So-- whad'ja think?
1 I enjoyed it, but I'd rather see "What If DIANA ROSS had become the Hulk".
personally, I can't wait to see Wha...Huh? Marvel didn't post much on the comic, but I saw your name there, so it's got to be interesting.
I think the comic shop didn't have it in today, and he'll get it tomorrow
D'oh!
I saw it there today, but after talking to a couple people I forgot to pick it up. I'll have to do that the next time I stop in.
Geez, Peter--I know the first rule is "hurt the hero," but you sure took that to heart this time, huh?
Good stuff.
(Although I would have liked it had all of the What Ifs had had an editorial fiat to use the same sort of framing sequence--that is, the writers talking about the scenario--rather than fall back on the Watcher. Isn't Uatu dead or disgraced or something, anyway?
It would have given a larger cohesiveness to the whole fifth week line, I think, without hurting any one book)
Interesting ending. That's the only one of them that I've had a chance to sit and read in its entirety (skimmed Bendis' Daredevil and Jessica Jones stories while in the store--I'll get to them in the next couple of days), and it's the one that matches my impression of the original series...Unfortunately, I can't say why that is without giving away the ending (I can't remember how to do spoiler text here).
Good read, though.
Paul
Hopefully, this comment isn't a spoiler, at least of anything specific.
Why is it, in nearly all "What If" or "Imaginary" stories, does everything in the alternate timeline or universe always turn out worse? I can suppose that if it didn't, the official "real" continuity would be disparaged - especially if the alternate version proved to be very popular.
Still, all the "What If" stories I've seen, which in this particular batch includes the Daredevil one, are like James Stewart's visit to Potterville in "It's A Wonderful Life." One can see Peter Parker running joyously past the Brooklyn Bridge, after witnessing one of his "What If" stories. He would be yelling "Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, college where I'm flunking out! Merry Christmas, grave of Gwen Stacy - boy, am I glad that you're dead!"
(By the way, as someone wrote last year on Salon.com, Potterville is a more interesting and vital town than Bedford Falls ever was.)
In the earlier volumes of What If, there were a few endings that were "happier" than the real ones. They were rare, but they exist. And quite a few were just different, not really better or worse. Not every What If had the main character die, or someone close die, or the end of all life as we know it.
Entertaining, and well-drawn, but nothing too amazing or incredible. I liked it for the most part, but as it was a one-off, it's hard to get too excited.
Then again, one-offs are so rare that it's good to see Marvel still believes in them sometimes.
Thomas:
I had the same criticism of early "What If," as well. I would prefer seeing how things would be "different" rather than how horrible they would be (the What If Gwen Stacy was alive one, for example -- why not show us what it might have been like in the actual comics if Gwen had lived).
The one "good ending" What If I remember is "What If Elektra had lived" by Frank Miller. The devastated Matt Murdock hears how happy he could have been in this universe and Uatu tries to make him feel somewhat better by saying, "Well, this is just one possible universe... where you're blissfully happy with the woman of your dreams... and the sex... the sex you have in the universe is amazing... but I've said too much."
I really enjoyed it.
That last page really blew me away.
:)
Mark - you weren't the only one!
Thomas - the Jessica Jones one ends up with a "happier" ending for most characters than the original stories did. I think the FF, Spider-Man and X-Men ones were mostly neutral, but I haven't read them yet. So not a bad mix here.
Felt kinda phoned-in to me. Almost like you did it out of obligation to the character instead of a love for the character.
Looking forward to the regular series.
Of the three What If's I read this week, Ross-Hulk was the most "classic", in terms of the stereotypical "things go bad" plotline. It was okay, but I enjoyed the Doom-Thing one better.
As to why things go so much worse for characters in "What ifs", I think there's a few reasons:
Years back, the Comics Journal (which I hope our host won't mind me mentioning here...) cynically remarked that the whole point of "What If" was to prove the Gospel according to Marvel is inviolable. I think there's some truth to that.
The *non-cynical* side is that it would be a little cruel. In theory, we love our heroes so who wants to hear that Bruce Banner or Peter Parker has a life of sunshine and lollipops if he just hadn't made decision X or Y? I think we would rather believe our heroes are better off in "reality."
