Starship Hulk is arguably the craziest thing Marvel has come up with yet

Hulk #4 cover (Image credit: Ryan Ottley (Marvel Comics))

Donny Cates has said that the Hulk becomes a "Smashtronaut" in his upcoming new ongoing series with artist Ryan Ottley, but has also refuted claims it's set in outer space despite how much the "Smashtronaut" sounds like a punny take on 'Astronaut.' And now with the just-revealed description of February 2022's Hulk #4, we have a better idea of where he is going.

The Marvel Multiverse.

In a ship called… get this… Starship Hulk.

In what could be a bizarre contender for our list of the best superhero rides of all time, the Starship Hulk - piloted by Bruce Banner - is traveling across the Marvel Multiverse to an all-new, all-different alternate Earth where Thunderbolt Ross is president - and has an army of gamma-powered mutates supporting him.

Hulk is the latest Marvel Comics series to take up exploring the Marvel Multiverse in the wake of the MCU's multiversal shenanigans getting underway with Avengers: Endgame, Loki, What If...?, and the upcoming big-screen Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

In addition to Hulk, the Marvel Comics ongoing series Avengers Forever, as well as the limited series Maestro: World War M, Dark Ages, and even Avengers: Tech-On Avengers are all exploring the idea of the modern Marvel Multiverse, and that's without mentioning the expansion of the What If..? as a line of comics.

While the Hulk is venturing out into the Marvel Multiverse and this strange version of Earth he's found, the bigger mystery of the series will be how Hulk became a "Smashtronaut." Those questions will begin to get answered in November 24's Hulk #1. The aforementioned Hulk #4 goes on sale on February 16, 2022.

Look for all of Marvel Comics' February 2022 schedule of releases soon on Newsarama.

Make sure you've read all the best Hulk stories of all time.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)