Generations of Hulk creators, part 2...

In the previous blog I mentioned that there were several types of stories that worked well for the Incredible Hulk. The first I highlighted was the drama, or to be more specific the psychological horror story. This was important because the plots that worked best for the characters played to their strengths, and exploited a weaknesses for the hero to overcome. The television series was a prime example of this. It was carried by Bill Bixby as Dr. Banner. He was trying to cure himself of the Hulk, but had to cobble together lab equipment from scraps, and while being hunted by the authorities. He often found himself entangled in the affairs of complete strangers. Whether it was helping someone overcome an addiction, chase off a gang, or rescue a kidnapping victim. He had to use his intelligence to find an answer. The Hulk would only show up in maybe two or three minutes out of each episode when life, and death was at stake. It highlighted to audiences that Banner was a sympathetic figure, and the Hulk was a terrifying creature that was part of the same person. There was nothing that could stop him if he was unleashed, and Banner did everything he could to keep that from happening. The Hulk as a character could also be considered a contemporary retelling of Dr. Frankenstein, with the Hulk being the monster that he unleashed to the world. Banner was also thought of as the modern Prometheus, the Ancient Greek character that stole fire from the gods, and gave it to man. He was eternally punished for his arrogance. 

Banner unleashed the power of gamma radiation, and would also be cursed for his actions. The Hulk could be presented as a misunderstood monster, reluctant hero, or even wandering adventurer. This is where I would like to start talking about my favorite Hulk artists. Because in order to tell the story of the man, and the monster then you need to be able to visually make the distinction. In superhero comics it’s very easy to see when hero is present, and when the secret identity shows up. Superman could put on glasses, and a business suit to become Clark Kent. Bruce Wayne could put on a mask, and cowl to become Batman. Bruce Banner turned into a half ton, nearly eight-foot-tall green man. Each artist brought their own visual style, their own aesthetic to the character. In my opinion the type of artist featured on the Hulk books could make, or break the story. Horror was one of the best formats for a Hulk story. Whether it was the Hulk fighting monsters, demons, or aliens. An artist that was great at rendering body, or biological horror could help ground readers into the world that the Hulk was entering. The artist that I think laid the foundation for this type of Hulk story was Bernie Wrightson.

Mr. Wrightson (RIP) was an exceptional draftsman. His lines, and detail were unrivaled. He was known for visceral renderings in his character art. We could see veins, muscles, scars, and various features on the people he drew. His black, and white art featured in the Frankenstein book released by Marvel in 1983 set a bar impossible to top. His style was perfectly suited for horror illustration, rather than mainstream comic book heroes. Unfortunately for Bernie the Comics Code Authority passed a sweeping set of laws in 1954 meant to self-regulate gratuitous horror, and violence from the comics industry. Bernie was able to skirt the code by never rending anything too graphic, but rather just hint at it. He was perfect for the horror characters like Swamp Thing (which he co-created), and the Marvel equivalent known as Man Thing. Bernie was one of the rare artists that could do it all. Many people do not know that the lead artist on a comic often only did the initial pencil work. The inking, and coloring of individual pages were often assigned to someone else. Bernie found work inking for other artists, as well as coloring for them at both Marvel, and DC. It only made sense that someone adept at drawing horror comics would be a good fit rendering the Hulk.

At the core the Hulk was a monster. The artists that did the character justice had to know how to draw creatures, rather than traditional superheroes. This was something that not every comic book artist was capable of doing. The mistake they made was in trying to draw the Hulk like a gigantic bodybuilder. The television series may have presented the idea to the mainstream, however the Hulk in the comics was anything but human. First off the Hulk on television was vastly underpowered compared to his comic counterpart. On TV he could get injured by bullets, and a fall from a great height could kill him. Whereas in the comics he could survive atomic blasts, and didn’t burn up on reentry from his leaps into space. Still there were artists that gave the Hulk a distinct bodybuilder physique. Bart Sears was one of my favorite comic book artists of all time. His understanding of anatomy was unmatched among his contemporaries. He often took proportions from professional male, and female bodybuilders when creating the physiques of his characters. They looked stunning when he penciled, and inked them. Something similar could be argued for Bryan Hitch. The lead artist on the “Ultimates” run which was designed to make the Marvel characters look, and feel real. These artists were great at the traditional hero books, however their version of the Hulk was far from my favorite.

The idea that in order to convey strength, and power in a comic book then a character had to be presented as “jacked” or have overdeveloped muscles. This was a trap that a lot of artists fell into when presenting classic characters. Someone like the Flash for example was known for his speed. Therefor it made sense that he was built like an Olympic runner, long, and lean muscles. Someone like Spider-Man had the physique of a gymnast, strong, and flexible. Each character still looked heroic, but had muscles proportional to their abilities. Yet in order to convince audiences that a character like Superman, or Omni-Man was the strongest character in their respective books they had to have bodybuilder physiques. No artists made their caped heroes (or villains) as jacked-up as Ed McGuinness, and Ryan Ottley. It was kind of hard to make people think that Clark Kent was a humble journalist when he had a neck as big as an NFL linebacker. Or that Nolan Grayson had developed his physique from writing books.

It turned out that there was a reason that each artist illustrated their heroes so strong, but I’ll talk about that in a future blog. The greatest, and longest-lasting Hulk artists had a few things in common. Their ability to create a figure that was more than a large green bodybuilder should be studied by all comic artists, and illustrators. There were many subtleties that helped explain the character, and the comic book aesthetic that was unique when compared to manga, animation, or other forms of art. We will look at this in the next blog. Were there any Hulk artists that you enjoyed? Were you familiar with the work of Bernie Wrightson? I’d like to read about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Generations of Hulk creators, part 1...

The cleaning, and organizing at home for my mental health continues. I had recently set up a new sideboard cabinet and was finally able to bring in my Hulk toys, and comics out of the garage, and into the apartment. I’m only missing a few pieces, but they will eventually turn up as I clean up. Going over the toys, and various books made me think a little bit more about my favorite Marvel character. I was going to write a short thing about my favorite artists to ever draw the Incredible Hulk. Then I started thinking about his greatest story arcs. As well as short runs, and even one-shot issues. There were so many brilliant creators working on the title over the past 60+ years. It would be a disservice to just highlight a few.

