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!

Creating a fighting game Frankenstein's monster...

When I talk about fighting game character designs I usually start with martial artists, and particular styles. Sometimes we look at the pop culture influences behind these designs. Today we’re going to look at the horror, and science fiction roots of a certain character type. The artificial human, the man created by science. We’re familiar with the story, which is as old as Mary Shelley’s original work Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The book from 1818 has been adapted thousands of times, from stage plays, to cartoons, and live action movies. In the story Dr. Victor Frankenstein pieces together a man made from different cadavers, and then brings it to life. He abandons his creation, and the monster is shunned by society because of his grotesqueness. The monster makes it his mission to track down his creator and destroy him. It’s a cautionary tale with many different lessons, one of the most important is what happens to science without ethics.

The creature turning against the creator is the backbone of science fiction. The Terminator movie series is not far removed from the story of Frankenstein. In the movies Cyberdyne Systems loses control of its artificial intelligence SKYNET network. Without the military issuing commands the T-800 robots almost wipe out humanity. The robots covered in organic flesh are very lifelike, and each revision becomes harder and harder for humans to detect. Now the question is whether or not the fighting game genre has ever given audiences a Frankenstein's monster. The short answer is yes, of course it has. Many times in fact. The Terminator appeared in Mortal Kombat 11, the NetherRealm title from 2019. A more literal Frankenstein's monster appeared with Victor Von Gerdenheim in 1994's Vampire / Darkstalkers by Capcom. Yet there were more examples of the humanoid mechanical fighter that were poached by studios.

In the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) the next variation of the cyborg, the T-1000 is made of a liquid metal that allows it to mimic any person, or object. The special effects by Industrial Light and Magic were revolutionary. It was the first time that life-like CGI and practical effects blended seamlessly in a big budget Hollywood movie. The visuals of the T-1000 inspired a generation of artists, animators, and producers. The idea of putting a Terminator-like character in a fighting game were not far behind.

Battle K-Road by Psikyo was a 1994 fighting game that poached heavily from actual fighters, and pop culture. It was notable for using a cyborg that was a dead ringer for Arnold Schwarzenegger from the original 1984 Terminator film. Aside from that, the T-1000 was far more interesting to fighting game developers. The idea that one character could mimic the moves of every fighter was an interesting premise. Of course a fighter that could do this would be overpowered, and not someone that studios would want to make playable. That is possibly why the first character that was poured from the T-1000 mold was Geegus. The silver-skinned boss character from the game World Heroes debuted in 1992. The developers at ADK were coming out with a number of the early brawling, and fighting game hits for the Neo Geo platform.

World Heroes was one of the first, if not the first, time-traveling fighting games. It took a number of characters from history, not all necessarily fighters, and put them in a tournament to determine who was the greatest hero. Geegus was an alien using the tournament as a front to observe, and absorb the moves of every participant. This became a popular trend as other boss characters appeared that were more of less the same. Dural from Virtua Fighter (1993) by SEGA, was the next similar boss design. She had the moves of every fighter in the tournament. This cyborg was based on a human kunoichi, or female ninja fighter. She was the first 3D female boss in a game. The first female boss that predated her (that I know of) was Mizuki Rashojin, who appeared in Samurai Showdown II just a month earlier. Dural could not melt and change shape like Geegus, but the silver skin was nonetheless an impressive technological feat for the time.

The fighting game genre was exploding in the early ’90s. The technology used in arcades was transitioning from sprite to polygon. Rare was on the cutting edge of graphics at the time. They released Killer Instinct in 1994. The game used Silicon Graphics workstations (then the most powerful engines for 3D effects) to create their models, and stages. The game featured a number of fighting archetypes, but one of the most memorable was the alien Glacius. This character did not have the ability to mimic the moves of his opponents, but he was like the T-1000 in that he could change shape. In the Terminator film the T-1000 could turn his appendages into spikes, go completely flat, and slide past opponents. Rare demonstrated that the shape-shifting moves from the film could work in a fighting game.

