Until my review/analysis of INCREDIBLE HULK #611, which I want to delay a day or two to allow everyone to read so I'm not spoiling you (and allowing your terrific LCS's and through them the terrific Marvel craftsmen to get their well-earned money money money), this is all I'm saying. If you follow me on Twitter (and why wouldn't any self-respecting Hulk fan?) you've seen this already:
Skaar hits Hulk from Washington, DC to Gilmer County, WV: http://bit.ly/awsUfh
Hulk hits Skaar back, from Gilmer County, WV to Ocean City, MD: http://bit.ly/cpUETE
I think we have some record-breaking Hulk feats, here.
~G.
11.8.10
Bill Mantlo: Best Hulk Writer? Part 3
On the event of today's INCREDIBLE HULK #611, I'm folding all three final chapters of my 2004 opus on Bill Mantlo's tenure into one entry. It's a bit long, but it'll more than prepare you for my later thoughts on the big issue in question, which I just had the great pleasure of reading. (Who's the best Hulk writer now? Well, I don't really like to assess until a body's run is completed...*cough* *cough*)
Why I Thought Bill Mantlo Was
The Best Hulk Writer, Period.*
(* as of 2004!)
Part 3: The Incredible Hulk #300-313 & Annual #13
PREVIOUSLY: Things were looking up for one Robert Bruce Banner. The world had accepted him as the Hulk, and the U.S. Government had granted him a full pardon for actions he'd taken as a savage, unthinking brute. However, such acceptance was not without cost, as longtime love Betty Ross Talbot left him, afraid of his embracing of his alter-ego, and Rick Jones had likewise departed (although in his case he was battling an illness caused by gamma ray exposure, over in Mantlo's other book, ROM). Bruce declined Avengers membership and immersed himself in gamma research with the assistance of SHIELD scientist Katherine Waynesboro. The two quickly fell deeply, passionately in love, even though Kate kept her secret agent status a secret. However, Banner's happiness didn't last, as Dr. Strange's enemy, Nightmare, attacked him in his dreams, subconsciously stimulating the return of an even more savage Hulk. During a three-way battle between Banner/Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Nightmare, the scientist acquiesced to the beast within, committing psychic suicide and leaving the world to deal with a completely mindless, infinitely powerful, terribly bestial Hulk.
While an apparently more powerful than ever green goliath stalked New York, with neither SHIELD nor any superheroes able to stop him, Dr. Strange set a course to banish the Hulk from the world of his birth in #300. He saves New York during a battle between Hulk and the Avengers, opening a portal to a dimensional nexus known as the Crossroads. Strange's idea was to grant the behemoth access to unlimited other strange, alien worlds where he could do no harm. The spell he cast also gave the Hulk a peculiar power: if he became disinterested with what occurred on a particular world, a failsafe would transport him back to the Crossroads dimension so that he may choose again.
At the beginning of this last third of Mantlo's run, remember that the scales were swung in the extreme opposite direction as they'd been previously: instead of having Banner's intellect totally in control of the Hulk, his personality has been excised, and this is, we are told, the remainder. It would seem here that Banner's personality, his intellect, holds a moderating influence over the bestial savagery (is that redundant?) of the Hulk. But if that's true, what's more effective when you split the halves--a Hulk where Banner is totally in control, or where there is no Banner?
(Coincidentally, I will note a "first" in the run of the Hulk: in #302, for the very first time since May 1962, the Hulk is shown as having been gray-skinned in his first appearance, in a flashback. Interestingly, this illustration would come to be a portent of things to come in just two years' time.)
The Hulk's voyages in the Crossroads and from it are really quite basic, propelled by a need to be something more, to learn about himself, for he is now a blank slate. True, this is a slate prone to violent rages, but also, it seems, deprived of Earth's many troubles, he can be gentle. The Hulk's guide, established because he needs someone to instruct him and to remind us continually what the new status quo is, is the Puffball Collective, a collection of alien germ whose main limitation is that for some reason, he cannot enter any of the portals. Wherever the Hulk travels, whatever he does, he does it alone. He triumphs or fails, ultimately, alone.
The first world into which the Hulk is thrust with any real duration (#301) is one where he is a tiny creature, surrounded by toys in a giant boy's playset. Perhaps it's a meta representation of the comic world in which he is only a fictional character (dolls and the house symbolizing the fictional world, with the boy as the creator). The Hulk is dissatisfied with the world, as it is not something that is a comfortable fit with him. He recognizes illusion and artifice for what it is. Moreover, he is overpowered, at least on a textual level, by the giant boy. He quickly leaves the world once he realizes his failure in the choice.
A brief interlude occurs in HULK ANNUAL #13, wherein the Hulk visits a planet of symbionts including S'ym, who attaches to the Hulk's neck and leads him on a voyage to see the stars above an endless cover of clouds. S'ym, his first true friend on this journey, dies, and the Hulk returns to the Crossroads.
The next world (#302-303) is a medieval one, ruled by a class of red-skinned beings who subjugate their green-skinned counterparts. In a takeoff on Rapunzel, Hulk sees a thin, green-skinned beauty held in a tower by the reds, and finds it his duty to rescue her. Her tears carry the power to make plant matter grow, and as such, the tower constructed of the bones of greens is awash in flowers. The reds are, similar to the giant of the last story, shown to be physically superior to the Hulk himself: their implements are stronger, and upon the first encounter with one of the reds, Hulk finds a spear embedded within his shoulder. The Hulk is handily defeated by the red knight Maktu, and cast an even more vicious blow by the knight's smaller page. The Hulk awakens held by otherworldly chains, having been released from the reds into the custody of the young green-skinned maiden, who has in return agreed to marry Maktu. Her touch soothes the behemoth, and she helps him to heal. Although it is heavily suggested that the Hulk remembers nothing of his previous life, the resemblance of the maiden to Jarella is too glaring to ignore. It is the first sign that perhaps some element of the previous creature's dim intellect remains.
The Hulk works as a slave to help build the red people's City of Death, but in the end it is not his will that frees the girl and dooms the reds, but rather the girl herself, who cries tears of anger that cause the green to grow into distorted, savage versions that kill the reds. It is clear to the Hulk that this is not a woman who needs his protection, nor is it one he much admires, so he moves onward, bereft of anything resembling victory or friendship.
Once again in the next issue (#304), the Hulk finds companionship in the form of an orange-skinned creature who has been branded a traitor to his homeworld's militaristic society. The tribunal shows up and kills Zgorian, subduing the Hulk so that he cannot interfere. Yet another loss, and the Hulk can do nothing. He returns to the Crossroads to find the U-Foes, a somewhat welcome familiarity, forced from Earth by Vector's unstable powers.
Now, the U-Foes have appeared once during every third of Mantlo's run, and hence there's a rhythm to their appearances. Under the savage Hulk, the U-Foes defeated themselves, unfamiliar with their own newfound abilities. Once they returned, they faced the Banner Hulk, who could not defeat them and was only saved with help from Bereet and her creatures. Their fight here (#305) echoes across the dimensions the Hulk has previously visited; time regresses backward and then forward again as Bruce Banner and Mike Steel quarrel schoolyard-style and then once more become the Hulk and Ironclad; and reality itself is unraveled by Vector. This battle's purpose is twofold: first, it reprises us of this Hulk's power in correlation to what we know, hence telling us that it is at the same level, or perhaps greater than, it was at any point during the run of the "savage" Hulk (take a look at Vector repelling the Hulk--that force has subsequently splayed the flesh from the merged Hulk's bones, but here, the creature just takes it); and second, it establishes trust between the Puffball Collective and the new Hulk, with the Puffball instructing the Hulk on which U-Foe should be thrown into which Crossroads portal, doing so quite ruthlessly, I'll add. This Hulk would not, it would seem, have defeated the U-Foes this time without the help of the Puffball, his new "friend."
Next, of course, comes the most terrible saga of the Crossroads, if these boards are any indication. A sequel to an earlier effort (INCREDIBLE HULK #136-137), this adventure (#306-307) ingeniously finds the energy-monster Klaatu (read: Moby Dick) weaving his way across worlds using the Crossroads. First, the Hulk (Ishmael?) clearly remembers the identity of Bruce Banner when interrogated with physical representations by the Collective. Then, the Hulk sees Klaatu, his brain thinking his actions an invasion of his territory, and the monster attacks. Klaatu shrugs off the Hulk's attack and his essence dissipates into the various portals leading to other realms. Then, the starship Andromeda arrives, its Captain Cybor (definitely Ahab) and Xeron the Star-Slayer (if I had to guess, Starbuck--is this getting boring already?) tracking Klaatu across dimensions. Xeron picks a battle with the Hulk, and captures him, forcing him to be an oarsman in the quest for Klaatu. The Puffball Collective is recruited as well, but is left behind due to the limitation that prevents him from moving beyond the Crossroads dimension. In the Hulk's absence, the Collective tells of his "incarceration" at the Crossroads, suggesting more than meets the eye (and a future story point). The Hulk rages aboard the Andromeda since losing his friend, causing Xeron to miss hooking Klaatu and forcing a return to the Crossroads, where the Hulk finally speaks upon seeing the Puffball: "Friend?". The Puffball is able to escape the Crossroads aboard the ship then, and Cybor and Xeron are able to hook Klaatu, only for the creature to smash the ship. Cybor and crew breathe their last on the desert world, and the Hulk releases Klaatu of the ship's laser harpoon grip before he and the Collective return to the Crossroads.
When last we left the Hulk, he'd just freed the alien Klaatu from servitude by Captain Cybor and Xeron. and along the way he found his voice again, proving that the creature is learning how, like a baby....or could his mind be on the way to full recovery of its status before Bruce Banner forced himself into psychic retreat? We still haven't heard those familiar utterances yet, just a couple of "Friend"s. Still, could it be...?
Still, the Hulk has shown his first vague victory after some very crippling defeats, and the fact he has again found his voice lends credence to my argument--that the Hulk personality, at least the savage one, is of a homeostatic balance between Banner's rationalism/intellectualism and the raw, unbridled savagery and instinct of the animalistic variant we've seen in the last 9 issues. Separated into these two extremes, the Hulk cannot function to his fullest--that is, like the army reserve, he can't be all that he can be. When such extremes occur, some part of the Hulk acts to restore the balance, which is why we ultimately saw the savage Hulk return to dominance in IH #296 for a few issues directly preceding the pendulum's swinging the OTHER way, and placing the animal, for the first time, in full charge. Now, with #307, it would appear that the pendulum is again swinging back toward homeostasis.
In #308, the Hulk continues to learn lessons that he cannot always trust his instincts, that they can often lead him to disaster. From the start of his adventures in the Crossroads, the Puffball Collective has been his only friend, and would seem at first to be a kindred spirit, stranded in the dimension with one important distinction from the Hulk: he is not permitted to enter any of the portals, never allowed escape from this realm! At first, we didn't pay the idea much lip service, because the Hulk needed someone to interact with, who could teach him things, and potentially put him on the road to recovery. But we must herein ask ourselves: who exiled the Puffball, and why? He/it doesn't seem harmful, does he/it? The Hulk has accepted the Puffball's friendship, but now we learn that it was all an act, a sham so that it could use the Hulk to escape its prison!
The Puffball's story he tells the green goliath is wrong--that much we know, for how can the Hulk freely traverse the realms of the Crossroads when the Puffball cannot? But, such logical questions evade the Hulk's mind, and all the Puffball can offer is the idea that the evil creatures from its home dimension barred all gateways, not just the one to its home. It asks for help, and the Hulk eagerly grants it, shattering the mystical chains that shut off the Puffball from its home realm, and doing so in a manner that is entirely rational, conjuring comparisons to the Inhumans' Karnak, who attacks foes at their weakest point. The Hulk follows the Puffball into the portal, where they encounter a terrible, blackened wasteland. The beast falls asleep and cannot hear the Collective utter resentment toward him.
Out of the aether, while the Hulk sleeps, three new beings appear: Goblin, a small, blue-skinned demon creature; Guardian, a young, golden-skinned prepubescent girl with bow, arrows, and quiver; and Glow, a shining pink star hovering in the air. The three observe that they have been "watching" for some time, and that now that the mystic portal somehow awakened them, they must help the Hulk to act. Guardian shoots a golden arrow toward the Hulk, which awakens him in time for him to witness a purple-skinned alien approaching--a representative of the demonic N'Garai race (as anyone who read X-MEN #143 among others would recognize).
The creature at first thrashes the Hulk, but Goblin appears and commands the Hulk to evade his foe, accentuating his survival skills; then, Guardian lets an arrow fly into the Hulk, awakening his senses and letting him know that he has been hurt, making him fly into action. Angst over the possible loss of the Puffball enrages the Hulk, letting us know what we've suspected since last issue--the Hulk is back, as per the following words: "Friend said he would watch over Hulk! Friend is not here! Then friend must already be--dead!" The Hulk smashes his alien foe, but soon thereafter is ambushed by more N'Garai.
Suddenly, the Puffball arrives and tells the Hulk the whole, fateful story--that the Collective is actually a collection of rogue cells that worked to sabotage their brethren, calling forth the N'Garai. The "good" Collective exiled their evil selves to the Crossroads while sealing their own dimension so that the demons could not escape to menace another world. The Hulk sundered the spells, freeing the N'Garai to potentially cause chaos across many dimensions. The triad of Goblin, Guardian and Glow again appear at this time, knowing the Hulk to be outnumbered and concluding his only course of action is flight--but "(h)e ain't never been smart enough t'run from a fight before!" Nonetheless, the Hulk bounds away towards the dimensional portal whence he gained entrance to this world.
With N'Garai in tow and closing fast, the Hulk leaps for his life, and miraculously remembers the only chance for his salvation--the failsafe spell which Dr. Strange placed upon him that would guide him back to the Crossroads with but a thought! And so, he returns to the Crossroads in time to mystically seal the portal to the Puffball's dimension by merely uniting its magical chains, sparing perhaps untold realities, but in so doing still feeling as though he has lost a friend. However, the role of the Collective is filled from here onward quite nicely by the mysterious Triad.
Now that the Triad is in place, representing the Hulk, or rather Banner's, Freudian id (Goblin), ego (Guardian), and superego (Glow), the Hulk is on the road to an even faster recovery. In #309, the narrative works to further distinguish the Hulk as a man and not an animal, doing so successfully in the form of a sojourn to a desert world which, ironically, the Hulk picks to try and satiate his appetites as urged by the Triad. The Hulk, urged by one of Guardian's arrows, remembers his past and longs to go "Home," which the Triad knows to this point is impossible. They also acknowledge that the Crossroads, with its isolation, is not the cure for the creature's psychic retreat--he must venture forth into portals, interacting, hoping that the alien races he encounters usher forth his lost humanity. On this desert world, the Hulk forages for food, even when his other aspects condemn his actions and wish for a hasty return to the Crossroads. Guardian condemns the others' reactions, having never know the Hulk to act "suicidally" before, but even her beliefs are taxed as the Hulk sweats amid the blazing sun, on the verge of dropping over--when he spies what he thinks is water. Goblin dives in, but is rewarded only with a mouthful of sand. However, says Guardian, the mirage proves that the Hulk was thinking rationally, that he knew what he was doing. Still, the Hulk continues to weaken, and the Triad tries unsuccessfully to get him to trigger the fail-safe spell, lest he be too exhausted to select another world. Finally, the Hulk protects the Triad from an awesome sandstorm, and when the storm passes, Goblin looks over the next hill and sees an oasis. The Hulk saw the earlier clues--a skeleton of a fish, and the scent of water in the air--then deduced that what he required was indeed on this world, and by sheer force of will, found it! Pleased, the Hulk smiled--"an expression known only to--man."
#310: All I can say is, IT'S ABOUT TIME! Another world, another set of dramatic circumstances with a specific purpose in mind. The Triad discuss amid a thick swamp whether the Hulk's returning rationality is result of his own true personality finally becoming ascendant via exposure to the Crossroads realms, or whether some aspect of the "previous two" personae exists and is causing the change. Perhaps, Glow posits, the very existence of the Triad is not to help the Hulk toward a healed mind, but a form of rebellion triggered by one of the former personae against this "new," "true" Hulk. Outside the swamp, the four arrive at a city made of skulls, where a yellow-skinned alien woman who arouses strange feelings in the Hulk, seems ready to be the victim of a sacrifice. The Hulk's own mind motivates him into action against those who would do the woman harm. Accosted in turn by skeleton-warriors on the backs of what look like horses with horns, the Hulk rises to action thusly: "Bone-riders will not touch woman--or HULK WILL SMASH!" hence dispelling any ideas to the contrary just which persona is now dominant. "Music t'my pointy li'l ears!" as Goblin says. Guardian hopes to let reason shine through in the Hulk as he wages war against the warriors whose touch causes instant death, and the arrow she shoots causes the Hulk to talk articulately, but allows one of the warriors to thrust his spear into the creature's side--the very danger to which Guardian wanted to warn the Hulk. The "instant death" the Hulk felt from the spear causes him to falter, collapse...and change back into Bruce Banner, completing the final steps in the cycle begun by his psychic suicide several months earlier! The Triad disappear back into the psychic aether from which they came, confirming as they do so that they assumed Banner's place in the Hulk's mind, helping to balance the equation, so to speak. The unconscious Banner is then carried off to the lair of the death-creatures' mysterious master, where the creatures tie him to a table and the yellow-skinned woman prepares to sacrifice him...
