INCREDIBLE HULK #1: He’s Not Evil, He’s Just Drawn That Way

Script: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby
Inks: Paul Reinman
Letters: Art Simek

I’ve got to tell you right up front that Hulk has never been one of my favorite characters. To start off with…he ain’t pretty. And he’s motivated by anger, not an attractive personality trait. I think mostly I just don’t understand him. But maybe reviewing his books will help me to understand and appreciate Hulk more than I have in the past.

In this first issue of The Incredible Hulk, we see on the cover that he is “the strangest man of all time!!” but then are also offered the question: “Is he man or monster, or…is he both???” There’s one more proclamation on the cover, which I’d like to mention. Stan assures us that this is “Fantasy as you like it!” That statement speaks volumes. It’s my understanding that during the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, the readers actually had a lot of input. In fact, by the end of this first issue of The Hulk, Stan signs off with a note that starting in the next issue, they will have a “Letters to the Editor” page, where readers are encouraged to write in their “Knocks” or “Boosts.” It must have been very encouraging to young readers to know that their opinions were valued, and to imagine they could actually help shape future stories. I’m sure it made them feel they were more involved in the process than simply being some dumb kid who just happened to have twelve cents.

As we begin, once again, we have this anomaly of a main character being portrayed differently on the cover than in the book. We see who we must assume is Dr. Bruce Banner, but he’s got blonde hair. In the book, he has dark hair. Why? Is it the same artist, Jack Kirby? If so, did he not remember the work he had previously done? Is this anomaly by mistake, or perhaps by design? Did someone think the books would sell better if Banner was portrayed as a blonde? After all, back in the ‘60’s, blondes had more fun. Though I would hardly describe what happens to Bruce Banner as “fun”!

On the first page, we meet Banner, a genius scientist who has created the incredible G-Bomb. G stands for “gamma,” and Banner seems to be keenly aware of the danger posed by this force, as he is taking every precaution. His experiments are apparently funded by the military, because General Ross comes in to check his progress and gets mighty testy about Banner’s “infernal delays.” But Banner assures the General that the precautions are necessary because “we are tampering with powerful forces!”

I like his use of the word “tampering.” It almost sounds as if he KNOWS he shouldn’t be messing around with this stuff. But at least he’s being careful.

But General Ross doesn’t want to know about “careful.” His response is: BAH!! Literally, he says…”BAH!!” I love that about Marvel. Characters are always saying “BAH!!” when they are upset or impatient. It’s a good word, don’t you think? Of course, there are those connotations to the Scrooge character from “A Christmas Carol,” and I’m sure Stan was fully aware of that when he started using the word “BAH!!” It’s powerful.

BETTY!
Now, we are not even off the first page yet, and here comes a pretty girl! It’s Betty Ross (really, that’s her name, and don’t confuse her with the one who sewed the American flag). She’s the General’s daughter, and if you ask me, she’s being a bit flirty with Dr. Bruce. At least she’s trying to be, assuring her father that “Dr. Bruce Banner is one of our most famous scientists,” and “I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.” So what’s going on here? Why the big vote of confidence? I’m guessing she likes him. Or maybe she’s just a rocket-scientist groupie, and she likes that he’s so famous. (If so, I’d suggest we keep her away from Reed Richards, or she and Sue are bound to get in a cat fight!)

Now one more thing and I’ll be able to move off the first page. When Betty tries to put in her two cents, her father tells her, “You keep out of this, Betty! This is MAN TALK.” Okay. It’s the 1960’s. The early 1960’s. Women’s Lib hasn’t been invented yet. Betty’s wearing a pillbox hat, so in a lot of ways, I think it’s still the 1950’s. This whole business about “man talk” shows you not only a bit of General Ross’s tough no-nonsense military personality, but it’s also a comment on the social mores of the era. I mean…what is Betty even doing there, in a military scientific laboratory? I guess this is a case where women are supposed to be “seen and not heard.”