The challenge was on for the developers. Could they create a playable character that could mimic his opponents without being overpowered? Capcom was up to the task, but their first attempt at creating a move-stealing fighter wasn’t seen by the majority of their fans. The Cyborg appeared in the 1995 game, Street Fighter II: The Interactive Movie. The evil Shadowlaw cyborgs were featured in the SF II animated movie, as they observed, and reported back to Vega (Dictator). In the game the character would learn the special attacks of the fighters at various points in the movie. The robot potentially had the ability to use the super fireball of Ryu, the super dragon punch of Ken, and even the sweeping kicks of Chun-Li. The seven-foot cyborg was essentially the first original Frankenstein's monster in the genre. Although it was a villain, an alternate ending in the game saw the Cyborg turn against Shadowlaw and destroy Vega. Sadly the character wouldn’t appear in another Street Fighter game, but its DNA would be revisited.

A good number of the team members responsible for Street Fighter II wanted to take a crack at the cybernetic mimic. They formed a new studio called ARIKA. They came up with two new characters; Cycloid β (Beta), and Cycloid γ (Gamma). The robots appeared in Street Fighter EX, the original 3D SF game at the end of 1996. What ARIKA did to keep their Cycloids from being overpowered was to give each of them moves from half the cast. In this way they had an even mix of close, mid range, and distance attacks. They also had unique combos that no other character could perform. Their move selection was very much pieced together like Frankenstein. Although they could not shape shift, they were still memorable attempts at making synthetic fighters.

Not to be outdone Capcom wanted to take another crack at the shape shifting, and move stealing monster. Their next attempt would be the last time they developed a sprite-based character. Twelve debuted in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. The game from 1999 was the last numbered Street Fighter to use traditional hand-drawn sprites. This character was very flexible, and rubbery, even when compared to Necro from the same game.  Twelve was not completely fluid, like Geegus or Glacius, he couldn’t exactly flow like water. The animators at Capcom gave him the illusion of weight, and mass, like a rubber tire, rather than a ball of mercury. It could still change shape. The synthetic life form could turns its appendages into blades, or whips. It could glide, and even spring around the stage. In order to prevent Twelve from being overpowered it could only mimic the moves of the character it was currently fighting. It was easily one of the best animated characters from any fighting game, and possibly the closest thing to being a playable T-1000. As far as Frankenstein creatures went, it was a trained weapon, not exactly going against its creators.

Namco had been focused on their own characters, and designs with the Tekken series. They weren’t interested in silver-skinned, bald men as bosses. They already had cyborgs like Jack and P-Jack that were above and beyond the T-800. Their magically animated wooden fighter Mokujin could also emulate its opponent. In 2001 the studio finally decided to create a dedicated robot capable of stealing the moves of its opponent. Combot appeared first in Tekken 4. It was not covered in liquid metal like the T-1000. It looked more like a traditional robot than any other fighter listed thus far. The studio had been paying attention to what Capcom, and ARIKA had done. The character could only mimic the moves of its current opponent. It was a great choice if you wanted to learn the nuances of each character in arcade mode.

The start of the new millennium was pretty quiet for the fighting game community. All of that changed in 2008 with the release of Street Fighter IV. Capcom was eager to get audiences back into the genre and they did so by reintroducing the original World Warriors. The studio also created a new boss that was a call back to Geegus. Seth was the silver-skinned humanoid perfected. The character was the President of S.I.N. the weapons development unit of Shadowlaw. His team used his body to build the perfect weapon. He could emulate, and reflect both special, and super attacks from the fighters he crossed. The character was visually unique, with a rotating power source where his abdomen should be. In the game story it was explained that the Shadowlaw scientists had been able to recreate the moves of the masters using the Tanden Engine. Daigo Ikeno, lead designer on Street Fighter IV pulled a lot of visual elements from Shinto, and Tao spiritual beliefs, and turned them into pseudo-scientific technology.