We resume in #311 with Bruce Banner about to be sacrificed by a yellow-skinned woman whom the Hulk rescued from similar sacrifice. Her yellow skin perhaps has function beyond merely showing that she's an alien creature: after all, the reason the Hulk saved her is obviously due to her similarity to another alien woman, Jarella...but note that the difference between yellow and green is the mix of blue into the mix, ergo she is only 'half' the woman Jarella is. Banner is saved--"in best beginning-of-the-next-episode-of-the-serial form"--by a very human-looking, bespectacled scientist, who wears a green shirt (obviously evoking the Hulk, acting as a "dark mirror" to Banner).
His name is Dr. Daniel DeCyst, and he fancies himself an alchemist from the eighteenth century who somehow found his way to this world. His presence here again resumes the thread that somehow, there exists a path between this world and Earth after all, and that the Hulk may yet find a way "home." DeCyst shows his hubris in his backstory, wanting a method to ensure his "immortality" and thereby transporting himself via magicks to this alien world. He reveals that he has obtained a few centuries of immortality by bleeding the yellow-skinned natives of this world, Notice their blood is green (leading to the reason why he wants the Hulk, not realizing that he is from the world of his origin). Banner escapes, and the yellow-skinned woman from earlier kills DeCyst. Banner runs, questioning his decision to do so when he could just as easily stop and let the aliens kill him, end his suffering (alluding to this "insane" survival instinct), when his pulse races and once again the Hulk takes control.
Aided again by Goblin, Guardian and Glow, his mind submerged, the Banner and Hulk sides still seeking balance, the Hulk battles the demons and aliens of this world, while a telling narrative intones: "Fight the brainless Hulk does...with a savagery unmitigated by the reasoning mind of Bruce Banner buried unreachably deep within the monster! The equation of their shared existence might best be stated thusly: To live, Bruce Banner has to die...that the Hulk might live to save them both!" Additionally, Glow highlights the specific reason why it and the two others must exist: "If the two sides of the Hulk/Banner personae were linked--as they were in the beginning--our presence would not be necessary!...Until man and monster are reunited in one form, we must guide and guard the Hulk!" When Guardian lets fly her arrow of reason, again the Hulk can speak. Since he cannot see the girl to save her, he decides to return to the Crossroads, where Guardian states, "...(I)t is at this interdimensional intersection to which Dr. Strange banished the Hulk that the man and the monster must be reconciled if both are ever to return...home!" which paves the way for the purpose of the next issue.
So then, what is the purpose of #312, "Monster"? The narrative seems to be the attempt by the Triad to heal the Hulk's fractured halves--that is, to establish a firm link between Banner and Hulk so that Goblin, Guardian and Glow do not need to continually watch over the Hulk. The method in which they choose to accomplish this daunting task is by revisiting the Hulk's origin, yet in a way that no one, to date, had examined. We are introduced to Brian Banner, whose wife, Rebecca, is about to give birth to a "monster" whom Brian thinks was conceived with the "help" of his atomic research. The child, Bruce, is born, with the spectre of the Hulk hanging over him from that moment! After several months and many tests, Brian and Rebecca are able to bring Bruce home. Here, we see both the Hulk, ghostlike, hovering, superimposed on Bruce at every panel, but also, we are introduced to Glow (in the form of a star hanging above Bruce's crib) as symbol of reason and analogue to Rebecca Banner, whom we also see here clearly for the first time. Brian ushers Rebecca away to a symposium, deliberately trying to get some "alone time" with her away from the child he believes is still a monster. They leave Bruce in the care of Nurse Meachum, who leaves young Bruce with Guardian, the doll that his mother gave him (and presumably enabled Bruce to "survive" these trying times), before she herself becomes the spitting image of Goblin, the personification of Banner's rage, at first projecting the sources that encouraged that rage to grow. Here, we at last know the origin of the appearances of all three characters who strive to foster the Hulk's awareness of self.
On Christmas Eve, we see Bruce opening his presents in the presence of both his doll Guardian, and Glow, which now adorns the top of the Christmas tree in the living room. Bruce displays his apparent superlative intelligence and ingenuity by building an immense construction from an erector set. Guardian falls, indicating that Bruce's safety is at risk, and Brian appears, transforming in Bruce's mind into another version of Goblin and wrecking the erector set, ranting how Bruce should not be this intelligent and that he is still an inhuman monster. When Rebecca defends her son, Brian beats her, and when Bruce rises to her defense, Brian backhands him, as well. After that night, Bruce never saw his mother smile again, and soon afterward, his father murdered her, avoiding culpability for the act by reason of insanity.
In high school, Bruce avoids his classmates, immersed in his work, having bottled himself up following the death of his mother. He's a control freak and the headmaster dreads the day when he finally externalizes his trauma.
Later, by Rebecca Banner's grave, Bruce encounters his father for the last time. We know as per INCREDIBLE HULK #-1 that Bruce's real memories were repressed--that here, Bruce killed Brian Banner, but that's not Mantlo's work, so I'll ignore that version here. Brian, fresh from the mental hospital, still suffers the "delusion" that Bruce is a "monster" and must be destroyed for the good of mankind. While they fought, Brian told Bruce that what he did now would "be done for the sake of mankind!" After beating Bruce, Brian took his leave. Bruce all the while denied that his intellect was spawned by the radiation, for "any latent 'powers' would have shown themselves in early adolescence." He'd hoped to make his mother proud of him while making her forget him, and leaves Glow by her graveside in memoriam.
Finally, at Desert Base in New Mexico, we come full circle. The first one to help welcome Bruce to the base is Betty Ross. He immediately warms to her, surprisingly not suppressing his feelings ("Call me Bruce," he says upon their meet, and he says the military "censored the best things from my briefing!"). Betty is exposed early to a photograph of Bruce's mother and the doll of Guardian that Bruce "meant to throw...out." Betty establishes herself as sentimental, while Bruce obviously frowns on his memories, his whole life to that point per Mantlo possessing nothing but strife. (Interestingly, Betty is shown to wear a green dress, while Bruce wears a purple suit, suggesting via the Hulk's colors an inextricable bond between them.) Then, Bruce meets "Thunderbolt" Ross, who chides him for being a "simpering civilian" and who tells him he knew Brian Banner at Los Alamos, calling him a "real man." Bruce takes offense, knowing of his father as a murderer, but Ross says the attitude is just another sign of Banner's instability and inability to reconcile the problems in his past. Symbolically again, Ross picks up the Guardian doll, tearing off its arm, and transforms into the image of Goblin while Banner equates Betty with Glow as a symbol of his mother's reason.
Interestingly, at all pivotal moments of Bruce's life--upon being brought home, being accosted by his father on Christmas, and here at Desert Base--all three are very much in the foreground, and Goblin is seen as another, distinct identity from Bruce, not coveted but rather feared. This concurrence occurs again when the G-bomb explodes, where Igor (renamed Sklar as a surname here) transforms into Goblin (out of sight of Bruce, yet!), and at Banner's base residence, as the bomb triggers, the picture of Rebecca and the armless Guardian doll both kick up in the air. Symbolically, to close out the origin flashback, we see Bruce Banner in the light of the G-bomb as he grows into the image that ever hovered over him since he was born--that of the Incredible Hulk!
Interestingly, just as the MPD/DID angle can be drawn from this story, with the abuse by Banner's father, there's another picture that can be painted of the life of Bruce Banner herein. And by implication it could mean that PAD's MPD/DID is an incorrect interpretation--but with some tinkering, that interpretation still fits, somehow. Remember that the first appearance of the Hulk's image over the child Bruce is on page 3--the first time we see him! Furthermore, the image is also there when Bruce, as from the captions, was first brought home, before, it is assumed, either Nurse Meachum or Brian ever had the opportunity to abuse him. What does this mean? Quite possibly, it means that Brian Banner was correct: that he passed on some genetic flaw to Bruce that was undetectable in the hospital tests. There was a "monster" in Bruce Banner all the while, which would be shaped in subseqent years by the abuse he suffered and splinter into various forms. Those forms festered, until they were finally let loose when the G-bomb took hold of this other piece of Bruce, augmenting it. I'm moderately sure that Mantlo's intent was to show that this piece, by itself, separate from Banner's intellect, was the Hulk from #299-307 and pieces of the following issues, but the longer it existed with Banner, the more closely Banner empathized with those feelings of rage and angst, that other piece took on some of Bruce's traits as a sort of stable anchor, and hence, the savage Hulk was born. I've tried my best to integrate the Hulk's other personalities into this idea--Banner's abuse shaping the form, splintering it causing the gray persona and more besides--but don't have a definite workable theory. I do find it very interesting that, although this idea seems in Mantlo's run very savage Hulk-centered, the gray variant did make appearances in flashback during the run (starting in #302). Also, there is no doubt in my mind that the flashbacks that started so early were a buildup to this very issue, where by examining the Hulk's and Banner's lives in-depth, the Hulk and Banner might finally be reunited in spirit as well as body so that the Triad could safely disappear.
Now that the whole truth is finally known, indeed, the Triad conclude their usefulness at an end. What I find most interesting is Goblin's soliloquy before he disappears: "I'm Banner's rage, locked up all those lonely years an' just waitin' t'be set free! Funny thing is, when I finally got the chance, Banner took a powder...t'be replaced by the Hulk!" Hmm...
Any way you look at it, the Hulk is Banner's bizarre reflection of himself, his shell, the monster Brian Banner always "knew" he'd become. Or, hmm....could it be Banner's strange method of passing the guilt (of killing his father, as per PAD) onto another...?
The Hulk becomes Banner again, still stranded at the Crossroads, when in true 80s crossover fashion, we discover that the Beyonder--nigh-omnipotent being trying to understand the nuances of humanity--is watching him. He notices that Banner embraces his despair "like a lover" and then sees a strange beam shooting through the dimension (coming from Earth, as Alpha Flight's attempt to "hook" a body to house the soul of Walter Langkowski, aka Sasquatch). He points the beam toward Banner, under the pretense of "helping" him, and departs.
That brings us to #313, and the final issue of the traditional HULK run by Bill Mantlo. Banner, standing at the Crossroads, ruminates: "It appears that life and death aren't quite the concrete concepts, the immutable states of being I'd always supposed the to be." Parts of his persona "emerged to guard and guide the Hulk" (which is interesting in and of itself, anyone care to comment?) until now, when Banner and Hulk have achieved balance. He was exiled to the Crossroads so he could cause no harm, but nobody counted on Banner coming back. To try and kill himself, Bruce throws himself off the Crossroads path, falling endlessly, until finally he transforms into the Hulk, who miraculously returns to the path at the Crossroads, knowing full well his "friend" Dr. Strange exiled him and that he must go home! As if to answer that request, the red line sent by Alpha Flight "hooks" him, just like the Andromeda hooked Klaatu. He jumps between dimensions to try to escape the line, but cannot. He cannot even sever the line by his own strength! Say it loud, say it proud: "No matter where Hulk goes--no matter how many strange doors Hulk passes through--Hulk cannot get free from line!"
Suddenly a form drifts down through the line and merges itself with the Hulk, casting out Bruce Banner's ethereal form. The form was that of Walter Langkowski, now in control of the Hulk's body. He died, yet his soul remained on Earth in the robotic body of Box, devised by his friends, Roger Bochs and Madison Jeffries, yet he longed for a human body, and thought here at the Crossroads he found it. Banner begs Langkowski to keep the body, to do good as the Hulk, to let him die, but Langkowski won't do it, once again sacrificing his happiness for Banner's. Says Bruce: "The Hulk's personality is actually my rage personified! Should you become the Hulk you'd have full control over his monstrous power! Use it--use it for good and...." Langkowski's spirit leaves the body and Banner is forced back into the Hulk, who is then returned via the red line to Earth, where he encounters Alpha Flight.
Aside: in AF #29, the Hulk primarily just wants to get "home" but cannot see it from Canada. The "home" to which he refers is the desert, of course. Finally, he just goes away, leaving Canada. Not much to see here, but it's an interesting coda to Mantlo's Hulk run nonetheless.
Hopefully, I've shown everyone the highs and lows of Bill Mantlo's INCREDIBLE HULK run and why I think he's the best writer the book's had. He may have stolen a good bit of the plot of IH #312 from Barry Windsor-Smith, but IMO, it took a good writer to be able to do as much with the story based on that treatise as he was able, to integrate it so well into the Hulk's ongoing series and to really pack in the intricacies into a great read.
The Hulk under Mantlo was a showcase for the savage Hulk, even though he wasn't in every single issue. It's shown that the best Hulk was a balance between Banner's intellect and the animalistic savagery that is at the core of the character. Fantastic work by all involved. I only wish that Mantlo had been able to go forward from the Crossroads with the recombined Banner/Hulk.
What do you think, sirs?
~G.
Why I Thought Bill Mantlo Was
The Best Hulk Writer, Period.*
(* as of 2004!)
Part 3: The Incredible Hulk #300-313 & Annual #13
PREVIOUSLY: Things were looking up for one Robert Bruce Banner. The world had accepted him as the Hulk, and the U.S. Government had granted him a full pardon for actions he'd taken as a savage, unthinking brute. However, such acceptance was not without cost, as longtime love Betty Ross Talbot left him, afraid of his embracing of his alter-ego, and Rick Jones had likewise departed (although in his case he was battling an illness caused by gamma ray exposure, over in Mantlo's other book, ROM). Bruce declined Avengers membership and immersed himself in gamma research with the assistance of SHIELD scientist Katherine Waynesboro. The two quickly fell deeply, passionately in love, even though Kate kept her secret agent status a secret. However, Banner's happiness didn't last, as Dr. Strange's enemy, Nightmare, attacked him in his dreams, subconsciously stimulating the return of an even more savage Hulk. During a three-way battle between Banner/Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Nightmare, the scientist acquiesced to the beast within, committing psychic suicide and leaving the world to deal with a completely mindless, infinitely powerful, terribly bestial Hulk.
While an apparently more powerful than ever green goliath stalked New York, with neither SHIELD nor any superheroes able to stop him, Dr. Strange set a course to banish the Hulk from the world of his birth in #300. He saves New York during a battle between Hulk and the Avengers, opening a portal to a dimensional nexus known as the Crossroads. Strange's idea was to grant the behemoth access to unlimited other strange, alien worlds where he could do no harm. The spell he cast also gave the Hulk a peculiar power: if he became disinterested with what occurred on a particular world, a failsafe would transport him back to the Crossroads dimension so that he may choose again.
At the beginning of this last third of Mantlo's run, remember that the scales were swung in the extreme opposite direction as they'd been previously: instead of having Banner's intellect totally in control of the Hulk, his personality has been excised, and this is, we are told, the remainder. It would seem here that Banner's personality, his intellect, holds a moderating influence over the bestial savagery (is that redundant?) of the Hulk. But if that's true, what's more effective when you split the halves--a Hulk where Banner is totally in control, or where there is no Banner?
(Coincidentally, I will note a "first" in the run of the Hulk: in #302, for the very first time since May 1962, the Hulk is shown as having been gray-skinned in his first appearance, in a flashback. Interestingly, this illustration would come to be a portent of things to come in just two years' time.)
The Hulk's voyages in the Crossroads and from it are really quite basic, propelled by a need to be something more, to learn about himself, for he is now a blank slate. True, this is a slate prone to violent rages, but also, it seems, deprived of Earth's many troubles, he can be gentle. The Hulk's guide, established because he needs someone to instruct him and to remind us continually what the new status quo is, is the Puffball Collective, a collection of alien germ whose main limitation is that for some reason, he cannot enter any of the portals. Wherever the Hulk travels, whatever he does, he does it alone. He triumphs or fails, ultimately, alone.
The first world into which the Hulk is thrust with any real duration (#301) is one where he is a tiny creature, surrounded by toys in a giant boy's playset. Perhaps it's a meta representation of the comic world in which he is only a fictional character (dolls and the house symbolizing the fictional world, with the boy as the creator). The Hulk is dissatisfied with the world, as it is not something that is a comfortable fit with him. He recognizes illusion and artifice for what it is. Moreover, he is overpowered, at least on a textual level, by the giant boy. He quickly leaves the world once he realizes his failure in the choice.
A brief interlude occurs in HULK ANNUAL #13, wherein the Hulk visits a planet of symbionts including S'ym, who attaches to the Hulk's neck and leads him on a voyage to see the stars above an endless cover of clouds. S'ym, his first true friend on this journey, dies, and the Hulk returns to the Crossroads.
The next world (#302-303) is a medieval one, ruled by a class of red-skinned beings who subjugate their green-skinned counterparts. In a takeoff on Rapunzel, Hulk sees a thin, green-skinned beauty held in a tower by the reds, and finds it his duty to rescue her. Her tears carry the power to make plant matter grow, and as such, the tower constructed of the bones of greens is awash in flowers. The reds are, similar to the giant of the last story, shown to be physically superior to the Hulk himself: their implements are stronger, and upon the first encounter with one of the reds, Hulk finds a spear embedded within his shoulder. The Hulk is handily defeated by the red knight Maktu, and cast an even more vicious blow by the knight's smaller page. The Hulk awakens held by otherworldly chains, having been released from the reds into the custody of the young green-skinned maiden, who has in return agreed to marry Maktu. Her touch soothes the behemoth, and she helps him to heal. Although it is heavily suggested that the Hulk remembers nothing of his previous life, the resemblance of the maiden to Jarella is too glaring to ignore. It is the first sign that perhaps some element of the previous creature's dim intellect remains.
