Bruce Banner: The Hulk Appreciation 2018

[GreenScar1990]

April 2015 Hulk Solicitations


HULK #14

GERRY DUGGAN (W) • MARK BAGLEY (A/C)
Issue #14 - WTD VARIANT COVER BY TBA

ISSUE #14 - The final confrontation between Doc Green & Red Hulk begins!

• The punching, kicking, thunder-clapping and even biting starts now!

• A surprise appearance from...Bruce Banner?

• Will Deadpool really betray Thunderbolt Ross for Doc Green?


HULK #15

GERRY DUGGAN (W) • MARK BAGLEY (A/C)
Issue #15 - WTD VARIANT COVER BY TBA

ISSUE #15 - The battle between Doc Green & Red Hulk changes the Marvel Universe forever!

• Doc Green and Red Hulk’s grudge match breaks a few things.

• Doc Green proves once and for all: science is difficult, even for the smartest of us.

• The US military makes a surprising change to their gamma-monster policy.




AVENGERS: MILLENNIUM #1-4 (of 4)

Mike Costa (W)
Carmine DiGiandomenico (a)
COVER BY Leinil Yu

• At a secret Hydra installation hidden away in rural Japan, the Avengers discover a time-portal that sends them on an adventure that spans millennia. But what kind of bad guys have a time machine they don’t use to change the past? Bad guys who know they win...

• The only thing standing between our immutable past and our wasted, ruined future are the Avengers, finally reunited to battle a doomsday weapon thousands of years in the hatching.

[McFarlane's Green Hulk]

Incredible Hulk #116

Cover Date: June 1969
Sale Date: March 11th, 1969
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Inker: Dan Adkins
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colorist: Uncredited

“The Eve of Annihilation!”

Storyline: Open to a giant “Super Humanoid” (blue and more robotic-looking now) entering the missile base much to the chagrin of General Ross, Major Talbot and Betty Ross. The Leader explains that the Super Humanoid can guard the Hulk better than an army, allowing Ross to reluctantly agree to have guard the Hulk’s prison. Speaking of whom, inside the plasti-thene mud ball, the Hulk’s rage increases but useless against the prison’s strength. Meanwhile, Betty Ross overhears the Leader gloating about his true plans and rushes off to warn her father. They decide the quickest way to stop the Leader is to free the Hulk from the prison, but are unable to communicate with him from the outside. The Hulk, still miffed at thinking Betty turned against him, smashes at the viewing panel inside, losing all contact with the outside world. Talbot then sounds a base-wide alert to apprehend the Leader, but the Super Humanoid easily takes them down. The gamma villain puts the entire base to sleep with some mental force waves, but allows Betty to stay conscious via a protective headband. She manages to turn the Leader’s plasti-thene weapon on the Hulk’s prison and free the brute. The Hulk and Super Humanoid battle and the Hulk is sealed in a new prison, leaving the Leader to begin launching all the base’s nuclear missiles.

Key Characters: None.

Historical Notes: None.

Personal Thoughts: This’ll be the last issue that Herb is saddled with an inker for the foreseeable future. Next issue is gorgeous…

[McFarlane's Green Hulk]

Incredible Hulk #117

Cover Date: July 1969
Sale Date: April 10th, 1969
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colorist: Uncredited

“World’s End?”

Storyline: Betty Ross stands helplessly as the Leader begins to launch a nuclear missile to start World War III as the Hulk tries to free himself from another plasti-thene prison. Smaller than before, the Hulk is able to faintly hear voices from the outside and this galvanizes his anger and breaks free at last. Before he can do anything, however, the Leader transports the brute and his Super Humanoid to a volcanic island to do battle. It’s a back-and-forth scenario until the Hulk tosses the machine into a volcano and creates an eruption that destroys the Super Humanoid and the island in the process. He leaps back to the missile base and again is stopped from pulping the Leader – this time by Betty! She manages to calm him down and transform back into Bruce Banner long enough to send an interceptor missile into the air and stop the Leader’s. The tension causes him to revert back to the Hulk and chase after another missile the villain has launched. This time, however, the Hulk’s plan backfires as he destroys it, hurling him into the ocean. As the Leader escapes, we see the unconscious form of Bruce Banner surfacing in the waves…



Key Characters: None.

Historical Notes: None.

Personal Thoughts: I call this the “Golden Age of Trimpe Version 1”. His art really stands out starting with this issue. There’s a depth and detail to it that was lacking in his earlier work and with other inkers. According to Herb himself (ala the Marvel Masterworks Hulk vol. 5), he began what he called his “scratchy pen technique” in order to emulate the style of John Severin. This will taper off in a few issues, but this is top-notch. The story was pretty good too, this should have been Stan’s swan-song before handing the book over to Roy Thomas. Go out with a bang…as the next couple of issues are a bit clunky.

