Bruce Banner - The Hulk Appreciation 2021

[king of hybrids]

Then why was Banner not allowed to enter God's place in No Road Home and Thor recognised that the power was demonic in nature?

Because how else could we get, what, four ‘hurr durr Avengers are cops/look at the filthy MCU parasites grasp in envy at the Hulk/F4 genuine worth” takes

Not that the Avengers come to the table with clean hands revtheir treatment of hulk over the years, mind you.

[PlatinumThorns]

The ending of Issue #25 technically still happens because TOAA allows it to. None of those events magically disappear just because TOBA is a tool that allows the One-Above-All to destroy things as metaphorical creative process.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Then why was Banner not allowed to enter God's place in No Road Home and Thor recognised that the power was demonic in nature?

Because at the time, the power was demonic

[xcoijoi]

Was just re-reading some of the individual episodes. For my eyes, at least, Bennet's work is part of what kept me going. Ewing was masterful, but was only one factor in remaining addicted to the series.

Thanks, Al and Joe.

[your_name_here]

Really enjoyed this finale.

I think it was all a little “easy” as compared to the impossible task it was hyped to be, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have some questions TOBA - why it just “gave up” and what actually were its plans with The Leader seeing as it looked as though it did absolutely nothing?
As good an ending as you’re going to get with the big 2 type format of putting everything back in the box.
Bring on the omnibus

[Spiderfan001]

Really enjoyed this finale.

I think it was all a little “easy” as compared to the impossible task it was hyped to be, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have some questions TOBA - why it just “gave up” and what actually were its plans with The Leader seeing as it looked as though it did absolutely nothing?
As good an ending as you’re going to get with the big 2 type format of putting everything back in the box.
Bring on the omnibus

All this, Liked the ending

Also all that about forgiveness and mercy and the end letter by Bennet only to get cancelled LMAO, not saying he shouldn't be but I hope he comes back a better person in a few years because his art is one of if not the best modern art we have.

[Lukmendes]

Really enjoyed this finale.

I think it was all a little “easy” as compared to the impossible task it was hyped to be, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have some questions TOBA - why it just “gave up”

I think TOBA gave up because it's just a part of TOAA, in a way, TOBA is TOAA's Hulk, and TOAA decided to not cause that destruction because, I dunno he changed his mind or somethin'.

and what actually were its plans with The Leader seeing as it looked as though it did absolutely nothing?

TOBA just needed someone to "wear as a mask" to be used as a link between the below place and the living world or somethin', so it didn't need the Leader in particular, just someone powered by Gamma, Bryan would've worked too but The Leader decided to impersonate Ultimate Hulk after meeting Bryan.

[xcoijoi]

That was some nice heroism on the part of Creel in Gamma Flight.

Not planning to get involved with the next Hulk series, but I'll check out some issues where they team up.

[your_name_here]

I think TOBA gave up because it's just a part of TOAA, in a way, TOBA is TOAA's Hulk, and TOAA decided to not cause that destruction because, I dunno he changed his mind or somethin'.



TOBA just needed someone to "wear as a mask" to be used as a link between the below place and the living world or somethin', so it didn't need the Leader in particular, just someone powered by Gamma, Bryan would've worked too but The Leader decided to impersonate Ultimate Hulk after meeting Bryan.

I understand TOBA wearing a mask, but I just feel like the “to what end” was never really explained. I thought TOBA would finally come to “out” plane causing ****. It felt more like he wanted to just chill out in the below place rather than actually doing anything. It just sucked the urgency out a little.

[Digifiend]

Exactly.

Bruce has basically merged with Devil Hulk.

That could explain why Banner "breaks bad" in Cates series.

If they merged, shouldn't Bruce have ended up green, like when Amadeus Cho merged with his Hulk to become Brawn?

[Cth]

I understand TOBA wearing a mask, but I just feel like the “to what end” was never really explained. I thought TOBA would finally come to “out” plane causing ****. It felt more like he wanted to just chill out in the below place rather than actually doing anything. It just sucked the urgency out a little.

I look at it like the Hulk/Banner relationship (or Sentry/Void).. from the other person's perspective that's sharing the body, they feel they're being trapped and want out/to escape. Generally, they don't see themselves as the other (Hulk has never really accepted he IS Banner, and Banner for the longest time didn't accept Hulk as another part of himself)

So TOBA feels he's being trapped by TOAA whereas TOAA recognizes his darker half much like Bruce does and tries to keep it at bay but ultimate gives into those urges releasing that dark half.

Not sure what triggered TOBA this time, but TOAA saw it as an opportunity to teach Bruce about himself and deciding which extreme he's going to be.. if he's going to be destructive or healing.. or something else (ala the 3rd form of gamma).. when Hulk chooses the third option he becomes something else, something greater than he was.

The question now is, what would happen if TOAA and TOBA made peace what would be the result? You can't divorce yourself from yourself so it seems TOAA has been using TOBA's power to effect change.

[Chris0013]

Not really a fan of them making Bruce and Sterns distant relatives.

[Biclopcicle]

Couple of questions/observations:

1. In the final Dialogue between the Hulks and TOAA, the Hulks keep asking why they exist--finally the answer is "you are the counterweight." But then they ask why they must hurt (and again why must there be a hulk) TOAA doesnt provide an answer at all, just another question, "what is the hulk? What have you become?" Then there is some interesting phrasing, "I made you the counterweight--to ask of you. Are you geburah or golachab?". It's a little awkward. He created the counterweight with the purpose of destruction but also with the purpose to question its role? The Kabbalah duality and freedom of choice element has been there since Metatron appeared awhile back but the way they are arranged here in the last issue just doesn't sit right for some reason. I mean, if gamma is the counterweight, then does that mean the cosmic Ray beings (fantastic four, etc) are the weight and the creative force? Do they have the ability to question their role? Or did banner gain that ability to choose when Joe became filled with Cosmic Rays? (I also wondered why Joe was able to absorb them--maybe because he was the grey/colorless hulk?

2. If Leader locked all the green doors, do they stay locked? Banner did say it felt like "a door as old as gamma itself closing and a new one opening wide" I can't see another author tackling the Below Place for quite some time, lest it become trivialized. And as others have said, Im curious to see what Cates takes from all of this, how Banner's system has been affected.

[Biclopcicle]

Also, how did the Hulks know that TOAA was behind the mask/hulk of TOBA? Takes one to know one? Hm. I hope there's a wrap-up interview with Ewing.

[Kingkalamari]

Also, how did the Hulks know that TOAA was behind the mask/hulk of TOBA? Takes one to know one? Hm. I hope there's a wrap-up interview with Ewing.

It's the mantra of the book, when you look in the mirror, there are two people: the person you want to see, and the person you dont want to see. There is a good and bad side to everyone. In terms of an abstract all-powerful creator, it would also have it's own dark side, personified in pure nihilism.

A larger part of the story, I believe, is the nessacary function of destruction and how we view it. It can be both a terrible thing(as we see many lives destroyed, and TOBA's plot of absorbing TOAA by proxy of Banner to end existence entirely) but also a good thing, as we see by the Roxxon arc. With Banner being preordained to carry out the end of everything, as a creation of both TOAA & TOBA, and also operating as a system of personalities like the two entities do, nobody would recognize that moreso than Banner, that they are two sides of the same coin. Only Sterns had the knowledge of future Banner-TOBA, which makes the finale even more satisfying.