Bruce Banner: The Hulk Appreciation 2018

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

As far as what Aaron has written, he has left much to be desired. I can honestly say his Hulk run was nothing to write home about, but there's been much worse. It had its moments. His God killer Thor story was pretty good, but the rest of what you mentioned, I don't know anything about. His Avengers run has potential, but it seems he's still setting things up. As far as She-Hulk and his new revelations, I'm not sure if he knows how powerful World Breaker Hulk was in the Heart of the Monster story. The residual effects of his blows shattered planetoid objects. So the claim made about She-Hulk is one that will have to take some convincing.

With that said, it seems even Al Ewing is setting up that all Gamma-Affected Beings have a greater potential than they even know, including Hulk.

[GreenScar1990]

On a different note, Immortal Hulk #6 was great!

I'm so thankful and excited that Al Ewing is going to be working with Hulk/Banner for a long time! You can feel the love and appreciation he has for the character. Plus, bringing in a character from Jeff Parker's Red Hulk tenture in the form of General Ross' protege, General Fortean. And that gorgeous art from Lee Garbett! I'd love to see him return for another session, if only to give Joe Bennett a break.

[GreenScar1990]

As far as what Aaron has written, he has left much to be desired. I can honestly say his Hulk run was nothing to write home about, but there's been much worse. It had its moments. His God killer Thor story was pretty good, but the rest of what you mentioned, I don't know anything about. His Avengers run has potential, but it seems he's still setting things up. As far as She-Hulk and his new revelations, I'm not sure if he knows how powerful World Breaker Hulk was in the Heart of the Monster story. The residual effects of his blows shattered planetoid objects. So the claim made about She-Hulk is one that will have to take some convincing.

With that said, it seems even Al Ewing is setting up that all Gamma-Affected Beings have a greater potential than they even know, including Hulk.

True, but even in his lesser personas/forms, Hulk was beyond anything that Jen could ever hope to be. At her most powerful, Jen only barely managed to hold her own against the Savage Hulk during Geoff Johns brief run on Avengers. They'll not be able to overcome the Hulk. He's too powerful for her and the Avengers. Besides, the Hulk has more pressing matters to attend to in the form of the all-powerful Multiversal threat, The One Below All.

Al Ewing has said that, even among Gamma Beings, the Hulk is and always has been unique. More powerful and with more potential for infinite power/abilities than all the others. If not for Bruce/Hulk, Jen wouldn't be a Hulk, nor would have many others who are or have been gamma beings. He's the first, and being he is truly immortal, he will be the last and outlive them and everything else.

It would not surprise me if the Hulk is the ultimate powerhouse out of all gamma beings, but he's only barely scratched the surface of that infinite potential. We've seen him lay waste to everything in the Dark Dimension in Greg Pak's HOTM, so let's imagine that that is only a fraction of his true power and might.

[GreenScar1990]

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

True, but even in his lesser personas/forms, Hulk was beyond anything that Jen could ever hope to be. At her most powerful, Jen only barely managed to hold her own against the Savage Hulk during Geoff Johns brief run on Avengers. They'll not be able to overcome the Hulk. He's too powerful for her and the Avengers. Besides, the Hulk has more pressing matters to attend to in the form of the all-powerful Multiversal threat, The One Below All.

Al Ewing has said that, even among Gamma Beings, the Hulk is and always has been unique. More powerful and with more potential for infinite power/abilities than all the others. If not for Bruce/Hulk, Jen wouldn't be a Hulk, nor would have many others who are or have been gamma beings. He's the first, and being he is truly immortal, he will be the last and outlive them and everything else.

It would not surprise me if the Hulk is the ultimate powerhouse out of all gamma beings, but he's only barely scratched the surface of that infinite potential. We've seen him lay waste to everything in the Dark Dimension in Greg Pak's HOTM, so let's imagine that that is only a fraction of his true power and might.

Do you have a link to where Ewing mentioned those things about Hulk?