Another thing is that these premises don't have to be built to last so the creators can do what they want without having to worry about leaving the series sustainable. So a lot of the decisions made (To be clear, I haven't seen the new batch but I've read all of the first two volumes of "What If") are a little "unrealistic" when it comes to the Marvel Universe as we know it. For instance, if, say, Captain America retires, someone does a story where in a panel or a page, the Avengers are all killed off (No Bendis jokes please...) Obviously, in mainstream continuity, that wouldn't be allowed and we've all seen the Avengers come through plenty of crises without Thor, Iron Man, Captain America or whoever. But "What If" creators don't have to leave the toys where they found them.
Also because "What Ifs" are self-contained, they more generally follow the traditional story structure and have what most comic books never truly do: an ending.
Last, freed of the constraints of continuity, I think a lot of creators welcome the chance to do stories where *something happens* instead of maintaining the illusion of change. And something happening in comics is usually negative. (Case in point: I knew, way back when, that when Alan Moore left the Swamp Thing series with Alec and Abby together and happy, that one of the next writers to come along would be completely unable to tackle the challenge of doing an ongoing series about two characters in a happy, successful relationship and have to break things up. And sure enough...)
All of which is very off-topic for someone who gets his books by mail and won't be able to respond to our hosts requests for comment for several weeks. So I should shut up now.
Nice cover. But saving my money for when you return to the Hulk series. Sorry.
Jim in Iowa
But if you do that then the Marvel bigwigs might say "Well his 'What If..?' book didn't sell very well, therefore he must not be a popular writer on teh Hulk.. DUMP HIM! Get that guy from Identity Crisis to write the Hulk."
I know it sounds silly, but I'm almost certain that how the dain bread Big Wigs at Marvel must think.
But if you do that then the Marvel bigwigs might say "Well his 'What If..?' book didn't sell very well, therefore he must not be a popular writer on teh Hulk.. DUMP HIM! Get that guy from Identity Crisis to write the Hulk."
I realize it is a remote possibillity. But if I don't buy his Hulk book, it is a much higher possibility! Since he actually is coming out with a Hulk book soon, I will wait until then.
I never was a Hulk fan. But PAD got me started. I missed the grey hulk days, but joined during the Pantheon era. So I am interested to see him back on the book.
Jim in Iowa
Nice work, but I do have some criticism (if you care or are interested). I only bought the What If's I was interested in (yours, Bendis' and Brubaker's), so I can only speak for those.
Comment #1 - This has already been stated, but I wish the framing device had been consistent in all of them. In Bendis', he's a character living in the Marvel Universe. In Brubaker's, it's 2 fanboys talking. And in yours, it's the Watcher (yay!). It didn't feel like the What If's were tied together in any way, although they should have considering they were released together.
Comment #2 - For the most part, these didn't feel like complete stories. For example, in Bendis' 2 stories, a third of the books were just recaps which greatly shortened his tales. Also, I think the narration hurt the stories because it told us what the characters were thinking and feeling, as opposed to seeing it in the story (your book came closest to achieving this). Basically, by the end of each book, I felt as though I'd only read the first act.
I was really looking forward to the What If's, because I loved them when I was younger. However, I didn't see anything in the newest go-round that would make me want this to become an ongoing.
I don't mean to offend (because I don't believe in trolling). But I hope my critique is something you can share with the powers-that-be if they decide to do this again.
Peace!
I loved the book!! Very nice work.
A side note that I found very unsettling is that, after having previously read the first few books and the recently released Series of Unfortunate Events film adaptation this past week, I kept hearing Lemony Snicket's voiceover whenever I read the narration of Ross' thoughts.
Fred
BIG SPOILERS - bail. Now.
Is it ironic or coincidental that the tank Hulk-Ross threw killed Betty? I always get those two mixed up.
Anyway, decent ish, liked the twist with how Ross was affected by the Gamma radition. Loved using The Watcher. Kind of a downer overall not that its a bad thing. But it was worth it just to see Rick Jones get squished right at the beginning. He's been deserving that for going out on the testing range 30+ years. (not that I hate rick, I like him alot, but seriously, what a tool.)
