Hulk Deals with Death

 

cover art by Dave Cockrum (with alternations by John Romita)

We conclude our periodic look at the Hulk with issue #207 (January 1977), in which Hulk has to come to terms with Jarella's death. The script is by Len Wein and the art by Sal Buscema and Joe Staton.

Last issue ended with Hulk arriving in New York City, desperately hoping that Dr. Strange can help somehow bring Jarella back. But a jumpy rookie cop sent Hulk on a rampage, with Dr. Strange and the Defenders showing up on the last panel to confront the green guy.

What follows is a nicely constructed action scene that also clearly shows everyone's motivations. The Defenders are honestly trying to calm down Hulk, but Strange's actions to prevent bystanders from getting hurt lead Hulk to think they've turned against him.

Hulk escapes for a few moments, during which he has a heart-breaking encounter with a woman he mistakes as Jarella. The Defenders catch up and more fighting ensues, until Nighthawk is finally able to talk the Hulk down.

This entire sequence shows how well Wein understood the characters and understood how to properly construct a story. The battle is not simply a mindless "let's you and me fight" scenario, but it's caused by misunderstandings natural to the situation and the characters. 

Back at Strange's home, Hulk explains what's going on. Dr. Strange knows there's certainly no chance of his being able to help, but he takes an ectoplasmic trip to Gamma Base to examine Jarella's body. He confirms that Jarella is indeed dead and beyond help.

The last few pages of this issue bring us even more heartbreak, with both story and art hitting exactly the right emotional beats to force us to experience Hulk's grief and unequivically empathize with him. Hulk screams, cries and breaks a few things before calming down enough to leave, saying that it doesn't matter what happens to him any more. It is a moment that--in the over 60 years the character has existed--perhaps best highlights the inherent tragedy of the character. 

And that's it for the Hulk. Next week, we'll lighten things up with a visit from Sir Spot, the Lion-Hearted Leopard.

Supervillains and Dirty Diapers.

Baby Magneto looks just plain cute sitting on the floor of the U.N. Building in his oversize helmet.

Baby Magneto? Yes, and chubby little baby Blob and baby Unus the Untouchable and baby Mastermind and pretty little baby Lorelie.

How, you might ask, did the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants end up quite literally living out a second childhood? It all begins in Defenders #15 (September 1974), when Doctor Strange receives a psychic message from Professor X. Magneto is planning something horrific and the X-Men are off on a mission. Can the Defenders help?

They can, so Dr. Strange, Nighthawk, Valkerie and Hulk, with Professor X in tow, head off to a remote area of the Southwest, where they confront Magneto and the Brotherhood in the process of using advanced alien technology to create the ultimate mutant.

A battle ensues, but the good guys are not able to stop the experiment. Defenders #16 shows us the
creation of Alpha, a 20-foot-tall mutant of obviously limited intelligence. He is indeed the ultimate mutant, with powers that evolve to do whatever he needs to do. For instance, after enduring one mystic blast from Dr. Strange, he is able to erect a force field to protect him from further attacks. He becomes stronger and tougher than the Hulk after getting punched once.

But, unfortunately for Magneto, Alpha is evolving in intelligence and moral fortitude as well as in raw power. Magneto uses Alpha to teleport to New York and kidnap the entire United Nations, levitating the U.N.

Building into the air. But Alpha begins to question the morality of these actions.

It all ends with Alpha basically switching sides, zapping the evil mutants back to infancy before zipping off into space to explore the universe.

The concept of the all-powerful being dealing with moral questions is a fairly common science fiction concept, but it's always a good one if done well. (Though these stories often imply that increased intelligence naturally brings increased morality--something that history and human nature have sadly disproved time and again.) Writer Len Wein constructs a good plot and keeps his entire cast in character. The art by Sal Buscema is good and the action flows along nicely.

It's also always nice to see a story that crosses over characters from other books without requiring you to buy those books just to get the entire story. Professor X's presence in the story and his motive for asking the Defenders for help are perfectly reasonably--it's another example of using a cohesive fictional universe to tell an entertaining story.

And the ending is really pretty cool. At the beginning of the review, I was making a little fun of it, but in the context of the story it works really well. Alpha doesn't just destroy the mutants he has come to realize are evil--instead, he gives them a second chance at life. A chance at redemption. It's a great ending.

But I can't help it. Baby Magneto is just so cute. I have to wonder, though. How do you change diapers on Unus the Untouchable?