When Infernal Hulk collides with the X-Men, the fight is not about power levels. It is about ancestry. As Johnson expands Hulk’s mythology, he has reframed mutation itself within the cosmology of the Mother of Horrors.
In a recent conversation on Zoom, Johnson enlightened me on the Infernal Hulk’s confrontation with the X-Men in May 2026.
Johnson established that the Mother of Horrors shaped anything on Earth that veered from divine intent. That includes mutation.
“In theory, all earthbound mutants come from the Mother of Horrors in some kind of way,” he explained. “They’re a part of that lineage.”
That single idea changes the stakes. If the Mother of Horrors influenced mutation, then the Father of Horrors, embodied in Infernal Hulk, holds influence over that same family tree.
The X-Men are not simply another superhero team standing in Hulk’s way. They are spiritually entangled in the same ancient corruption.
“We’ve established that the Mother of Horrors is the thing that created anything that was not intended by God, anything that was not intended by the One Above All,” Johnson said. “Anything that’s in some way mutated or profane or evolution took a surprising turn.”
That framing does not cast mutants as villains. It situates them within a mythic lineage.
What Makes a Monster?
Johnson’s series makes clear that monstrosity is not limited to claws and fangs.
“There are monsters walking around among us that were either born hideous in what they’re capable of, or they’re made that way through abuse or neglect,” he said. “There are other ways in which a person can become a monster.”
Issue 27 reinforced that idea. A character can belong to the Mother of Horrors’ lineage and still appear fully human.
Mutation, trauma, corruption, evolution. These form threads in the same tapestry.
That philosophy reframes the X-Men conflict. The clash is not just Hulk versus mutants. It is a reckoning within a shared origin story.
Infernal Hulk is no longer Bruce Banner’s monster. He is a manifestation of something ancient, something that views Earth as its domain. And if mutants are part of that lineage, then the coming clash is far more than a fight. It is a reckoning within the family tree of monsters itself.
Stay tuned to AIPT for more, as we’ll have a written deep dive on Infernal Hulk coming soon, along with Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s full convo on the AIPT Comics podcast.
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