General John Ryker

A cold, calculating antagonist born from the grim storytelling sensibilities of the early 2000s, General John Ryker made his entrance in Incredible Hulk #20 (2000), crafted by the sharp creative pairing of Paul Jenkins and Ron Garney. This Marvel Modern Age villain carved out his place in the Hulk's world as a military threat, sharing the page with some of the heaviest hitters in the gamma-powered corner of Marvel — Bruce Banner, the Abomination, and Doc Samson — as well as Wolverine and Akihiro. His presence earned him a spotlight in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Hulk 2004, cementing his status as a notable enough figure to be catalogued among the Hulk's rogues. A lean but pointed entry in Hulk history, Ryker is the kind of sharp-edged military menace that defined the darker, more grounded tone Marvel was chasing at the turn of the millennium.