Hulk #1 smashes expectations with Bruce Banner as Marvel’s new bad guy

Of all the arenas in which Bruce Banner’s destructive alter ego has done battle, The Immortal Hulk might have been Marvel’s most ambitious yet: a psychological horror gauntlet of cosmic proportion, where pain and torment manifested into all sorts of hideous beasts and foul deeds. It was great, it was harrowing, it was epic — and as far as the Hulk legend is concerned, The Immortal HulkThis was truly a show stopper. It would have been a difficult act to emulate for any creative team.

We are now at Hulk, a raucous new series from Marvel that attempts to break new ground for the Hulk saga while flexing its Banner bonafides in a way we’ve never seen before. Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley have primed their new Hulk tale by transmogrifying Banner into his latest and possibly most goofball persona yet — a “smashtronaut.” Amidst all this showy spectacle are we given enough space to know and fear the very mortal Banner who has taken control of the beast within?

Hulk: What makes them? #1?

Fuel HulkDonny Ottley and Ryan Ottley are #1 for their full-tilt, wild, hilarious, earth-quaking livephitheatrics. Frank Martin is on the colors, while Cory Petit handles letters. Cates & Ottley rose to Marvel star status due to the fact that both chose projects that played to their strengths. Cates is known for creating arena rock songs like “The Rock of the Arena”, which are paradigm-shifting and eardrum-bursting. Thanos, Silver Surfer in Black, Venom, And the VenomEvents that are centered around women Absolute CarnageAnd King in Black. Ottley’s long, glorious, bloody tenure on Skybound’s violent teen-hero melodrama InvincibleIt led to a prime time gig relaunch The Amazing Spider-ManWith Nick Spencer

The Hulk #1:

This is the elevator pitch Hulk is posted in almost laughably small letters at the bottom of its front cover: “What if the Hulk exists… to protect us from Banner?”

To put a finer point on it, a Hulk-related event in El Paso has left a frightening death count in its wake and the Avengers have assembled to figure out what’s to be done about their old ferocious friend. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are currently functioning at DEFCON-4, discussing how Bruce Banner’s latest mental state might end up becoming the most unstoppable threat of any that they have faced before. (This is especially disturbing for Doctor Strange.

Banner attempts to penetrate a Stark underground facility, which houses highly-secret and insufficient cosmic-level tech. Iron Man and other A.I. controlled Hulkbusters are following him. Banner’s reasons? We’ll get to that.

It seems like a brightly-hued, expectations-demolishing debut like Hulk #1 requires a complete reset of everything that has gone before. If not in story, then at least in tone and character. ImmortalBruce Banner’s mind was a maze of macabre horrors and time-share. Hulk? The Hulk’s noggin has become the U.S.S. Enterprise with puny Banner sitting in the captain’s chair. Banner’s ready for a new apotheosis as he charts a savage new frontier — and You are here:Is he pissed?

The Hulk #1 is happening right now

The easy answer is “because the Marvel Universe abhors a vacuum.” Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s The Immortal Hulk run ended with issue #50 just six weeks ago, but it just wouldn’t do to NotPublishing a Hulk-themed book is not the best idea. Immortal HulkCritically and otherly, had an impact on Marvel Universe.

Is there a Hulk reading?

You should read, but not necessarily. The Immortal Hulk, not to mention Peter David’s character redefining 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk — as both are going to have an influence on any subsequent Hulk run, either incidentally or deliberately — you can jump right into Hulk 1. Apropos absolutely nothing. It’s a good idea! Because…

Hulk #1: Good?

Yeah. Yes.

Beyond the frenzy Hulk #1, there’s a larger psychological drama at play here. Bruce Banner’s journey as the Incredible Hulk, as Professor Hulk, as Joe Fix-It, as the World-Breaker, as the Maestro, as the Devil Hulk — it’s been an awesome ride. What happens after it all? How does one deal with the fact that the Hulk is immortal? What happens when Banner realises there is a time when Banner will become the Hulk? Cates & Ottley’s HulkIt’s all there.

There’s a lot of psychobabble in the early pages of the issue, but it’s necessary to establish this new shift in power dynamics between Bruce Banner’s mental self and his historically more formidable physical self. Here, Banner has been broken up into “three distinct parts.” There’s his hulking physical form, imbued with A.I.M. technology; his “mind palace,” which is said to be both vast and impenetrable; then there’s “the engine room,” where Banner has trapped the Hulk’s psyche in a mental realm where he can royally infuriate Ol’ Jade-Jaws whenever he needs additional smashing power. To put it simply, Bruce Banner has been controlling the Hulk for selfish purposes. Everything is likely to fall apart, but not soon.

(There’s a recurring bit in this issue where Hulk hurls punches at an unbreakable mental door which we’re meant to see as the only barrier between Banner and the furious monster that he’s playing with. It evokes the inevitability of DC’s “The Death of Superman” saga, which began with the hulking personification of Superman’s demise battering away at the story constraints that held it in place until they finally couldn’t anymore.)

It’s easy to lose your mind over the many double-page spreads offered up by Ottley, Martin, and Petit. Banner is Iron Man’s Hulkbuster, but Banner has added A.I.M. His impervious green hide has been given the technology. Ottley’s absolute units fill the pages with Herculean zeal; their punches land, the earth shatters, and thanks to this expertly-rendered mayhem you often feel the impact in your chest. It’s almost to the point that sound effects seem nearly unnecessary. Action is Hulk #1 is almost presented like a mere preview of what’s to come, and that alone offers its own ludicrously tantalizing thrills. The real power of #1 is the muscle. Hulk #1 takes place inside the jade giant’s massive dome.

Banner stands there alone. He’s haunted by ghosts and he’s afraid of death. What Hulk is going to smash next is anybody’s guess, but it’s certain to be standing in the way of Banner’s new lust for life.

One panel that stood out

It’s not exactly subtle, but this moment made it abundantly clear that Banner is using the Hulk’s body to achieve his goals, damn the consequences. The problem is that those consequences currently impede the mad doctor from his eventual comeuppance.