Capcom didn’t do much in the way of changing the Seth or developing a new boss character over the next decade. The standard had been set early on. Seth was arguably the best original Frankenstein's monster in the genre. Even better because this was as if Victor Frankenstein had built the monsterous body to drop his brain into. In 2019 Capcom decided to revisit Seth for Season Four of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. This time the re-skinned Seth was also assigned a new gender. I’m not sure how much forethought was given to this idea, but I’d like to think it was a progressive statement from Capcom. The change of Seth from a male to female body was written into the story, as the cyborg had its consciousness transferred to a new body. This new form rounded out the abilities of the character, and if anything, made it even more interesting.

The Tanden Engine, was powered by Yin and Yang energy. The opposing forces were required to achieve balance. Being gender-neutral made Seth able to explore both sides of this power source. The duality could be seen in the concept art, as well as in the final design of both versions of Seth. Her standing lotus pose was a call back to the original seated position of the character. But the details in the updated Seth went much deeper than that. Seth’s new haircut covered half her face, literally making it half light, and half dark. A mirrored yin and yang symbol from her stomach. The circular hair bun completed the look.

The use of knots, braids, and ropes for the various character costumes were pulled right from Shinto beliefs. These details were covered previously on the blog. I mentioned how the knots worn on the belts of Gouken, and Gouki had symbolic meanings. The same could be attributed to the hair of Seth. Capcom had created both the genre's original Frankenstein's Monster, and the Bride of Frankenstein with this fighter. Seth in either male or female form was far more powerful, and dangerous than any human. Its creators at S.I.N. had propelled science beyond human understanding. By doing so they created a villain that was immortal, essentially god-like.

The connections to Seth and godhood were not a coincidence. In earlier concept art the designers at Capcom were considering adding a flowing scarf, and top knot. This look was a direct call out to Raijin, the Shinto god of thunder. Audiences were supposed to tell instantly that this was a powerful villain. In many classical paintings, and even statues, Raijin was presented with a flowing scarf. Sometimes holding a vajra, a type of dagger used for striking down evil. The poses, and figures from Buddhism, complimented the Shinto beliefs in Japan. The poses and iconography are sometimes blended together, and easily recognized in Asian countries. While fans in the West may not get all of the mythology behind Seth’s details, they are nonetheless interesting to study and learn from.

We have the technology to create an actual T-1000 character in a fighting game, one that could change shape, and use all of the special attacks of the cast. Time has shown us that such a character would be far too powerful to be anything but a boss design. So for the help of balancing the roster the studios have learned to tone down their moves and abilities. At least Capcom, Namco, ARIKA, and DIMPS learned what Dr. Frankenstein never could. Don't build a monster that you cannot control! What do you think of move-stealing cyborgs in fighting games? Are you for them? Against them? Let me know in the comments section. 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!

The Giant Monster Series, part 5...

The giant monster genre was a subsection of the monster genre. The tradition of scary beings went back to the earliest days of storytelling. Imagine primitive tribes sitting around a fire recounting the time they almost got eaten by a giant bat or snatched by a troll living under a bridge. Monsters were sometimes shape-shifters, they looked human from a distance but then up close they were something else. The bigger the monster, or god, the greater the chance for destruction. Gods and giant monsters were the roots of disease and natural disasters. Some demanded a blood sacrifice in order to be satiated. Smaller monsters could still be bloodthirsty, or demand a sacrifice. Their destruction was limited to a small group of people, a clan sometimes, they were just effective when used for a cautionary tale.

 

One of the classic monsters was the Cyclops. The one-eyed monster was the child of the god Zeus. The creature had a habit of eating trespassers on his island. He was blinded by Odysseus (Ulysses) and as punishment Zeus caused Odysseus and his crew to be lost at sea for a decade. Most lost their lives to various creatures, large, small and seductive. Homer the poet was credit for writing the Odyssey. The creatures he described represented a various state of being for the gods, or hubris for the lost Greek sailors. No matter how far they traveled, they could never outrun their past. The monsters in classic literature manifested our innermost fears. Another creature that reflected our psyche was the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. The story by Mary Shelley was a cautionary tale about accepting responsibility for your actions. In the case of Dr. Frankenstein he was a reckless scientist. He succeeded in creating life from death but was horrified with the results. He abandoned his creature and without a master or guiding hand to temper his existence the creature terrorized a village. There were so many layers to the creature, ranging from pitiful to morbid. It made the creature both sympathetic and terrifying to behold. When the monster showed up in movies it created a template that would be copied by other studios and even game developers.