I started thinking about how to talk about the writers, artists, and character of the Hulk himself. How could I explain my fascination with him? I had actually covered a lot of that in my previous series. Talking about the greatest Hulk villains in the blogs last week was a good way to set up this conversation. Who was the Incredible Hulk? What made for a great Hulk artist, or writer? I wanted to highlight my observations for writers, or artists trying to figure out your own story. I’m a self-taught illustrator, but also spent years learning about writing. I had great teachers help me learn how to create short stories, novels, and screenplays. I learned how to craft heroes, and villains by some award-winning authors. I learned how to develop a memorable plot, and find the right voice to tell that story.

The failures, and successes of a good story were brought up in the previous blogs. I wanted young creators to think about the story they were trying to tell. Try to find a plot that fits their character. Try to find a voice that fits the character. If you were thinking about writing, or drawing a comic on an established character then I would advise you to develop a narrative that fits the character. It’s a bad idea to change an established character to fit a narrative. You wouldn’t for example try to shoehorn Frank Castle aka “the Punisher” into a lighthearted story meant for Squirrel Girl. Although the two were part of the same universe they were used for different reasons. They served different purposes, told different stories, and catered to different audiences.

Movies often succeed when the right actor, the right screenplay, and the right director all came together. When approaching an established comic book character think of yourself as the director. How would you put together the elements that best served the character, and story? There had been hundreds of comic book movies in the past century, but only a handful could be thought of as truly exceptional. These projects managed to get all the ingredients just right, and sometimes in spite of interference from producers, and studios. Richard Donner understood the myth of Superman, and his secret identity of Clark Kent. When it came to live action film he set a standard almost 50 years ago. Many fans of the DC stories would say that his version of Superman hasn’t been topped yet. Something similar could be said of Ryan Coogler, and his ability to bring the Black Panther to light. Both directors understood the characters backwards, and forwards. They weren’t’t afraid to present them as flawed, or vulnerable. They also knew the best context in which to place their heroes. To compound matters some of the characters worked best when set in a historical period. In order to present them correctly then a director would have to do some world building. They would have to convincingly recreate the era.

Another example of a director that understood the characters could be seen with the movie Captain America: The First Avenger. Producer Kevin Feige, and Marvel Studios selected Joe Johnston to direct. The movie was set in the WWII era. It required an understanding of US culture during that period. The types of heroes, and villains that inspired the world. Mr. Johnston worked with George Lucas on various films, and learned the ropes from his team. He was intimately familiar with the period that would be covered in the Marvel feature. He worked on Indiana Jones, the Rocketeer, and October Sky which were all set in the same era as the Captain America movie. It was virtually impossible for Mr. Johnston to mess up the direction. He just needed a story, and actors that he could work with. Thankfully that came through as well. Certainly any director could have done a period piece, but would it have been as well done? I highly doubt it. There had been many comic book films that missed the tone of the original comics. They were miscast, had the wrong writer, or director, and weren’t as memorable as the films I mentioned above. This had often been a problem for the Incredible Hulk. There had been few people able to adapt the character to live action. Part of the reason why was because they had a poor understanding of the character himself.

The way the Hulk speaks, the way he acts. His rage even comes from somewhere. Writers that did their homework could pick up on these details. Even casual fans knew that the Hulk had a limited vocabulary. It wasn’t that he was dumb, but rather had the temperament, and speech of a child because that was when Banner suffered his greatest trauma. The Hulk spoke in the third person, saying things like “Hulk tired, Hulk hungry, Hulk sleep now.” He also had certain catchphrases like “Hulk smash!” Or “Hulk is the strongest there is!” These were things that even non-fans could recall about the character. Perhaps they heard it from a cartoon, or saw it on TV. Surprisingly there were professional comic creators that didn’t know the most basic details of the character. The artist Tim Sale worked with Jeph Loeb on an origin story titled Hulk: Gray. It was a retro-inspired story with a limited color palette.This was because the Hulk was originally colored gray before his color was changed to green. The duo worked on other origin books including Spider-Man: Blue, and Daredevil: Yellow. Mr. Sale attributed an incorrect quote to the Hulk. In it he used the word “am” instead of “is.” This could be considered as a minor detail, unfortunately that form of speech belonged to another character, from a different company.

The evil mirror version of Superman was called Bizarro. In some origin stories he was a defective clone of Superman, in other stories he came from a cube planet where everything was absurd, and surreal. Bizarro had an unusual speaking pattern. He was known for saying things like “Bizarro am number one!” and “Me am Bizarro!” He tended to think, and speak in opposites. For example if he hated a character he would say “Bizarro loves you.” It was something that even the most casual fan could remember about the character. It was sad to think that an artist working on a Hulk book didn’t know the differences between Bizarro, Marvel, and DC. The thing about presenting a comic book character was that you had to know how to write to their strengths. This meant being able to write, and draw stories that maximized the hero, and their alter-ego.

A creator for example would have to know how to build a story for Superman, and Clark Kent. Or Peter Parker, and Spider-Man. Poor writers focused solely on one or the other, and rarely found a balance that the character needed to remain unique. The Hulk was possibly the most difficult character to create for. The Hulk was often regarded as a monster, rather than a hero. Dr. Bruce Banner was also treated as a fugitive. The genius of Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards was celebrated, but the genius of Banner was feared. Tony “Iron Man” Stark was presented as confident, whereas Banner was seen as arrogant. These distinctions made for a very complex character that could also instantly hook the audience. As for the Hulk himself there were so many possibilities with his power set that many types of stories could be written about him.

The Hulk was known for being absurdly strong, and durable. The angrier he got, the stronger he got. He had no known upper limit to his strength, being able to go toe-to-toe with even cosmic beings like the Silver Surfer. The Hulk could never grow tired, and healed from injuries faster than Wolverine. He also had some unique powers such as being able to see ghosts, resist some forms of magic, and breathe underwater. If sufficiently enraged he didn’t need to breathe at all, including in outer space. Crafting a story that employed the genius of Banner, and gave the awesome powers of the Hulk was a challenge for even veteran creators. Yet it was not impossible. In fact I thought about it for a while, and discovered that there were a few formats that fit the character. Let’s start with the dramatic interpretation, It was the one that most Gen-Xers were familiar with. The Incredible Hulk television series debuted in the late ‘70s, more than a decade after the comics had started. Most of Generation-X were still kids when the show was on the air. To say it left an impression on us would be a severe understatement. 

