General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962)
Lieutenant General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross oversees gamma bomb project that ultimately leads to the creation of the Hulk (Bruce Banner)
Grew up in a military family, and was focused on serving his country from a young age - joined the Army Air Corps (later Air Force) and worked his way up through the ranks
Bruce’s growing relationship with Ross’ daughter Betty was a source of frustration and anger for him, as was the recurring nuisance of the Hulk - Ross made it his personal mission to find and destroy the Hulk
Several times he allied with villains to battle the Hulk, which ultimately led to his dismissal from the military
Betty and Bruce get engaged, but the Leader turns Hulk savage, and the wedding is called off - Betty later marries Glenn Talbot, and Ross is satisfied that Banner will never be his son-in-law
When Talbot was captured by the Soviets in a rescue mission to save Ross, his apparent death fractured his relationship with Betty, as well as a demotion at work because of his inability to capture the Hulk
Betty divorced Talbot and revealed she still loved Bruce - enraged by this, Ross allied with MODOK to have the Abomination kill the Hulk, but Betty caught wind of the plan and accused her father of treason - he was discharged from the Air Force and nearly committed suicide
When Bruce and Betty get married, Ross shows up at the wedding with a gun to stop the ceremony - Rick Jones intervenes and is shot non-fatally
In a SHIELD experiment he merges with Zzzax, a being of sentient electrical energy - in a battle with a mutant, he expends his energy to save Betty, and dies
His body was resurrected by the Leader, and he rejoins the Air Force
After Betty is killed by the Abomination and Hulk is exiled by the Illuminati, Ross sinks into an alcoholic depression - when Steve Rogers is shot, he is visited by MODOK and the Leader and offered a chance to gain Hulk-like powers - he then becomes Red Hulk, and his first act is to kill the Abomination for murdering Betty
Ross’ identity as the Hulk is kept secret for over two years before being revealed during World War Hulks
He later joins the Avengers, where he befriended an LMD named Annie that helped give him some perspective and understanding about things
Temporarily bonds with both the Venom symbiote and the Spirit of Vengeance, becoming a being known as the Circle of Four - this is to defeat Blackheart, son of Mephisto
Gets depowered by Doc Green, a super-intelligent version of the Hulk
