, Ross is a decisive and ruthless individual, who's main goal is to protect the United States against potential threats by any means necessary, but he crosses several moral lines in the process. Ross attempts to achieve his goals by advancing the U.S. military, often by unconventional means, such as the super soldier serum that, was modified from a similar experiment in World War II.

Ross is single-minded, to the point that he fails to learn from any of his bad choices, for example, even after he had witnessed the destructive capabilities of Bruce Banner as Hulk and the injuries sustained by himself, his daughter, Betty Ross, as well as the death of several other doctors in the process, when the superhuman was unleashed for the first time, Ross still planned to replicate Bruce's gamma radiation experiment to continue the super soldier program that he was working on.

Ross is proved to be dishonorable as after Bruce was accidentally turned into Hulk, he covered up that incident by claiming that Bruce had stolen military secrets, in order to save his military career, as Ross did not have any authorization from the U.S. government to reinstate the super soldier program.

Ross is a vengeful individual, to the point of being unreasonable. He has an unjustified hatred towards Bruce for injuring his daughter, Betty, completely disregarding the fact that Bruce wasn't in control of his actions at the time, when he was Hulk, instead of helping to cure Bruce from his gamma radiation condition, that Ross was indirectly responsible for in the first place, he instead planned to capture and imprison Bruce forever.

Ross is hypocritical and claims to love his daughter, Betty, very much, yet he completely destroyed his relationship with her, due to his obsession with hunting down Bruce, the man that she loves, as a fugitive and the fact that he was the one, who made him a fugitive in the first place.

In Captain America: Civil War, Ross is justifiably concerned about super-powered individuals, having continuously witnessed the casualties and destruction of several incidents involving superhumans, such as the Battle of Sokovia, as the events happened without supervision or jurisdiction from the government which caused the Avengers to run freely. He viewed the Avengers as loose cannons and believed that the Sokovia Accords would keep them on constant government watch, which was best for the world. On the other hand, he is still the same single-minded hypocrite who ignores his role in those incidents, does not truly have the best interests at heart, and expects complete obedience at all costs. This makes him an embodiment of the reasons Steve Rogers would never, in good conscience, sign the Accords.

Ross is arrogant and egotistical, to the point that, when he first officially met the Avengers at the New Avengers Facility, he tried to speak down to them as if he was superior to them, but he was quickly put in his place by Steve Rogers.

In Black Widow, Ross underestimates his enemies, as he believed that he had Natasha Romanoff cornered, even after Natasha had called him on the phone, warning Ross not to come after her, as his campaign against the Avengers made him look pathetic and desperate, following his failed attempt to have both Steve and Bucky Barnes arrested.

In Avengers: Infinity War, two years after the Avengers Civil War, even after Helmut Zemo was revealed to be the true culprit behind the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre, Ross still refers to Steve and his faction of Avengers as criminals, and ordered their arrest, thus, earning the anger of James Rhodes, who had once respected him, to the point that he preferred a court martial to going against his better nature, when he cut Ross off and disobeyed the Sokovia Accords during the Infinity War.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Superhuman Physiology: Due to years of consuming pills that were infused with gamma radiation, Ross became able to transform into the Red Hulk when he became enraged, granting superhuman powers, following the transformation.
    • Transformation: Red Hulk is able to transform between human and superhuman forms.
    • Superhuman Strength: Red Hulk is much stronger than normal humans. He can crush concrete, flesh, metal, stone and wood, as well as rip off one of Captain America's wings and crush his helmet despite the fact that they were completely composed of Vibranium. Red Hulk's strength is equivalent to that of Hulk's basic-strength level.
    • Superhuman Durabilit: Red Hulk is far more durable than normal humans. He can withstand great impacts, such as surviving falls from tremendous heights that would have severely injured or killed normal humans. Even high caliber bullets cannot penetrate Red Hulk's incredibly durable skin.
    • Superhuman Speed: Red Hulk is much faster than normal humans. He is able to catch up to or outrun high-speed vehicles. Red Hulk was also able to catch up to Captain America, who was moving at a supersonic speeds.
    • Superhuman Reflexes Red Hulk's reflexes are much faster than normal humans. He is able to counter any attack, even at point-blank range. Red Hulk was also able to catch Captain America's vibranium shield when thrown at high speed.
    • Superhuman Leaping: Red Hulk can jump much higher and leap much further than normal humans.
    • Superhuman Stamina: Red Hulk possesses far more stamina than normal humans, allowing him to remain physically active for long periods of time.
    • Accelerated Healing Factor: Red Hulk's metabolism allows him to heal much faster, more extensively, and efficiently than normal humans. He can completely heal from physical injuries in a matter of seconds, minutes, hours or days, depending on how serious they are.
    • Superhuman Immunity: Due to Red Hulk's accelerated healing factor, he is completely immune to all types of diseases, illnesses, sickness, drugs, poisons, toxins, radiation, disorders, disabilities, etc.
    • Emotional State: If Red Hulk gives completely into his rage, the temperatures from Red Hulk's own body are further amplified.
      • Thermogenesis: Red Hulk can generate extreme temperatures from his entire body, to the point that a physical touch to his skin would result in a burn. Red Hulk's hot skin is also capable of burning through most other materials, such as concrete, flesh, wood, stone and metal.
    • Vibrogenesis: Red Hulk can generate, create and project shockwaves from his hands by clapping them. He was able to completely destroy the White House with these shockwaves.

Abilities[]

  • Master Tactician: Due to his military training in United States Army, Ross is a highly skilled tactician. Ross had been orchestrating military unit's attacks on Hulk for three years. He also adeptly adjusts his tactics based on the circumstances.
  • Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant: As a former lieutenant general of the United States Army, Ross is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He was able to completely knock a mind-controlled assassin out cold with just a single punch, despite his advanced age. As Red Hulk, Ross' combat skills are even more deadly, mainly due to his superhuman strength.
  • Expert of Deception: Ross is highly skilled in the art of deception. He was able to successfully deceive the entire government into believing that Bruce Banner had stolen classified military information.
  • Expert Manipulator: Ross is highly skilled in the art of manipulation. He was able to manipulate the public into believing that Samuel Sterns was responsible for Emil Blonsky's transformation into the Abomination, which ultimately started with the Battle of Harlem.

Weaknesses[]

  • Limited Durability: Although Red Hulk is incredibly durable, he does have his limits. Objects, weapons and other superhumans with enough force can injure him.

Relationships[]

Appearances/Actors[]

Behind the scenes[]

  • It took 75 minutes to apply Ross' makeup each day for The Incredible Hulk. This included facial scars, a toupee, eyebrows, and his mustache.
  • William Hurt's stature played some part in his casting for this role. Director Louis Leterrier wanted Ross to be a "big, scary mountain of a man".
  • The Russos confirmed that Ross was among the many casualties when Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out half every existing race.
  • William Hurt voiced an alternate version of Ross in the video game The Incredible Hulk. The game is not considered canon to Earth-199999.

Trivia[]

  • General Ross is the father of Betty Ross. But his love for her, conflicts with his love for his country and his duty.

Gallery[]

The Incredible Hulk[]

Iron Man 2: Public Identity[]

Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant[]

Captain America: Civil War[]

Promotion, Filming and Concept Art[]

Avengers: Infinity War[]

Avengers: Endgame[]

Black Widow[]

Captain America: Brave New World[]

See Also[]

See: Thaddeus Ross on the
MDB
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