Marvel's First Monster, the Incredible Hulk, has been a critical player in some of the publisher's most monumental events. And 2022 marked 60 years since his first appearance, which begs the question: how much has the Hulk changed since then?
Sprouting from the mind of Stan Lee and given shape by Jack Kirby, the Hulk was conceptualized as a tragic creature à la Frankenstein's monster. He was considered an extension of the experiment Stan Lee began with the Thing, but what separated Hulk from his ever-loving counterpart in the Fantastic Four was his alter ego: Doctor Bruce Banner. The dynamic between Banner and Hulk mimicked the classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde, creating a compelling inquiry about duality and identity. The Thing is a man trapped in a body he doesn't want; the Hulk and Bruce Banner are two souls forced to split a body. At least, they started out as just two. Then came the '80s.
In his 1984-85 "Crossroads of Eternity" storyline, writer Bill Mantlo introduced the idea that Bruce was consistently abused by his father, Brian David Banner. Peter David later built on this idea and saw Banner diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. Over the course of his 12-year run, David planted many of the psychological seeds that writers are pulling fruit from to this day. Hulk became more than a weapon for the Avengers to aim and fire at giant aliens. Readers began to understand him as a manifestation of Bruce's deepest, ugliest, basest emotions. From the powerful but infantile Savage Hulk, to the lustful and conniving Joe Fixit, the utterly inhuman Guilt Hulk, and so many more, Bruce's alters find physical form as different kinds of Hulks. Simultaneously, since the Hulk is his own being, he too experiences different forms. The Green Scar and Worldbreaker Hulks were not so much manifestations of Bruce's trauma as they were more potent realizations of the Hulk's trauma. These two seemingly contradictory ideas about the character have been a source of rich storytelling for decades, and have recently coalesced thanks in large part to the efforts of Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk series.
Hulk Is So Much More Than A Monster
In Immortal Hulk, Al Ewing continued the charter plotted by Mantlo and David while taking the character to new heights (and depths). Set some time after the Hulk helps Banner unpack more of his deeply rooted trauma. Hulk not only vows to always protect Banner, but its that he actually loves Bruce. And it's not hyperbole to say this is the single most important development in Hulk's characterization since his creation.
For 60 years, the Hulk has been a war dog, a pariah, a bogeyman, a WMD with legs. He has fought for Earth even when he didn't want to, he's constantly being used for his strength while Bruce is used for his brilliance; and still both remain persona non grata among most of their so-called allies. But the idea that, throughout all of it, both of these tormented souls are still trying to look out for each other is a profound perspective on this character that will hopefully inform writers yet to come. From 1962 to now, the Incredible Hulk has changed quite a bit.
