So, I was looking through World War Hulk #3, and a question was raised in my mind. This will include spoilers to the issue, so for those of you planning to get the issue in the near future, who don't want any of it ruined, leave now. The rest of us will wait. But not too long.
OK, so Dr. Stran - well, hurry up and 'git', already! Damn, you give people an opportunity to leave, and they milk it for all it's worth. As I was saying, Dr. Strange is in Hulk's mind. He wants to talk to Banner. Hulk changes to Banner, he and Strange talk, Strange convinces Banner that its time to end this, and to get out of the astral plane before the Army trashes his body. Except, Banner changes back to Hulk and breaks Doc's hands. Ouch. Where's Night Nurse when you need her?
So what I'm wondering is, what does that scene say about Hulk's state of mind? We all know he's filled with loss, and anger, and a desire for revenge, and anger, and a sense of righteousness, and of course, anger, but what does it mean for the Banner/Hulk situation? I've got three possible theories:
1) Hulk pretended to be Banner. As Strange said, they were in Hulk's mind, their surroundings created by the Hulk's mind. Perhaps the Hulk took advantage of this to fool Strange into thinking he was talking to Banner with a little astral projection trickery?
2) Banner and Hulk are working together. I don't know how fond Banner was of the planet he landed on, or how he felt about being a ruler, with a wife and kid on the way. Maybe none of that means anything to him. But I'm pretty sure he could be angry about the "We tricked you and we're shooting you into deep space" thing. In that case, he could have willingly come out to draw Strange in where Hulk could reemerge and get a hold of the sorcerer.
3) Doc Sampson was right when he suggested to She-Hulk that Banner might never had been the real person at all, that he was always just a form the Hulk hid behind. In that case, the Hulk could bring Banner out at will (or honestly, any other form of the Hulk that we've ever seen), as the situation demands. But he'd still be in control, and could revert to his current form.
The first option would indicate the Hulk's been learning some new tricks, probably from that annoying bastard that keeps saying 'If one must die, let them die well.' Man, that got old after five seconds. The second option indicates Hulk and Banner actually working together, unified in purpose at the very least, like they supposedly were back when Peter David did that "Unify the Hulks" story around #375, and we got the biggest, smartest, strongest Hulk ever, which turned out to just be another type of Hulk. The third option plays off an idea I associate with Paul Jenkins (though it probably is much older than that). The idea that all the Hulks are just different personality types manifested, but they're all Banner in some regard. Except now, it would be that they're all aspects of this Hulk in some regard, but he's the "true" form.
Those are my thoughts. If you have any you'd like to contribute, feel free.
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9 comments:
I'm pretty sure it's 2, though 3 isn't impossible. Pak put in a scene where Hulk turns back to Banner during the wedding preparations, and Caiera is very accepting of that side of Hulk as well.
So I think that the Illuminati are discovering what Hulk can be when Hulk and Banner are united in both purpose and total rage.
I think Bruce Banner has been dead for a long time. Maybe since Bruce Jones's run. There isn't any man to the monster anymore and any time he's been Banner through Planet and World War Hulk has been these empty and hollow moments. Bruce Banner hasn't said one honest word and when the Hulk showed that side of him to his alien wife, it was as if he was admitting a shame than an actual person. She touched him, accepted his weakness then it was right back to being the Hulk.
I miss Banner, but he's not with us anymore.
I'm going with option #3. Banner merely seemed like a small part of the Hulk this week, rather than the central personality submerged by the Hulk's rage.
If I remember correctly, the arc that led into Planet Hulk (Peace In Our Time, I think) started immediately after House of M. I haven't read the House of M Hulk issues, but I believe that Banner and the Hulk were in better synch thanks to some Aboriginal juju. Starting with Peace in our Time and continuing through Planet Hulk, it's really not clear which Hulk we're dealing with. He's seemingly got the presence of mind of the Professor Hulk, but the instincts of the Savage Hulk.
Though, to the best of my knowledge, it's never been explicitly stated, I can't help but think that Pak's Hulk is some amalgamation of the three, with the Hulk and Banner much more connected and on the same page than ever before. Sakaar made being the Hulk 24/7 a necessary evil and I doubt that Banner would have condemned his actions there. Maybe that bred sympathy or something. It strikes me as an organic progression, but one they haven't elaborated on out loud.
Some interesting theories indeed. If Banner and Hulk are working together, then the Illuminati...and everyone else is in biiiiig trouble.
I agree with Tevella, its option number 2. The power of the Hulk is unlimited (breathing in space, seeing astral projections, holding up mountains), with the only thing really limiting him being the internal conflict, sometimes overt, sometimes not, between the Banner and Hulk parts of his schizoid mind. But with the tragedy in space, where both Hulk and Banner found acceptance and loss (thats why when Hulk turns to Banner in front of his wife, and she still accepts him, its such a key scene), they are now working in synch in their anger, making Hulk both intelligent and unstoppable as we're seeing in WWH.
-BlackRivil
tavella: That wedding scene does sound really important in light of how things went in WWH #3.
carla: That's interesting, and people, usually in stories, do talk about how a part of them died on some traumatic day, so then my question is, what event caused Banner to die?
fortress keeper: So, that's 2 votes for #3.
kanedoras: So Banner was forced to stay on the inside so much, that it gave him the opportunity to view the Hulk in a different light, and stop seeing Hulk as the bane of Banner's existence?
sallyp: Well, I'd say the Illuminati are already in big trouble, the question is how much worse it'll get for them before they're saved (if they're saved).
blackrivil: Chalk up another vote for United HulkBanner. This is great, folks putting forth theories and explanations. Good times.
Tony'll live.
She-hulk mentions suing him, and it takes place afterwards, so the illuminati aren't all getting killed.
anonymous: Yeah, I doubt they'll any of the Illuminati, but there's no reason Hulk couldn't maim them a little bit. Eyepatch Tony Stark, anyone?
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