 

Bioshock by 2K was released in 2007 and had a monster not unlike Frankenstein's creature. The "Big Daddy" was a mutated man inside of a twisted diving suit. He was protective of his "daughters," mutated girls. Like the creature he was obscenely strong. He was relentless in his pursuit of the hero. The setting in the game made the encounters with Big Daddy much more intense. Audiences were trapped in the remains of an underwater city called Rapture. The hero couldn't simply run to the next town for help. The additional layer of isolation on top of a great antagonist made the series unforgettable. In the follow-up title, Bioshock Infinite by Irrational Games, the player was trapped aboard a floating city called Columbia. The game from 2013 replaced Big Daddy with a cybernetic automaton called the Handyman. Like Frankenstein's creature it was an unstoppable force with a tragic back story. Series director Ken Levine managed to turn both monsters into sympathetic creatures by the end of each game.

Great monster stories are about escapism. Whether the setting is Victorian England or Japan in the near-future, there has to be something for audiences to escape to or from. For video games it is not enough to run from the monsters, but to be able to fight them as well. When audiences were introduced to the Big Daddy or the Handyman they were grossly unprepared for the encounter. Early on in each game players had to learn how to hit and run from their opponents. As they gained experience then they earned new weapons and abilities. Eventually the game evened the playing field and audiences no longer had to fear the monsters. This formula has probably never been exploited more than in the Earth Defense Force series.

 

Earth Defense Force is a long-running series from publisher D3. The game has traded multiple developers since it debuted in 2003 but the core experience remains the same. You are the hero in the ultimate movie spectacle. Imagine a game recreating the biggest fights in Independence Day, Pacific Rim, Guardians of the Galaxy or Godzilla. In essence the jaw-dropping special-effects scenes that put people in movie theaters every summer. The story in each game is straightforward, you are a member of an elite force that is protecting the Earth from alien invaders. As aliens, in the form of giant bugs start popping up you fight them with small weapons but as you progress the tools get bigger and better. You move from machine gun, to rocket launcher, to tank and eventually science fiction weapons; power suits, laser rifles, rocket backpacks and much more. Your squad is under a constant barrage of enemy fire and giant monsters. It is a frenetic experience that ups the ante with every mission.

If you've never heard of the title there's probably a reason. The game has a cult-like following. Visually the graphics are amazing. The scale of the creatures you have to fight is off the chart. The alien spacecraft, giant bugs and monsters in the series are literally breathtaking. They are among the largest things ever presented in a game. Remember that this includes the enormous monsters in Mass Effect, Resistance, Lost Planet, Monster Hunter and the God of War series. From a game play standpoint there is a lot of action to be had and a ton of different ways to dispose of the various giant creatures you come across, including the ability to pilot a mecha or giant robot.

   

Despite the awesome visuals the game is lacking in depth. Like many of the summer movies the experience is about spectacle and nothing else. Films like Armageddon (1998), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and San Andreas (2015) pile on the special effects and hope that audiences don't mind the lackluster script or poor acting. The EDF series is the gaming equivalent of those effect features. Small details that are addressed in AAA titles are overlooked in the series. Things like clipping (where 3D models intersect), animation and collision detection are not always right. But it doesn't seem to matter when the game hits you with wave after wave of giant robotic lizards and space ships that eclipse the horizon. No sooner are they destroyed than another batch arrives. You have no time to wonder how cities are rebuilt so quickly or why you are never fighting atop the remains of your enemies. The steady build up and immersive narrative of a Bioshock game is replaced with explosion after explosion. So was there a man versus giant monster game that captured the gravity of the situation better? Certainly! We will look at some examples in the next entry.