The Hulk works as a slave to help build the red people's City of Death, but in the end it is not his will that frees the girl and dooms the reds, but rather the girl herself, who cries tears of anger that cause the green to grow into distorted, savage versions that kill the reds. It is clear to the Hulk that this is not a woman who needs his protection, nor is it one he much admires, so he moves onward, bereft of anything resembling victory or friendship.
Once again in the next issue (#304), the Hulk finds companionship in the form of an orange-skinned creature who has been branded a traitor to his homeworld's militaristic society. The tribunal shows up and kills Zgorian, subduing the Hulk so that he cannot interfere. Yet another loss, and the Hulk can do nothing. He returns to the Crossroads to find the U-Foes, a somewhat welcome familiarity, forced from Earth by Vector's unstable powers.
Now, the U-Foes have appeared once during every third of Mantlo's run, and hence there's a rhythm to their appearances. Under the savage Hulk, the U-Foes defeated themselves, unfamiliar with their own newfound abilities. Once they returned, they faced the Banner Hulk, who could not defeat them and was only saved with help from Bereet and her creatures. Their fight here (#305) echoes across the dimensions the Hulk has previously visited; time regresses backward and then forward again as Bruce Banner and Mike Steel quarrel schoolyard-style and then once more become the Hulk and Ironclad; and reality itself is unraveled by Vector. This battle's purpose is twofold: first, it reprises us of this Hulk's power in correlation to what we know, hence telling us that it is at the same level, or perhaps greater than, it was at any point during the run of the "savage" Hulk (take a look at Vector repelling the Hulk--that force has subsequently splayed the flesh from the merged Hulk's bones, but here, the creature just takes it); and second, it establishes trust between the Puffball Collective and the new Hulk, with the Puffball instructing the Hulk on which U-Foe should be thrown into which Crossroads portal, doing so quite ruthlessly, I'll add. This Hulk would not, it would seem, have defeated the U-Foes this time without the help of the Puffball, his new "friend."
Next, of course, comes the most terrible saga of the Crossroads, if these boards are any indication. A sequel to an earlier effort (INCREDIBLE HULK #136-137), this adventure (#306-307) ingeniously finds the energy-monster Klaatu (read: Moby Dick) weaving his way across worlds using the Crossroads. First, the Hulk (Ishmael?) clearly remembers the identity of Bruce Banner when interrogated with physical representations by the Collective. Then, the Hulk sees Klaatu, his brain thinking his actions an invasion of his territory, and the monster attacks. Klaatu shrugs off the Hulk's attack and his essence dissipates into the various portals leading to other realms. Then, the starship Andromeda arrives, its Captain Cybor (definitely Ahab) and Xeron the Star-Slayer (if I had to guess, Starbuck--is this getting boring already?) tracking Klaatu across dimensions. Xeron picks a battle with the Hulk, and captures him, forcing him to be an oarsman in the quest for Klaatu. The Puffball Collective is recruited as well, but is left behind due to the limitation that prevents him from moving beyond the Crossroads dimension. In the Hulk's absence, the Collective tells of his "incarceration" at the Crossroads, suggesting more than meets the eye (and a future story point). The Hulk rages aboard the Andromeda since losing his friend, causing Xeron to miss hooking Klaatu and forcing a return to the Crossroads, where the Hulk finally speaks upon seeing the Puffball: "Friend?". The Puffball is able to escape the Crossroads aboard the ship then, and Cybor and Xeron are able to hook Klaatu, only for the creature to smash the ship. Cybor and crew breathe their last on the desert world, and the Hulk releases Klaatu of the ship's laser harpoon grip before he and the Collective return to the Crossroads.
When last we left the Hulk, he'd just freed the alien Klaatu from servitude by Captain Cybor and Xeron. and along the way he found his voice again, proving that the creature is learning how, like a baby....or could his mind be on the way to full recovery of its status before Bruce Banner forced himself into psychic retreat? We still haven't heard those familiar utterances yet, just a couple of "Friend"s. Still, could it be...?
Still, the Hulk has shown his first vague victory after some very crippling defeats, and the fact he has again found his voice lends credence to my argument--that the Hulk personality, at least the savage one, is of a homeostatic balance between Banner's rationalism/intellectualism and the raw, unbridled savagery and instinct of the animalistic variant we've seen in the last 9 issues. Separated into these two extremes, the Hulk cannot function to his fullest--that is, like the army reserve, he can't be all that he can be. When such extremes occur, some part of the Hulk acts to restore the balance, which is why we ultimately saw the savage Hulk return to dominance in IH #296 for a few issues directly preceding the pendulum's swinging the OTHER way, and placing the animal, for the first time, in full charge. Now, with #307, it would appear that the pendulum is again swinging back toward homeostasis.
In #308, the Hulk continues to learn lessons that he cannot always trust his instincts, that they can often lead him to disaster. From the start of his adventures in the Crossroads, the Puffball Collective has been his only friend, and would seem at first to be a kindred spirit, stranded in the dimension with one important distinction from the Hulk: he is not permitted to enter any of the portals, never allowed escape from this realm! At first, we didn't pay the idea much lip service, because the Hulk needed someone to interact with, who could teach him things, and potentially put him on the road to recovery. But we must herein ask ourselves: who exiled the Puffball, and why? He/it doesn't seem harmful, does he/it? The Hulk has accepted the Puffball's friendship, but now we learn that it was all an act, a sham so that it could use the Hulk to escape its prison!
The Puffball's story he tells the green goliath is wrong--that much we know, for how can the Hulk freely traverse the realms of the Crossroads when the Puffball cannot? But, such logical questions evade the Hulk's mind, and all the Puffball can offer is the idea that the evil creatures from its home dimension barred all gateways, not just the one to its home. It asks for help, and the Hulk eagerly grants it, shattering the mystical chains that shut off the Puffball from its home realm, and doing so in a manner that is entirely rational, conjuring comparisons to the Inhumans' Karnak, who attacks foes at their weakest point. The Hulk follows the Puffball into the portal, where they encounter a terrible, blackened wasteland. The beast falls asleep and cannot hear the Collective utter resentment toward him.
Out of the aether, while the Hulk sleeps, three new beings appear: Goblin, a small, blue-skinned demon creature; Guardian, a young, golden-skinned prepubescent girl with bow, arrows, and quiver; and Glow, a shining pink star hovering in the air. The three observe that they have been "watching" for some time, and that now that the mystic portal somehow awakened them, they must help the Hulk to act. Guardian shoots a golden arrow toward the Hulk, which awakens him in time for him to witness a purple-skinned alien approaching--a representative of the demonic N'Garai race (as anyone who read X-MEN #143 among others would recognize).
The creature at first thrashes the Hulk, but Goblin appears and commands the Hulk to evade his foe, accentuating his survival skills; then, Guardian lets an arrow fly into the Hulk, awakening his senses and letting him know that he has been hurt, making him fly into action. Angst over the possible loss of the Puffball enrages the Hulk, letting us know what we've suspected since last issue--the Hulk is back, as per the following words: "Friend said he would watch over Hulk! Friend is not here! Then friend must already be--dead!" The Hulk smashes his alien foe, but soon thereafter is ambushed by more N'Garai.
Suddenly, the Puffball arrives and tells the Hulk the whole, fateful story--that the Collective is actually a collection of rogue cells that worked to sabotage their brethren, calling forth the N'Garai. The "good" Collective exiled their evil selves to the Crossroads while sealing their own dimension so that the demons could not escape to menace another world. The Hulk sundered the spells, freeing the N'Garai to potentially cause chaos across many dimensions. The triad of Goblin, Guardian and Glow again appear at this time, knowing the Hulk to be outnumbered and concluding his only course of action is flight--but "(h)e ain't never been smart enough t'run from a fight before!" Nonetheless, the Hulk bounds away towards the dimensional portal whence he gained entrance to this world.
With N'Garai in tow and closing fast, the Hulk leaps for his life, and miraculously remembers the only chance for his salvation--the failsafe spell which Dr. Strange placed upon him that would guide him back to the Crossroads with but a thought! And so, he returns to the Crossroads in time to mystically seal the portal to the Puffball's dimension by merely uniting its magical chains, sparing perhaps untold realities, but in so doing still feeling as though he has lost a friend. However, the role of the Collective is filled from here onward quite nicely by the mysterious Triad.
Now that the Triad is in place, representing the Hulk, or rather Banner's, Freudian id (Goblin), ego (Guardian), and superego (Glow), the Hulk is on the road to an even faster recovery. In #309, the narrative works to further distinguish the Hulk as a man and not an animal, doing so successfully in the form of a sojourn to a desert world which, ironically, the Hulk picks to try and satiate his appetites as urged by the Triad. The Hulk, urged by one of Guardian's arrows, remembers his past and longs to go "Home," which the Triad knows to this point is impossible. They also acknowledge that the Crossroads, with its isolation, is not the cure for the creature's psychic retreat--he must venture forth into portals, interacting, hoping that the alien races he encounters usher forth his lost humanity. On this desert world, the Hulk forages for food, even when his other aspects condemn his actions and wish for a hasty return to the Crossroads. Guardian condemns the others' reactions, having never know the Hulk to act "suicidally" before, but even her beliefs are taxed as the Hulk sweats amid the blazing sun, on the verge of dropping over--when he spies what he thinks is water. Goblin dives in, but is rewarded only with a mouthful of sand. However, says Guardian, the mirage proves that the Hulk was thinking rationally, that he knew what he was doing. Still, the Hulk continues to weaken, and the Triad tries unsuccessfully to get him to trigger the fail-safe spell, lest he be too exhausted to select another world. Finally, the Hulk protects the Triad from an awesome sandstorm, and when the storm passes, Goblin looks over the next hill and sees an oasis. The Hulk saw the earlier clues--a skeleton of a fish, and the scent of water in the air--then deduced that what he required was indeed on this world, and by sheer force of will, found it! Pleased, the Hulk smiled--"an expression known only to--man."
#310: All I can say is, IT'S ABOUT TIME! Another world, another set of dramatic circumstances with a specific purpose in mind. The Triad discuss amid a thick swamp whether the Hulk's returning rationality is result of his own true personality finally becoming ascendant via exposure to the Crossroads realms, or whether some aspect of the "previous two" personae exists and is causing the change. Perhaps, Glow posits, the very existence of the Triad is not to help the Hulk toward a healed mind, but a form of rebellion triggered by one of the former personae against this "new," "true" Hulk. Outside the swamp, the four arrive at a city made of skulls, where a yellow-skinned alien woman who arouses strange feelings in the Hulk, seems ready to be the victim of a sacrifice. The Hulk's own mind motivates him into action against those who would do the woman harm. Accosted in turn by skeleton-warriors on the backs of what look like horses with horns, the Hulk rises to action thusly: "Bone-riders will not touch woman--or HULK WILL SMASH!" hence dispelling any ideas to the contrary just which persona is now dominant. "Music t'my pointy li'l ears!" as Goblin says. Guardian hopes to let reason shine through in the Hulk as he wages war against the warriors whose touch causes instant death, and the arrow she shoots causes the Hulk to talk articulately, but allows one of the warriors to thrust his spear into the creature's side--the very danger to which Guardian wanted to warn the Hulk. The "instant death" the Hulk felt from the spear causes him to falter, collapse...and change back into Bruce Banner, completing the final steps in the cycle begun by his psychic suicide several months earlier! The Triad disappear back into the psychic aether from which they came, confirming as they do so that they assumed Banner's place in the Hulk's mind, helping to balance the equation, so to speak. The unconscious Banner is then carried off to the lair of the death-creatures' mysterious master, where the creatures tie him to a table and the yellow-skinned woman prepares to sacrifice him...
We resume in #311 with Bruce Banner about to be sacrificed by a yellow-skinned woman whom the Hulk rescued from similar sacrifice. Her yellow skin perhaps has function beyond merely showing that she's an alien creature: after all, the reason the Hulk saved her is obviously due to her similarity to another alien woman, Jarella...but note that the difference between yellow and green is the mix of blue into the mix, ergo she is only 'half' the woman Jarella is. Banner is saved--"in best beginning-of-the-next-episode-of-the-serial form"--by a very human-looking, bespectacled scientist, who wears a green shirt (obviously evoking the Hulk, acting as a "dark mirror" to Banner).
His name is Dr. Daniel DeCyst, and he fancies himself an alchemist from the eighteenth century who somehow found his way to this world. His presence here again resumes the thread that somehow, there exists a path between this world and Earth after all, and that the Hulk may yet find a way "home." DeCyst shows his hubris in his backstory, wanting a method to ensure his "immortality" and thereby transporting himself via magicks to this alien world. He reveals that he has obtained a few centuries of immortality by bleeding the yellow-skinned natives of this world, Notice their blood is green (leading to the reason why he wants the Hulk, not realizing that he is from the world of his origin). Banner escapes, and the yellow-skinned woman from earlier kills DeCyst. Banner runs, questioning his decision to do so when he could just as easily stop and let the aliens kill him, end his suffering (alluding to this "insane" survival instinct), when his pulse races and once again the Hulk takes control.
Aided again by Goblin, Guardian and Glow, his mind submerged, the Banner and Hulk sides still seeking balance, the Hulk battles the demons and aliens of this world, while a telling narrative intones: "Fight the brainless Hulk does...with a savagery unmitigated by the reasoning mind of Bruce Banner buried unreachably deep within the monster! The equation of their shared existence might best be stated thusly: To live, Bruce Banner has to die...that the Hulk might live to save them both!" Additionally, Glow highlights the specific reason why it and the two others must exist: "If the two sides of the Hulk/Banner personae were linked--as they were in the beginning--our presence would not be necessary!...Until man and monster are reunited in one form, we must guide and guard the Hulk!" When Guardian lets fly her arrow of reason, again the Hulk can speak. Since he cannot see the girl to save her, he decides to return to the Crossroads, where Guardian states, "...(I)t is at this interdimensional intersection to which Dr. Strange banished the Hulk that the man and the monster must be reconciled if both are ever to return...home!" which paves the way for the purpose of the next issue.
So then, what is the purpose of #312, "Monster"? The narrative seems to be the attempt by the Triad to heal the Hulk's fractured halves--that is, to establish a firm link between Banner and Hulk so that Goblin, Guardian and Glow do not need to continually watch over the Hulk. The method in which they choose to accomplish this daunting task is by revisiting the Hulk's origin, yet in a way that no one, to date, had examined. We are introduced to Brian Banner, whose wife, Rebecca, is about to give birth to a "monster" whom Brian thinks was conceived with the "help" of his atomic research. The child, Bruce, is born, with the spectre of the Hulk hanging over him from that moment! After several months and many tests, Brian and Rebecca are able to bring Bruce home. Here, we see both the Hulk, ghostlike, hovering, superimposed on Bruce at every panel, but also, we are introduced to Glow (in the form of a star hanging above Bruce's crib) as symbol of reason and analogue to Rebecca Banner, whom we also see here clearly for the first time. Brian ushers Rebecca away to a symposium, deliberately trying to get some "alone time" with her away from the child he believes is still a monster. They leave Bruce in the care of Nurse Meachum, who leaves young Bruce with Guardian, the doll that his mother gave him (and presumably enabled Bruce to "survive" these trying times), before she herself becomes the spitting image of Goblin, the personification of Banner's rage, at first projecting the sources that encouraged that rage to grow. Here, we at last know the origin of the appearances of all three characters who strive to foster the Hulk's awareness of self.
On Christmas Eve, we see Bruce opening his presents in the presence of both his doll Guardian, and Glow, which now adorns the top of the Christmas tree in the living room. Bruce displays his apparent superlative intelligence and ingenuity by building an immense construction from an erector set. Guardian falls, indicating that Bruce's safety is at risk, and Brian appears, transforming in Bruce's mind into another version of Goblin and wrecking the erector set, ranting how Bruce should not be this intelligent and that he is still an inhuman monster. When Rebecca defends her son, Brian beats her, and when Bruce rises to her defense, Brian backhands him, as well. After that night, Bruce never saw his mother smile again, and soon afterward, his father murdered her, avoiding culpability for the act by reason of insanity.
In high school, Bruce avoids his classmates, immersed in his work, having bottled himself up following the death of his mother. He's a control freak and the headmaster dreads the day when he finally externalizes his trauma.
Later, by Rebecca Banner's grave, Bruce encounters his father for the last time. We know as per INCREDIBLE HULK #-1 that Bruce's real memories were repressed--that here, Bruce killed Brian Banner, but that's not Mantlo's work, so I'll ignore that version here. Brian, fresh from the mental hospital, still suffers the "delusion" that Bruce is a "monster" and must be destroyed for the good of mankind. While they fought, Brian told Bruce that what he did now would "be done for the sake of mankind!" After beating Bruce, Brian took his leave. Bruce all the while denied that his intellect was spawned by the radiation, for "any latent 'powers' would have shown themselves in early adolescence." He'd hoped to make his mother proud of him while making her forget him, and leaves Glow by her graveside in memoriam.
Finally, at Desert Base in New Mexico, we come full circle. The first one to help welcome Bruce to the base is Betty Ross. He immediately warms to her, surprisingly not suppressing his feelings ("Call me Bruce," he says upon their meet, and he says the military "censored the best things from my briefing!"). Betty is exposed early to a photograph of Bruce's mother and the doll of Guardian that Bruce "meant to throw...out." Betty establishes herself as sentimental, while Bruce obviously frowns on his memories, his whole life to that point per Mantlo possessing nothing but strife. (Interestingly, Betty is shown to wear a green dress, while Bruce wears a purple suit, suggesting via the Hulk's colors an inextricable bond between them.) Then, Bruce meets "Thunderbolt" Ross, who chides him for being a "simpering civilian" and who tells him he knew Brian Banner at Los Alamos, calling him a "real man." Bruce takes offense, knowing of his father as a murderer, but Ross says the attitude is just another sign of Banner's instability and inability to reconcile the problems in his past. Symbolically again, Ross picks up the Guardian doll, tearing off its arm, and transforms into the image of Goblin while Banner equates Betty with Glow as a symbol of his mother's reason.
