The Incredible Hulk #242
December 1979
Sic Semper Tyrannus!
Writer: Roger Stern
Art: Sal Buscema
Letters: Jim Novak
Colours: Glynis Wein
Ah, the old Hulk, as he was meant to be. Big, green, angry and a little slow on the uptake. Much as we all enjoyed Peter David's seminal run on the character, diving deep into his psychology, refining the persona and radically changing the essential nature of the character in a way that has impacted the Hulk ever since, I feel that the Hulk himself has lost some of his basic nature in the process.
I believe that many comics characters have, or revolve around, a sort of Platonic ideal version of themselves. And whatever superficial changes might be made to costumes, or temporary rotations of the supporting cast, the core of the character is always waiting to be revisisted. So Spider-Man is always, at heart, a teenager gifted with great power, and burdened with great responsibility, trying to balance the needs of his two identities, and desperate to keep them apart from one another. I think whenever we get too far from that pattern, the character starts to sag. When we think of Peter Parker as a super-genius, successful businessman, married or whatever other variations writers have come up with over the years, there can still be fascinating stories, but eventually there is almost always going to be a point of regression back to the original concept, and usually that feels fresh in itself.
The Hulk has been through more of this than most, but it is worth noting that the version presented here in 1979 would be perfectly familiar to readers from 1969. It does not feel tired or stagnant, there will always be bigger things to smash, after all.
And one of the fun things about Hulk in all his guises, is that there is always a very real possibility that this Hulk will reassert himself. All that has to happen is for Banner to lose his temper.
Don't get me wrong, the current run of the character in Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk is one of the best things Marvel has done in years, exploring the idea of a Hulk who cannot die, but who lives at night. And that concept itself has roots in the oldest Hulk stories of all, long before the Hulk we see here became that default mode.
I am also not a huge fan of the idea of multiple Hulks. The Hulk is the strongest being in the Marvel Universe. That's it. Go and play. Have fun with that idea. Once you introduce other characters who are stronger than the Hulk, you risk making the whole thing pointless. "Power creep" where superheroes gradually become more and more powerful as their creators strive to tell ever more exciting stories, is a well-explored phenomena, but stacking ever more powerful variants on top of one another seems to me to be utterly redundant. Once you have done the "Hulk has to come to terms with not being the strongest" story, where do you go from there? He's just one of dozens of very strong people. That's not the Hulk. The whole concept, for me, and I do stress this is personal taste, is that Hulk IS the strongest one there is. If you can't find a fun way to tell a story with that premise, pass it to someone who can.
And to clarify, regardless of the above, I definitely want Al Ewing to continue writing the character until he feels he has nothing left to say with him.
But that's not what you're here for, is it? (Maybe it is, leave me a comment and let me know, true believers! Are these ponderings to your taste, or should I cut to the chase?)
So on we go.
The Hulk is in the lost city of El Dorado, up in the Andes Mountains, where his old foe Tyrannus has just revealed his identity and scheme. As in this month's Thor, the plot leans into the mythology of Jack Kirby's then-recently cancelled Eternals series, with Tyrannus taking control of ancient Deviant technology and achieving god-like power.
Hulk attempts to smash the mountain which Tyrannus is standing upon, only for it to reveal itself as a mechanical tower of advanced technology.
The entire issue is a long set-piece battle, with the Hulk overcoming various obstacles and getting close enough to his ancient foe to smash the Deviant tech, which then transforms Tyrannus into a living flame of power.
There are some fantastically original moments, such as when Hulk manages to grab hold of a force field and tear it apart like bubble gum, or when Tyrannus manifests the flame of life's power as a gigantic arm, grabbing local resident Tulak, eldest of the High Acolytes and rendering him to dust.
Buscema gives us an angry, raging Hulk, tearing apart and smashing just about everything. It all whips along at a fair pace, with clear storytelling, strong imagery and some lovely design. Not bad, considering he also drew Amazing Spider-Man this month.
The Deviants did not mess about with their armaments, the tower not only has force fields, but also cannons which fire out a "Brain Mine", rendering the green giant unconscious.
I am not especially familiar with this specific era of Hulk, so I cannot say why this does not transform him back into Bruce Banner, but instead it falls to the wonderfully designed Goldbug to save the day.
In his rage, Hulk does eventually shatter the entire tower, but Tyrannus is now bound to the flame itself.
This seems to be the set-up to a mighty fighty finale next issue, I have not read ahead on this one. It is interesting that an entire book is spent on this conflict, with very little in the way of broader plot development. There is no room for supporting players, other than the already mentioned very small appearance from Goldbug and the demise of the High Acolyte.
And it is a credit to Stern and Buscema that this works. The story races along, Hulk having obstacle after obstacle thrown before him and ultimately using his great strength to overcome most of them. And of course this is just one chapter in an ongoing saga, with the climax seemingly due next month.
certainly suggests as much, anyway.
They don't really make comics like this any more. While I like a bit of depth as much as the next man, there is something to be said for a story that can be read without the dialogue, and the almost visceral pleasure of watching our favourite gamma-fuelled goliath smash stuff up.
December 1979
Sic Semper Tyrannus!
Writer: Roger Stern
Art: Sal Buscema
Letters: Jim Novak
Colours: Glynis Wein
Ah, the old Hulk, as he was meant to be. Big, green, angry and a little slow on the uptake. Much as we all enjoyed Peter David's seminal run on the character, diving deep into his psychology, refining the persona and radically changing the essential nature of the character in a way that has impacted the Hulk ever since, I feel that the Hulk himself has lost some of his basic nature in the process.
The Hulk has been through more of this than most, but it is worth noting that the version presented here in 1979 would be perfectly familiar to readers from 1969. It does not feel tired or stagnant, there will always be bigger things to smash, after all.
And one of the fun things about Hulk in all his guises, is that there is always a very real possibility that this Hulk will reassert himself. All that has to happen is for Banner to lose his temper.
Don't get me wrong, the current run of the character in Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk is one of the best things Marvel has done in years, exploring the idea of a Hulk who cannot die, but who lives at night. And that concept itself has roots in the oldest Hulk stories of all, long before the Hulk we see here became that default mode.
But that's not what you're here for, is it? (Maybe it is, leave me a comment and let me know, true believers! Are these ponderings to your taste, or should I cut to the chase?)
So on we go.
The Hulk is in the lost city of El Dorado, up in the Andes Mountains, where his old foe Tyrannus has just revealed his identity and scheme. As in this month's Thor, the plot leans into the mythology of Jack Kirby's then-recently cancelled Eternals series, with Tyrannus taking control of ancient Deviant technology and achieving god-like power.
The Deviants did not mess about with their armaments, the tower not only has force fields, but also cannons which fire out a "Brain Mine", rendering the green giant unconscious.
This seems to be the set-up to a mighty fighty finale next issue, I have not read ahead on this one. It is interesting that an entire book is spent on this conflict, with very little in the way of broader plot development. There is no room for supporting players, other than the already mentioned very small appearance from Goldbug and the demise of the High Acolyte.
They don't really make comics like this any more. While I like a bit of depth as much as the next man, there is something to be said for a story that can be read without the dialogue, and the almost visceral pleasure of watching our favourite gamma-fuelled goliath smash stuff up.
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