How many times has PAD written the line "Come ON you fool, we've got to reach the protective trench before THE BOMB goes off!" in his writing career anyway? Nice self-referential line by The Watcher at that point re. "supringly chatty". I wish PAD had somehow worked in Rick's immortal "didn't want them to think I was a chicken" line, though.
Nice warmup for the new Hulk book commin out.
Is it ironic or coincidental that the tank Hulk-Ross threw killed Betty? I always get those two mixed up.
Neither - it's just plain bad luck. (Alanis Morrisette has ruined the term irony for us. Her song "Ironic" is a list of events that ARE NOT ironic - they're just plain bad luck. Go read Wayne Booth's "A Rhetoric of Irony" for the best description what Irony really is).
A great issue. I'm totally stoked for PADs return to the Hulk now - he's shown he can still write Hulk well with this issue. Hope this sells well.
The book did a very dangerous thing. It gave me ideas.
Over the years, we've seen examples that gamma radiation affects different people different ways. There was a suggestion (moreso when Peter was writing it) that the changes were somehow caused by the subject's psyche. Banner is smart but weak and the radiation turns him into the strong but often no-so-smart Hulk; average, probably middling intellect Sam Sterns becomes the Leader; not sure how the Abomination works into that; don't really want to speculate what caused Betty to turn into the Harpy; and there are all the victims of the bombs at the end of "Ground Zero."
But, in the various What If ... scenarios set at that first G-bomb test, everyone becomes a Hulk. Rick Jones became a Hulk. Ross became a Hulk. Even in another of the batch of What Ifs just published, someone else at that test becomes a Hulk.
My thought is this: What if there's some sort of reason in all the various realities in the Multiverse that says, whoever is the one caught in that first test blast, (if they survive; there was a Hulk story years ago in which Banner was sent back into his body just before the test,chose not to try save Rick, and Rick was killed by the blast -- death seems to be the only other option to the scenario) be it Banner, Rick, Ross, Betty, Igor, or Aunt May, they end up the Hulk. For some cosmic reason, a survivor of that test is The Hulk.
This is something I think is worth exploring in the Marvel titles. It would probably best be done in either Hulk itself, or The Exiles, or maybe even a crossover between the two titles.
I think it could make an interesting storyline.
It's times like this that I am really ticked that I order my books online and only get them once a month.
Great story.
But, man...."Hulk have porn-moustache!!"
There is one thing I'm surprised by the comments listed here. No one has yet called Mr. David a filty pinko Commie-lover terrorist symphathizer because of the philosophy expressed by General Ross. Of course, it's a holiday weekend, and maybe all the BFEE supporters are out getting drunk.
And the interesting part is that Ross's philosophy was often openly promoted by Stan Lee in the early 1960's Marvels - making the book something of a critical comment of the military culture of that time.
nother big spoilers, bail once again ye virgins:
I don't know whose idea it was to have the green tint on Bruce's face when he pulled the trigger but that was freakin sweet. I think that showed, deep down, Banner really is a psycho badass.
First of all, I enjoyed the issue, but also felt like there was more to be seen. I thought there were some interesting posibilities with Ross staying as Hulk longer and having to deal with it after he turned back. However the amazing ending kind of made up for the missed posibilities.
Also, I'd like to say that Kim's suggestion of exploring why everyone becomes a Hulk in that test (the MU reasons, not the real-world ones) is a very good one.
Now, for the tragic What If?s, the ones with a happy ending that I can think of were, What If the Thing had continued to mutate? (second part of the issue with ...The Avengers had become pawns of Korvak in v1), the one that introduced Spider-Girl, err... and I think that's it.
Here's another WI? trend htough... Spider-Man dies in about 80% of the issues published.
Mini-Spoiler:
The Bendis "What if Jessica Jones joined the Avengers?" had a happy ending.
But as to why so many "WI?"s end in not-so-happy ways: I think the simplest answer is just that you don't normally get to kill off Spidey or Hulk or whoever. A writer gets a chance to go wild, they probably think "hell, why not fit in as many dramtic deaths as possible?"