The show was actually well written, and well acted. Bill Bixby played Dr. Banner, and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno played the Hulk. Bixby had actually turned down the role initially because he didn’t want to be associated with a project that was too silly, cartoonish, or campy, like the Batman series from earlier. After reading the script he was sold on the part. He helped keep the tone of the series grounded in realism. Every action that he took had weight, and purpose. Bixby did an exceptional role as a fugitive, wandering the countryside in an effort to clear his name. He did everything in his power to remain calm even in the most stressful situations. He genuinely feared for the safety of the public if he lost control, when he couldn’t’t control his rage his eyes would change color, and we knew the Hulk would appear next. The show coined the phrase that several generations would associate with the character “Don’t make me angry (Mr. McGee), you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” The Hulk was treated as a curse. The show actually made audiences pity the life of Dr. Banner. He was trapped in a living nightmare that he couldn’t outrun. There was no pause because the authorities, and an investigative reporter named Jack McGee were hunting him in every episode. The tragedy of the character landed with the mainstream more than just about any other interpretation. 

Banner had no home, no friends to fall back on, and hitchhiked his way across the US in an effort to avoid capture. At the end of each episode we often saw him wandering an empty road while the melancholy song The Lonely Man, composed by Joseph Harnell played. This tragic lifestyle had been revisited in other media, including the Hulk game by Radical Entertainment. The television series created a template that worked exceptionally well for Banner, and his relationship to the Hulk. Writers working on the Hulk stories could learn that a Banner-centric arc could be written as a psychological horror. There were many other types of stories that could be created as well, but we will look at those in the next blog. Were you a fan of the Hulk in popular media? Did you have any favorite comic book movies, or characters? I’d like to read about them in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

A symmetry of villainy, final part

Over the past week I gave examples of building symmetric, and asymmetric villains in comics. I used the strongest characters in DC, and Marvel as an example. Superman, and the Incredible Hulk had faced a number of powerful beings over the decades. The ones that gave them the greatest challenge were sometimes absurdly powerful physical beings. In the previous blog I talked about Doomsday, and Onslaught. In other cases the heroes fought evil versions of themselves from another timeline, or another dimension. Superman faced off against Ultraman in several stories. This was essentially a Superman who lacked the morals instilled to him from Martha and Jonathan Kent. The Hulk battled the Maestro, an evil version of himself from the far future. Bruce Banner suffered from multiple personality disorder. Each one of the figures trapped in his mind could manifest as a version of the Hulk. He fought to keep his identity as the dominant one. The traditional "Savage" Hulk was the best known of his alternate personalities. There was also the street savvy Gray Hulk aka Joe Fixit. There were demons that Banner kept locked away in the furthest recesses of his fragile psyche. These included Kluh, Titan, and the Devil Hulk. Believe it or not they were each potentially more dangerous than the Maestro.

These types of villains were fantastic for a short arc, however their impact would be diminished if writers kept trying to revisit them again, and again. The best rivalries for both Superman, and the Hulk happened with foes much weaker than either of them. It took a lot of effort to create a memorable villain, let alone a recurring threat in the Marvel stories. A bad guy that could challenge the universe, somebody like Onslaught had to have the powers of multiple characters like Professor X, and Magneto combined in order to bring the Hulk to the edge of defeat. This was the kind of impact that the Leader held in Hulk continuity. He didn't challenge the Hulk with one ability, but with a barrage instead. How Marvel created this character, and what made him tick was an important lesson in rival design. When it came to which version of the Leader I thought worked best, which one explained his abilities, and threat level then I would actually point to video games. 

From a visual standpoint I believe the Leader looked best in video games rather than in comics. The designers at Radical Entertainment created a decent Hulk game in 2003. It was a follow-up to the Ang Lee live action film featuring Eric Bana in the role of Bruce Banner. Eric even voiced the character in the game. Despite amazing visual effects the movie was a flop. It probably explained the lukewarm reception the game received. Thankfully it took place after the film, and was set in a more comic book environment. It featured a collection of some of the Hulk’s greatest comic opponents. They were pulled from a number of different writers, stories, and arcs. The gamma-powered lineup included Half-Life (Anthony Masterson), Madman (Philip Sterns), Flux (Private Benjamin Tibbits), Ravage (Professor Geoffrey Crawford), and the Leader (Samuel Sterns). The story was an amalgamation of different plots, and locations from the movie, and comics that worked well together. The use of cel-shading, and even dramatic angles helped make it look like a graphic novel brought to life.

The Hulk game was good, but their follow up title The Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction was absolutely amazing. Released in 2005 it didn’t only raise the bar for Hulk games, but forever raised the standard by which all comic book games would be measured. The story, design, animation, control, and combat were unparalleled for years to follow. Its influence would be felt across the industry. In fact the locomotion of the Hulk had a direct influence on how Spider-Man would move in the award-winning games by Insomniac some 12 years later. I considered it one of my favorite games of all time, and even mentioned that on the blog. The game didn’t feature as many rivals as the previous Hulk title by Radical, but the handful they had were memorable. These included the powerful psychic Abigail “Mercy” Wright, the Hulk’s latent rage persona known as the Devil Hulk, General Ross, and The Abomination.

The earlier game was notable because it featured not only the Leader, but his brother Philip as well. Peter David, and artist Jeff Purves created an opponent that brought the Hulk to the brink of death in the Incredible Hulk issue #363. The Madman did this through subterfuge, and gamma poisoning. Philip Sterns followed in the footsteps of Banner, and became obsessed with him to the point of developing a toxic love. Once his brother mutated into the Leader he blamed Banner, and the Hulk for taking him away. Philip became a nuclear scientist. He wanted to gain powers as well so he experimented on himself repeatedly with gamma radiation. He effectively scrambled his own brain in the process. He developed multiple personalities, which determined how his powers manifested. For the Madman it resulted in having abilities different than his brother. The Madman could actually make himself appear like any other person. His ability was on par with Mystique, an X-Men villain that could shapeshift into other people. That was only part of what made him dangerous. He was still an accomplished scientist, perhaps not on par with his brother, but still smart enough to figure out a way to destroy gamma mutations. At will he could also “Hulk-out” as well. When he changed he had red clay-colored skin rather than green. He was also taller, denser, and stronger than the Hulk, but he could only maintain this form for short bursts of time.