Interestingly, at all pivotal moments of Bruce's life--upon being brought home, being accosted by his father on Christmas, and here at Desert Base--all three are very much in the foreground, and Goblin is seen as another, distinct identity from Bruce, not coveted but rather feared. This concurrence occurs again when the G-bomb explodes, where Igor (renamed Sklar as a surname here) transforms into Goblin (out of sight of Bruce, yet!), and at Banner's base residence, as the bomb triggers, the picture of Rebecca and the armless Guardian doll both kick up in the air. Symbolically, to close out the origin flashback, we see Bruce Banner in the light of the G-bomb as he grows into the image that ever hovered over him since he was born--that of the Incredible Hulk!
Interestingly, just as the MPD/DID angle can be drawn from this story, with the abuse by Banner's father, there's another picture that can be painted of the life of Bruce Banner herein. And by implication it could mean that PAD's MPD/DID is an incorrect interpretation--but with some tinkering, that interpretation still fits, somehow. Remember that the first appearance of the Hulk's image over the child Bruce is on page 3--the first time we see him! Furthermore, the image is also there when Bruce, as from the captions, was first brought home, before, it is assumed, either Nurse Meachum or Brian ever had the opportunity to abuse him. What does this mean? Quite possibly, it means that Brian Banner was correct: that he passed on some genetic flaw to Bruce that was undetectable in the hospital tests. There was a "monster" in Bruce Banner all the while, which would be shaped in subseqent years by the abuse he suffered and splinter into various forms. Those forms festered, until they were finally let loose when the G-bomb took hold of this other piece of Bruce, augmenting it. I'm moderately sure that Mantlo's intent was to show that this piece, by itself, separate from Banner's intellect, was the Hulk from #299-307 and pieces of the following issues, but the longer it existed with Banner, the more closely Banner empathized with those feelings of rage and angst, that other piece took on some of Bruce's traits as a sort of stable anchor, and hence, the savage Hulk was born. I've tried my best to integrate the Hulk's other personalities into this idea--Banner's abuse shaping the form, splintering it causing the gray persona and more besides--but don't have a definite workable theory. I do find it very interesting that, although this idea seems in Mantlo's run very savage Hulk-centered, the gray variant did make appearances in flashback during the run (starting in #302). Also, there is no doubt in my mind that the flashbacks that started so early were a buildup to this very issue, where by examining the Hulk's and Banner's lives in-depth, the Hulk and Banner might finally be reunited in spirit as well as body so that the Triad could safely disappear.
Now that the whole truth is finally known, indeed, the Triad conclude their usefulness at an end. What I find most interesting is Goblin's soliloquy before he disappears: "I'm Banner's rage, locked up all those lonely years an' just waitin' t'be set free! Funny thing is, when I finally got the chance, Banner took a powder...t'be replaced by the Hulk!" Hmm...
Any way you look at it, the Hulk is Banner's bizarre reflection of himself, his shell, the monster Brian Banner always "knew" he'd become. Or, hmm....could it be Banner's strange method of passing the guilt (of killing his father, as per PAD) onto another...?
The Hulk becomes Banner again, still stranded at the Crossroads, when in true 80s crossover fashion, we discover that the Beyonder--nigh-omnipotent being trying to understand the nuances of humanity--is watching him. He notices that Banner embraces his despair "like a lover" and then sees a strange beam shooting through the dimension (coming from Earth, as Alpha Flight's attempt to "hook" a body to house the soul of Walter Langkowski, aka Sasquatch). He points the beam toward Banner, under the pretense of "helping" him, and departs.
That brings us to #313, and the final issue of the traditional HULK run by Bill Mantlo. Banner, standing at the Crossroads, ruminates: "It appears that life and death aren't quite the concrete concepts, the immutable states of being I'd always supposed the to be." Parts of his persona "emerged to guard and guide the Hulk" (which is interesting in and of itself, anyone care to comment?) until now, when Banner and Hulk have achieved balance. He was exiled to the Crossroads so he could cause no harm, but nobody counted on Banner coming back. To try and kill himself, Bruce throws himself off the Crossroads path, falling endlessly, until finally he transforms into the Hulk, who miraculously returns to the path at the Crossroads, knowing full well his "friend" Dr. Strange exiled him and that he must go home! As if to answer that request, the red line sent by Alpha Flight "hooks" him, just like the Andromeda hooked Klaatu. He jumps between dimensions to try to escape the line, but cannot. He cannot even sever the line by his own strength! Say it loud, say it proud: "No matter where Hulk goes--no matter how many strange doors Hulk passes through--Hulk cannot get free from line!"
Suddenly a form drifts down through the line and merges itself with the Hulk, casting out Bruce Banner's ethereal form. The form was that of Walter Langkowski, now in control of the Hulk's body. He died, yet his soul remained on Earth in the robotic body of Box, devised by his friends, Roger Bochs and Madison Jeffries, yet he longed for a human body, and thought here at the Crossroads he found it. Banner begs Langkowski to keep the body, to do good as the Hulk, to let him die, but Langkowski won't do it, once again sacrificing his happiness for Banner's. Says Bruce: "The Hulk's personality is actually my rage personified! Should you become the Hulk you'd have full control over his monstrous power! Use it--use it for good and...." Langkowski's spirit leaves the body and Banner is forced back into the Hulk, who is then returned via the red line to Earth, where he encounters Alpha Flight.
Aside: in AF #29, the Hulk primarily just wants to get "home" but cannot see it from Canada. The "home" to which he refers is the desert, of course. Finally, he just goes away, leaving Canada. Not much to see here, but it's an interesting coda to Mantlo's Hulk run nonetheless.
Hopefully, I've shown everyone the highs and lows of Bill Mantlo's INCREDIBLE HULK run and why I think he's the best writer the book's had. He may have stolen a good bit of the plot of IH #312 from Barry Windsor-Smith, but IMO, it took a good writer to be able to do as much with the story based on that treatise as he was able, to integrate it so well into the Hulk's ongoing series and to really pack in the intricacies into a great read.
The Hulk under Mantlo was a showcase for the savage Hulk, even though he wasn't in every single issue. It's shown that the best Hulk was a balance between Banner's intellect and the animalistic savagery that is at the core of the character. Fantastic work by all involved. I only wish that Mantlo had been able to go forward from the Crossroads with the recombined Banner/Hulk.
What do you think, sirs?
~G.
Bill Mantlo: Best Hulk Writer? Part 2
Continuing my analysis of Hulk writer extraordinaire, Bill Mantlo, we have the following--reposted from the Incredible Hulk Message Board, circa July 11, 2004!
Why I Thought Bill Mantlo Was
The Best Hulk Writer, Period.*
(* as of 2004!)
Part 2: The Incredible Hulk #272-299 & Annual #12
When last we left writer Bill Mantlo and his intrepid cast of characters, the Hulk was off-world after having defeated the Galaxy Master and helped Rocket Raccoon and Uncle Pyko by retrieving Gideon's Bible; Rick Jones was near-death after having exposed himself to gamma radiation in hopes of becoming another Hulk; Betty Ross cautiously stood vigil, all the while wondering if Bruce would ever get his wish of being free of the Hulk; and the alien woman Bereet gave us a new way of looking at the entire tableau, coming in as an unfamiliar observer through whose eyes we could see the old become new again.
It was clear at this point that Bill Mantlo could write the savage Hulk, and could in fact write him quite well; however, a writer does need challenges, and herein Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter gave him free rein to do what had only been attempted in short arcs before. The brain of Bruce Banner would control the body of the behemoth! Thanks to infusions of ever-increasing amounts of gamma radiation--from his own self-treatments, to that generated by the Galaxy Master, to the very beam Uncle Pyko used to transport the beast home, fundamental changes were made to Banner's physiology, which miraculously led to the scientist's ability to suppress his alter-ego's brutish mind and impose his own will as of THE INCREDIBLE HULK #272.
And just in time, too--for the impending battle against the Wendigo would have been old hat without this new wrinkle. Without anger or fear as Banner's trigger to become the monster, we were allowed to see how the change had affected Banner's thought processes over the years. It's true that Banner had, at times, relied heavily on the Hulk to bail him out of impossible situations. Mantlo made us feel, right alongside Banner, just how the scientist felt when he came to the conclusion that he had been exposed to such extremities of emotion (seeing the skeletons in the cabin, encountering the Wendigo, being saved from certain death by Sasquatch) and had yet not changed. Bruce Banner, in this context, is no hero, and takes advantage of the use of the Hulk's form to assist a friend and former colleague. He still does not possess total familiarity with the Hulk's form, however, and often needs help from Sasquatch in subduing the cannibalistic creature. Once, during the encounter, upon being badly hurt, Banner regresses and the Hulk's savage self reasserts himself, however briefly. Nonetheless, Banner's intellect regains control, and the Wendigo is defeated.
With help.
The rest of this run begins soundly, as Banner learns what it means to be a hero, making more than one mistake in misjudging the intentions of those who appear evil (the aliens in #273 want to give Earth unlimited food, essentially eliminating hunger, but their plans are foiled by a smart Hulk, ironically behaving just as the savage version would); and misjudging his own abilities (in #274, feats of strength result in accidental destruction, and Banner-as-Hulk tries his best to redeem himself). At first, he has trouble asserting his full will over the formerly dominant Hulk persona, but soon enough, that vanishes, but Banner's troubles only truly begin.
Witness: Banner, finally sure that his Hulk persona is dormant, if not totally gone, returns to his friends, now at Gamma Base. It is here he triumphs over Jackdaw and her Megalith robot, and makes the observation that, were he the savage Hulk, the battle would have taken much less time than it did here; the Hulk's unbridled savagery and instinct would have won the day. Still, Megalith lies defeated, and Bruce must answer for his current condition in the eyes of his friends, as well as make an astounding introduction in the eyes of Bereet. He cures Rick from the gamma-induced sickness he procured in #270, and Rick is overjoyed that a rational Hulk exists, one who can rise to the world's challenges and react intellectually. However, Betty rejects the change, and ultimately, Bruce, aghast that he would accept such a status quo rather than be totally free of the monster and live a normal life. This is Banner's first personal loss as the Hulk. It can also be construed as his first step to becoming a real hero--sacrificing love so that he may better serve those he intends to help. I chalk it up as a major loss to coincide better with the theme of the run.
The first personal loss in Banner's new existence coincides with his most devastating loss, as the U-Foes return, now in full control of their abilities and on a vendetta against the Hulk. Because of a number of factors--Banner's preoccupation with Betty and her plight, and his inability to channel the pure rage and hence, power that the savage Hulk is capable of, among others--Utrecht and his group are able to subdue the Hulk. It is only because of the intervention of Bereet and her unique alien creatures that the Hulk is able to be freed, and the U-Foes, soundly defeated.
The U-Foes encounter quickly becomes the benchmark for the remainder of this second part of Mantlo's run. Because of the television broadcast the villains made, showing their capture of the Hulk, everyone now is aware that Banner's brain controls the beast, and he is granted amnesty and pardoned for the misdeeds which occurred in years past. Indeed, the entire cosmos seems to welcome the new, more benevolent, less destructive Hulk; everyone, in fact, save Betty Ross, who fades to the background for the nonce, scarcely again to appear during the remainder of Mantlo's tenure. After all, the new Hulk has the adoration of the public; what use has he for the one he loved? As if to prove that the heroic population is now with Banner, they all band together to repel an apparent attack by Krylorian spaceships, an attack started by the Leader. After being soundly defeated by the Leader in space, his non-bestial nature once more a factor, the Hulk seeks assistance from his cousin, She-Hulk (the first such lengthy meeting with Jen Walters in her gamma-empowered form), and the Avengers in finishing what the super-villain started. The Avengers pursue the Leader and his supercomputer Omnivac through time, and it is largely through teamwork with others that Banner triumphs.
After the battle, the Avengers offer a new membership in their team to Banner, but after some time he declines the offer in favor of returning to scientific research, building the Northwind Observatory as he encounters a few lower-tier villains (Zzzax) and a soldier from the future, and embarking on an all-too-brief romantic interlude with Bereet, who departs for Hollywood stardom soon thereafter. Another pyhrric victory occurred in the HULK ANNUAL for 1983, in which Banner's efforts to swing power from red-skinned aliens toward their apparently more peaceful green-skinned counterparts ended in abject failure, with the greens becoming just as bloodthirsty as their red brethren. Finally, MODOK influences "Thunderbolt" Ross to commit treason against his country, freeing the Abomination from a military installation. However, the Abomination suffers from an overwhelming fear of the Hulk from the beating he took in their last encounter. He still manages to kidnap Kate Waynesboro, a SHIELD scientist assigned to keep tabs on Banner at the observatory, and one for whom Banner has begun to develop romantic inclinations. AIM scientists transform Kate into Ms. MODOK, with hopes of controlling her, but MODOK reappears, atomizes the Abomination, and in the ensuing battle, MODOK forces Kate into the machine that birthed Ms. MODOK and she returns to her normal form. Banner-as-Hulk has very little actual presence in this battle.
From here onward, the Hulk is dealt a number of crushing defeats as the villainous Nightmare, villain of Dr. Strange, begins to subconsciously influence the savage Hulk's mind to regain dominance. Banner begins to treat animal and human tissue with gamma rays to foster healing, and meets with dismal failures on both counts (the dog Sirius, and Max Stryker/Hammer). The Hulk's off-world journey leads to an injury that does not immediately heal, noting the near-complete departure of the raging power that made the Hulk so vital in years previous. It is only once Bruce Banner is pushed past the point of rationality in the battle with Max Hammer that two things occur: the savage Hulk personality violently reasserts itself, and the wound suffered during the Secret Wars instantaneously heals itself. This event is no coincidence: it would seem that, just as the savage incarnation's strength increases with anger, so too does his ability to heal from any injury. Banner's will reasserted itself, but this time only with the help of the Spaceknight Rom and his energy analyzer.
Ashamed of his loss of control, Banner again withdrew from his loved ones (Kate, in this case), experiencing an epic series of nightmares wherein his deep-seated fear of losing control of the Hulk gave way to the actual loss of control and a more terrifying, enraged variant of the savage Hulk emerged, one, it seemed, influenced by Nightmare's desire to see the Hulk kill Dr. Strange in an act of revenge. As the Hulk grew more out of control, Banner was pushed to the background, barely able to stay in control when he emerged. He seemed ultimately defeated, perhaps the months of being in control of the Hulk having taxed him more heavily than he let on.
Fearing that he would never again know peace, knowing that none of what he had done to that point had mattered, manipulated to depths of despair by Nightmare, Bruce Banner surrendered to the Hulk totally, committing psychic suicide in Nightmare's realm and leaving Dr. Strange, Nightmare, and the entire world at the nonexistent mercy of the extreme flipside of what we'd endured since #272. Instead of a monster's body tempered by the intellect of a man, now we had the monster devoid of any stabilizing intellect.
To be HULKINUED in my analysis of HULK #300-313 and the next capsule review of the run as a whole.
Best,
~G.
Why I Thought Bill Mantlo Was
The Best Hulk Writer, Period.*
(* as of 2004!)
Part 2: The Incredible Hulk #272-299 & Annual #12
When last we left writer Bill Mantlo and his intrepid cast of characters, the Hulk was off-world after having defeated the Galaxy Master and helped Rocket Raccoon and Uncle Pyko by retrieving Gideon's Bible; Rick Jones was near-death after having exposed himself to gamma radiation in hopes of becoming another Hulk; Betty Ross cautiously stood vigil, all the while wondering if Bruce would ever get his wish of being free of the Hulk; and the alien woman Bereet gave us a new way of looking at the entire tableau, coming in as an unfamiliar observer through whose eyes we could see the old become new again.
It was clear at this point that Bill Mantlo could write the savage Hulk, and could in fact write him quite well; however, a writer does need challenges, and herein Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter gave him free rein to do what had only been attempted in short arcs before. The brain of Bruce Banner would control the body of the behemoth! Thanks to infusions of ever-increasing amounts of gamma radiation--from his own self-treatments, to that generated by the Galaxy Master, to the very beam Uncle Pyko used to transport the beast home, fundamental changes were made to Banner's physiology, which miraculously led to the scientist's ability to suppress his alter-ego's brutish mind and impose his own will as of THE INCREDIBLE HULK #272.
And just in time, too--for the impending battle against the Wendigo would have been old hat without this new wrinkle. Without anger or fear as Banner's trigger to become the monster, we were allowed to see how the change had affected Banner's thought processes over the years. It's true that Banner had, at times, relied heavily on the Hulk to bail him out of impossible situations. Mantlo made us feel, right alongside Banner, just how the scientist felt when he came to the conclusion that he had been exposed to such extremities of emotion (seeing the skeletons in the cabin, encountering the Wendigo, being saved from certain death by Sasquatch) and had yet not changed. Bruce Banner, in this context, is no hero, and takes advantage of the use of the Hulk's form to assist a friend and former colleague. He still does not possess total familiarity with the Hulk's form, however, and often needs help from Sasquatch in subduing the cannibalistic creature. Once, during the encounter, upon being badly hurt, Banner regresses and the Hulk's savage self reasserts himself, however briefly. Nonetheless, Banner's intellect regains control, and the Wendigo is defeated.