"What If Rick Jones Became the Hulk?" had a pretty happy ending, as I recall.
As for this one ... liked it quite a bit. It seemed a bit relentlessly dark at times, but given the premise that's not too surprising.
Out of curiosity, while it obviously was crucial to the story to make Ross-Hulk mute, did you have an in-story justification for it in the back of your mind somewhere?
TWK
> But, in the various What If ... scenarios set at that first G-bomb test, everyone becomes a Hulk. Rick Jones became a Hulk. Ross became a Hulk. Even in another of the batch of What Ifs just published, someone else at that test becomes a Hulk.
>
> My thought is this: What if there's some sort of reason in all the various realities in the Multiverse that says, whoever is the one caught in that first test blast, (if they survive; there was a Hulk story years ago in which Banner was sent back into his body just before the test,chose not to try save Rick, and Rick was killed by the blast -- death seems to be the only other option to the scenario) be it Banner, Rick, Ross, Betty, Igor, or Aunt May, they end up the Hulk. For some cosmic reason, a survivor of that test is The Hulk.
One thing you forget, though, is that these things are predilection towards the subject becoming a Hulk. We don't have an unbiased sample of the whole multiverse.
No doubt, realities exist where Bruce became the Leader, Rick became superhumanly good at playing music, etc, etc.
I was at Lee's Comics yesterday and went to check out the What If books.
They were sold out of the Brubaker Spider-Man and the Claremont X-Men ones.
The Bendis What Ifs seemed too short, too abrupt. The end result coming after too brief a time. The page count probably had something to do with it. The Karen Page one with the title felt like a cheat in some respects. Beautiful art by Michael Lark (which looked even better in black and white) but the coloring took something out of it, unfortunately.
The Kesel Fantastic Four What If was fun and I enjoyed it. It serves as a companion piece to the What If General Ross Had Become The Hulk?
"What If General Ross Had Become The Hulk?" was my favorite of the ones I've read. Beautiful art by Patrick Olliffe and Sal Buscema. Interesting that Ross-Hulk's hair didn't turn green, too. The Watcher seemed a bit sinister in his narration, but this can be due to his alien nature, and what his race considers entertainment is subject for speculation. (Alternate realities are the TV for the couch potato known as Uatu).
I think that Bruce Banner's transformation at the end of the story was much scarier than Ross becoming the Hulk.
Much food for thought in this issue.
Hope to see more stories by Peter David.
As to the effects of Gamma Rays on individuals:
Emil Blonsky was a spy, whose specialty was to blend in, and infiltrate the military base. As a two-toed Abomination, this can be a tad bit tougher.
At the time, Betty Ross was vulnerable, and believed that her husband, Major Glenn Talbot had died. It could be that the Gamma Rays work on a person's subconscious desires or turns them into the very antithesis of who and what they are.
Steve Chung
The Incredible Hulk #204: "Vicious Circle" by Len Wein, Herb Trimpe, Joe Staton, Glynis Wein, and John Costanza (October, 1976) was the time travel story mentioned earlier.
As an alternative to the usual theories -- manifestations of fractured psyche or subconscious desires -- I'd like to suggest we simply view the Hulk as a good news/bad news scenario.
Good news: you're indestructible and unstoppable and have limitless power.
Bad news: you have to become the worst person you can imagine in order to use it.
You know, come to think of it, if we compare this issue to the way things turned out in the MU, the ending is actually happier for a lot of people.
Sure, Betty and Thunderbolt Ross died, but they're dead in the MU anyway (and not from nice deaths either).
Meanwhile, Bruce is free of the monster, and the thousands of people the Hulk has killed in his rampages are alive as well.
On the subject of happy endings, one of my favorite issues of the original What If...? series was "What if Spider-Man's Clone Lived?" (Funny how everyone forgot that issue was ever published when the much-maligned Clone Saga was produced.)
Anyway, it follows a pretty reasonable storyline and has a happy ending for the good guys. Seek it out, it's a fun read.