IGOR
On page two, we learn more about Banner’s assistant Igor. Apparently Banner is the only one who knows “the secret of harnessing the gamma rays,” and Igor is concerned that if Banner’s made a mistake, it could be disastrous. Well, that’s a reasonable concern, isn’t it? But Banner says he doesn’t make mistakes. Be that as it may, I still have a hard time believing that a military scientific experiment has gotten to this point with only ONE person knowing exactly what’s going on. That’s just plain dangerous. And highly unlikely.

I also have a hard time believing that in the 1960’s the military would have allowed anyone named “Igor” to participate in a top secret experiment.

In fact, Igor gets so agitated about being left out of the secret that I have to believe he’s got some sinister motivation of his own for wanting to know those secrets, beyond just wanting to be careful. In fact, he gets so agitated that he grabs Banner by the collar, saying (a la The Three Stooges) “I oughtta–” But Banner shakes him off, saying “You know how I detest men who think with their fists!”

Look up “irony” in the dictionary, and you’ll find this picture right next to it. And by the way, look up symbolism in the dictionary, and you may find this picture, as well, because Igor is shadowed in what color? Red!

So we’re almost ready to go with the gamma ray experiment, but here’s another thing that’s hard to believe: some teenage kid comes driving his car into the test area! What??? Are there no security personnel? Apparently not, or they’re asleep, or they’re stupid, or they’re only getting paid minimum wage and can’t be bothered to do their job right, because Banner decides HE’S got to rush out to save the boy. There’s nobody else to do it, I guess.

He leaves Igor in charge of delaying the countdown until he gets back, and we immediately learn that our suspicions about a lab assistant named Igor are well-founded. Igor decides to ignore Banner’s instructions, in hopes of destroying him! Earlier, Banner told Igor earlier that the formulas are locked in his room, so Igor doesn’t really need him anymore. If Banner dies, I guess all Igor needs to do is go ransack Banner’s place and find the formulas for himself.

Okay. Now we can move on to page four. We’ve only gone three pages so far, can you believe how much is happening already? One thing you gotta hand to comics…they move the story right along. Plot heavy, always something happening. Drama. Excitement. That’s what we’re here for, right??

On page four, Banner runs up to the young man who is casually playing a harmonica in his car (though I think the proper word here would be “jalopy”) and starts to drag him away. He manages to throw the kid into a ditch just before the bomb goes off, but he is not so lucky…

I haven’t really talked too much about art yet (except to note when details on the cover differ from details in the story) but in the above panels, note the expert use of color to show the explosion going from bad to worse….yellow, orange, then red. The intensity of the color increases even as Banner’s predicament goes from bad to worse to horrible. I think that in all these comics, there are probably plenty of times when the use of color subliminally enhances the storyline. Now, because it’s subliminal, we may not always pick it up at first, unless we are a trained artist. Which I’m not. But as I go on reviewing these comics, if I happen to notice any particularly clever use of color, I’ll try to point it out.

But this is no time to stop and discuss art, is it? We’re in the middle of a gamma bomb explosion!! Let’s get right back to our story…

The kid brings Dr. Banner back to the base, where the doctor says it’s amazing he’s still alive. How did he get there? The kid brought him. And now we meet Rick Jones, who Russ assures me will be around for quite a while. In fact, I think he starts off in The Hulk, and later crosses over to Captain America stories. But for now, all we know about him is that he’s an orphan, and no one ever did anything nice for him before. So it seems he’s had a tough life.

They are keeping both Banner and Jones for observation after the accident, and in no time at all, Hulk makes his first appearance. He breaks down the wall, attacks some men in a jeep, takes off into the night. But Rick Jones has seen Banner change into The Hulk, and remembers that this is the only person who ever did anything nice for him, so he runs after Hulk, saying “You need me now—Wait!! I’m goin’ with you!”

Touching.