With help.
The rest of this run begins soundly, as Banner learns what it means to be a hero, making more than one mistake in misjudging the intentions of those who appear evil (the aliens in #273 want to give Earth unlimited food, essentially eliminating hunger, but their plans are foiled by a smart Hulk, ironically behaving just as the savage version would); and misjudging his own abilities (in #274, feats of strength result in accidental destruction, and Banner-as-Hulk tries his best to redeem himself). At first, he has trouble asserting his full will over the formerly dominant Hulk persona, but soon enough, that vanishes, but Banner's troubles only truly begin.
Witness: Banner, finally sure that his Hulk persona is dormant, if not totally gone, returns to his friends, now at Gamma Base. It is here he triumphs over Jackdaw and her Megalith robot, and makes the observation that, were he the savage Hulk, the battle would have taken much less time than it did here; the Hulk's unbridled savagery and instinct would have won the day. Still, Megalith lies defeated, and Bruce must answer for his current condition in the eyes of his friends, as well as make an astounding introduction in the eyes of Bereet. He cures Rick from the gamma-induced sickness he procured in #270, and Rick is overjoyed that a rational Hulk exists, one who can rise to the world's challenges and react intellectually. However, Betty rejects the change, and ultimately, Bruce, aghast that he would accept such a status quo rather than be totally free of the monster and live a normal life. This is Banner's first personal loss as the Hulk. It can also be construed as his first step to becoming a real hero--sacrificing love so that he may better serve those he intends to help. I chalk it up as a major loss to coincide better with the theme of the run.
The first personal loss in Banner's new existence coincides with his most devastating loss, as the U-Foes return, now in full control of their abilities and on a vendetta against the Hulk. Because of a number of factors--Banner's preoccupation with Betty and her plight, and his inability to channel the pure rage and hence, power that the savage Hulk is capable of, among others--Utrecht and his group are able to subdue the Hulk. It is only because of the intervention of Bereet and her unique alien creatures that the Hulk is able to be freed, and the U-Foes, soundly defeated.
The U-Foes encounter quickly becomes the benchmark for the remainder of this second part of Mantlo's run. Because of the television broadcast the villains made, showing their capture of the Hulk, everyone now is aware that Banner's brain controls the beast, and he is granted amnesty and pardoned for the misdeeds which occurred in years past. Indeed, the entire cosmos seems to welcome the new, more benevolent, less destructive Hulk; everyone, in fact, save Betty Ross, who fades to the background for the nonce, scarcely again to appear during the remainder of Mantlo's tenure. After all, the new Hulk has the adoration of the public; what use has he for the one he loved? As if to prove that the heroic population is now with Banner, they all band together to repel an apparent attack by Krylorian spaceships, an attack started by the Leader. After being soundly defeated by the Leader in space, his non-bestial nature once more a factor, the Hulk seeks assistance from his cousin, She-Hulk (the first such lengthy meeting with Jen Walters in her gamma-empowered form), and the Avengers in finishing what the super-villain started. The Avengers pursue the Leader and his supercomputer Omnivac through time, and it is largely through teamwork with others that Banner triumphs.
After the battle, the Avengers offer a new membership in their team to Banner, but after some time he declines the offer in favor of returning to scientific research, building the Northwind Observatory as he encounters a few lower-tier villains (Zzzax) and a soldier from the future, and embarking on an all-too-brief romantic interlude with Bereet, who departs for Hollywood stardom soon thereafter. Another pyhrric victory occurred in the HULK ANNUAL for 1983, in which Banner's efforts to swing power from red-skinned aliens toward their apparently more peaceful green-skinned counterparts ended in abject failure, with the greens becoming just as bloodthirsty as their red brethren. Finally, MODOK influences "Thunderbolt" Ross to commit treason against his country, freeing the Abomination from a military installation. However, the Abomination suffers from an overwhelming fear of the Hulk from the beating he took in their last encounter. He still manages to kidnap Kate Waynesboro, a SHIELD scientist assigned to keep tabs on Banner at the observatory, and one for whom Banner has begun to develop romantic inclinations. AIM scientists transform Kate into Ms. MODOK, with hopes of controlling her, but MODOK reappears, atomizes the Abomination, and in the ensuing battle, MODOK forces Kate into the machine that birthed Ms. MODOK and she returns to her normal form. Banner-as-Hulk has very little actual presence in this battle.
From here onward, the Hulk is dealt a number of crushing defeats as the villainous Nightmare, villain of Dr. Strange, begins to subconsciously influence the savage Hulk's mind to regain dominance. Banner begins to treat animal and human tissue with gamma rays to foster healing, and meets with dismal failures on both counts (the dog Sirius, and Max Stryker/Hammer). The Hulk's off-world journey leads to an injury that does not immediately heal, noting the near-complete departure of the raging power that made the Hulk so vital in years previous. It is only once Bruce Banner is pushed past the point of rationality in the battle with Max Hammer that two things occur: the savage Hulk personality violently reasserts itself, and the wound suffered during the Secret Wars instantaneously heals itself. This event is no coincidence: it would seem that, just as the savage incarnation's strength increases with anger, so too does his ability to heal from any injury. Banner's will reasserted itself, but this time only with the help of the Spaceknight Rom and his energy analyzer.
Ashamed of his loss of control, Banner again withdrew from his loved ones (Kate, in this case), experiencing an epic series of nightmares wherein his deep-seated fear of losing control of the Hulk gave way to the actual loss of control and a more terrifying, enraged variant of the savage Hulk emerged, one, it seemed, influenced by Nightmare's desire to see the Hulk kill Dr. Strange in an act of revenge. As the Hulk grew more out of control, Banner was pushed to the background, barely able to stay in control when he emerged. He seemed ultimately defeated, perhaps the months of being in control of the Hulk having taxed him more heavily than he let on.
Fearing that he would never again know peace, knowing that none of what he had done to that point had mattered, manipulated to depths of despair by Nightmare, Bruce Banner surrendered to the Hulk totally, committing psychic suicide in Nightmare's realm and leaving Dr. Strange, Nightmare, and the entire world at the nonexistent mercy of the extreme flipside of what we'd endured since #272. Instead of a monster's body tempered by the intellect of a man, now we had the monster devoid of any stabilizing intellect.
To be HULKINUED in my analysis of HULK #300-313 and the next capsule review of the run as a whole.
Best,
~G.
10.8.10
Bill Mantlo: Best Hulk Writer? Part 1
Hi, guys,
Well, we're in the final hours of waiting until INCREDIBLE HULK #611 comes out tomorrow, so I wanted to do something special to commemorate. I'll break this up over a few days--and it will likely be interrupted by the chaos that is IH #611 tomorrow--but for now, let's step in the Way Back Machine: here's a posting first made on the Incredible Hulk Message Board on July 8, 2004! Without further ado, presented just as it was then...
Why I Thought Bill Mantlo Was
The Best Hulk Writer, Period.*
(* as of 2004!)
Part 1: The Incredible Hulk #245-271
Yeah, I know, I've said it before, haven't I? Bruce Jones is, in my estimation, the writer who has had the worst "take" on my favorite character in the entire 42-year history of said character. (Note: This statement is quite different from "Bruce Jones is the worst writer to ever be on HULK," which implies largely that Bruce Jones is a bad writer; past stories have proven this to be far from the case.)
But who's the best INCREDIBLE HULK writer there is, to date? Who captured, as the French call it, the "Je nai sais quoi," that which words fail to adequately describe? At the risk of sounding pretentious (TOO LATE!), I'm placing my vote for Bill Mantlo, who I only wish could read and adequately respond to the praise I'm about to heap upon the man in big, stinking buckets.
Bill Mantlo had a gift for building on the portrayal of ol' Greenskin that Roger Stern had established directly before him. At a time when the Hulk television show was king, the title did become formulaic and, to an extent, there existed surface similarities to the current run in that regard. Bruce Banner began the run a nomad, a fugitive because of the beast within him. Hounded by the United States Army, with "Project: Greenskin" increasingly scaled down in scope, one man, Glenn Talbot, its increasingly-obsessed center; distanced seemingly forever from those he loved, Betty Ross and Rick Jones; forced to seek sanctuary among monsters similar to the one within him; with heroes in the eyes of the world-at-large cum villains in the eyes of the Hulk, Bruce Banner struggled onward.
Mantlo's first triumphs came in the form of a nagging plotline left over from Len Wein's days on board the emerald behemoth's title--what to do with Jarella? As Hulk fans may remember, the alien woman of the Hulk's dreams met her demise whilst rescuing a small child from falling debris during a battle between the Hulk and the robotic Crypto-Man, sent at the whim of a mystery enemy whose identity remains unknown to this very day. (Hmm...) The Hulk then embarked on a brutal rampage, refusing to believe Jarella dead. After finally gaining acceptance of his loss, well...what became of Jarella's body? We the readers discovered alongside the Hulk that Gamma Base still possessed her dead corpus. Whether they wanted to dissect it for military applications or merely contain it for fear of other-dimensional contagion, the Hulk didn't care and neither did we. She had to be freed, whatever the cost, and given a proper burial on her homeworld of K'ai! The storyline in those first four issues pitted the Hulk against a howling-mad Talbot in Mandroid armor and Captain Mar-Vell, himself an alien. The Hulk returned to K'ai, finding it a wasteland beyond description thanks to his own interventions. Finally, he found the Gardener, divesting him of his Soul Gem and in so doing gave the planet back its life. Finally, in a bittersweet moment, the Hulk said his final goodbyes to Jarella and left, returning to Earth, contented for only the moment.
Yes, the Hulk is a rampaging engine of destruction, but he is also, first and foremost as Mantlo establishes, a man, with a full range of emotions, just a lot less control of such emotions. He's not dumb, but rather, his brain can be "clouded" at times. He can tap into the intellectual half of himself, into Banner, but clearly doesn't like doing so, preferring to rely largely on instinct, on strength, and yes, savagery.
And so it went, with the Hulk not only surviving but thriving in battles sometimes much larger than himself, against opponents such as the Silver Surfer, the 3-D Man, Thor, the Presence, the Absorbing Man, Dire Wraiths, Avalanche, Landslide, the Corrupter, the High Evolutionary, Glorian, and the Galaxy Master. Along the way, he also discovered new allies and menaces, such as Woodgod's group of Changelings, the U-Foes, Sabra, the Arabian Knight, the Soviet Super-Soldiers, and the Texas Rangers. Colonel Glenn Talbot went insane and embarked on his final vengeance streak against the Hulk, perishing in Japan as his War Wagon downed in flames. All the while, the Hulk was a vital character, immersed in the narratives, especially in the battle with Sabra, during which he provided unique childlike insight into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (Read INCREDIBLE HULK #256! Now!). The Hulk had a sense of worldliness, of this and other worlds.
This first third of Mantlo's run climaxed beautifully, with an emotional, heartfelt reunion between Bruce and his true love, Betty, and his best friend, Rick Jones. Rick even began to gather a new Teen Brigade, echoing his roots in the 1960s Hulk tales. Betty and Bruce remained at arm's-length, however, with her fondly wishing for a life without the Hulk, with a cure for Bruce. Rick, by contrast, seemed to be eager to move into the role, if role there could truly be. But it seemed, especially through these last few issues, that Bruce and Hulk would never be free, that the Hulk would always be there.
Then came Bereet. A leftover from the days of the RAMPAGING HULK magazine series, itself full of historical inaccuracies yet allegedly taking place between HULK #6 and TALES TO ASTONISH #59, Bereet came to observe the "real" Hulk, and in doing so established that the RAMPAGING stories were a fallacy, a fiction, created as entertainment for her Krylorian brethren. This time, she wished to do more research, to immerse herself in the Hulk's world and film a documentary feature she could show to her race in hopes of further renown and treasure. She couldn't have known what she was getting into, as no sooner did she arrive than so too did three extraterrestrial invaders: Night-Crawler, of the Dark Dimension (himself introduced in INCREDIBLE HULK #126); Torgo of Mekka (he of the Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR circa #91); and Amphibion of Xantares (introduced in TALES TO ASTONISH #72), two of the three of whom the Hulk battled before. Collectively known as the "Hulk Hunters," their duty, as given by Empress Daydra of the Sagittarian Empire, was to recruit the Hulk to help defeat one he had thought he'd killed--the Galaxy Master. The spacefiend had also recruited a herald, one to prepare worlds for his coming: the Hulk's old foe, the Abomination, whom the Master had also made stronger than ever.
While the Hulk was exiled offworld, Bereet decided to insert herself into the lives of those the Hulk and Banner loved, seeing firsthand Betty's disdain for the lunacy Bruce's life had become and for those that life attracted. She also saw the plight of Rick Jones, who believed that the Hulk potentially would not return and sought to make himself a new, replacement Hulk (ages before such a thought would become commonplace to superhero comics). The attempt failed, however, and Rick lapsed into a coma, his body surrounded in an eerie, gamma-green glow. Only Bereet's machines kept him clinging to any sort of life...and the Hulk was nowhere to be found.
Having defeated the Galaxy Master and the Abomination, the Hulk was lost in the cosmos. He surfaced on the world inhabited by intelligent animal-like creatures, the most recognizable of which was Rocket Raccoon. Borrowing heavily from the Beatles' hit "Rocky Raccoon," the Hulk was set on a quest to find Gideon's Bible for the weaselly Uncle Pyko. Once he did so, Pyko arranged a journey home for Greenskin...
And that's where the first third of Bill Mantlo's run, the part that actually, astonishingly, features the savage incarnation most extensively--ends. The dramatic ramifications of the final pieces of this act will be examined next time, in my analysis of issues #272-299.
(Yup, it's TO BE HULKINUED, suckers!:-P)
Best,
~G.
Well, we're in the final hours of waiting until INCREDIBLE HULK #611 comes out tomorrow, so I wanted to do something special to commemorate. I'll break this up over a few days--and it will likely be interrupted by the chaos that is IH #611 tomorrow--but for now, let's step in the Way Back Machine: here's a posting first made on the Incredible Hulk Message Board on July 8, 2004! Without further ado, presented just as it was then...
Why I Thought Bill Mantlo Was
The Best Hulk Writer, Period.*
(* as of 2004!)
Part 1: The Incredible Hulk #245-271
Yeah, I know, I've said it before, haven't I? Bruce Jones is, in my estimation, the writer who has had the worst "take" on my favorite character in the entire 42-year history of said character. (Note: This statement is quite different from "Bruce Jones is the worst writer to ever be on HULK," which implies largely that Bruce Jones is a bad writer; past stories have proven this to be far from the case.)
But who's the best INCREDIBLE HULK writer there is, to date? Who captured, as the French call it, the "Je nai sais quoi," that which words fail to adequately describe? At the risk of sounding pretentious (TOO LATE!), I'm placing my vote for Bill Mantlo, who I only wish could read and adequately respond to the praise I'm about to heap upon the man in big, stinking buckets.
Bill Mantlo had a gift for building on the portrayal of ol' Greenskin that Roger Stern had established directly before him. At a time when the Hulk television show was king, the title did become formulaic and, to an extent, there existed surface similarities to the current run in that regard. Bruce Banner began the run a nomad, a fugitive because of the beast within him. Hounded by the United States Army, with "Project: Greenskin" increasingly scaled down in scope, one man, Glenn Talbot, its increasingly-obsessed center; distanced seemingly forever from those he loved, Betty Ross and Rick Jones; forced to seek sanctuary among monsters similar to the one within him; with heroes in the eyes of the world-at-large cum villains in the eyes of the Hulk, Bruce Banner struggled onward.
Mantlo's first triumphs came in the form of a nagging plotline left over from Len Wein's days on board the emerald behemoth's title--what to do with Jarella? As Hulk fans may remember, the alien woman of the Hulk's dreams met her demise whilst rescuing a small child from falling debris during a battle between the Hulk and the robotic Crypto-Man, sent at the whim of a mystery enemy whose identity remains unknown to this very day. (Hmm...) The Hulk then embarked on a brutal rampage, refusing to believe Jarella dead. After finally gaining acceptance of his loss, well...what became of Jarella's body? We the readers discovered alongside the Hulk that Gamma Base still possessed her dead corpus. Whether they wanted to dissect it for military applications or merely contain it for fear of other-dimensional contagion, the Hulk didn't care and neither did we. She had to be freed, whatever the cost, and given a proper burial on her homeworld of K'ai! The storyline in those first four issues pitted the Hulk against a howling-mad Talbot in Mandroid armor and Captain Mar-Vell, himself an alien. The Hulk returned to K'ai, finding it a wasteland beyond description thanks to his own interventions. Finally, he found the Gardener, divesting him of his Soul Gem and in so doing gave the planet back its life. Finally, in a bittersweet moment, the Hulk said his final goodbyes to Jarella and left, returning to Earth, contented for only the moment.
Yes, the Hulk is a rampaging engine of destruction, but he is also, first and foremost as Mantlo establishes, a man, with a full range of emotions, just a lot less control of such emotions. He's not dumb, but rather, his brain can be "clouded" at times. He can tap into the intellectual half of himself, into Banner, but clearly doesn't like doing so, preferring to rely largely on instinct, on strength, and yes, savagery.
