The Immortal Hulk is Marvel’s Perfect Hulk

[[{“value”:”

Through Bruce Banner’s 62 years of comic appearances, no story has better captured the emotional dynamic of Banner and his gamma-powered alters than The Immortal Hulk, by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett. This astonishingly emotionally intelligent and visually captivating series follows Bruce at his absolute lowest as he is forced to confront his past traumas, and in the process, confidently asserts itself as Marvel’s greatest depiction of the Hulk yet.

Before The Immortal Hulk, the hero had recently lost everything. His best friend, Rick Jones, was violently executed by Hydra forces in Secret Empire #1 (by Nick Spencer, Steve McNiven, Lay Leisten, and Matthew Wilson). Despite not having transformed in months, Banner was executed by Hawkeye on suspicion of a potential future Hulk attack in Civil War II #3 (by Brian Bendis, David Marquez, and Oliver Coipel). Bruce had been stripped of every positive relationship, leaving nothing but him and his dissociative alters behind.

The Hulk is a Product of Childhood Abuse

Previous continuity inconsistently portrayed the Hulk’s origins, but The Immortal Hulk confirmed that two versions of the green-goliath had existed within Banner as childhood dissociative alters. Brian Banner heavily abused his son and later killed his wife in a fit of rage in front of the young Bruce Banner. Bruce loved the concept of his father but was terrified of the father he had. The series wasn’t willing to shy away from the horror in which dissociative disabilities occur. It’s not just about “Hulk Smash,” it’s an exaggeratedly honest depiction of the lifelong effects that follow traumatic childhood experiences.

The Immortal Hulk’s willingness to embrace the harsher side of Banner’s backstory and recontextualize it using the modern understanding of DID elevates the series beyond just another Hulk story. In issue #32, readers learn the most aggressive versions of the Hulk were Banner’s first alters. The Savage Hulk, the one that yells “Hulk Smash,” is Bruce’s childhood self that flees sources of trauma. The Devil Hulk is Bruce’s childlike understanding of a “father” who seeks to destroy sources of trauma. Who readers see as the titular green monster, are protectors meant to shield young Bruce Banner from more pain.

Why Marvel Canon Subjectivity Threatens Hulk’s Character Progression

Bruce Banner and the Hulk’s Relationship Was Invalidated by What Came After

By The Immortal Hulk‘s conclusion, Bruce Banner and his alters had received a total creative fine-tuning and a satisfying resolution to their decades-long internal conflict. After battling body-horror gamma monsters, pages of internalized self-reflection between Banner and his alters, and a well-developed deep dive into the greater cosmology of gamma radiation, the Hulk family had finally achieved a sense of peace. Underneath the visually abject horror of the series, The Immortal Hulk created a compelling yet believable conclusion that could have served as a beginning for the gamma scientist to begin his healing process in future series.

Unfortunately, that failed to be the case moving forward. Immediately following, a new series titled Hulk (by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley) threw every bit of character development away. Cates disregarded Banner’s previously established alters, reducing the characters to their original Jekyll and Hyde dynamic. This version was considered a “Mad Scientist” who hated his other self and was willing to use the Hulk for his experiments. Despite the failure to maintain the emotional depth of the Hulk moving forward, The Immortal Hulk.

“}]] Al Ewing presents Marvel’s strongest Hulk to date.  Read More