Incredible Hulk

Anything you want to say to this comic, especially the theories I put up?

I would have written Red Hulk as a dumb, childish berserker who loudly proclaims him superiority to anyone who will listen. Then contrast him to green Hulk, who ultimately wants to be left alone "Puny green Hulk, red Hulk smash!" Their final fight would boil down to who had more anger, and the Hulk would win, disproving red's Chromatic Superiority forever, but only after going underwater and turning into blue Hulk, leaving a chance for Red Hulk to return, because Blue won, not Green.

edited 22nd Apr '11 7:23:11 AM by Cider

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I don't care about the Red Hulks, A-Bomb, or anything related to Skarr, so I can't comment on most of that. The WMG that does interest me is:

If they're that Genre Savvy, I'd like to see someone actually act like it. Instead of people fleeing like he's Godzilla, instead of wasting all that money on Hulkbusters and tanks and all the property he destroys, all they really have to do to is call his bluff. Put day care centers in those abandoned buildings, swarm him with peaceful protesters, catapult nuns at him instead of shooting missiles. Put a hemophiliac between him and anybody who would survive being punched through a wall by him.

Of course, I'd prefer it if they'd just make him stop bluffing and either start killing or stop having tantrums. Jekyll and Hyde is no fun when Hyde is just as trustworthy as Jekyll. I wish they'd go back to Hulk's body having Banner's mind.

The Horseman of War/World War Hulk/Planet Hulk persona? I like him, the "Professor Hulk" persona? I hate him.

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The Professor Hulk persona? I like him. The "Horseman of War/World War Hulk/Planet Hulk" persona? I hate him.

Grey Hulk is still the best though.

Am I a good man or a bad man?

I actually find Bruce Banner more interesting than the Hulk. I wish they kept the Hulk out of it for longer than they did - Banner was more interesting when he didn't transform.

You need a decent amount of both. Mostly-Hulk stories tend to get braindead repetitive and Mostly-Banner stories tend to be filled with boring melodrama and psuedo-scientific mumbo-jumbo.

What do you think about this theory: Betty's partnership with Tyrannus is her Xanatos Gambit.

@Cider

This is about the Incredible Book, not the other Hulk book( Though Jeff Parker has been excellent with Red Hulk).

Also, Red Hulk wouldn't make sense being dumb, he's Ross after all. And his final battle with Hulk was against Green Scar.

My favorite arc was the Dark Son ark and i loved the interaction between Hulk/Banner and Skaar. Hell, Betty as Red She-Hulk has been awesome, especially in Pak's book).

Pak and Paker even made A-Bomb cool, it's not the first time he has gotten powers anyway.

I'm also loving Pak's last arc on the book. It's a nice Grand Finale for his run.

"They truly were a Aqua Teen Hunger Force"

I wish that what Betty aka Red She-Hulk just did joining with Tyrannus would turn out to be a bad idea.

Say, does anyone know where the phrase "Hulk Smash!!!" first showed up? I've heard it wasn't something that was originally with the character, but became a catchphrase (of sorts) later.

Was it a fandom thing? Maybe the old television show? Where... WHERE? I have to know!

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

It probably started when the Hulk turned green, started getting really dump and spoke as a Third-Person Person. Originally Hulk was gray and spoke like...Joe Fixit. Then he was green but spoke with you's and I's and was generally intelligent...I'm not sure when he got really dumb but that sounds like the place to start looking.

edit: I just thought since Marvel saw fit to revert back to the Savage Hulk it would be fun and funny to see him fight someone just as dumb and angry as himself. The closest to anything like that I can remember was Ajax but he isn't a mortal enemy.

edited 30th Jan '12 9:00:44 PM by Cider

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If Marvel ever goes down the DC route and decide to reboot their entire universe (knock on wood) the only way, in my mind at least, to reconcile all the various Hulk personalities would be to combine them into one personality that was allowed to develop on its own. I mean it's kind of a win/win situation isn't it? Banner still looks reasonably sane and troubled, while the Hulk is actually allowed to grow as a real character rather than just being there to react or be reacted upon.

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.

Not really. The personalities are fine as they are. Savage never really had much potential for growth and he doesn't really need it either. Professor, who originally was an amalgam of all the existing personalities, could have charachtr growth if he were ever used. Doubly so for the Gray Hulk, who when he was used had quite a bit of good character devolpment. Never managed to finish Planet Hulk so I don't know about that version.

Am I a good man or a bad man?

Planet Hulk is basically the progression of Savage Hulk getting a chance to be dominant and develop into Green Scar Hulk.

I never quite liked Hulk being an actual split personality in the first place, but meh.

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

Depends on what you mean by "split". I like the idea of the Hulk being part of Banner's Disassociative Identity Disorder, but I dislike the insinuation that they aren't the same person regardless (which some writers try to suggest).

The Hulk isn't a split personality because Banner is very aware of him. Hulk's a part of Banner he can't control. They did have multiple other personalities but they're familiar with them now. Once they get to know each other they become different aspects of the same personality. Banner may not like those aspects but he can't do anything about it.

Or in short, he's an unpredictable crazy and has super powers. Best not make him angry.

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^ Yeah, see, some writers write him like that, while others write Hulk as being a completely alien personality to Banner's.

Personally, I like it better when Hulk is but an emphasized aspect of Bruce's personality - an actual loss of control personified.

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

I just finished World War Hulk.

Is Bruce Banner dead, and did his rage start a life of its own From a Single Cell?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

No one dies in comics, silly.

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!

Sure they do. YOLMT.

I found the Green Scar persona to be strangely... compelling. Lots of charisma, and some very nice wisecracking.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

The Green Scar was definitely my favorite incarnation of the Hulk. I enjoyed the title up until the recent numbering reset, but the recent Hulk v. Banner storyline has left me pretty thoroughly convinced that the Green Hulk needs to disappear for a bit.

The Hulk is a character that works best when he can be portrayed in large, impactful, world-shattering ways. Characters like him become less impactful the more we see of them, and the Hulk deserves to make a huge impact every time he comes onscreen.

Right now, we've had a LOT of Hulk exposure recently, between Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, War of the Hulks, the Red Hulk, etc. Banner is about as exposed as Tony Stark, Spider-Man, or Wolverine now, and his appearances less exciting for it. He's becoming an expectation; something big is happening, that means Hulk will be there. Instead of cheering ecstatically or grimacing in horror when he arrives on the scene, we just sort of expect it now.

He's done a LOT recently, and the current writer doesn't really seem to have much of an idea of where he should go now, and that's because most of his story angles have already been played out in recent memory. The best thing for him to do right now is fade into the background and wait for people to stop taking "The Hulk will arrive" as a given. Give it a few years, let people start really wondering what happened to the Hulk, and then make an explosive, game-changing comeback in the big Crossover Event of 2015 or 2016 (because we all know those aren't going anywhere any time soon).

My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.

I've been really enjoying Jason Aaron's Incredible Hulk run. It's been a lot of fun, and has had some really cool characterization of the Hulk and Banner.

X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.

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