John Ryker

Last updated
General John Ryker
John Ryker.jpg
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance The Incredible Hulk (vol. 3) #12 (March 2000)
Created by Paul Jenkins
Ron Garney
Mike McKone
In-story information
Full nameJohn Ryker
Species Human
Team affiliations Gamma Corps
Origins Corporation
AbilitiesGenius strategist
Master manipulator
Adept deceiver

General John Ryker is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as an enemy of the Hulk.

Contents

Publication history

Created by writer Paul Jenkins and artists Ron Garney and Mike McKone, John Ryker first appeared in The Incredible Hulk Vol. 3 #12 (March 2000). [1]

Fictional character biography

John Ryker is a corrupt U.S. Army general who joined the military at a young age and wanted to help determine future history from the shadows. One of his most prominent actions was manipulating the creation of the conspiracy around John F. Kennedy's assassination where apparently two Corsican mercenaries were the killers, but at the time was deemed too expensive to wage World War Three, so the idea of a conspiracy was created. When his wife Lucy Ryker developed cancer, Ryker used the military to hunt down Bruce Banner who turned into the Hulk after gamma radiation exposure during a nuclear test that Ryker supervised. [2] Ryker initially irradiated various subjects to try and duplicate the same accident behind the Hulk, with the goal of allowing him to isolate the Hulk's ability to cope with the radiation and use it to heal his wife; his closest success was Private Benjamin Tibbits mutating into the imperfect Flux, leading to Ryker simply breaking Flux as a near-mindless soldier against the Hulk. [3] However, his brutal treatment of the Hulk not only broke down the Hulk's other personalities' mental barriers from taking control, including the Devil Hulk, but also convinced General Thunderbolt Ross to turn against Ryker and free their long-time enemy. Taking Lucy hostage, Ross told the truth to Lucy, prompting Ryker to depart as Lucy coldly told him that Lucy did not ask to be healed at the cost of innocent people. [4]

Ryker is responsible for the special Gamma Corps military unit that dealt with the Hulk. He was spurred into action after his wife (who seemed to have been cured by a transfusion of the Hulk's blood) died from a sudden revival of cancer. His Hulkbuster unit was unable to stop the Hulk (who went after Ryker) and caused his subordinate Grey (who had the Hulk's DNA within) to lose his temper, resulting in a Hulk-like rage that tore down Ryker's base with the General still inside. [5]

However, Ryker later reappears as the CEO of Origins Corporation, which specializes in giving average people superpowers through gene therapy, and sending the new Gamma Corps: Black unit under Norman Osborn's auspices to harvest the new She-Hulk's DNA. [6]

Skills and abilities

General John Ryker has no superpowers, but he is a genius strategist and master manipulator, as well as an adept deceiver. [7]

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel reality has a general named Ryker who is one of the ones in charge of Project PEGASUS in Devil's Point, Wyoming when the Serpent Squad attacks until stopped by the Fantastic Four. [8]

In other media

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hulk</span> Comic book superhero (introduced 1962)

The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk. In his comic book appearances, the character, who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is primarily represented by the alter ego Hulk, a green-skinned, hulking and muscular humanoid possessing a limitless degree of physical strength, and the alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, both of whom typically resent each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Talbot</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics

Major Glenn Talbot is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Tales to Astonish #61.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Jones (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Rick Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a sidekick and friend to the Hulk, Captain America, Mar-Vell / Captain Marvel, Rom the Spaceknight, and Genis-Vell / Captain Marvel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abomination (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

The Abomination is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gil Kane, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #90. He is one of the main enemies of the superhero Hulk, and possesses powers similar to his after also being exposed to gamma rays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Ross</span> Fictional character in Marvel Comics

Elizabeth "Betty" Ross is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) as a romantic interest of the Hulk. She is the daughter of General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross. Over the years, the character has undergone multiple transformations, including the Harpy and Red She-Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader (character)</span> Comic book supervillain

The Leader is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Leader first appeared in Tales to Astonish #62, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko as the archenemy of the Hulk. He has mainly appeared in Hulk-related comic books over the years and was one of the featured characters in the Marvel NOW! Thunderbolts relaunch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doc Samson</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Doc Samson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunderbolt Ross</span> Comic book character

General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics featuring the Hulk. Ross is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, ex-father-in-law of Glenn Talbot, father-in-law of Bruce Banner, and the head of the gamma bomb project that turned Banner into the Hulk. After the creation of the Hulk, Ross pursues the creature with a growing obsession, and, after learning that Banner and the Hulk are one and the same, Ross hunts Banner as well. In 2008, Ross was transformed into the Red Hulk to better combat his nemesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Immortal Hulk</span> Comics character

The Immortal Hulk, introduced as the Devil Hulk, is a fictional alternate-personality character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravage (Marvel Comics)</span> Fictional character in comic books by Marvel Comics

Ravage is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is also one of the Hulk's enemies.

<i>Hulk</i> (video game) 2003 video game

Hulk is a 2003 action video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Universal Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Microsoft Windows. The game primarily features beat 'em up gameplay showcasing the Marvel Comics superhero Hulk, and also includes stealth-based levels featuring the Hulk's human alter-ego Bruce Banner. While the game is a tie-in to the film of the same name, its narrative serves as a sequel, taking place years after the events of the film. The plot follows the Hulk and Banner, who must battle their arch-nemesis the Leader and stop him from unleashing an army of mutants upon the world.

The Enclave is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Typically depicted as a group of dictatorially-minded scientists, the Enclave is best known for creating the characters Adam Warlock and Kismet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clay Quartermain</span> Comics character

Clay Quartermain is a fictional character, a secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Hulkbusters is the name of three fictional organizations appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. All three groups exist within Marvel's shared universe known as the Marvel Universe and are so-named for their attempts to battle the Hulk.

The Gamma Corps is the name of two fictional Gamma-based military units appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skaar (character)</span> Comic book superhero

Skaar is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring his father, the Hulk, who conceived Skaar with the extraterrestrial Caiera during the 2006–2007 "Planet Hulk" storyline. Created by writer Greg Pak and artist John Romita Jr., the earliest version of the character appeared in a cameo in an alternate history story in What If? Planet Hulk #1, in which the character was drawn by Rafa Sandoval. The Earth-616 version of the character appeared in World War Hulk #5, by Pak and Romita, Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Banner</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Brian Banner is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Bill Mantlo, first appearing in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #312. He is the abusive father of Bruce Banner, with said abuse being a major contributing factor of Bruce's eventual transformation into the Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maestro (character)</span> Fictional comic book supervillain

The Maestro is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Peter David and artist George Pérez, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect#1. Depicted as an evil version of the Hulk from an alternate future, the Maestro possesses Bruce Banner's intelligence and the Hulk's strength and more malevolent personality traits.

The Riot Squad is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are often depicted as enemies of Hulk.

References

  1. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 302. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ↑ Incredible Hulk (vol. 3) #12
  3. ↑ Incredible Hulk (vol. 3) #17-19
  4. ↑ Incredible Hulk (vol. 3) #20
  5. ↑ World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #4
  6. ↑ Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #601
  7. ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 #9 (July 2009)
  8. ↑ Ultimate Origins #2
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.