I always wanted to check that out, thinking about how it kinda evolved into the clone storyline. Also, the "What If Spider-Man had a Daughter", as it also evolved ino its own thing. I honestly don't get the excessive negativism going into most What If stories. Like "What if the Punisher's Family Hadn't Been Killed", they end up getting killed anyway, just in a different way, and it has essentially the same efect. Also, with "What If Spider-Man Married the Black Cat", SHE ends up getting killed at the end, after going after... I think it was the Vulture. I have some sense that if these events actually HAPPENED in the Marvel Universe, they wouldn't happen this way. Not just out of a desire to keep characters alive (remember Gwen), but it just seems like there actually would be some good with the bad.
I remember another What If that had a happy ending - "What If Rogue possessed the power of Thor?" - she got recruited by Loki to help him take over Asgard, but the good side of her nature won out in the end, and she became the new Thor.
My all-time favorite What If..? was one I found in my dad's comic stash from the original 60's series..."What If the Original Marvel Bullpen Gained the Powers Of the Fantastic Four?"
Jack Kirby was the Thing. It was awesome. :)
"Out of curiosity, while it obviously was crucial to the story to make Ross-Hulk mute, did you have an in-story justification for it in the back of your mind somewhere?"
Ah, that was part of my brilliantly clever sub-text...which, as is usually the case with my BCS-T, no one got.
In terms of "in story," my feeling was that it was perfectly justifiable because we've seen gamma radiation affect people in different ways. Hell, we've even seen it affect the Hulk himself in different ways. So there was really no reason NOT to have him mute since it was a perfectly valid way to go based upon character history.
Plus by doing it that way, it enabled me to make itthe classic case of "Be careful what you wish for." I don't have the dialogue in front of me, but basically early on in the story, Ross is dismissive of the notion of communication, of statesmen, of diplomacy, saying that the only thing that matters is power. If you are able to smash your opponents into the ground,nothing else matters.
So what happens? Ross becomes the living incarnation of what is his expressed ideal state. He has limitless power. He can crush his enemies. But because of lack of communication, everything goes straight down the tubes. And by the end of the story, Banner and Ross have traveled in two different arcs, each embracing the philosophy the other espoused. Ross now sees the true path of destruction and realizes the importance of words and moderation, whereas Banner no longer gives a crap and walks the path of violence.
And if you think it's a political commentary on Bush saying we shouldn't nation build and then taking us into unnecessary war, and Kerry and his repudiation of armed might in the 1970s which was then contradicted by his supporting the war in Iraq...well, yeah, you're right.
PAD
"Ah, that was part of my brilliantly clever sub-text...which, as is usually the case with my BCS-T, no one got."
Reminds me of a joke, PAD. Harlan Ellison probably told it to you, but just in case:
At a public lecture, a professor was talking about the stories of Isaac Asimov.
At the end of the lecture, he asked if there were any questions.
In the back row, Isaac Asimov stands up, introduces himself and says "What you're talking about is not what I put into my stories."
The professor retorts "What do you know? You're only the author!"
Before posting, I checked on snopes.com, and this isn't listed as an urban legend, true or not. (I did find one on Harlan Ellison that was false but funny, look for Ellison or Michael Dunn.)
But even with real events and real people, there's always all of these interpretations, re- and mis-, which is why there are urban legends and attempts to check them like snopes.com.
You're going to get some fraction (or amplification?) of that in interpretations of fiction.
Speaking of how gamma radiation affects different people ...
One of the smartest things that PAD did early in his Hulk run, I felt, was the gamma bomb going off in that small town (shame on me for not remembering its name). Gamma radiation doesn't turn everyone into Hulks. It kills people 99.9 percent of the time.
I think one of most overused plot devices in Marvel over four decades is gamma radiation turning random people into Hulks. I've always thought that only Bruce Banner was supposed to become the Hulk. (Granted, I have no problems with What If? tales or the Rick Hulk, a sad bit of writing that can be explained away by saying he merely held a portion of the Hulk's essense, or somesuch.)
I've always felt it cheapens the character a bit when any schmuck with a gamma gun and morph himself into a half-ton monster of unlimited rage.
There's only one Hulk! And Hulk WILL smash!