The Madman debuted in the four-part “Countdown” arc in 1989.  If I were to describe his mental state he melded the personalities of an agent of chaos, with a raging beast. To put it in context I would compare him to two iconic DC villains; as if the Joker, and Bizarro had an offspring that was obsessed with Banner. The Madman had created a virus that was destroying the Hulk's gamma mutation. The gray "Joe Fixit" version of the Hulk was wasting away in each panel of the series. If he transformed back into Banner he would deteriorate even faster. It broke my heart seeing the most powerful mortal on Earth reduced to skin, and bones. I saw the race to cure Mr. Fixit as an allegory for the AIDS crisis. The epidemic was on our collective minds through the late '80s, and early '90s. In fact it wouldn't be the first time that Peter David faced the issue of HIV in the series. I thought the Countdown arc did much more to establish a legitimate threat the Hulk more than Doomsday did for Superman. The Madman was regarded as being too dangerous for his own good. He was so dangerous that the Leader even teamed up with the Hulk to track him down. He asked the Hulk to stop him because he couldn’t bring himself to hurt his own brother. The Leader was afraid that Philip’s mind had completely lost to the Madman persona. If any part of him remained it would better for the Hulk to put him out of his misery. It was brilliant storytelling, and fantastic reveal. It was pulled off much better than the introduction of the Red Hulk, that's for certain! 

The closest that a game had come at recreating the power burst that the Madman exploited in the comics could be seen in the multiplayer game Marvel Rivals. Banner was a playable character, and when he transformed he became the "Hero Hulk." If the player managed to raise his energy levels in the middle of a skirmish then he could power up even further, and turn into the "Monster Hulk." This gave him different attacks, and a higher amount of health points. This version of the Hulk was much stronger, denser, and bigger than the regular Hulk. It was exactly how I imagined the Madman would jump from human scale to monster scale, bypassing the traditional Hulk, but again only in short bursts. By comparison the size of the Hulk, Ravage, Flux, and the Madman were more or less the same in the older Radical Ent. game. In the comics there were notable differences in their frames. They were all hyper-muscular, but some were leaner, shredded, distorted or bulky compared to the Hulk in the comics. Given his powers, and unpredictable nature I think it proved difficult to write scenarios featuring the Madman. Hence he was used very sparingly by Mr. David, and future writers. I was grateful at least that he appeared in several encounters in the Hulk game, under the orders of the Leader.

The Leader would show up in animated form, and various comic arcs over the years. He would not appear again in a prominent gaming role for more than two decades. The Marvel Contest of Champions (MCOC) was a mobile game with a massive following, and deep library of characters. It debuted in December 2014, and had generated millions in revenue for the developers at Kabam, and of course Marvel. It gave global audiences the ability to fight as, or against 275 popular, and rare characters. It was a fantastic introduction to the universe for Generation Alpha. It was also an accessible, and balanced fighting game for all audiences. I wrote about the title, and its comic book origins in a blog series. It was linked below if you haven’t read it. I enjoyed having multiple versions of the Hulk as playable characters, and even featuring the Maestro as one of the major villains. Even with the Rhino, Abomination, Juggernaut, and Onslaught to battle against it still felt like someone was missing. The Leader was finally announced for 2024, and I could barely contain my enthusiasm.

I was a huge fan of the aesthetic Kabam used with the character art. This was fortunate side effect of optimizing the game. The graphics capabilities of mobile devices determined how far the studio could push the visuals. Not every device was the latest iPhone or Android, so the studio had to make it playable on older devices as well. Many had limited memory, limited processing power, and limited 3D rendering capabilities. In order to keep the game running smoothly across multiple platforms the studio had to optimize their engine in every possible way. For example the fighters featured simpler shapes, fewer frames of animation, and limited polygon counts when compared to console, or PC characters from the same era. These figures nonetheless worked from a style standpoint. The art team at Kabam did their homework. Each champion was pulled right from the comics, films, and television shows. From largest to smallest, the library of fighters were all easy to read, and looked brilliant. I wished that there was a MCOC toy line for how great a job the studio did. Kabam gave the Leader a somewhat classic look in his reveal. The shape of his head was vertical rather than Jiffy-pop. He even sported his familiar mustache, and Van Dyke beard. The orange, and yellow colors of his uniform went back to his earliest appearance. Despite the retro touches he still worked within the Contest of Champions.

The team at Kabam updated his look by adding a psychic band on his forehead, and a number of gadgets to his costume. These touches explained his ability to float, generate a shield, deflect attacks, and project beams of energy. They were exactly the sorts of things he might use in a comic book battle. By comparison the designers at Radical Entertainment had a completely different take on the Leader much earlier. They gave him an armored metallic purple uniform, and a round head shape. He had electrical nodes on his skull, and shoulders, these allowed him to project beams of psychic energy directly from his forehead, or channel them through his hands. He was able to float, create barriers, project multiple versions of himself, and throw the Hulk with his mental powers. There had never been a version quite like this in the comics, but in game form it made absolute sense.

Despite these awesome psychic attacks the game was still filled with clues to his inventing prowess. The Leader had created a Gamma Orb which was a compact tool that he used to syphon Banner’s power. It was a fraction of the size of the Gamma Sphere that caused his mutation in the film. The Leader built an entire underground base called Freehold. It was populated with his mutations, and weapons. He had teleports, and even a transport system running underground. The majority of the game was essentially fighting through his defenses in an attempt to reach the mastermind. I was glad to see that the villain was getting a new chance to show off his powers in the Marvel Contest of Champions. I hoped that someone working at one of the AAA publishers was working on a pitch for a new Hulk game. Something that could build on the work of Radical Entertainment, Insomniac, and the other great comic game developers. It would hopefully make Incredible Hulk, and especially the Leader relevant again. If you want to find out more about the Contest of Champions please check the links below. 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 1… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 2… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 3… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 4... 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 5… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 6… 

Did you have a favorite Hulk villain that I did not mention? Or another rare character you want to talk about? What were the elements that you thought made for a great villain design, or a great villain reveal? Tell me about it on the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

A symmetry of villainy, part 4...