Banner, being the first Gamma-Affected person in the MU could possibly change someday. But being a fan of Bruce Banner as much as I am of Hulk, I'd love it that Bruce's Hulk would still remain the Strongest One there is at the end of the day. However, I have no problem seeing all gammas step it up. The fight with Sasquatch was classic, especially when he caught an enraged Hulk's fist with his hand and then poked his eyes out. All our favorite characters need peers to contend with to keep the fights entertaining.

[phantom1592]

It would not surprise me if the Hulk is the ultimate powerhouse out of all gamma beings, but he's only barely scratched the surface of that infinite potential. We've seen him lay waste to everything in the Dark Dimension in Greg Pak's HOTM, so let's imagine that that is only a fraction of his true power and might.

Is there a reason that people keep mentioning or petitioning for this concept? It truly sounds terrible to me. For decades we've had a character based on the idea of 'the Strongest one there is', and it's been fun. Challengers step up... maybe get the upper hand... but Hulk is Hulk and always comes out on top.

But the way they keep boosting him??? It's gotten ridiculous and gone way too far. World Breaker was insane levels of power. Cracking planets with his steps or something... they've had him growing gills under water and adapting to being outside of space ships... because now adapting to his environment is his thing... Now Immortaltiy? I mean... of course in Comics we know Hulk isn't going to die or will always find a way back...

but to write it in as his POWER??

I don't know... it's gone so far over the top that the character of Hulk has zero real threats left. How long can a character like that thrive? She Hulk, thor, Thing... these used to be the heavyweight battles that people got excited about... but not one of them come close anymore.

And to hear people pushing for THIS god-level creature to be 'barely tapping his potential'? I really don't get it. I'd LOVE for them to dial him back at least a LITTLE to where he was just the top of the food chain among the avengers... but still a bit concerned if Galactus shows up...

[Gamma Burst]

The fact he's too powerful and immortal ( a simple aspect in Hulk's history) means nothing. In the hands of great writers like PAD and Ewing, you can write a Hulk with any power level you want, and still tell a compelling story with depth. And that's what Ewing is doing; exploring the depth the of Hulk the and playing aspects that were already with the character, adding new things to the myth. The immortality was already there; Ewing just gave an explanation with the mysterious Green Door. This is a brilliant concept, which is the base for the horror aspect of the comic and it's unique tone. it's a fascinating comic that deserves all the praise and success it's having.

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

Is there a reason that people keep mentioning or petitioning for this concept? It truly sounds terrible to me. For decades we've had a character based on the idea of 'the Strongest one there is', and it's been fun. Challengers step up... maybe get the upper hand... but Hulk is Hulk and always comes out on top.

But the way they keep boosting him??? It's gotten ridiculous and gone way too far. World Breaker was insane levels of power. Cracking planets with his steps or something... they've had him growing gills under water and adapting to being outside of space ships... because now adapting to his environment is his thing... Now Immortaltiy? I mean... of course in Comics we know Hulk isn't going to die or will always find a way back...

but to write it in as his POWER??

I don't know... it's gone so far over the top that the character of Hulk has zero real threats left. How long can a character like that thrive? She Hulk, thor, Thing... these used to be the heavyweight battles that people got excited about... but not one of them come close anymore.

And to hear people pushing for THIS god-level creature to be 'barely tapping his potential'? I really don't get it. I'd LOVE for them to dial him back at least a LITTLE to where he was just the top of the food chain among the avengers... but still a bit concerned if Galactus shows up...

Really? Showing a character that has been said to have a potential for unlimited strength as having a potential for unlimited strength for 98% of his existence, getting stronger is ridiculous? Nothing about it is outside his character's norm. Marvel still has more than a few in their stable to contest that and comic fans that will argue the point. I bet you could name a few?

World Breaker is a level an enraged Hulk reached. Probably more to come.

Which issue did Hulk grow gills to breathe underwater?

In a few early 60's and 70's, Stan Lee, Marie Severin and Roy Thomas comics, Hulk can be seen either talking (yup) underwater and living in space for weeks. At times it has been said he couldn't, so to explain the inconsistency, his ability to adapt became cannon. What's the real problem?