And so it went, with the Hulk not only surviving but thriving in battles sometimes much larger than himself, against opponents such as the Silver Surfer, the 3-D Man, Thor, the Presence, the Absorbing Man, Dire Wraiths, Avalanche, Landslide, the Corrupter, the High Evolutionary, Glorian, and the Galaxy Master. Along the way, he also discovered new allies and menaces, such as Woodgod's group of Changelings, the U-Foes, Sabra, the Arabian Knight, the Soviet Super-Soldiers, and the Texas Rangers. Colonel Glenn Talbot went insane and embarked on his final vengeance streak against the Hulk, perishing in Japan as his War Wagon downed in flames. All the while, the Hulk was a vital character, immersed in the narratives, especially in the battle with Sabra, during which he provided unique childlike insight into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (Read INCREDIBLE HULK #256! Now!). The Hulk had a sense of worldliness, of this and other worlds.
This first third of Mantlo's run climaxed beautifully, with an emotional, heartfelt reunion between Bruce and his true love, Betty, and his best friend, Rick Jones. Rick even began to gather a new Teen Brigade, echoing his roots in the 1960s Hulk tales. Betty and Bruce remained at arm's-length, however, with her fondly wishing for a life without the Hulk, with a cure for Bruce. Rick, by contrast, seemed to be eager to move into the role, if role there could truly be. But it seemed, especially through these last few issues, that Bruce and Hulk would never be free, that the Hulk would always be there.
Then came Bereet. A leftover from the days of the RAMPAGING HULK magazine series, itself full of historical inaccuracies yet allegedly taking place between HULK #6 and TALES TO ASTONISH #59, Bereet came to observe the "real" Hulk, and in doing so established that the RAMPAGING stories were a fallacy, a fiction, created as entertainment for her Krylorian brethren. This time, she wished to do more research, to immerse herself in the Hulk's world and film a documentary feature she could show to her race in hopes of further renown and treasure. She couldn't have known what she was getting into, as no sooner did she arrive than so too did three extraterrestrial invaders: Night-Crawler, of the Dark Dimension (himself introduced in INCREDIBLE HULK #126); Torgo of Mekka (he of the Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR circa #91); and Amphibion of Xantares (introduced in TALES TO ASTONISH #72), two of the three of whom the Hulk battled before. Collectively known as the "Hulk Hunters," their duty, as given by Empress Daydra of the Sagittarian Empire, was to recruit the Hulk to help defeat one he had thought he'd killed--the Galaxy Master. The spacefiend had also recruited a herald, one to prepare worlds for his coming: the Hulk's old foe, the Abomination, whom the Master had also made stronger than ever.
While the Hulk was exiled offworld, Bereet decided to insert herself into the lives of those the Hulk and Banner loved, seeing firsthand Betty's disdain for the lunacy Bruce's life had become and for those that life attracted. She also saw the plight of Rick Jones, who believed that the Hulk potentially would not return and sought to make himself a new, replacement Hulk (ages before such a thought would become commonplace to superhero comics). The attempt failed, however, and Rick lapsed into a coma, his body surrounded in an eerie, gamma-green glow. Only Bereet's machines kept him clinging to any sort of life...and the Hulk was nowhere to be found.
Having defeated the Galaxy Master and the Abomination, the Hulk was lost in the cosmos. He surfaced on the world inhabited by intelligent animal-like creatures, the most recognizable of which was Rocket Raccoon. Borrowing heavily from the Beatles' hit "Rocky Raccoon," the Hulk was set on a quest to find Gideon's Bible for the weaselly Uncle Pyko. Once he did so, Pyko arranged a journey home for Greenskin...
And that's where the first third of Bill Mantlo's run, the part that actually, astonishingly, features the savage incarnation most extensively--ends. The dramatic ramifications of the final pieces of this act will be examined next time, in my analysis of issues #272-299.
(Yup, it's TO BE HULKINUED, suckers!:-P)
Best,
~G.
27.7.10
Man, I Can't Even Get Arrested!
20.7.10
Folly Of The Hulks: Too Many Hulks, Too Few Puny Humans?
Howdy ho, campers!
Did I ever say that The Powers That Be in charge of the Hulk books (since when were there Hulk books?) could do no wrong? Oh, I'm sure since you figure I've been following the Hulk for a good, long while now and have come to own every issue of his regular series ever published, you think there's nothing that could scare me away, right? Alas, I've been close to dropping the title a few times over that period. Peter David's Merged Hulk nearly bored me to tears as it just seemed like standard superheroics with a big green guy. (I hadn't really started "collecting" the title when Bill Mantlo did it with the Banner Hulk, in case you're wondering. And, rest assured--through the obstinacy of friends, I have learned to appreciate David's Merged Hulk era more.) Then, Bruce Jones blew all the goodwill he'd earned on his first arc, relying too much on the maxim that "sex sells" and a labyrinthine conspiracy plotline ripped off from "The X-Files" TV show, as well as a one-note characterization of Bruce Banner akin to the old Hulk TV show (but without an actor like Bixby being able to carry off the part on the four-color page).
And now, in spite of the stellar creative teams they've assembled, and in spite of the terrific trust I have in writer Greg Pak (whom I've aptly in recent days called "The Second Coming of Bill Mantlo"--and yes, Mantlo's my favorite Hulk writer), I've a feeling if we're not careful, they're all gonna blow it. You may think it's funny, but it's all part of a time bomb that's been ticking away since, let's be fair, Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness' HULK #1. But not for the reasons you think.
I want to forge headlong into this editorial with the following fact I found myself tweeting about just over a week ago:
Did you know that all the major characters introduced in THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby back in 1962--ALL of them--have now been gamma or otherwise irradiated into super-beings? Consider that we have Bruce Banner, having turned into the Hulk in that first issue, and his mutated adversary, Yuri Topolov, a.k.a. the Gargoyle, who was cured and killed in the same book. Banner's assistant, the Soviet spy Igor Drenkov, was mutated into an unstable protoplasmic lifeform by the Russian super-villain, The Presence, and shreds of him are floating around the Darkforce Dimension thanks to the Winter Guard (as of HULK: WINTER GUARD #1). General Ross, as everyone now knows, became the Red Hulk (in the 2008 HULK #1), and his daughter Betty became the Red She-Hulk (in HULK #15). Plus, Rick Jones, sidekick of sidekicks, has transformed into the new Abomination, nicknamed "A-Bomb" (in HULK #2). Those are some pretty heady statistics. There's not one "normal" human among the original six!
Over the decades since his creation, the Hulk has largely been a solo act, his mutation and the circumstances of his changes setting Bruce Banner and his monstrous second self apart from humanity. True, there were gamma-irradiated villains popping up from time to time, like the Leader and the Abomination, but gamma irradiation was kept a rarity throughout the 1960s and the 1970s. It wasn't until the arrival of Jennifer Walters, Banner's cousin, in 1980's THE SAVAGE SHE-HULK #1 that the Hulk wasn't alone on the "hero" front.
Still, the Hulk's own book reinforced the notion not everyone could become a Hulk. Senator Morton Clegstead died when an injection of the Hulk's blood turned him into a decomposing, crawling unknown (INCREDIBLE HULK #151). Rick Jones nearly died from trying to irradiate himself because "the world needs a Hulk!" in Mantlo's run (INCREDIBLE HULK #270), and the Leader adopted a catastrophic plan to put gamma in the water supply, which he admitted would kill most, but transform a very few into gamma mutates like himself, the Hulk, and the Abomination (HULK ANNUAL #11). Banner's own experiments with gamma to cure the sick resulted in Max Hammer's using the radiation, creating the possibility of mutation (which proved true with Hammer himself) or death (for at least one elderly woman), and could have been worse if not for the intervention of Rom, the Spaceknight (INCREDIBLE HULK #294-296). Even when Rick Jones did eventually become a Hulk-like creature, it was either due to the magic of the otherworldly Beyonder (ROM #72), or some freak accident that bled off radiation from the real Hulk (INCREDIBLE HULK #324--which even then was hastily remedied--hello, Peter David!). The billionaire Hubert St. Johns' fat body couldn't take the mutation, perishing soon after changing (HULK ANNUAL #14). And in Peter David's tenure, the Merged Hulk freely acknowledged that death was the predominant consequence if he chose to give AIDS-afflicted Jim Wilson a transfusion of his blood (INCREDIBLE HULK #420).
So, no doubt you're looking at the above, rather lengthy, listing of reasons why gamma irradiation is bad, and you're thinking how strange it is that the Hulk's titles are now filled to brimming with gamma mutates today! We've got, not just Jen Walters, the original She-Hulk, but also Betty Ross (formerly the first Harpy), and Lyra, the Hulk's daughter by Thundra (conceived via artificial insemination, of course, from HULK: RAGING THUNDER #1). We've got Bruce Banner as a Hulk, plus General Ross as a Red Hulk, and two of Banner's sons by an alien queen (these two, conceived the old-fashioned way). Rick Jones' wife Marlo turned into the second Harpy. We've even had legions of "hulked-out" A.I.Marines empowered by the Leader and M.O.D.O.K., as well as over a dozen "hulked-out" superheroes. Doesn't all the above fly in the face of conventional Hulk wisdom?
It's true, you could partially explain away the "hulked-out" characters having been made possible by the Leader's genetic engineering. (It's even been said that most of the characters who were so irradiated would've died if not cured quickly.) Certainly, if Bruce's DNA is predisposed to gamma mutation, why not his offspring? I can even go with the long-held belief by M.O.D.O.K. that persistent, long-term exposure to gamma-irradiated beings allows a certain tolerance that makes those exposed more pliable to mutation. (It's this theory that led to his first experimenting upon Betty Ross to become the first Harpy.) And nobody has been longer-exposed to the ambient gamma radiation produced by Bruce Banner than the major cast from INCREDIBLE HULK #1. (Although, granted, Igor? A bit weird.)
I'm not so much concerned by the short-term mutations of the A.I.Marines and the superheroes in "World War Hulks" as I am by what's coming up. Have you noticed that, since "Planet Hulk," the Hulk has increasingly found himself surrounded by freaks, monsters like himself? Virtually everyone around him is now nearly as monstrous as himself. Even Kate Waynesboro, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent introduced during Bill Mantlo's tenure, has become empowered by the alien Oldpower. Now, in September, the INCREDIBLE HULK title becomes INCREDIBLE HULKS, promising the first-of-its-kind team book made up nearly entirely of gamma-empowered characters (okay, if you don't count GAMMA CORPS). It's the era Greg Pak referred to when his return to THE INCREDIBLE HULK was first announced, stating on the Broken Frontier website, "If all goes as planned, we’ll take him places you’d never guess, but when we get there, it’ll be exactly where you always wanted to go." Color me a bit worried.
Two fronts chiefly concern me. First, there's the matter that, with the stark exception of the Hulk's son Skaar (who uses the Oldpower on occasion, and enjoys weaponry), virtually the whole cast thus far--Hulk, Red She-Hulk, Korg, She-Hulk, and A-Bomb--are all what role playing culture calls "bricks"--which is to say, they're all characters with a power base that makes them reliant on brute force and hand-to-hand combat. (Yes, there's A-Bomb with his camouflage ability a la 1970s-era Nightcrawler, too, but...) Having all the characters with nearly the same powers can be boring, so I do hope that the group enjoys some diversity. Adding Kate Waynesboro could help in this regard, as her Oldpower is about as removed from brute strength as you can get. Even Lyra (who hasn't been publicized as part of the line-up at present) would be a (slightly) more refreshing entry. As it is, the only real diversity I see in the group is their personalities. They're a pretty motley bunch, and personality can carry a book, especially a Hulk book, far, but I'm leery of relying on personality alone. In this column, at least, I'm glad we've got Greg Pak as writer, because he has a real gift for dialogue and action.
The other, more overarching concern I have is that by including the Hulk in a group of characters so like himself, green skin (aside from Korg), super-strength and all, it risks isolating him from the human elements that have been so present in the book for the last several decades. For years, the Hulk surrounded himself with human supporting cast members and some antagonists, but now, virtually all those characters closest to the Hulk have become empowered. Ironically, by making the Hulk part of a family, it instead may have the added consequence of separating him from humanity all the more. I hope this isn't the case, but I have to say it makes it more difficult for Bruce Banner and the Hulk to become embroiled in more human pursuits and tragedies when he's cavorting with a group of monsters, some of whom don't even have human forms to assume.
I'm going to stop just short of saying "I don't see how this could possibly work," because it's conceivable based upon the success of "Planet Hulk" that writer Greg Pak could do a bang-up job with this new status quo. But, now that I've brought up all of the above, tell me, readers assembled...how do YOU feel about "THE INCREDIBLE HULKS"? Do you have your trepidations, or are you full-steam ahead for the new, smashtastic era?
~G.
15.7.10
The Daily P.O.P. and Me - Together!
Howdy folks,
I'm taking a bit of a break from my normal writing routine to let everyone know that I'm getting a new spotlight for some of my mighty missives, over at the terrific Daily P.O.P. site. First up is an ode to the "dark" Spider-Clone, the man called Kaine, vis-a-vis "Grim Hunt," the storyline that has returned Kraven the Hunter to menace the Amazing Spider-Man!
So go over there already! And if you're over here because of my article over there--welcome! Hope you find something you like in my archives, and more articles to come!
~G.
I'm taking a bit of a break from my normal writing routine to let everyone know that I'm getting a new spotlight for some of my mighty missives, over at the terrific Daily P.O.P. site. First up is an ode to the "dark" Spider-Clone, the man called Kaine, vis-a-vis "Grim Hunt," the storyline that has returned Kraven the Hunter to menace the Amazing Spider-Man!
So go over there already! And if you're over here because of my article over there--welcome! Hope you find something you like in my archives, and more articles to come!
~G.
23.6.10
Something Different: 10 Points - HULK #23
Big ol' note: heavy duty SPOILERS lurk below.
It's here, at last. The origin of the Red Hulk! What many of you have been waiting for since HULK #1. And rather than do a direct review, which I don't think would be nearly interesting enough, let's take ten key points about this issue: what I loved, what I hated, and what just didn't make any sense. How can this issue fail to disappoint? Or can it? Ready? Go!
1. What the #@*! happened? In perhaps the most radical disconnect in this series since INCREDIBLE HULK #600 had Banner suddenly captured by MODOK at AIM's very own Gamma Base, we join ol' Thunderbolt when he wakes up in a room with the Cosmic Hulk. What happened after last issue's climax, where we discovered his secret just as he discovered his daughter Betty's? Did he pass out right then, and she tossed him aside to the Intel to have them lock him up? The thought seems utterly ridiculous that just as Betty discovered her father was alive, that she would just abandon him. I mean, it may be in-character to have her do just that, why are we not privy to that information? It makes little sense other than to have the dual revelations last month be a "good conclusion" for that issue and Ross' waking be a "good opener" for this issue. At the least, some better scripting could have filled in the gaps.
2. Sale good, dialogue bad. The origin of Red Hulk jumps from the childhood trauma that made him distrustful of doctors (I suppose all doctors are the same to Ross, from physicians to college professors, to scientists. Sigh.), over everything shown in INCREDIBLE HULK #291 (see last blog post!), to the events depicted in HULK:GRAY. That's right--it's not the events of INCREDIBLE HULK #1 to which Loeb refers, but the ham-fisted regurgitation of those events which apparently retconned the gray Hulk into the same inarticulate brute that his green self would, years later, become. Sale's art is terrific, as always, looking like it comes right out of the aforementioned series, and I suppose thematically it has to connect with that series right down to the dialogue--but the bottom line is, this is wrong and I don't like it.
3. Covet not thy nerdy scientist's gamma'd-up power. So, Ross saw the early Hulk as a "weapon of mass destruction" whose power he coveted. What then explains his fascination with destroying the beast? Has he felt these many years it was his God-given duty to destroy the creature, to prove that the might of the United States military was greater than that of some post-modern Prometheus turned monster? "Might makes right" is a very slight characterization to make. True, it may seem that with the Hulk, strength is the only language that matters. I guess it's the best characterization that makes sense in the pages permitted.
4. Sal Buscema still rocks. Even with an artistic snafu of sorts (Hulk needed shorts in that flashback to INCREDIBLE HULK #289!), Sal Buscema is still the classic Hulk artist to beat. In three pages, he flashed back to the events surrounding Ross' first treasonous actions in INCREDIBLE HULK #287-291. Solid storytelling, this.
5. Finally, a point for Loeb. "The treason charges were never filed." Ah, what this does to explain that Ross could be reinstated to the military following his resurrection by the Troyjans. So, Ross resigned his commission a second time shortly after INCREDIBLE HULK #291, being disgraced privately. Samson, under AIM's influence, testified that everything he did was under MODOK's suggestion. It's a small thing, but it worked.
6. And a point for the Leader. So, the Leader resurrected Ross as the Redeemer, which we knew, but he wasn't as much a vegetable as we thought. Shouldn't this fact engender a hatred of the Leader above and beyond any hatred for Banner? Ross knew everything that was happening when he was Redeemer, but couldn't react to any of it. You know, it makes what Ross does to the Leader at the end of the issue all the sweeter a victory. But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Ah, and those Churchill pages were pretty decent. It's good to again see his traditional "cut and rendered" style here.
7. "So, three guys are in a bar..." The scene where the Leader and MODOK offer Ross his daughter's resurrection in return for his loyalty is delicious and well-timed (right after the death of Captain America). It was totally obvious that they'd dangle Betty before him, but the scene still plays well. Leinil Yu does a fair job on the art for these pages, as does John Romita Jr. on the pages that encompass WORLD WAR HULK. (Note that as in RED HULK #3, the event is referred to as the "Ground Zero Event.")
