MRL - The Incredible Hulk (1962)

[sonotadream]

The Incredible Hulk (1962) #1-6 - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko

Another iconic Marvel character, although, I have to be honest and say I never really cared about the Hulk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

According to Stan Lee, the main inspirations for the Hulk were Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

We start in the desert, where a Gamma bomb, designed by famous scientist Bruce Banner, is being tested. General Ross is not happy about the delays and Banner’s colleague is not happy about his secrecy - he’s right about how someone else should have checked Banner’s numbers, but he turns out to be a Russian spy…

Security at the site turns out not to be great, because, just as the test is about to start, a teenager drives by. Banner races to stop him, leaving the spy in charge, who continues the test.

Banner manages to throw the teenager, Rick Jones, into a protective trench, but he gets the full blast of radiation. Everything seems fine at first, but, as evening comes, Banner is transformed into the Hulk.

The Hulk is the opposite of Bruce Banner in every way: strong, not very intelligent, more concerned with power than anything else. He causes destruction around him and is quickly being persecuted by the US army.

Grateful that Banner would save his life - no one else ever really cared for him - Rick Jones stays by both Banner’s and Hulk’s side, despite the latter’s protests that he doesn’t need a friend. Rick is capable of calming the Hulk, so maybe he protests a little too much.

The series was cancelled after 6 issues, but the character of the Hulk proved popular enough to guest star in other books and would get another series a year later.