Again, in the 60's and 70's Banner and Hulk have died in story only to be bought back to life by gamma energy in some way. Nothing new here. In Peter David's Hulk run Maestro returned from death and even mentioned that the never stay dead. Again...nothing New...Here.

Immortality as a power... well yeah. Do normal human characters have it..(your answer here)...well then it's a power.

Stan Lee, the co-creater of Hulk wrote that short of Galactus, Eternity, Odin and the like Hulk is the Strongest One there is...and that was a weaker Hulk. What's the real issue here?

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

Hulk is like a monster, evidently in more ways than one and like any good monster, Vampires, Wolfmen, Zombies, you name it they are for the most part Immortal.

Hulk is not "your" typical comic book character.

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

The fact he's too powerful and immortal ( a simple aspect in Hulk's history) means nothing. In the hands of great writers like PAD and Ewing, you can write a Hulk with any power level you want, and still tell a compelling story with depth. And that's what Ewing is doing; exploring the depth the of Hulk the and playing aspects that were already with the character, adding new things to the myth. The immortality was already there; Ewing just gave an explanation with the mysterious Green Door. This is a brilliant concept, which is the base for the horror aspect of the comic and it's unique tone. it's a fascinating comic that deserves all the praise and success it's having.

About the Hulk being too powerful... he as been described as a force of nature for most of his existence. Trying to stop him is akin to trying to diffuse a nuclear bomb before it goes off and the clock is hovering around the one second mark. Once it goes off there is no containing it. At that point it does what it does.

[phantom1592]

Really? Showing a character that has been said to have a potential for unlimited strength as having a potential for unlimited strength for 98% of his existence, getting stronger is ridiculous? Nothing about it is outside his character's norm. Marvel still has more than a few in their stable to contest that and comic fans that will argue the point. I bet you could name a few?

World Breaker is a level an enraged Hulk reached. Probably more to come.

Well.. yeah. Worldbreaker was a level of enragement to the point that he wasn't safe to have on the planet.... That NEEDS to be the top end. His wife and child were murdered and he though his friends did it... How can he get angrier than that? The idea of that only 'scratching the surface'... that doesn't sound fun.

Which issue did Hulk grow gills to breathe underwater?

Gills may have been a wrong term, but a quick search showed these.

Again, in the 60's and 70's Banner and Hulk have died in story only to be bought back to life by gamma energy in some way. Nothing new here. In Peter David's Hulk run Maestro returned from death and even mentioned that the never stay dead. Again...nothing New...Here.

Immortality as a power... well yeah. Do normal human characters have it..(your answer here)...well then it's a power.

Except we're not talking about normal characters.... we're talking about Marvel Characters. By this logic All the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Captain America.. Spider-man… they've all died at different points in their career. They haven't gotten 'Immortality' added to their power list yet. It's just a comic Trope.

Stan Lee, the co-creater of Hulk wrote that short of Galactus, Eternity, Odin and the like Hulk is the Strongest One there is...and that was a weaker Hulk. What's the real issue here?

This is kind of my point... His BASELINE has been strongest one of them all. He doesn't NEED upgrades.


Personally I love a character that has weaknesses. A CHANCE that they can lose. A good villain who can exploit a weakness, and a hero who can persevere in spite of it. There seems to be a mad push to take away ANY weaknesses from Hulk. In gamer terms it means he's useless as a PC and is now an NPC to overcome. There's nothing left to challenge him.

It frankly reminds me of a schoolyard debate.

Well.. What if Hulk finds someone stronger than him!! He can't, he's the strongest there is....
Well, what if someone IS stronger... Well then he'll get angry and that makes him stronger.
Well what if he's in zero gravity... what if he's in SPACE!!! Doesn't matter he can adapt to space.

What if they try to suffacte him... Won't work, he can hold his breath forever.

What if he doesn't have time to hold his breath!! He'll breathe water!!

What if they kill Banner?? Won't stop the Hulk!!



Ewing is doing a fine job... but can this push continue? Is it possible to have PAD style run with a character that has no weakness? Or is he going to be off the book in two or three arcs and the character get shelved again? I really don't want that.. .but this doesn't feel like a sustainable character. There's only so many biker gangs you can watch THE HULK tear through before it'll get boring.