Over the past few entries of this series I talked about building rivals by using symmetry, and asymmetry. I wrote this series because Kabam had announced that the Leader would be introduced in their mobile game Marvel Contest of Champions. It got me thinking about all of the Hulk's rivals, and what made the Leader unique among them. I wanted to highlight these things in order to help new creators figure out how to build a great opponent. Yet with a character as overpowered as Superman from DC Comics, or the Hulk from Marvel comics how would one build a worthy rival? You could introduce a character so physically impossible to beat that they could kill the hero. It was a sometimes cheap trick that writers would use to make the threat seem unstoppable. See the genetically-altered Kryptonian weapon Doomsday for example.

This type of character might generate a lot of interest, sell a ton of comics, but in the long run they would feel one-dimensional. Their gimmick would get boring. They would become relegated to secondary foes in later stories while a human like Lex Luthor offered a greater ongoing threat. Many people thought of the Hulk in a similar regard to Doomsday. He was absurdly powerful, adapted in battle, and could solve all his problems with his fists. Yet those people missed the nuance that the character provided. The Hulk was an allegory for war, nothing good came from fighting him. The green monster just wanted to be left alone. Doomsday was a weapon of mass destruction, by comparison the Hulk was a force of nature. Their appearance could wipe entire cities off the map, and nothing could stop them. The difference between the two was that Doomsday made the choice to destroy. Whereas the Hulk was pushed into it. Doomsday could adapt, his bones would become denser, his teeth sharper, he would secrete poison, but nowhere in his canon did he ever become exponentially stronger. He did have a limit, and Superman could find it. The Hulk could not be beaten if the opponent used only force. That's not to say he had never been beaten in physical combat.

In fact a calm Hulk was weaker than the Juggernaut, and Abomination by a wide margin. To make up for this the Hulk had a healing factor much greater than Wolverine. Not only that but he never tired, he grew stronger with every passing second, he could eventually superpass the Juggernaut, and Abomination in a battle. If he continued fighting he would eventually rival cosmic-level threats. The best way to stop the Hulk was by never starting a fight. The Marvel editors considered him the "Nuclear Option." When they built a story that involved the entire universe they needed to figure out how to get Banner, and the Hulk out of the picture. For example during the events of the Civil War arc they literally sent the Hulk into space to have his own adventure. The editors knew that would have sided with Captain America, as he didn't get along with Iron Man. Also because the Hulk was against the type of authoritarian pushes that Tony Stark was supporting. The Marvel Universe would eventually have to deal with an angry Hulk upon his return home. But that would be saved for future arcs. 

Marvel realized the Hulk could serve as both a villain, or a hero depending on the situation. So how was it possible to create a worthy rival for someone as absurdly powerful during normal character arcs? That's where asymmetric design would come in handy. The plans of the Leader, and his many inventions were not the only things that made him a menace. His level of psychic ability put him on a level that was rare, even in the Marvel U. As I stated earlier in this series, the Hulk was able to single-handedly defeat opponents that gave entire teams like the X-Men, and the Avengers trouble. That meant that the opponents he faced would have to be leagues above most super powered characters. Charles Xavier “Professor X,” the leader of the X-Men was considered the most powerful psychic in the Marvel U, yet he had been bested many times while trying to invade the mind of Banner. Erik Lehnsherr "Magneto" was also one of the most powerful mutants on Earth. During the House of M storyline mutants controlled most of the world, and oppressed humans. The Hulk took over the Australia, and made it a safe haven for humanity. Magneto wanted dominion over the continent, but the Hulk threatened him to stay out. Magneto realized he could not stop the Hulk if they went to war. 

The closest the duo ever came to crushing the Marvel Universe was when their powers were combined, and a new villain named Onslaught was born. This character was so overpowered that the X-Men, and the Avengers couldn't stop him. They realized that the Hulk was their best chance. Yet during this time Bruce Banner, and the Hulk had found a sort of balance. They were at peace with each other, and in sharing a body, and soul. In order for the Hulk to become strong enough to face Onslaught they came to the realization that the personalities of Banner, and the Hulk had to become separated once more. If they did this then he might never be whole again. With the help of Jean Grey aka Marvel Girl the Hulk once again was reverted to a ball of rage. He was unleashed, and was quickly overpowered by the new villain. As anyone with a passing knowledge of the Hulk knows that the angrier he gets the stronger he gets. Onslaught made him absolutely furious. The Hulk eventually cracked Onslaught's armor, giving a chance for the teams to defeat him. Something that was glossed over in many retellings of the saga was that Banner had also defeated Onslaught when he invaded his subconscious. Essentially he beat him twice when no one else could. 

The victory against the monster was bittersweet. All the progress the Hulk had made, the goodwill he earned, and all the alliances he had built would be reset. It was the tragedy of Bruce Banner. For a moment he would be considered a hero. He stopped an enemy that the combined forces of the Marvel U could not. Once the dust settled both the X-Men, and the Avengers would eventually turn against him. Every other Marvel hero was rewarded for their powers. Bruce Banner was punished for his. This type of storytelling made for a very complex, and sympathetic character. That was why I would compare the Hulk comics to Mob Psycho 100, rather than One Punch-Man. Yes it was awesome when the Hulk could punch his way out of a problem, but the heart of the story was in literally warning the bad guy that they did not want to make Banner angry. Seeing the villains suffer the consequences was a reward, but the fallout would also set Banner back. Shigeo Kageyama aka Mob had a comparable dynamic. He wanted to get through school, and catch the eye of Emi, a girl he had a crush on. At the same time he knew his psychic abilities were powerful, and tried to keep his emotions in check so his powers would not explode. Unfortunately the pressures of growing up, and having rivals seek him out always ended with him losing control. These events would take a toll on his physical, and mental health. 

