A Hulk family event detailing the plot of the supervillain cabal the Intelligencia, a team of Mad Scientists, to kidnap the eight smartest people in the Marvel Universe, and the reaction of the various Hulks and supporting characters.
Bruce Banner has teamed up with the Red Hulk in order to stop the Intelligencia from kidnapping the eight smartest people in the world (including Reed Richards, Doctor Doom, T'Challa, Hank Pym, and Hank McCoy).
Bruce is also training Skaar, the son of the Hulk, in order to make him seem like a hero, but also to train him to kill the Hulk when he eventually reemerges. To this end, he arranges several fights between Skaar and the Juggernaut, as well as Daken, the son of Wolverine.
In the end, Bruce assembles a team to take out the Intelligencia and rescue the eight smartest people (as well as his recently resurrected wife Betty Ross Banner) including Korg, A-Bomb (Rick Jones), Namor, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Amadeus Cho. Unfortunately, his plan doesn't work and he's the final one caught by the Leader and the Intelligencia as they use the Red Hulk's gamma energy to make all the heroes "Hulked-out" and release Hulked-out soldiers to take control of Washington. The Hulks have fallen.
Leads directly into Hulked-Out Heroes and World War Hulks.
Fall of the Hulks provides examples of:
- And Then John Was a Zombie: The ultimate fate of General Ross is that he is transformed into the one thing he hated the most and is unable to ever go back to his old life.
- Anti-Villain: Red Hulk. Technically, the Intelligencia themselves as their overall goals are (from their point of view) benevolent.
- Back from the Dead: Subverted, when it appears Glenn Talbot has come back. Eventually, Rulk reveals he's just a LMD. The real Talbot is still very much dead.
- Betty Ross is revealed to be the Red She-Hulk.
- Badass Bookworm: Banner.
- Bat Family Crossover: For The Incredible Hulk and Hulk, plus a number of minis and one-shots.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: The Leader and MODOK.
- The Chessmaster: Bruce Banner and the Intelligencia. Banner ends up being so good at this, that it shows that he is as dangerous as his savage green alter-ego — if not more so.
- Co-Dragons: Red She-Hulk and Samson serve as the dragons for the Intelligencia; Red She-Hulk is more their enforcer, Samson their schemer.
- Enemy Mine: Bruce Banner and Red Hulk team up to bring down the Intelligencia. Even more so when it turns out Red Hulk is General Ross.
- Also, Banner and Dr. Doom working together to get out of the Intelligencia's simulation.
- Fake Defector: Lyra joins up with the Frightful Four to work for the Intelligencia. She's really a double agent working for her father.
- Gambit Pileup: Practically all of the main cast are playing an angle. You may need a scorecard if you want to keep track of who's supposed to be on which side.
- Heel–Face Turn: Red She-Hulk
- Ironic Echo: "Say My Name..." Originally spoken from Doom to 'Hulk' is later the last phrase which Banner speaks to Doom after the later has been defeated due to the Stupid Beam created by The Leader.
- Legion of Doom: The Intelligencia.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Again, the Intelligencia: the Leader, MODOK, Red Ghost, the Wizard and the Mad Thinker.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Skaar to his father; he's helping Banner so he can get a shot at killing the Hulk when it's all said and done.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: Played with, as a large part of the Intelligencia's plot is to capture the eight smartest people in the world, including Reed Richards, download all the knowledge from their brains, and put it to use to solve the world's problems. That's right, the villains are trying to make Reed Richards useful.
- Redemption Equals Death: Doc Samson sacrifices himself to help drain the gamma energy from the hulked-out heroes before it kills them.
- The Reveal: Finally reveals the identities of Red Hulk and Red She-Hulk.
- Shockwave Clap: The Hulk uses this to stop a building from collapsing by using the shockwave to fill the building with sand (he was fighting on the beach).
- Took A Level In Bad Ass: Bruce Banner since losing the Hulk, but also the members of the Intelligencia.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: The Intelligencia is trying to build a better world. And they'll use the bodies of hundreds of superheroes and countless civilians as the foundation.