[Gamma Burst]

About the Hulk being too powerful... he as been described as a force of nature for most of his existence. Trying to stop him is akin to trying to diffuse a nuclear bomb before it goes off and the clock is hovering around the one second mark. One it goes off there is no containing it. At that point it does what it does.

Hulk is like a monster, evidently in more ways than one and like any good monster, Vampires, Wolfmen, Zombies, you name it they are for the most part Immortal.

Hulk is not "your" typical comic book character.

Well.. yeah. Worldbreaker was a level of enragement to the point that he wasn't safe to have on the planet.... That NEEDS to be the top end. His wife and child were murdered and he though his friends did it... How can he get angrier than that? The idea of that only 'scratching the surface'... that doesn't sound fun.





Gills may have been a wrong term, but a quick search showed these.






Except we're not talking about normal characters.... we're talking about Marvel Characters. By this logic All the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Captain America.. Spider-man… they've all died at different points in their career. They haven't gotten 'Immortality' added to their power list yet. It's just a comic Trope.





This is kind of my point... His BASELINE has been strongest one of them all. He doesn't NEED upgrades.


Personally I love a character that has weaknesses. A CHANCE that they can lose. A good villain who can exploit a weakness, and a hero who can persevere in spite of it. There seems to be a mad push to take away ANY weaknesses from Hulk. In gamer terms it means he's useless as a PC and is now an NPC to overcome. There's nothing left to challenge him.

It frankly reminds me of a schoolyard debate.

Well.. What if Hulk finds someone stronger than him!! He can't, he's the strongest there is....
Well, what if someone IS stronger... Well then he'll get angry and that makes him stronger.
Well what if he's in zero gravity... what if he's in SPACE!!! Doesn't matter he can adapt to space.

What if they try to suffacte him... Won't work, he can hold his breath forever.

What if he doesn't have time to hold his breath!! He'll breathe water!!

What if they kill Banner?? Won't stop the Hulk!!



Ewing is doing a fine job... but can this push continue? Is it possible to have PAD style run with a character that has no weakness? Or is he going to be off the book in two or three arcs and the character get shelved again? I really don't want that.. .but this doesn't feel like a sustainable character. There's only so many biker gangs you can watch THE HULK tear through before it'll get boring.

LOL. If it's that what Ewing is doing in this comic, I guess I'm reading a different one.

[Ptrvc]

Is there a reason that people keep mentioning or petitioning for this concept? It truly sounds terrible to me. For decades we've had a character based on the idea of 'the Strongest one there is', and it's been fun. Challengers step up... maybe get the upper hand... but Hulk is Hulk and always comes out on top.

But the way they keep boosting him??? It's gotten ridiculous and gone way too far. World Breaker was insane levels of power. Cracking planets with his steps or something... they've had him growing gills under water and adapting to being outside of space ships... because now adapting to his environment is his thing... Now Immortaltiy? I mean... of course in Comics we know Hulk isn't going to die or will always find a way back...

but to write it in as his POWER??

I don't know... it's gone so far over the top that the character of Hulk has zero real threats left. How long can a character like that thrive? She Hulk, thor, Thing... these used to be the heavyweight battles that people got excited about... but not one of them come close anymore.

And to hear people pushing for THIS god-level creature to be 'barely tapping his potential'? I really don't get it. I'd LOVE for them to dial him back at least a LITTLE to where he was just the top of the food chain among the avengers... but still a bit concerned if Galactus shows up...

We got a lower powered Hulk post-Pak to this run.

(Well when he wasn't dead at any rate.)

Those runs weren't all that great and the sales kept petering out.

While Immortal Hulk dropped off a bit after #1 it's actually been gaining readers the last few issues. Fans are coming back.

And yeah being the toughest guy in town is a big part of who the Hulk is. While I certainly don't think he needs the Power Gamma or the Rageforce or something like that, he is the guy who challenges things beyond mortal ken with nothing more than his two fists and an endless well of rage.