8. McGuinness triumphs in that metamorphosis shot. Ross into Rulk, and away go the eyebrows and mustache. A brilliant two-page spread. That is all.
9. And Mike Deodato is spectacularly wasted. And I don't mean he was drunk when he drew these pages. Most of what Mike drew on these pages amounts to homage after homage, redrawn page after redrawn page of events that occurred over the course of the proper "Red Hulk" saga. He redraws McGuinness' pages, he redraws Romita Jr.'s pages, and in between he helps Loeb fill in some gaps regarding who killed Clay Quartermain and why (well done), whose voice it was coming out of the Ross LMD at the end of issue #6, and the whys and wherefores of the Banner/Red Hulk alliance. Yet, for all the eager gap-filling, we still don't know what Banner said to Ross way back in issue #2! Sigh.
10. I never liked Talbot, anyway. So, there's the matter of that last page. Who remembers Greg Pak's INCREDIBLE HULK #608? Then look at the last page of this issue and tell me that's possible. Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, it's true that Amadeus Cho told a little story about Talbot doing some black ops work, so that may mean he's really still alive somewhere else, but wow. A double reverse. Can we have a decent explanation for this one, please? I'd hate to think that Bannertech really isn't worth a damn. At least I can say that's one powerful way to finish an issue, even if it makes no sense.
So, what do you think, sirs?
~G.
1. What the #@*! happened? In perhaps the most radical disconnect in this series since INCREDIBLE HULK #600 had Banner suddenly captured by MODOK at AIM's very own Gamma Base, we join ol' Thunderbolt when he wakes up in a room with the Cosmic Hulk. What happened after last issue's climax, where we discovered his secret just as he discovered his daughter Betty's? Did he pass out right then, and she tossed him aside to the Intel to have them lock him up? The thought seems utterly ridiculous that just as Betty discovered her father was alive, that she would just abandon him. I mean, it may be in-character to have her do just that, why are we not privy to that information? It makes little sense other than to have the dual revelations last month be a "good conclusion" for that issue and Ross' waking be a "good opener" for this issue. At the least, some better scripting could have filled in the gaps.
2. Sale good, dialogue bad. The origin of Red Hulk jumps from the childhood trauma that made him distrustful of doctors (I suppose all doctors are the same to Ross, from physicians to college professors, to scientists. Sigh.), over everything shown in INCREDIBLE HULK #291 (see last blog post!), to the events depicted in HULK:GRAY. That's right--it's not the events of INCREDIBLE HULK #1 to which Loeb refers, but the ham-fisted regurgitation of those events which apparently retconned the gray Hulk into the same inarticulate brute that his green self would, years later, become. Sale's art is terrific, as always, looking like it comes right out of the aforementioned series, and I suppose thematically it has to connect with that series right down to the dialogue--but the bottom line is, this is wrong and I don't like it.
3. Covet not thy nerdy scientist's gamma'd-up power. So, Ross saw the early Hulk as a "weapon of mass destruction" whose power he coveted. What then explains his fascination with destroying the beast? Has he felt these many years it was his God-given duty to destroy the creature, to prove that the might of the United States military was greater than that of some post-modern Prometheus turned monster? "Might makes right" is a very slight characterization to make. True, it may seem that with the Hulk, strength is the only language that matters. I guess it's the best characterization that makes sense in the pages permitted.
4. Sal Buscema still rocks. Even with an artistic snafu of sorts (Hulk needed shorts in that flashback to INCREDIBLE HULK #289!), Sal Buscema is still the classic Hulk artist to beat. In three pages, he flashed back to the events surrounding Ross' first treasonous actions in INCREDIBLE HULK #287-291. Solid storytelling, this.
5. Finally, a point for Loeb. "The treason charges were never filed." Ah, what this does to explain that Ross could be reinstated to the military following his resurrection by the Troyjans. So, Ross resigned his commission a second time shortly after INCREDIBLE HULK #291, being disgraced privately. Samson, under AIM's influence, testified that everything he did was under MODOK's suggestion. It's a small thing, but it worked.
6. And a point for the Leader. So, the Leader resurrected Ross as the Redeemer, which we knew, but he wasn't as much a vegetable as we thought. Shouldn't this fact engender a hatred of the Leader above and beyond any hatred for Banner? Ross knew everything that was happening when he was Redeemer, but couldn't react to any of it. You know, it makes what Ross does to the Leader at the end of the issue all the sweeter a victory. But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Ah, and those Churchill pages were pretty decent. It's good to again see his traditional "cut and rendered" style here.
7. "So, three guys are in a bar..." The scene where the Leader and MODOK offer Ross his daughter's resurrection in return for his loyalty is delicious and well-timed (right after the death of Captain America). It was totally obvious that they'd dangle Betty before him, but the scene still plays well. Leinil Yu does a fair job on the art for these pages, as does John Romita Jr. on the pages that encompass WORLD WAR HULK. (Note that as in RED HULK #3, the event is referred to as the "Ground Zero Event.")
8. McGuinness triumphs in that metamorphosis shot. Ross into Rulk, and away go the eyebrows and mustache. A brilliant two-page spread. That is all.
9. And Mike Deodato is spectacularly wasted. And I don't mean he was drunk when he drew these pages. Most of what Mike drew on these pages amounts to homage after homage, redrawn page after redrawn page of events that occurred over the course of the proper "Red Hulk" saga. He redraws McGuinness' pages, he redraws Romita Jr.'s pages, and in between he helps Loeb fill in some gaps regarding who killed Clay Quartermain and why (well done), whose voice it was coming out of the Ross LMD at the end of issue #6, and the whys and wherefores of the Banner/Red Hulk alliance. Yet, for all the eager gap-filling, we still don't know what Banner said to Ross way back in issue #2! Sigh.
10. I never liked Talbot, anyway. So, there's the matter of that last page. Who remembers Greg Pak's INCREDIBLE HULK #608? Then look at the last page of this issue and tell me that's possible. Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, it's true that Amadeus Cho told a little story about Talbot doing some black ops work, so that may mean he's really still alive somewhere else, but wow. A double reverse. Can we have a decent explanation for this one, please? I'd hate to think that Bannertech really isn't worth a damn. At least I can say that's one powerful way to finish an issue, even if it makes no sense.
So, what do you think, sirs?
~G.
22.6.10
In Advance of Hulk #23: Flashing Back to INCREDIBLE HULK #291
Fellas (and Ladies)--
In advance of reviewing tomorrow's HULK #23 with its origin of the Red Hulk, whose identity and history I prognosticated many months ago, here I go reviewing a key issue in the matter. Unfortunately, this book has never been reprinted, aside from digitally in the GIT Corp. "The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Collection" DVD, now sadly out of print. The reason for its inclusion should be clear soon enough:
INCREDIBLE HULK #291
"Old Soldiers Never Die!"
January, 1984
Writer: Bill Mantlo / Artists: Sal Buscema & Gerry Talaoc
If you've been following the ongoing "World War Hulks" storyline, you'll know by now that General "Thunderbolt" Ross stands revealed as the Red Hulk. How did he get there? The answers are coming in tomorrow's HULK #23. However, just before that issue hits, I think it's a good idea to go back and review this little gem: the only previous time the "origin" of General Ross has seen the light of day. Now 26 years old, this book is an obvious companion piece to HULK #23, and I have no doubt thanks in large part to writer Greg Pak's tremendous affection for Bill Mantlo's tenure on the book, this issue will be referenced, so it's a good plan to "study up."
At the onset of this issue, General Ross stands a defeated man. He knowingly went against the orders of the United States government, allying himself with M.O.D.O.K., setting free the Abomination from a top secret military installation and commanding him against the Hulk. Why was this act treasonous? The President himself had pardoned the Hulk for all previous activities since, at the time this issue was written, the creature now possessed the full faculties of Bruce Banner, the monster within repressed seemingly forever.
Writer Mantlo clearly set up this story to function as an epitaph, a coda to the career of General Ross. As he sits at his desk, deciding whether to inform his superiors of his treasonous actions, Ross reflects upon the long life he's lived. (In this story, he is identified as 67 years old.) He came from a line of military men, with his grandfather serving in the Civil War under Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, while his father fought during World War I in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He grew up hearing his father's tales of valor, and voraciously read every book on military history and strategy he could find. He enlisted in the military and graduated at the top of his class, and during his time there he met, romanced, and married his commanding officer's daughter, Karen Lee.
Ross didn't have to wait long after graduation to enter the trenches of war, as the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He entered the theater of war in the Pacific as a Captain, earning his still-current nickname for striking like a thunderbolt as he led his men into battle. He left World War II as a Major, and around that time, his daughter Betty was born. However, family obligations couldn't keep him from going back to war, with the conflict this time being Korea. He lived for war, and rose to Colonel, then General. Medals followed, and the war ended, which meant a return to a desk. He saw Betty grow up, having wished for a son but denied that. Years later, his wife Karen died, and instead of allowing Betty to comfort him, he sent her away. A military base was no place for a young woman, he argued; and besides, if he loved Karen as much as he loved the military, she might have still been alive.
Soon, of course, the government placed General Ross in charge of the G-Bomb project, which brought him in contact with Dr. Robert Bruce Banner. After having attended boarding school, Betty returned to her father, and found herself attracted to Banner, who was in every way the opposite of her father: a man of intellect, of kindness. We know what happened next, of course: Bruce Banner became the Hulk in the wake of the G-Bomb detonation, and General Ross regained a purpose, marshalling the military's forces against the green goliath. Having discovered Banner to be the very creature he intended to destroy, Ross redoubled his efforts to find his daughter a suitable husband, introducing her to Major Glenn Talbot. Banner briefly gained control over the Hulk, and he and Betty nearly married, only to lose control anew on their wedding day. Ross' resolve to kill the Hulk strengthened, and to that end, Hulkbuster Base was built. Soon afterward, time apparently healed Betty's broken heart, and she fell in love with Talbot, who married his commanding officer's daughter just like Ross had done before him.
But Talbot and Betty's marriage was not to be a happy one, for the Hulk often came between them. Talbot himself was presumed dead while on a mission to save Ross, but returned eventually, albeit in a vegetative state. The Hulk restored Talbot's psyche, but his marriage to Betty was irreparably damaged and the two divorced thereafter. Betty then realized she never stopped loving Bruce. The two resumed their relationship, while at the same time, torn over what he had done in pursuit of his own dreams, Ross resigned his command. Talbot wasn't deterred, picking up where Ross left off, having newly achieved a colonelship as well as control of the renamed Gamma Base. He chased the Hulk, whom he hated more than ever because he lost Betty to Banner, but only succeeded in destroying himself.
Shortly, Bruce Banner gained control over the Hulk anew. It wasn't what Betty wanted--she hoped for a cure over control--and she left, apparently for good. Ross became enraged that Banner had hurt his daughter, and once again donned his uniform. But it was too late, and the government pardoned the Hulk. Knowing in his heart that the Hulk would only return, more savage than ever (and how right he would later be!), he allied himself with M.O.D.O.K., thawing out the captured Abomination and setting him loose on the Hulk. The Abomination failed, and the whole plan came out, not just to the Hulk but also to Betty, who branded him with the word he never wanted to hear: "Traitor."
Confronted with the truth behind his actions--that his blind hatred for the Hulk overrode all rational thought--General Ross briefly contemplated suicide, but decided that was the "easy way out." The tougher, and more sensible road, was admitting his treasonous activities, and learning to live with his disgrace--in his words, "the toughest war this old soldier will ever have to fight."
Of course, General Ross wasn't finished with the Hulk after this issue. He would return to interfere in his daughter's wedding, by then a broken man. He again sought to kill Banner, contributing to events which returned the Hulk to his original, gray-skinned incarnation and briefly turned Rick Jones into a Hulk. He obtained the power of Zzzax, one of the Hulk's feared enemies, and later died. But fate wasn't through with him: the Leader resurrected him as the second Redeemer. Again dead, he was brought back for a third chance at life by the alien Troyjans, and was somehow reinstated in the military in spite of his previous treasonous activities. He and Banner reached a detente, but only until Betty died.
Oh, but all of these events are prologue. We'll find out how the dots connect tomorrow, and how the prior events I've described all contribute to the birth of the Red Hulk. That said, Bill Mantlo crafted a terrific "origin" for General Ross, the Hulk's greatest enemy. The story went a long way toward fleshing out the character back in 1984. It should be required reading for anyone looking at tomorrow's HULK #23 and wishing to see a counterpoint. I'm thinking the two books won't be as far apart as some out there would like to argue.
Join me...tomorrow.
Or Hulk will smash!
~G.
In advance of reviewing tomorrow's HULK #23 with its origin of the Red Hulk, whose identity and history I prognosticated many months ago, here I go reviewing a key issue in the matter. Unfortunately, this book has never been reprinted, aside from digitally in the GIT Corp. "The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Collection" DVD, now sadly out of print. The reason for its inclusion should be clear soon enough:
INCREDIBLE HULK #291
"Old Soldiers Never Die!"
January, 1984
Writer: Bill Mantlo / Artists: Sal Buscema & Gerry Talaoc
If you've been following the ongoing "World War Hulks" storyline, you'll know by now that General "Thunderbolt" Ross stands revealed as the Red Hulk. How did he get there? The answers are coming in tomorrow's HULK #23. However, just before that issue hits, I think it's a good idea to go back and review this little gem: the only previous time the "origin" of General Ross has seen the light of day. Now 26 years old, this book is an obvious companion piece to HULK #23, and I have no doubt thanks in large part to writer Greg Pak's tremendous affection for Bill Mantlo's tenure on the book, this issue will be referenced, so it's a good plan to "study up."
At the onset of this issue, General Ross stands a defeated man. He knowingly went against the orders of the United States government, allying himself with M.O.D.O.K., setting free the Abomination from a top secret military installation and commanding him against the Hulk. Why was this act treasonous? The President himself had pardoned the Hulk for all previous activities since, at the time this issue was written, the creature now possessed the full faculties of Bruce Banner, the monster within repressed seemingly forever.
Writer Mantlo clearly set up this story to function as an epitaph, a coda to the career of General Ross. As he sits at his desk, deciding whether to inform his superiors of his treasonous actions, Ross reflects upon the long life he's lived. (In this story, he is identified as 67 years old.) He came from a line of military men, with his grandfather serving in the Civil War under Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, while his father fought during World War I in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He grew up hearing his father's tales of valor, and voraciously read every book on military history and strategy he could find. He enlisted in the military and graduated at the top of his class, and during his time there he met, romanced, and married his commanding officer's daughter, Karen Lee.
Ross didn't have to wait long after graduation to enter the trenches of war, as the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He entered the theater of war in the Pacific as a Captain, earning his still-current nickname for striking like a thunderbolt as he led his men into battle. He left World War II as a Major, and around that time, his daughter Betty was born. However, family obligations couldn't keep him from going back to war, with the conflict this time being Korea. He lived for war, and rose to Colonel, then General. Medals followed, and the war ended, which meant a return to a desk. He saw Betty grow up, having wished for a son but denied that. Years later, his wife Karen died, and instead of allowing Betty to comfort him, he sent her away. A military base was no place for a young woman, he argued; and besides, if he loved Karen as much as he loved the military, she might have still been alive.
Soon, of course, the government placed General Ross in charge of the G-Bomb project, which brought him in contact with Dr. Robert Bruce Banner. After having attended boarding school, Betty returned to her father, and found herself attracted to Banner, who was in every way the opposite of her father: a man of intellect, of kindness. We know what happened next, of course: Bruce Banner became the Hulk in the wake of the G-Bomb detonation, and General Ross regained a purpose, marshalling the military's forces against the green goliath. Having discovered Banner to be the very creature he intended to destroy, Ross redoubled his efforts to find his daughter a suitable husband, introducing her to Major Glenn Talbot. Banner briefly gained control over the Hulk, and he and Betty nearly married, only to lose control anew on their wedding day. Ross' resolve to kill the Hulk strengthened, and to that end, Hulkbuster Base was built. Soon afterward, time apparently healed Betty's broken heart, and she fell in love with Talbot, who married his commanding officer's daughter just like Ross had done before him.
But Talbot and Betty's marriage was not to be a happy one, for the Hulk often came between them. Talbot himself was presumed dead while on a mission to save Ross, but returned eventually, albeit in a vegetative state. The Hulk restored Talbot's psyche, but his marriage to Betty was irreparably damaged and the two divorced thereafter. Betty then realized she never stopped loving Bruce. The two resumed their relationship, while at the same time, torn over what he had done in pursuit of his own dreams, Ross resigned his command. Talbot wasn't deterred, picking up where Ross left off, having newly achieved a colonelship as well as control of the renamed Gamma Base. He chased the Hulk, whom he hated more than ever because he lost Betty to Banner, but only succeeded in destroying himself.
Shortly, Bruce Banner gained control over the Hulk anew. It wasn't what Betty wanted--she hoped for a cure over control--and she left, apparently for good. Ross became enraged that Banner had hurt his daughter, and once again donned his uniform. But it was too late, and the government pardoned the Hulk. Knowing in his heart that the Hulk would only return, more savage than ever (and how right he would later be!), he allied himself with M.O.D.O.K., thawing out the captured Abomination and setting him loose on the Hulk. The Abomination failed, and the whole plan came out, not just to the Hulk but also to Betty, who branded him with the word he never wanted to hear: "Traitor."