[McFarlane's Green Hulk]

Incredible Hulk #118

Cover Date: August 1969
Sale Date: May 13th, 1969
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colorist: Uncredited

“A Clash of Titans”

Storyline: Bruce Banner’s unconscious body floats among the ocean waves as a ship of the underwater nation of Atlantis rises and we see the figure of the Lady Dorma, beloved of Namor the Sub-Mariner, take him aboard and below. Believing that he could bring peace between the surface dwellers and Atlantis, Dorma hurries Banner to her chambers. Unfortunately, a jealous and scheming female known as Mistress Fara decides to use this to her advantage in hopes of winning Namor’s love. She enters Namor’s royal chamber and informs him that the Lady Dorma has smuggled a surface man into her room. An enraged Namor hurries off and confronts her. While they argue, we see Banner revive and stress out – which causes him to transform into the Hulk and break free. His appearance leads Namor to believe that Dorma was held hostage by the brute and the two battle underwater until a super-collision between them sends the Hulk skyward. Namor gives chase, but only finds Bruce Banner’s body in the Hulk’s body crater. Oh, and Mistress Fara ends up dead too…




Key Characters: None.

Historical Notes: We got Hulk talking underwater here, long, long before PAD explained this away. Chalk it up to Silver Age storytelling, though.

Personal Thoughts: Trimpe continues to excel with this style. Story felt a little weak, and the ending felt like a re-hash of Tales to Astonish #100.

[Bob Probert]

Here is some major Hulk Appreciation!!!!


Hulk vs Thor

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2011/09/hulk-vs-thor.html


Hulk vs Silver Surfer

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2012/0...er-surfer.html


Hulk vs Superman

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2013/0...-superman.html


Hulk vs Juggernaut

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2011/1...uggernaut.html


Hulk vs Hercules

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2012/0...-hercules.html


Hulk vs Sub-Mariner

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2012/0...b-mariner.html


Hulk vs Thing

http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2012/0...-vs-thing.html

[GreenScar1990]

HULK #11 PREVIEW


OMEGA HULK HAS OFFICIALLY BOUGHT A TICKET TO HELL...

• DOC GREEN sets his sights on LYRA…A.K.A. THE SAVAGE SHE-HULK FROM THUNDRA’S FUTURE!!!

• Science runs amok!

• Mistakes will be made!

• No happy ending here!

[GreenScar1990]

[GreenScar1990]

I've noticed, thanks to a friend who pointed this out to me, that Gerry Duggan writes Red Hulk as he was portrayed in Jeph Loeb's initial run. I'm not talking about dialogue, I'm talking about in the terms of power portrayal. Even without his absorption powers, Red Hulk during Loeb's run was a pretty formidable powerhouse.

Plus, as most of you've noticed, Doc Green lacks the rage, power, ferocity and battle tactics/attitude of the Green Scar (and various other) Hulk personas. He isn't well attuned to fighting, thus why he's seeking out Iron Fist for some lethal MMA training. But I also have a feeling that Doc G is gonna eventually snap and enter a dangerous, Maestro-like outburst of rage.

And considering how easily Maestro toyed with and pummeled the Merged/Professor Hulk persona, who has went against and stalemated and even defeated the likes of fully-powered Juggernaut & Thor, that's an intimidating & frightening level of power. If that happens when Hulk/Doc G & Rulk clash in the next round, I can pretty much see Doc G brutally battering, shattering, slaughtering, and killing General Ross/Red Hulk without much trouble. I'm hoping and praying that will be the outcome, as many of us would love nothing more than to see the brutal demise of the Red Hulk.

I want it to happen. And quite honestly, it needs to happen. If there's one Hulk that needs to stay gone permanently, it's General Ross/Red Hulk.

[GreenScar1990]

[Cmbmool]

Now I am curious to see how Doc Green tends to take on Lyra given her "origins."

[Ptrvc]

I guess that's the thing. The Green Scar already pretty much broke Rhulk.

Now we're getting this weird, Hulk's Kung Fu stronger than Rhulk's Kung Fu thing going on, but I just don't care. I can't see Rhulk as anything more than a pitstop between the real internal battle of Doc Green vs. Banner/Hulk.

Honestly I've never bought Rhulk as any sort of real badass. I know he's supposed to be and Loeb really tried to sell him as such, but I never bought it. He's nothing but Ross trying the emulate the real deal. Even when he's built up as some big threat, really, Rhulk is the embodiment of Ross pretty much giving up.

Compare some of the classic scenes with Ross facing off against Hulk with nothing but a lit cigar and massive cajones, with any Rhulk panel, and really think which one seems more badass.

[Hypestyle]

In the earliest years of the Hulk strips, just what was it that Betty Ross did for a living?

[Ptrvc]

In the earliest years of the Hulk strips, just what was it that Betty Ross did for a living?

Had a general for a father.

[Anarchist]

I'm really not happy about Red Hulk's portrayal.
I absolute hate the idea that he is Hulk's strongest oponent ever.

Parker did a great job of depowering and humiliating this annoying Villain Sue.
To see him pushed back into those levels is just wrong.

[GreenScar1990]

I'm really not happy about Red Hulk's portrayal.
I absolute hate the idea that he is Hulk's strongest oponent ever.

Parker did a great job of depowering and humiliating this annoying Villain Sue.
To see him pushed back into those levels is just wrong.

I agree. Hopefully it's just a set-up for Rulk to achieve those levels of power again only to have his rematch with Hulk/Doc G who breaks him in every way imaginable before killing him. It needs to happen, because it's time for the crimson rip-off to bite the dust. Then we can have our final psychological battle between Banner & Doc Green/Hulk for the finale.

Skaar, Lyra, and Jen can return as Hulks as they still have immense potential and are popular with the fans. Other than them and the true Hulk/Doc Green, I don't see the reason for keeping the others around. But I have to say that if any of the Hulks need to disappear permanently, it's got to be Red Hulk/General Ross.