It's a bummer that we don't get Hulk Thing fights anymore. But to be honest, Been has been left behind by the rest of the Marvel Universe, not just Hulk. Dude is the least powerful person on Fantastic Four, and not by just a bit either. Pretty sure Sue could kill Been in about a second at this point.

She-Hulk has never been considered a peer in power to her cousin until, what last issue of the Avengers? And she has had a series of power ups since she was first introduced.

Thor has lost Mjolnir which does weaken him a lot. But Thor without Mjolnir has never been a match for Hulk.

And even with all that, ultimately, Hulk shouldn't be kept weaker in his own book and his own stories for the benefit of crossover fights. Fun as they may be I'd rather forgo those for good Hulk stories than the reverse.

Long story short, I think Hulk is at his best when he is a powerhouse.

[phantom1592]

She-Hulk has never been considered a peer in power to her cousin until, what last issue of the Avengers? And she has had a series of power ups since she was first introduced.


Long story short, I think Hulk is at his best when he is a powerhouse.

How did She-Hulk compare with Joe Fixit? Did they ever address that? I feel like Green She-hulk vs. Grey Hulk would have been pretty comparable... but I'm not sure.


I also think the conversation is being taken really personal. This was not a question about smashing down Ewing or the current book. It's not about dropping him down to weak stages (although I TOO want to see Ben become a challenge again.)

It was simply a question about powering him up even MOOOORE... All the comments about not reaching his potential and barely scratching the surface of what he can do... when he's Already the most powerful guy around.

Why do people want something like Maestro and Worldbreaker to be the 'early' stages of Hulkness? In my opinion those two stages should BE The endpoint. Worldbreaker can destroy the planet... Maestro has a trophy room of all the invicible heroes he's killed off.... THAT's the glimpse in the future of what Hulk can reach... I really wouldn't WANT him to be more powerful than THAT.

[Gamma Irradiated Being]

Well.. yeah. Worldbreaker was a level of enragement to the point that he wasn't safe to have on the planet.... That NEEDS to be the top end. His wife and child were murdered and he though his friends did it... How can he get angrier than that? The idea of that only 'scratching the surface'... that doesn't sound fun.

Sorry, you don't get to redefine Hulk's ability. There is no limit to his strength. Fighting an opponent that powerful will make Hulk that much stronger. He Will get as angry as his opponent or opponents is or are strong. Simple reasoning.

Gills may have been a wrong term, but a quick search showed these.

Yes, you were wrong about the gills.

Except we're not talking about normal characters.... we're talking about Marvel Characters. By this logic All the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Captain America.. Spider-man… they've all died at different points in their career. They haven't gotten 'Immortality' added to their power list yet. It's just a comic Trope.

True, but none of them have the "POWER" (see how that works) of immortality. It's not part of their ability. Surely you must grasp the concept.

This is kind of my point... His BASELINE has been strongest one of them all. He doesn't NEED upgrades.

That's not true, there are many y abstracts and Supers that may start off stronger. Thor, Sentry, Blue Marvel, Surfer...etc. I stress may...

It frankly reminds me of a schoolyard debate.

Well.. What if Hulk finds someone stronger than him!! He can't, he's the strongest there is....
Well, what if someone IS stronger... Well then he'll get angry and that makes him stronger.
Well what if he's in zero gravity... what if he's in SPACE!!! Doesn't matter he can adapt to space.

What if they try to suffacte him... Won't work, he can hold his breath forever.

What if he doesn't have time to hold his breath!! He'll breathe water!!

What if they kill Banner?? Won't stop the Hulk!!

This reminds me of guys who can't stand the fact that when you get down to the logistics of how Hulk's power works, they can't stand the facts that yeah...He should be the strongest one there is.

Ewing is doing a fine job... but can this push continue? Is it possible to have PAD style run with a character that has no weakness? Or is he going to be off the book in two or three arcs and the character get shelved again? I really don't want that.. .but this doesn't feel like a sustainable character. There's only so many biker gangs you can watch THE HULK tear through before it'll get boring.

I've seen this before...it's called fear of the proper characterization of the Hulk. Hulk needs Foes that other superheroes can't deal with. After all, he is a man-like monster.