Or stupid. You decide.

As Part 2 of our story begins, Stan tells us that Hulk is like “a silent dreadnaught.” Now, I have to tell you, I had to go to my online dictionary to find out just exactly what a dreadnaught is. (For the record: A fearless person. A garment made of very thick cloth that can defend against storm and cold. I think Hulk must be the first.) I often find that reading Marvel comics can be a vocabulary enhancing experience. In these early days, the main audience was little boys, but Stan did not talk down to them, he did not look for one syllable alternatives. And I admire that. I imagine that some parents at that time may not have really been on board with their kids reading about monsters and villains, but as far as vocabulary goes, I think a case could really be made for the comics being just as good reading material as many of the books kids were encouraged to read. (And of course, the comics were probably a lot more interesting.)

A random soldier says “We’ve got to find that HULK,” and thus the name is given. The Hulk wanders around, knowing on some level that he is Bruce Banner and has to get back to his house in order to find the formula that will change him back. Rick Jones is following him.

They arrive at Banner’s cabin, and of course Igor is already there, searching for the formula, and he shoots Hulk with a .38, but to no avail, and Hulk wallops him. The “Top Secret Report on Gamma Ray Bomb” is found taped to the bottom of a beaker and Rick Jones says this is what we need. But when Hulk sees a framed photograph of Banner (how weird is it that Banner keeps a framed photograph of himself in his cabin?) he recoils, saying “But it is weak—soft!! I hate it!” Hulk has decided he would rather be Hulk than wimpy little Bruce Banner.

In this early story, Hulk changes back to Banner when the sun rises. The military police come in, and of course, they can’t find Hulk. But they do find Igor, knocked out, and at last it is confirmed that he is “the spy we’ve been searching for.”

Okay, stop. When did they figure out that he was a spy? Before or after he allowed the gamma bomb to go off? Before or after he ransacked Banner’s cottage, looking for the secret formulas? Not a lot of time has passed since we first met Igor. If they had known from the beginning he was a spy, what was he doing as an assistant to the experiment? And if they only found out he was a spy after the accident…how did they find out? Or maybe it was the accident itself that clued them in? Was that all it took? That and…oh yeah, his name is IGOR. (My apologies to any readers named Igor. Again, I mention, it’s the Cold War of the 1960’s…)

The top police guy is trying to find out what happened, and one solider describes The Hulk as a gorilla, another sees him as a bear, “probably escaped from the circus.” The police guy takes the secret formula.

TRIANGLE
I forgot to mention, Betty shows up with all the soldiers and police, wearing her pink dress and while gloves and patent leather pumps. She attempts to comfort Bruce by telling him he needs medical attention. He says no, he just needs to rest. But by the time he sees her to the door, they’re calling each other Betty and Bruce instead of Miss Ross and Dr. Banner. (Rick Jones in the corner lets out another one of those “Bah!”s)

I haven’t read a lot of Hulk stories yet, but in the little bit I’ve seen here with Bruce and Betty and Rick Jones, I’m seeing a sort of “triangle” forming. Romantic on two sides, but I suspect that Rick Jones has at this point so attached himself to Dr. Banner that he doesn’t want anyone else interfering with their relationship. Maybe he sees him as the dad he never had, or a fun older brother. (Because, you know, it’s fun to have an older brother that periodically morphs into a Hulk. At least no bullies at school will be picking on Rick Jones, right?)

Yes, it’s certain that Rick Jones thinks hanging out with Banner is going to be tons of fun. As soon as everyone leaves, he says “Boy! I thought they’d never leave!” and gets right to the questions, the first one being “What did it feel like, Doc, bein’ the Hulk? I’ll bet it was A GAS!” Because if you’re a teenager in the 1960’s, it’s groovy when things are a gas.

But Banner doesn’t think it’s a gas, or groovy, to be The Hulk. He describes Hulk as “that creature that despises reason and worships power.” And he dreads becoming the Hulk once again, as the sun sets.

