The Immortal Hulk #37 // Review
The Immortal Hulk #37, written by Al Ewing, with pencils by Joe Bennett, inks by Ruy Jose and Belardino Brabo, and colors by Paul Mounts, pulls back the curtains on the Leader’s plans. Showing you a new level of danger and creepiness to the character you would never have guessed was possible. Previously, Banner and his Hulk personas went through a traumatic, brain-scrambling experience when they fought Xemnu, the mind-altering alien. In the end, the Devil Hulk, who had previously been the dominant personality of Banner’s alters, was locked away in his mind, leaving the Savage Hulk as the primary. Enjoying a period of good press, where old Jade Jaws was being hailed as a hero, the Savage Hulk was easily lured into a false sense of security. Unknown, the Leader had infiltrated his close circle, somehow able to control Rick Jones’ gamma-irradiated body from beyond the Green Door, in a plane of existence where all gamma creatures go, and come back from, when they die. Using Jones’ body, he manipulated a crowded event that was meant to praise the Hulk and caused him to explode with gamma energy. In the confusion, Hulk reacted poorly, and his anger was exacerbated by the arrival of Beta Flight, who were gung ho to finally take him down. Now, the reporter Jackie McGee must try to de-escalate the situation while the Leader secretly works to make it worse.
Not since the days of Peter David writing the Hulk has the Leader been presented as such a serious threat. Some have tried, but Ewing’s attempt succeeds like no other, in that he is downright scary, and you don’t know if there is a limit to his power over gamma-irradiated creatures. Not only has Ewing brought him back with a vengeance, but he has given him an edge that reinvents the character altogether. If you’ve ever wondered why anyone would take a guy with a big, green head seriously, or what kind of threat he could possibly pose to the Hulk, this is the book you’ve been missing.
Ewing has a unique understanding of Banner and his myriad of personalities, in that he always writes him as a tragedy. That tragedy being: Banner and the Hulk would be fine if people left them alone, but there’s always someone ready to step up and push them around, whether it’s his dad, Thunderbolt Ross, or even Ben Grimm. These last couple of issues are the perfect example of that. If not for the Leader, Hulk would be seen as nothing but a hero. And not even one of his more stable personalities--it’s mister “Hulk Smash,” Savage Hulk, himself. The classic, screaming manchild was being lauded as someone who saved possibly the world, and then he got screwed over. This is, and always will be, Hulk’s story in a nutshell and Ewing understands that perfectly.
This now-classic art team of Bennett, Jose, Brabo, and Mounts can do no wrong. There is nothing you will ever be able to say bad about their work on this book, because it is flawless. Everything comes together in a unique take on the Hulk and his world that is monstrous, creepy, bone-chilling, and a slew of other words that couldn’t possibly do these artists justice. They will be talked about as one of the best art crews on not just a Hulk book, but all of Marvel, for the rest of the history of the company.
This book is one of the best on the shelf today. Best of Marvel, DC, Image, and any other comic book company you could think of. And this issue stands out as one of the best of its entire run. Do yourself a favor and catch up immediately if you haven’t been reading this book.