Confronted with the truth behind his actions--that his blind hatred for the Hulk overrode all rational thought--General Ross briefly contemplated suicide, but decided that was the "easy way out." The tougher, and more sensible road, was admitting his treasonous activities, and learning to live with his disgrace--in his words, "the toughest war this old soldier will ever have to fight."
Of course, General Ross wasn't finished with the Hulk after this issue. He would return to interfere in his daughter's wedding, by then a broken man. He again sought to kill Banner, contributing to events which returned the Hulk to his original, gray-skinned incarnation and briefly turned Rick Jones into a Hulk. He obtained the power of Zzzax, one of the Hulk's feared enemies, and later died. But fate wasn't through with him: the Leader resurrected him as the second Redeemer. Again dead, he was brought back for a third chance at life by the alien Troyjans, and was somehow reinstated in the military in spite of his previous treasonous activities. He and Banner reached a detente, but only until Betty died.
Oh, but all of these events are prologue. We'll find out how the dots connect tomorrow, and how the prior events I've described all contribute to the birth of the Red Hulk. That said, Bill Mantlo crafted a terrific "origin" for General Ross, the Hulk's greatest enemy. The story went a long way toward fleshing out the character back in 1984. It should be required reading for anyone looking at tomorrow's HULK #23 and wishing to see a counterpoint. I'm thinking the two books won't be as far apart as some out there would like to argue.
Join me...tomorrow.
Or Hulk will smash!
~G.
19.6.10
INCREDIBLE HULK #610 - The Review
THE INCREDIBLE HULK #610
Writer: "Gregarious" Greg Pak
Artists: "Princely" Paul Pelletier & "Dandy" Danny Miki
Colorist: "Fun-lovin'" Frank D'Armata
Letterer: "Simple" Simon Bowland
Cover: "Jazzy" John Romita, Jr., "Kinky" Klaus Janson & "Daring" Dean White
Assistant Editor: "Jiltin'" Jordan D. White
Associate Editor: "Naughty" Nathan Cosby
Editor: Mark "Enough of these nicknames" Paniccia
***SPOILERS*** inside if you go further!
He's baaaaaaaaack.
Wow, is that cover ever one big misnomer. I know practically every reader of the Hulk, myself included, predicted last month that it was Bruce's understandable anger over his son's near-slaying of Betty Ross Talbot Banner (say that name five times fast!) that would serve as catalyst for the return of the one, true Hulk, who would kick ass and take names while chewing no bubble gum as we headed toward the conclusion of "World War Hulks." It even looks that way on the cover. Doesn't it seem like Skaar and Red She-Hulk are looking on in horror as the change occurs right before them? So, my first admission is that I'm glad I was wrong. Greg Pak did not take the easy way out in this story. What could have in lesser hands been a farce instead wound up being a tense, packed-to-the-gills page-turner--and a strong contender for best single issue of this series, post-"Planet Hulk." Considering the stellar issues that came right after the reversion to the old numbering scheme, that's saying something.
At the beginning of this issue, Bruce tries in vain to help Betty heal from the battle wounds inflicted by Skaar. I have to guess that the "Sakaarian Oldforge Blade" Skaar used had some mystical properties that triggered the change from Red She-Hulk to plain ol' Betty, otherwise last issue's conclusion only makes sense to establish the identity revelation and then to propel the (brief) origin story that's presented in all of two pages herein. Most of the story we've guessed already: after nearly dying from gamma poisoning (here referred to as "cancer" which was only brought up in Bruce Jones' run, hmm), Betty ended up frozen by her father, then thawed by the Leader and M.O.D.O.K., who brought her back from the brink of death, cured her illness, then brainwashed her and turned her into the Red She-Hulk. The only truly new detail we get from the "origin" is that Betty's another confirmed split personality case in her gamma identity, which stirs echoes of her time as the Harpy. (It's worth questioning whether the gamma/cosmic ray mix brought about the split personality, or if Betty only developed the split personality based on some subconscious belief that irradiation makes you develop a split personality. Then again, our Betty has never been an especially well girl, psychologically speaking.)
Breaking up a fight between Red She-Hulk and Samson is the Hulked-Out Amadeus Cho. He's not hulked-out in the same way as the military men or heroes who the Intel exposed to the lethal cosmic/gamma ray cocktail, the radiation instead affecting his mind. (Can we call him Cho-D.O.K.? Or just Red Leader?) He and the rescued smartest men come up with their new plan, when the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. show up! But they're not alone...
Oh yes! What would a Leader storyline be without his awesome artificial creations, the Humanoids? It looks as if they've been "Hulked-Out" a bit, themselves. It doesn't matter, however, because Cho takes care of them in short order with the power of his mind!
This sequence also firms up the identities of the eight smartest men in the Marvel Universe--that is, if you count who the Leader considers the smartest. Of course, he considers himself above all, but the others (in his mind) were, in no particular order: Doom, Richards, Banner, Stark, Pym, McCoy, and T'Challa. Banner counters that Cho was "always" one of the smartest, and that his brain power has been further boosted by the cosmic/gamma rays, with the Leader's downfall to follow as result of his not having considered Cho a threat. Eventually, after a thrilling tete-a-tete with Banner, the Leader survives to scheme another day. (Or does he? Check out HULK #23 next week!) M.O.D.O.K. isn't quite so lucky. And Samson throws his lot in with the good guys again.
It's intriguing how the rest of the puzzle pieces fit together from here on in. How best to solve the puzzle of de-Hulking the heroes and the soldiers storming Washington? You have to find a receptacle for all that radiation so nothing goes kaboom, of course! And who absorbs massive amounts of radiation better than anybody else? Remember how a certain someone taunted Victor Von Doom some months back? "Say my name!"
Thinking about the final set piece of this issue, where Bruce Banner absorbs the radiation from the Hulked-Out Heroes and Soldiers, it became apparent to me that the scenes just before the big explosion, where Banner stands in poses reminiscent of his first gamma exposure in INCREDIBLE HULK #1, serve a larger purpose beyond just visually mirroring that important first story. Conceptually, it mirrors the origin of the Hulk as well! Consider that in the original story, Bruce Banner went out onto the test site to save one young boy he didn't even know from (as far as he knew) death, insodoing releasing the raging spirit that dwelled within him. Here in INCREDIBLE HULK #610 we have a play on that scenario: Bruce Banner, knowing full well that his actions will cause the rebirth of that same raging spirit, freely sacrifices his "cure" to save several of his friends in the superheroic community as well as two hundred A.I.Marines he doesn't even know. In one fell swoop, Greg Pak states unequivocally that Bruce Banner is and always has been a selfless man, a hero. Was there any doubt?
Also, it seems Banner isn't the only one who's into heroic sacrifices, as Leonard "Doc" Samson lays down his life so that the Cathexis Ray's effects may be reversed, the gamma removed from his body for the first time since INCREDIBLE HULK #193. Is it a "final" death? Probably not, but his sacrifice does redeem the character, even if the plot-logic of sending him off at the drop of a hat is ludicrous, with how his body even fixes anything a wonder. Ah, well. All in service to the larger narrative, right?
Speaking of larger narratives, I've got your "building for three years" one right here:
In the completion of the arc that began during World War Hulk, Bruce Banner again transforms into the epitome of anger--as shown by the massive energy output around him, this is the "World Breaker" incarnation of the Hulk first seen in WWH #5 and last seen, however briefly, in Skaar: Son of Hulk #12. This incarnation is also known to many as the "Green Scar," and his presence marks the thematic conclusion of nearly everything that's happened since that epochal storyline. Next issue, we'll see Father vs. Son, Hulk vs. Skaar. Somehow, I get the feeling that Banner isn't planning on Skaar killing the Hulk. (Not that it would happen. Whose book is this, anyway?)
We're coming on the perfect moment for the evolved "Green Scar" to thrive! I'm feeling the intense character growth the Hulk has undergone under Greg Pak's pen, and nothing would further the growth of the character, and evolve the dynamic of father and son, like the Hulk being able to apologize to his son, to be better than his own father was to him. Isn't that really what the Hulk is all about? Making it so that the sins of the father are not visited upon the son? He can make peace with Queen Caiera's memory and they can move forward together. After a damn good fight, of course!
So, maybe this wasn't so much a review as a deep analysis. I said before that this issue ranks among the best since restoring the old numbering, and perhaps it will stand as one of Greg Pak's best, period. Or maybe it's just leading toward next issue's conclusion, which stands to be pretty incredible as well. Paul Pelletier and Danny Miki did nothing short of excellent work this issue, as usual, and that two-page spread of the Hulk at the end is a treat, as is that final page. The colors of Frank D'Armata bring the whole shebang to life.
It's one great day to be a Hulk fan.
Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5 stars)
~G.
(Next: HULK #23!)
12.5.10
RED HULK REVEALED IN HULK #22!
And I'm only going to spoil the NEXT to last page here:
Not sayin' nuttin'. No, sir.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
G.
Not sayin' nuttin'. No, sir.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
G.
19.4.10
Finally on Facebook & Twitter
Guys,
Not that anyone cares (and I intend to start setting up a more formidable online presence shortly!), but I can be located on Facebook & Twitter now, so expect more than your RDA of me over on those places.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/garymichaelmiller
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gary_m_miller
Tell your friends, and friends of friends, and people you hardly know. Maybe this is my key to ruling the world!
~G.
P.S.: New York Comic-Con in October!
Not that anyone cares (and I intend to start setting up a more formidable online presence shortly!), but I can be located on Facebook & Twitter now, so expect more than your RDA of me over on those places.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/garymichaelmiller
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gary_m_miller
Tell your friends, and friends of friends, and people you hardly know. Maybe this is my key to ruling the world!
~G.
P.S.: New York Comic-Con in October!
19.3.10
Truly Worth a Thousand Words...
The cover to June's INCREDIBLE HULK #610...
Maybe just two words: "'Nuff said!"
~G.
Maybe just two words: "'Nuff said!"
~G.
17.3.10
The Path To "World War Hulks," Or: Get Up, Come On Get Down With The Silliness
Well, now.
Let me preface all of the following by saying that I haven't yet gone out onto the greater Internet to see what the range of opinions is on this week's twin "Fall of the Hulks" releases, Hulk #21 and Incredible Hulk #608. I didn't even speak with anybody at my local comic shop (this week it was All About Books & Comics in downtown Phoenix--click for the site)--I just grabbed my variants (the regular covers come in the mail next Tuesday) and ran. I read and re-read the books whilst waiting for my Toyota to be fixed (#$&@ recalls!), and now, finally, I'm home so I can let my thoughts be known.
The first thing I have to say is that these two issues, like the other two months' worth of adventures before them by Loeb & Pak, take place at roughly the same time, and in fact, they feature the majority of the same characters, with some overlap. I've always been a fan of this kind of storytelling device--using two books to tell two sides of the same story--and for that, I have to extend kudos. No, it doesn't matter which book you read first (and, for the record, Hulk #21 had that dubious honor for me). They both feature the key event at roughly the same place in both stories, from decidedly different angles. (SPOILER goggles on, henceforth.)
Both stories feature the grand assault on the Intelligencia's "Hellcarrier" (the SHIELD Helicarrier they stole after it crashed in Hulk #2, renamed by the that's-why-they-call-him Mad Thinker), with Hulk showing the Red Hulk's part of the assault (plus partner--more on him in a bit), and Incredible Hulk giving us Bruce Banner and his Avengers squad's side. The solicitation copy promised along the way we would learn Skaar's true motivations and the Intelligencia's true plan. I'm not sure this duo of issues showed either, I mean, I guess they showed the "what" of the Intel's plan, but the "why" has yet to be addressed, presuming it's anything other than the standard "bad guys want to rule the world" scenario.
Since I read it first, I'll go over the basics from Hulk #21 first also. The Red Hulk finds his way onto the Intel's Hellcarrier, huge duffel in tow, as he recounts how he and Banner first teamed up. The flashback and the ensuing monologue by the Red Hulk make it clear that their alliance began before Fall of the Hulks: Gamma, making it clear the two of them conspired to "kill" General Ross as their opening salvo against the Intel. Now, as most of you know, I don't think Banner would plot to kill Ross without Ross having done something absolutely dastardly (like commit murder), so I don't think Ross is really dead. (If you're asking, "So where is Ross?" I have to smack you in the forehead and refer you to my August blog post about Incredible Hulk #600 or my iFanboy.com article.)
After the flashback, the Red Hulk boards the 'carrier, but is ambushed by Awesome Andy--I mean, the Gammadroid, whom he defeats before being defeated by the Cosmic Hulk Robot (from the Eternals series as well as Red Hulk #1 and Incredible Hulk #606). MODOK reveals that he was duped all along. Originally, Red Hulk says, the Intel meant to use Banner to power their grand plan, since they already used him--together with the power of the Cathexis Ray that created Doc Samson--to create the Red Hulk. They also experimented on Rick Jones with the Cathexis Ray, producing A-Bomb (which almost-but-not-quite negates the theory about the ending of WWH directly producing Red Hulk, A-Bomb and Samson's new self, see later). Similarly, they needed Jen Walters (who was kidnapped in Incredible Hulk #600) as the power basis for Red She-Hulk. Now that Red Hulk absorbed Banner's Hulk, together with the energy he absorbed fighting Thor, the Silver Surfer, et al., the Red Hulk became the Intel's prime candidate to power the Intel's machinery.
What, then, is the Intel's grand plan? They use the power of the Cathexis Ray, turning it upon the Red Hulk, in so doing empowering not only a legion of A.I.Marines (another eyeroll-inducing name, courtesy Jeph Loeb) on an Arizona military base, and apparently another legion in Washington, DC, but also three teams of super-heroes invading the Hellcarrier with the ability to become Hulks. And Red Hulk states the Intel's plan is to use those Hulks to stage a military coup of the U.S. government.
Deadpool unzips himself from the duffel Red Hulk brought on board, having been brought there as Red Hulk's "Plan B" to stop the Cathexis Ray, but it's too late--all hell has broken loose. He does manage to sidestep Samson and free Red Hulk, but also manages to transform into--are you ready for this?--Hulkpool. (Yeah, I rather thought you were.)
Incredible Hulk #608, on the other hand, shows things from Banner's perspective. First, there's a rescue mission on an Arizona military base, where Banner apparently tries to rescue his wife, Betty--and runs into the believed-dead Colonel Glenn Talbot, who his BannerTech tells him is not a robot. At the same time, as the Intel watch the footage of the event, they are attacked on board the Hellcarrier--by Banner and his Avengers! Amadeus Cho has been using an image inducer to pass himself off as Banner...and, of course, Betty (who prefers "Miz Ross" to "Miz Banner) clocks Amadeus anyway, escaping with Talbot, who locks her into a secure bunker meant for the President before teleporting himself away. While trying to open the door, Cho talks with Bruce--who also states Talbot should be dead--and Cho refutes that he heas found evidence of Talbot being part of a black-ops program, but doesn't complete the thought. In short order, Bruce meets with Lyra, making it clear she's on his side (but where is Jen?) and Skaar confronts Bruce about working with Red Hulk. Bruce explains that he's deceived and used everyone--the Avengers and Skaar--in order to save the world and Betty--"because if any of you knew all the different angles I'm playing...you'd never trust me again." He also states that if his plan succeeds, Skaar will get his chance "to get the only thing [he] ever wanted from [Banner]."
Then, of course, the excrement hits the fan: Red She-Hulk shows up, attacking the Avengers and impaling Skaar with his own sword. Bruce manages to disconnect Reed and the others from the Liddleville device. He expects the Intel's plan to fail, but then the Cathexis Ray goes operational, transforming the A.I.Marines into Red Hulks, ready for their march on Washington. Skaar attempts to round up Bruce and escape but is thrown clear of the Hellcarrier, and Bruce sees mutated, Hulkish versions of Wolverine, Namor, War Machine and Captain Marvel...before everything fades out, one year later, and...well, my spoilers are just going to have to stop there!
There's not much to tell about the Red She-Hulk backup, except to say that, in the words of MODOK, "[A]s long as [the Red She-Hulk] remains under our control...we have nothing to fear from Bruce Banner...or the Red Hulk." Doesn't that seem to imply she's someone important to both men? Hmmm....
I do think the storyline is getting slightly silly (okay, maybe more than slightly), but it does seem we're going places. As both events occur at the same time, I think it's quite safe to state that Talbot is not the Red Hulk (unless the one seen with Cho and Betty is some kind of doppelganger that an EMP can't incapacitate, which I doubt). However I'm happy to say it still seems possible that Betty is the Red She-Hulk. It's only once she's seen for the final time, locked (?) in the bunker, that Red She-Hulk appears. Yes, it may be a false lead (She-Hulk, I am loath to admit, was nowhere to be found in either issue), and we may be picking up on exactly what Greg P. wants us to pick up on, that's true. But who makes a better fit for the Scarlet Smasherette at this point? Especially when considering what MODOK's said in the backup feature.
At this point, yeah, I'm asking "What now?" and "What the #@!&*?!" as well as "Why does Deadpool have to be in absolutely everything?" There were some strange pieces to this story...was Banner in a part of the ship immune to Hulkification? And why were the Intel draining the collective smarts of everyone? How much did they succeed? For that matter, why tease the eight smartest if they only used six? Bottom line, I do want to see how everyone gets out of this situation, and that, I suppose, is "mission: accomplished" for "Fall of the Hulks."
Now, on to "World War Hulks"...with, of course, a few more parts of "Fall of the Hulks" coming at us over the next month and a half to finish things up.
What do you think, sirs?
~G.
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