COMMIES
We leave our hero (if you can call him a hero) to visit with Igor, in jail, who is using a transistor on his thumbnail to send a secret message behind the Iron Curtain. (See! I told you you can’t trust a scientist named “Igor”!) It seems the leader of the Commies is a horribly disfigured creature with a misshapen head that refers to himself in the third person as “The Gargoyle.” It’s a fitting description. And at last we have a true “villain” in this story! Because all this time, I have not really been able to believe that Hulk is the villain. Yes, it’s true, he’s not your typical hero, but despite his propensity for violence, he is not exactly a villain either. But The Gargoyle, in addition to the above mentioned traits of being ugly and referring to himself in the third person (a common practice among super villains) is also angry, conceited, drunk with power and seeking world domination.

But more on The Gargoyle later. For right now, what you need to know is that he decides he must either kill The Hulk, or imprison him. So he uses a submarine to launch himself on a missile in search of The Hulk, and finds him in a deserted area just outside General Ross’ house, where Banner has just morphed into Hulk while driving a jeep, causing a crash which mildly injures the ever-present Rick Jones. (I just used the words submarine, missile, jeep, crash and injure all in one sentence.)

Inside the Ross house, Betty is mooning about Bruce, then goes outside for some fresh air. Where she immediately runs into…The Hulk! And immediately swoons, falling into Hulk’s arms. But The Gargoyle is quickly on the scene, and shoots both The Hulk and Rick Jones with a pellet that saps them of their will, so that they follow him.

General Ross finds his daughter unconscious, and when she tells him she saw The Hulk, he vows to find the monster and destroy him. But The Gargoyle is rushing his prisoners to the shore, where he puts them on a rowboat, which takes them to a freighter, where they take off in a rocket into outer space. (Whew!) By this time it’s close to dawn, and when they land, The Hulk has morphed back into Bruce Banner.

When The Gargoyle realizes that Banner and The Hulk are one and the same, he breaks down crying, lamenting that he wishes he himself did not have to be “a freak” and wailing that he would do anything to be normal again. Banner says he’s seen cases like The Gargoyle’s, and that he can cure him with radiation. He would lose all his scientific brilliance, but he would look like a normal man.

Well, that sounds like a good trade-off to The Gargoyle, so Banner performs the experiment and restores him to the appearance of a normal man. He’s still just as angry as he was before, but now all his anger is directed towards Khrushchev:

The former Gargoyle arranges for Banner and Rick Jones to escape in his rocket, then blows up himself as well as a bunch of his Commie buddies. (Better to be dead than Red.)

Rick Jones exclaims, “You did it, Doc! You made him normal again—and turned him against the Reds!” Well, you can’t do a better day’s work than that, can you? Though I think perhaps Banner is a bit too optimistic when in the final panel he says “It’s the end of The Gargoyle! And perhaps…the beginning of the end of the Red tyranny too!”

I don’t think it’s really going to be quite that easy to erase the threat of Communism from 1960’s America. But this makes me wonder…do you think the Communists had their own comic books, where their own superheroes were hard at work knocking out the American Threat? If they didn’t, they should have, because this is a fine propaganda tool for young minds.

VILLAIN VALUATION
This is the first story I’ve read where the villain is a Commie. I guess I’ll probably see a lot more of that as we go along. But how does The Gargoyle rate as a villain? Well, once he breaks down crying about being “a freak,” it’s sort of all over for me. I’ll still put him above the Skrulls, because I simply can’t take the Skrulls seriously, but I think even Mole Man is a better villain than The Gargoyle. They are both ugly, and that seems to be the motivating factor for their villainy, but Mole Man has learned to embrace his ugliness and uses his anger to fuel his evil plans for world domination. The Gargoyle doesn’t embrace his lot in life, doesn’t know how to make the ugly mojo work for him. He would give up everything he believes in, simply to look “normal” once again. And then he kills himself. So Banner and Jones can escape! That’s not an act of villainy! That’s heroic. Maybe I should put him above the Skrulls? Well…nah. While The Gargoyle was engaged in his villainy, he was indeed villainous, merciless, and he had a lot of cool toys at his command. I enjoyed that about him. And he was a brilliant scientist. The Skrulls were rather stupid and gullible. I can’t forgive them for that. They stay on the bottom of my list.

