Hulk Officially Gets His Own Sidekick, To Do the 1 Thing He Can't

Summary

The Hulk has a new sidekick who can make Bruce Banner's life harder on his behalf, as the Hulk seeks revenge against Banner.
Having a sidekick like Charlie undermines Banner and ensures that he will never be able to outmaneuver the Hulk.
It's both darkly humorous and interesting to see the incredibly powerful Hulk in need of a sidekick, as she can confront Banner directly.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Incredible Hulk #3 The Hulk is probably the last Marvel Comics character one would think of to have a sidekick, especially when compared with some of his fellow Avengers, who are decidedly more capable of that particular level of responsibility. However, in the Hulk’s latest chapter, that’s exactly what happens, as he gets himself a sidekick who’s not only anxious to fight by his side, but who can actually do the one thing Hulk can’t.

In the current era of Hulk continuity, the By the end of Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk, the two seemed to understand each other on a level that they never had before, but then Banner utterly betrayed the Hulk’s trust with torturous simulations and unending abuse, both physically and mentally. After Hulk broke free of his proverbial and literal chains, he has had only one goal: make Bruce’s life harder. Unfortunately, given that they share a body, Hulk can only do so ively. However, now that Hulk has a new sidekick, he can instruct her to make Banner’s life harder on his behalf. In fact, doing so is the only reason he allowed her to be his sidekick in the first place.

In Incredible Hulk #3 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein, the Hulk and a teenage girl named Charlie (who started following Banner around last issue) find themselves falling into a pit of zombies leading to the grave of an ancient monster. After this Lovecraftian beast rises from its grave, and is subsequently put back in it by the Hulk, Hulk and Charlie leave the site together, with Charlie stomping the last remaining zombie to death with the heel of her boot. Hulk snickers upon seeing Charlie’s strength and resolve, and tells her that she can him on one condition: Charlie must bring nothing but pain and hardship to Bruce Banner’s life.

It’s important to make one thing abundantly clear about this new situation: Charlie is the Hulk’s sidekick, not Bruce Banner’s. The Hulk is on a mission of revenge against Banner, so having someone who can directly ensure Bruce’s life is horrible is a huge step in that direction. Plus, from Banner’s perspective, he’s just been saddled with a teenage sidekick he never wanted, all while she undermines him at every turn. Banner will never be able to outmaneuver the Hulk with Charlie there working on his behalf, and he’ll never be able to get rid of her because of his inherently heroic and comionate nature - something he’s currently being punished for forgetting to exhibit towards the Hulk.

Not only is this turn of events hilarious in an incredibly dark way, but it’s also interesting to see - virtually for the first time - someone as powerful as the Hulk need a sidekick. Hulk can tear apart entire worlds, he can thunderclap a cosmic entity into oblivion, and he can traverse the universe fighting alongside cosmically powerful beings like Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange. However, Hulk’s new sidekick will be able to help him do the one thing that he never can: confront Bruce Banner directly.

Incredible Hulk #3 by Marvel Comics is available now.