Mob Psycho 100 was essentially a retelling of the Bruce Banner mythos, but in Middle School instead of an Army Base. A cavalcade of villains with all sorts of different psychic abilities assumed that they could defeat the child. Each were humbled when Mob revealed the monster he had been suppressing. Even the final villain Toichiro Suzuki aka the Demon would find out that he shouldn't have bullied the kid. Mr. Suzuki believed that his power meant that he should rule the world. He was what Mob would have become if he didn't have a loving family, and mentors to help guide him. ONE managed to write a story that had Mob essentially doing battle with an older, and much more evil version of himself. It was similar to how Peter David managed to have the Hulk, and Maestro fight in the Future Imperfect arc. ONE wrapped up his series very well, so that he did not end up retreading the same ground like Marvel comics. If the Leader was not an evil version of the Hulk, then why was he such a great villain? How could a skinny guy with a big head be a problem for the Green Goliath? We will look at that in the next, and final entry of this series. Were you a fan of any of the aforementioned rivalries? Tell me about it on the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

A symmetry of villainy, part 3…

When I started this series I mentioned that the Incredible Hulk’s greatest villain was returning. It caused me to start talking about my theory on rival design. For people new to character design I advised if they were stuck on creating villain then they should try making an evil mirror version of the hero. For example the Abomination was the evil counterpart to the Hulk, the Bizarro was the same for Superman. These types of enemies worked well all throughout pop culture. I also mentioned that the most interesting rivals had asymmetrical designs. They did not have a similar group of skills or abilities as the protagonist. Even opponents that were physically inferior could be considered the most dangerous of rivals. Lex Luthor was a regular human compared to the Kryptonian Superman, yet for over 80 years he was considered the greatest opponent.

For the Hulk I mentioned that General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross was similar to Lex Luthor. Introduced in the first issue of the Hulk way back in 1962 he was a military leader that managed to be very problematic for the most powerful monster in the Marvel U. Then I talked about how not every author understood the characters that they were assigned, and ended up changing them to fit their own narrative. Jeph Loeb was a writer that gave Ross powers, and turned him into the Red Hulk in 2008, forever changing their dynamic in Marvel continuity. He then went on to give his daughter a gag comic where she added a Blue Hulk as well. I thought it was a bad idea then, and still think so to this day. If I were to give all the flowers to a writer that went in blind, and managed to continue building the legend of the Hulk then I would go with Peter David. Mr. David had written all sort of stories, and characters over the years. When he was hired at Marvel his dream was to write the Spider-Man books. He said he would have been happy with any book he was given, as long as it wasn’t the Hulk.

He thought that character had no dimension, and nothing interesting about him. Yet that was exactly the book he was told to write for in the late 1980’s. He didn’t complain or change the character to fit his preconceived notions. Instead he rolled up his sleeves, and studied every previous story in order to figure out the dynamics of he hero, his allies, and opponents. Once he understood the appeal Mr. David created several fantastic arcs for the character. He revisited old rivalries, introduced new friends, and conjured up amazing villains as well. He worked with a penciler named Todd McFarlane, and helped develop the Gray Hulk, or Mr. Fixit persona. McFarlane presented a version of the Hulk that was as wide, as he was tall, a literal walking tank. A few years later he would find popularity on the Amazing Spider-Man. Then he left as a co-founder of Image comics, and created Spawn. Little did we know that an even better Hulk artist would turn up not long after.

David worked with the brilliant Australian penciler Dale Keown (creator of the Pitt), and the duo helped make the Gray, and Green Hulk appealing to new fans. At the same time they never insulted the continuity for older readers. One of Mr. David’s greatest contributions was introducing the Maestro. The stories with the Abomination, the Juggernaut, and other heavy-hitters were amazing, but he wanted the Hulk to have a rival that was his superior in every way. An older, wiser, and stronger version of the Hulk from the distant future was what he came up with. After all, the only monster that actually stood a chance against the Hulk was… himself. The first appearance of this character was in the 1992 series called Future Imperfect (which was pencilled by George Perez). It was such a hit that the Maestro became an important part of canon, appearing in comics, but also animation, and video games for over 30 years.

The Maestro was a brilliant design, however I would not consider him to be the Hulk’s greatest rival. Nor would I think of Thunderbolt Ross (in any form) as his greatest opponent. I would reserve that honor to the Leader. The Leader, also known as Samuel Sterns, first appeared in Tales to Astonish #62, way back in December 1964. He was a simple-minded janitor that was exposed to gamma rays during a work accident. He opened a drum of toxic waste because he thought it might have something that he could steal. Instead of dying from radiation poisoning he mutated. He turned into a genius rivaling the most brilliant minds in the Marvel Universe. His skin turned green similar to the Hulk, and other gamma-powered characters. His skull also grew to grotesque proportions. He developed awesome mental powers, including telekinesis, and mind control, on top of his inventing proficiency.

Most Hulk fans, myself included believe that the Leader was actually a chance to reboot the Hulk’s original mutated opponent. In the first issue of the Incredible Hulk from May 1962 there was a Russian spy that was transformed when he tried to recreate the conditions that changed Banner. Instead of growing massively powerful the scientist turned into a twisted version of his former self, with an enormous skull. The first Gargoyle, Yuri Topolov, was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. A few years later the Leader was created by Stan Lee, and Steve Ditko. This formula of mutating spies for the Hulk to battle even applied to the Abomination, previously known as Emil Blonsky. The different looks, and powers of each character was explained as a psycho-physical manifestation of gamma mutation. Their subconscious self actually determined how they would appear to the world. Emil was an abusive husband, and a cruel manipulator. Of all the enemies he was the one that was truly a monster on the inside, and out. That was why he looked like a nightmarish beast when he transformed. The Leader was aware that people thought Sam Sterns was a dummy, but subconsciously he wanted to make everyone feel dumb. Thus he gained a massive brain. Yuri was already intelligent, but thought himself superior to his western rivals. His conceited nature was as ugly as the Gargoyle.

The Gargoyle would be used less, and less as the years went on. His most notable contribution to pop culture happened decades after his debut. In the Incredible Hulk animated series from 1996 he was voiced by Mark Hamill. Hamill was famous for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, but for an entire generation his voice work was even better known. Hamill gained a massive following in cartoon circles when he started voicing the Joker for the Batman Animated Series in 1992. In the cartoons the Gargoyle was a subordinate to the Leader, voiced by character actor Matt Frewer. He first gained fame by playing the digital character Max Headroom. The Hulk animated series melded classic plots from the early era of the comics, plus newer designs that had been featured during the Peter David run. It managed to present the lore of the comics fairly well, and explained how the gamma mutations worked to newer fans. It summed up the obsession that the Leader had with the Hulk. He felt superior to Banner in every regard, except for his body, which lacked the strength, and resilience of the Hulk. He felt that he needed to possess the body in order to prove he was the ultimate being.