Yes, this first Hulk story is heavy on the anti-Commie propaganda, but it is also a good adventure story. As first stories go, it really crams in a lot of ideas and information. Having reviewed the story, I think I can say I’ll probably learn to like this series more than I have previously. But still, I think we all have to agree that Hulk is not your typical hero.

HERO?
In fact, I would say Bruce Banner is far more of a hero than Hulk. I definitely like Banner much more than Hulk. I can understand where Banner is coming from, his ideas, his ideals, his concerns. After this first story, my main impression of Hulk is that he’s confused. He doesn’t know where he fits in the grand scheme of things. He doesn’t really have any motivations at this point, beyond “Don’t let them kill me!!” He’s not fighting for anything but self-preservation. That’s obviously a good foundation, but a true hero needs to get beyond that, needs to exist for some grander reason. And perhaps in future issues of The Hulk, we’ll see more development in that area.

The characters I like most after this first story are Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, and Rick Jones. What I most like about them, I think, is the potential for drama and conflict in their relationships. There is obviously this big secret that Banner and Jones are going to be keeping from Betty. And then of course I’m sure we’ll have more on the budding romance between Bruce and Betty. But perhaps the most interesting character to me right now is Rick Jones. I’ve seen him in a few other books, and mostly thought of him as this pesty teenager just hanging around, but apparently I had forgotten his backstory:

No, Rick Jones is not just some dumb kid. He’s an orphan, who has never known any kindness from anyone…until Banner pushes him in that ditch to protect him from the gamma rays. From that point on, he is completely devoted to the one person who has ever shown him any kindness whatsoever. That kind of devotion can be very powerful. Basically, what we’re getting here is that Rick Jones has nobody…and now he is completely devoted to Banner. Well, someone with a secret like Banner has is going to need a friend, and there could be no better friend than Rick Jones.

Unless he gets jealous of Betty Ross. And that could happen. Already we’ve had a hint of it. I think the stage is set for high personal drama. That’s what I’m looking forward to in future issues.

I’m also looking forward to Stan getting a better grip on The Hulk’s character, his motivations, and what sets him into motion. Right now, we are told that Banner morphs into Hulk when the sun goes down. What is he…a werewolf? I don’t know why this was originally set as the catalyst that changes Banner into a monster, but I think Stan must have very quickly seen this was going to limit his story possibilities. If you know exactly when your monster is going to appear, you can try to take steps to minimize the danger. In fact, that’s what Banner and Rick Jones were doing when they drove the jeep into the deserted area. However, if you can control the beast to some degree, then to some degree he’s not as beastly anymore. No, for the most exciting storylines, you need a monster that appears at the most inopportune moments. You need a catalyst that is as volatile as your monster: “Don’t get me mad. You wouldn’t like me when I’m mad.” That’s a better monster than the one that appears simply because the sun has gone below the horizon.

But mostly I think we need to find a way to believe that the monster can be the hero. I haven’t read enough Hulk stories yet to see how that’s going to happen. I mentioned earlier that I don’t understand Hulk. After only this first story, I don’t think he understands himself yet. I guess the future issues will document his journey of self-discovery. And hopefully we (and by we, I mean “I”) can learn to understand and appreciate him better as well.

So now I’ve met the Hulk. He’s not your typical hero, yet he’s certainly not a villain. However, in our next story, the Fantastic Four battle a foe who is supremely villainous! Stay tuned…

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