Summary

• The Hulk's psyche is revealed to be a terrifying landscape akin to Hell, where chaos and violence reign supreme.
• The Hulkscape draws direct parallels to classical art by referencing Hieronymous Bosch's depiction of Hell in The Garden of Earthly Delights.
• Banner's treatment of the Hulk in the past comes back to haunt him in the Hulkscape, showcasing the Hulk as Banner's own personal Hell.

Warning: Spoilers for The Incredible Hulk (2023) #14 ahead!Bruce Banner has long struggled to control the monstrous Hulk that resides within him, fighting day and night to not surrender to the beast's violence and turmoil. Now, however, a rare glimpse into the Hulk's psyche reveals just how terrible the monster's mind actually is, with the Hulk's mindscape drawing direct parallels to Hell.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, and Matthew Wilson's The Incredible Hulk (2023) #14 hardly wastes a beat before Bruce Banner is struck by an oncoming truck, triggering his transformation into the Hulk and subsuming his psyche beneath that of his monstrous alter-ego's. Banner's consciousness instead awakens in "the Hulkscape," a violent land of chaos beset by explosions and titanic beasts.

There's more to the Hulkscape than initially meets the eye, however - one in particular lifts its imagery from one of the most famous depictions of Hell in classical art.

The Hulk's Chaos Has Roots In Classical Art

The 1400s painter Hieronymous Bosch is famous for his surreal and abstract paintings. Bosch's most famous work is arguably the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, which depicts Heaven, Earth, and Hell respectively on three separate s. The of Hell in particular is famous for its strange and twisted figures, two of which - the large, pale, bent-over figure and the bird-headed demon swallowing a person whole - are directly referenced in The Incredible Hulk #14's Hulkscape, drawing a direct comparison between the Hulk's mind and Hell.

The tragedy of all of this is that the Hulkscape isn't actually all dissimilar to Banner's previous treatment of the Hulk in the "Starship Hulk" storyline. In an attempt to take control of the Hulk, Banner fitted himself with technology provoking its rage to act as a power source. Now, in the Hulkscape, Banner reaps what he has sown, facing the fury and abuse the Hulk had to contend with at Banner's every whim - but with none of the Hulk's strength or resilience.

Check out the beginning of the "Starship Hulk" arc in Hulk (2021) #1, by Donny Cates, Ryan Ottley, and Frank Martin, Jr.!

The Hulkscape: A Hell of Banner's Own Making

This use of art highlights the current, fascinating take on the Hulk's character: that he is Banner's ultimate punishment. Depictions of the Hulk have swung back and forth between mindless violence and having his own, separate identity, but the vision presented within the Hulkscape suggests that the Hulk's psyche is something altogether alien and torturous to the human mind. Furthermore, with the Hulk using the Hulkscape to deliberately torture Banner's consciousness, it becomes clear that being the Hulk is now Banner's literal, personal Hell.

The Incredible Hulk (2023) #14 is available now from Marvel Comics.