Like most comic book characters the Leader, and Gargoyle underwent some design changes over the years. Early on the Gargoyle had a large deformed head, with a relatively proportional human body. His frame became diminished, and twisted in later versions. His features made grotesque, and impish. The version featured in the animated series more or less defined his modern appearance. The Leader was traditionally seen with a long vertical head, and average build. In canon his body was covered in sores, and he wore a special uniform to allow him to function without pain. He was upset with his frail body, and expected that the perfect mind should be supported by a powerful physique. His look evolved early in the Peter David run. I believe it was Todd McFarlane (before Spider-Man, and Spawn fame) that gave him a new look. He figured that if his brain were to expand then it should have two massive hemispheres, rather than grow straight up. It made sense to me, although many fans were split on the new look. The comics even referred to him as “Jiffy Pop” head, after the popular way to make popcorn before microwavable bags.

Different iterations of the Leader would appear in comics, and animation. Sometimes the designers would strike a middle ground between the classic look, and the Jiffy Pop form. The Ultimates version of the Marvel U, a sort of retelling of the classic characters in a more contemporary setting influenced the presentation of the live action movies. In that continuity the Leader was a British Special Forces officer named Peter Wisdom. He experimented on himself to save his program, and also in an attempt to become a super soldier. He did gain mind control powers, and telekinesis, but also ended up wheelchair bound. His brain was so big that his neck couldn’t support it. He required a brace in order to keep his head upright. This macabre look was incorporated into some of the latter designs of the traditional Marvel comics. The Leader had a mind literally big enough to figure out every way to take on the Hulk, and have backup plan, after backup plan that even Thunderbolt Ross couldn’t even contemplate.

Tony Stark invented power armor light years ahead of anything else on Earth. Yet his biggest rival dressed in robes, and used 10 magic rings that science could not explain. The Mandarin’s powers came from the time of mysticism, and superstition, millennia before science had cracked the atom. The Mandarin was determined to rule the world, and in order to do so he had to destroy Stark, and his precious technology. The Hulk on the other hand could beat any conventional weapon, or other form of technology by sheer force. He had fought Iron Man on numerous occasions. Each time the monster took apart Iron Man like a tin can, including the fabled “Hulkbuster” armor. The Leader made sense in the tradition of great Marvel villains. He was so unlike the Hulk in every way that he was destined to be the ultimate rival. He was able to defy the Hulk by using powers that Banner did not possess. It was his awesome mental abilities, and not brute strength that would challenge Banner, and the Hulk. 

The Leader was another example of the asymmetric enemies that I previously discussed. Despite his frail appearance the Leader was actually a dangerous character. He didn’t even need to know how to throw a punch. His ability to use mind control on individual, and even groups of people was scary enough. If he was mortally wounded he seemed to have the ability to resurrect himself as well. He was a relentless villain that could hunt the Hulk with more vigor than even Thunderbolt Ross. There was a certain logic to his design that made sense in the context of the Marvel universe. I will talk about that in the next blog. Until then I want to know if you have a favorite Hulk villain, or any villain in general. Tell me about it on the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

A symmetry of villainy, part 2…

In the previous entry of this series I talked about some of my favorite comic book rivalries. I noted that some villains were evil mirror versions of the heroes, like the Abomination was to the Hulk, the Reverse Flash was to the Flash, or Bizarro was to Superman. That type of design worked well in many stories, and was a tool that young authors could use when fleshing out the antagonists for their own stories. I also mentioned that many of the greatest rivals were asymmetric in look, and ability. Such as the Joker to Batman, Doctor Doom to the Fantastic Four, or the Mandarin to Iron Man. I argued that these were the most interesting types of rivals. Creators that understood the format were able to build worlds that appealed to many readers throughout the years. Award-winning writers understood that the best characters represented something greater than themselves. For example the Hulk was a stand-in for rage, Superman stood for hope, and the Joker for chaos. When done well we could use that understanding across genres. I believed that the best storytellers could use those archetypes in entirely different languages. I have said that the best Superman arc, and best Hulk story of the past decade were featured in the works of the Japanese creator known as ONE.

One Punch-Man was every bit a spoof as it was a love letter to the super hero genre. The main character was overpowered, not unlike Superman. The heart of the story was how the supporting characters would deal with world-ending threats before Superman, err, rather Saitama could deliver one of his trademark punches. This was essentially the same dynamic of the Justice League holding off a colossal enemy until Superman could show up. You would think that having a character that could defeat any opponent with a single punch would become boring after the first issue, but ONE managed to build a lot of tension by investing us in the street-level heroes. By comparison Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama wanted nothing more than to catch the eye of a girl he was crushing on, all while dealing with latent psychic powers. The heart of the Mob Psycho 100 story was how people would try to manipulate him, or exploit his powers. It was a cautionary tale dealing with bullying, self image, loss of control, and much more. Nothing could contain Mob when he was pushed to the breaking point. Similar to how Bruce Banner did his best to avoid conflict in the pages of the Marvel comics. When the Hulk was unleashed even the strongest villains found out that he was impossible to stop,. The Hulk had his own Lex Luthor, a human antagonist rather than a super-powered villain that functioned as a great rival for over 45 years.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross hounded the Banner, and the Hulk. His crusade against the Green Goliath took him, and his battalions all over the world. He was a complex character, and doubly important because he was the father of Elizabeth “Betty” Ross, the love interest, and future wife of Dr. Bruce Banner. It had been argued that the Hulk was an allegory for war. General Ross represented the military industrial complex, the duo had a destructive relationship. He assumed that any problem could be solved if enough bombs were dropped on it. The opposite was true in the stories. It was impossible to beat the Hulk through perpetual escalation. The billions the government spent on military equipment did nothing but annoy the Jade Giant. He would only become stronger, cause more destruction, and collateral damage the further he was pursued. Thunderbolt’s single-minded obsession was comparable to Captain Ahab from the story Moby Dick. His mania would only lead to the estrangement from his daughter, a mental breakdown, and his eventual downfall. As for the Hulk, it turned out that peace, or rather leaving him alone was the best way to get him to revert to back into Banner.

