
Soon after his return from his nervous breakdown, the Hulk is pardoned for all his crimes. Despite this, he maintains his involvement in searching for the Hulk, culminating in a nervous breakdown that is brought on by Moonstone. After he is rescued, he is relieved of command and placed on leave. During one operation to capture the Hulk Ross is taken prisoner in Russia. He was later given control of Operation: Greenskin, which was intended to capture and cure the Hulk. After Banner's identity as the Hulk is revealed, Ross continues to pursue him ruthlessly for years, though his attempts to capture the Hulk are universally unsuccessful.

Simultaneously, he begins to suspect that Banner, who he has always disliked, is engaged in treason due to his frequent unexplained absences. Major Story Arcs Hunting the Hulk General Rossįollowing the creation of the Hulk, Ross became involved in hunting the monster down. Red Hulk was created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness and first appeared in The Hulk #1 (2008). General Ross was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962). He was in control of the base when the accident that caused Banner to become the Hulk occurred. He was assigned to command Desert Base, New Mexico, where Dr Bruce Banner's gamma ray experiments were carried out. He rose quickly through the ranks, eventually obtaining the rank of general. However, Karen died of cancer when Betty was young teen, which caused Ross to grow distant with her.

The couple had one daughter, Betty, and Ross used his influence to give the child a stable upbringing. He met and married Karen Lee, the daughter of his then-commanding officer.
He attended West Point and came top of his class, and served bravely in several battles. However, the death of a close friend caused Ross to choose the Air Force instead. Born and raised in a military family, the young Thaddeus Ross spent much of his early life planning to join the Army, as had his father and his grandfather before him.
