What is Small Will Be Big Again!

 

cover art by John Romita

writer: Len Wein

Interior Art: Sal Buscema & Joe Staton

At the end of Hulk #202, The Emerald Giant had been shrunk down to microscopic size and, while visiting the micro-world ruled by Hulk's old flame Jarella, was zapped unconcious by the insectoid villain Psykolp. The is just after Hulk destroyed a giant robot that had been disguised as a giant troll-like human who had supposedly been causing earthquakes. 

Got all that?

As Hulk #203 (Sept. 1976) begins, Psyklop makes a rookie villain mistake. He tells Hulk the bonds that hold him are unbreakable. Naturally, Hulk gets mad and breaks them. Psklop, though, manages to hypnotise the big guy.

Psyklop uses Hulk to move equipment about while gloating to Jarella, explaining that the earthquakes shaking the planet had been caused by Hulk inadvertantly kicking the planet out of orbit last time he was here and was being enlarged for a return to Earth. Psyklop, though, has built a devise to make sure the earthquakes continue, with plans to eventually offer the life forces of those killed to the Dark Gods he worships.

By the way, I've written many, many geeky things in this blog, but several of the above sentences might just be the geekiest things I've ever written. Everything about this issue makes no real life sense, but flows smoothly along according to the logic of Comic Book Science. It's all wonderful.

And it continues to be wonderful. Jarella's people have been magically eavesdropping on Psyklop's monologing. Realizing they were wrong in their attempt last issue to sacrifice their queen to the "mountain god," they now storm the villain's lair. The villain, though, causes Hulk to see the people as an army of Psyklopes. The green guy attacks them.

Jarella's chief magicians counter this by causing Hulk to see the people as an army of Jarellas. This breaks Psyklop's control over Hulk, who once again attacks the villain. The container in which Psyklop has been keeping the life forces of his victims cracks, the Dark Gods get mad at him and zap him away to be punished.

It briefly appears that Hulk actually gets a happy ending. He and Jarella plan to get married and the people now love them. But, well, the Hulk doesn't get happy endings, does he? 

Back on Earth, Doc Samson has removed the atom containing Hulk from Glenn Talbot's brain. This is placed in a "micro-cannon" and Hulk is enlarged. Because he's hugging Jarella, she's enlarged as well. Jarella tells him she has to go back and that they are not meant to be as a couple. But then it's discovered she can't go back, because the slide containing the atom that contains her world has been smashed. 

It's not made clear at this point if Jarella's world is actually destroyed. It later turns out not to have been. How it survived is a question similar to "how did it end up inside Talbot's head."  The physics of subatomic worlds are simply beyond our ken. 

These last two issues really have been wonderful, building one absurd concept atop another without irony or parody and making it all work. 

Next week, though, we'll return to the more realistic world of Capt. Willy Schulz.