This dynamic was critically important for the development of the series. Not every villain that the Hulk faced had to be a gamma-powered monster. His toughest battles were fought with his own human family members. At least this was the dynamic explored by all the great series writers except for one person. Jeph Loeb had written for films, television, and comic books for years. In an interview he mentioned that he had a wishlist of things he had always wanted to do in a comic book, and was looking for a character to apply it to. He wanted to see the Hulk stop holding back, to cut loose on the Marvel U, and see what he was really capable of. These included fourth wall breaks ala Deadpool. Things like punching the Watcher, beating up Thor with his own hammer, stealing the Silver Surfer’s board, etc. He knew that it wouldn’t work for the character that fans were already familiar with, so his idea was to assassinate the Abomination, and replace him with an even more powerful rival called the Red Hulk. This would allow him to check off the things on his wishlist without breaking the character that audiences were familiar with. After several issues it was revealed that the Red Hulk was actually General Ross. The editors at Marvel were on board, and the character became a part of continuity in 2008. To fans like myself if demonstrated a misunderstanding of Ross, and the dynamic of the Hulk comics up until that point.

First off the idea of General Ross as the Hulk was explored in a What If? comic from 2004. In it he was gray, and not red. The important part of the story was that Ross saved Rick Jones during the gamma bomb field test, and received the gamma rays that transformed him into the Hulk instead of Banner. During his initial rampage he accidentally killed Betty. When he realized his mistake he transformed back into his human form. A distraught Banner snuck up behind him, and shot him in the head. Thus concluding the story. It made little to no sense for Loeb to add yet another strong guy into the Hulk books. There archetypes were already established through decades of adventures. In addition to the Abomination there were heavy hitters like the Absorbing Man, the Juggernaut, and the Wendigo. In fact when it came to parallel, or rather symmetrical villains there were two that had also been established previously. Professor Geoffrey Crawford was one of Banner’s university instructors. In an attempt to cure a terminal disease he ended up turning himself into Ravage. Yet unlike the Hulk he retained the intelligence of the nuclear scientist. Then there was a version of the Hulk from the far off future in which Banner’s personality had long since deteriorated, and all that was left was a tyrant known as the Maestro. Either one of these villains were overpowered compared to the rest of the Marvel universe. They could have potentially carried off Loeb’s wishlist. Yet I had a feeling that Jeph did not really understand how the powers worked in the Hulk books, how the psychology of the characters affected their mutations, or the roles of long-established foes. 

I would argue that Jeph Loeb didn't really understand the heroes or villains from the Hulk books. He instead wanted to rewrite the cast to fit his own interpretation. In doing so it would cause a domino effect that would also turn Betty Ross into a Red She-Hulk, and make the Hulk have a couple of illegitimate offspring. It was the same misunderstanding of the characters that would lead writers to break up Peter Parker, and Mary Jane, and turn Spider-Man into a long suffering hero. This ended up disappointing a large number of fans. While there were many people that liked the Red Hulk, the role of General Ross was completely missed by Loeb, and his successors. I want you to think about it for a moment. Would this type of villain evolution work for the strongest characters in any other book? What if a writer that didn't understand the dynamics of Superman decided to give Lex Luthor all sorts of powers? What if this writer then started calling his creation Alpha Superman? How would fans react to this sudden change? Once the genie was out of the bottle Luthor would never go back to being a mere mortal. It didn't make much sense in this context. It certainly wouldn't have made for a more interesting villain. In fact I think the opposite happened with General Ross.

For almost a century comic book writers had to challenge themselves to create an engaging story. A story where normal humans posed legitimate threats to the most powerful heroes in their respective universes. These writers had to build the tension, and maintain the voices that readers were used to. They had to plot out story arcs that would keep audiences hooked month after month. A well written villain could be used over, and over without feeling tired or broken. New villains were sometimes given a gimmick that flew in the face of established history. This was just so writers that didn't understand the books could have a couple of cool moments pop up. This was what I think Jeph Loeb did with the Red Hulk. General Ross represented much more than a domineering father, or dogmatic soldier. War was all he understood. The concept of peace was foreign to him. He could not bear to let Banner and Betty enjoy their life together. His obsession with control, with Banner, and the Hulk was an illness. He was willing to sacrifice his own men in his pursuit. This made him the actual monster in the stories. A person like Ross would be diagnosed with Ahab Syndrome, an actual condition where a person was consumed with revenge.

The introduction of the Red Hulk showed that Jeph Loeb completely misunderstood the dynamics of the Hulk. Mr. Loeb decided to rewrite the story of Moby Dick. In his version Captain Ahab would mysteriously get absurd powers. In fact the captain would beat up the whale at the start of the book, and then audiences would watch him go around the ocean beating up other sea monsters. The end of this story would somehow remain the same. The whale would take his revenge, and dispatch Ahab without much fanfare. Mr. Loeb ignored all the established heavy-hitters, and used the most basic type of symmetry to create the type of dumb strong guy that people assumed the Hulk was. The two Hulks would have a few fights, but they lacked the gravity of the battles against the Abomination, or Maestro. Audiences did not fear for the Hulk when this new monster popped up. In fact the Red Hulk would stop being used as a villain altogether. He would end up leading the government sponsored Thunderbolts on missions. You could imagine how absurd it would be if a symmetrical rival like the Reverse Flash, or Doomsday lead the Justice League after their debut. The Red Hulk was just another antihero added into a universe that had become saturated with cynical voices. Mr. Loeb did not create a rival that would withstand the test of time. 

In my opinion Jeph Loeb did a disservice to the character, and continuity of the Hulk. Mr. Loeb lacked the nuance, and understanding that a creator like ONE had when it came to writing for overpowered heroes. The Marvel books would never be the same because of this. There were many rivalries that still meant something in the comics. I will talk about whom I consider to be the Hulk’s greatest rival in the next entry. Until then I want to read your take. Tell me about it on the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!