Hulk is a gamma radiated super human. The Hulk possesses the potential for limitless physical strength depending directly on his emotional state, particularly his anger.[40] This has been reflected in the repeated comment, "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets." After probing, the entity Beyonder once claimed that the Hulk's potential strength had "no finite element inside."[41] His durability, regeneration, and endurance also increase in proportion to his temper.[42] Greg Pak described the Hulk shown during World War Hulk as having a level of physical power where "Hulk was stronger than any mortal—and most immortals—who ever walked the Earth."[43]
Hulk is stated by many official sources, such as Top Trumps, as standing at a height of 6 ft 11 in (2.10 m), and weighing 600 lb (270 kg; 43 st) (though in an older set, he was quoted as 7ft and 1040lbs).
The Hulk is resistant to most forms of injury or damage. The extent varies between interpretations, but he has withstood the equivalent of core solar temperatures,[44] nuclear explosions,[45] and planet-splitting impacts.[46] He has been shown to have both regenerative and adaptive healing abilities, including growing tissues to allow him to breathe underwater,[47] surviving unprotected in space for extended periods,[48][49] and when injured, healing from most wounds within seconds.[50]
His powerful legs allow him to leap into lower Earth orbit or across continents,[51] and he has displayed sufficient superhuman speed to match Thor,[52] or the Sentry.[53] He also has less commonly described powers, including abilities allowing him to "home in" to his place of origin in New Mexico,[54] resist psychic control,[55] grow stronger from radiation[56] or dark magic,[57] and to see and interact with astral forms.[58]
In the early days of the first Hulk comic series, "massive" doses of gamma rays (such as from the explosion of a hand-held nuclear grenade) would cause the Hulk to transform back to Bruce Banner, though this ability was written out of the character by the 1970s.
As Bruce Banner, he is considered one of the greatest minds on Earth. He has developed expertise in the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, and physiology, and holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. He possesses "a mind so brilliant it cannot be measured on any known intelligence test."[59] Bruce Banner also makes use of his intelligence to create highly advanced technology labelled as "Bannertech", which is on par with technological development from Tony Stark or Doctor Doom. The most common Bannertech Bruce uses is a force field able to shrug off blows from Hulk-level entities, which was also given to Amadeus Cho.
In The Science of Superheroes, Lois Grest and Robert Weinberg examined Hulk’s powers, explaining the scientific flaws in them. Most notably, they point out that the level of gamma radiation Banner is exposed to at the initial blast would induce radiation sickness and kill him, or if not, create significant cancer risks for Banner, because hard radiation strips cells of their ability to function. They go on to offer up an alternate origin, in which a Hulk might be created by biological experimentation with adrenal glands and GFP.
Charles Q. Choi from LiveScience.com further explains that unlike the Hulk, gamma rays are not green; existing as they do beyond the visible spectrum, gamma rays have no color at all that we can describe. He also explains that gamma rays are so powerful (the most powerful form of electromagnetic radiation and 10,000 times more powerful than visible light) that they can even create matter from energy - a possible explanation for the increased mass that Bruce Banner takes on during transformations. "Just as the Incredible Hulk 'is the strongest one there is,' as he says himself, so too are gamma ray bursts the most powerful explosions known.