This was a good issue but the ending brought me down. What drove the series for me, during Peter’s run, was the relationship between Bruce and Betty. I was disappointed that during the end of Peter run her character was killed off but could not fault Peter as he wrote one hell of a story. It was my hope that in this one shot Bruce, Betty, and General Ross would come together and become one big happy family. While that did not happen year there is always hope when the regular Hulk series resumes this year.
I really liked the story, but was left wanting more at the end. Not because it wasn't filling, its just that I wanted to see what else could've happened. Im very happy PAD didn't have Ross turn into a carbon-copy Savage Hulk (like other less origional What If's that were also released), and actually kept that Narration intact. I miss reading what goes on in the characters heads, especially in a Hulk book anymore.
On January 1, 2005 at 11:51 PM, hulkeye wroteOne of the smartest things that PAD did early in his Hulk run, I felt, was the gamma bomb going off in that small town (shame on me for not remembering its name). Gamma radiation doesn't turn everyone into Hulks. It kills people 99.9 percent of the time.
If you're referring to my earlier comments, I never said gamma radiation only turns people into Hulks. I've followed The Hulk since Tales to Astonish #60, and I know there can be other effects, especially death.
I also never said that we've seen all possible alternate timelines. That would be impossible because, as long as writers can come up with more AT stories, we'll see more AT storylines.
What I was trying to say was, wouldn't it be interesting if, for some reason, whoever is caught in the blast of that first gamma bomb test, if it doesn't kill them outright, becomes a hulk. There can be variations, from savage to intelligent to mute, etc. But they still turn into some form of hulk.
I just thought it would make an excellent idea for a story someday. That's all.
You killed Betty,you bastards!!!!Man that was a bummer of an ending.Gotta admit Banner's actions at the end were disturbing, for me anyway.Poor Ricky just a stain in this story.
BTW I liked the story and am waiting for the next arc of Hulk stories with Lee weeks.:)
whereas Banner no longer gives a crap and walks the path of violence.
I realize you're the writer and all, but I always thought deep down Banner really wants to embrace destruction, so his actions in the "What If?" aren't really out of character because its who he is. (I'm thinking mostly of ish 377 where Bruce's personalities are Green = angry kid Grey = horny teen and Bruce = the one that keeps them all bottled up).
Anyway, I just wanted to spout off on how I think Bruce Banner is one of the most interesting characters in comics because he's nuttier than a truck full of fruitcakes.
Anyway, I just wanted to spout off on how I think Bruce Banner is one of the most interesting characters in comics because he's nuttier than a truck full of fruitcakes.
Erm,I mean, "nuttier than a truck full of some nut-based chocolate bar thingie"
and what the hulk to become the general? you guz have got to be jocking
1Wow. I didn't see that ending coming. Great job.
Just picked up a copy today, and I liked it. A tad depressing, but in an entertaining sort of way. What more can you ask?
"But because of lack of communication, everything goes straight down the tubes."
Ah, but, there are different types of communications. He couldn't speak? What was stopping him from using an oversized digit to scribble into the sand (or asphalt) "I am Ross ... help me!"? Perhaps more than just his verbal skills were affected?
Question: Does this alternate version of Banner's willingness to murder General Ross in order to avenge/stop a single Hulk rampage with only 2 casualties, both unintentional, put the (if you'll excuse the affectation) 616-version of Banner's refusal to commit suicide to prevent future Hulk rampages orders of magnitude more deadly into a much less favorable light than the stand of moral courage that it is usually presented as?
"Hulk Prime" - the idea that the first person caught in the Gamma Bomb must become the Hulk is interesting as theory, but it breaks down in practice. Superhero origins are mystical enough, but positing that Nature requires a "One True Hulk" is over the top. Especially when everyone after the first follows a relatively obvious "Opposite of what you were" trope, and even the first victims follow the same.
Banner - Hulk is the prototypical antithesis for Banner that would inform all the other Gamma mutates, from Leader to Half-Life.
Rick - The Rick Hulk was due to an accident involving Banner, and cannot be considered indepedant. The What If? version was more of a "Teen Hulk", similar in character to the current interpretation of She-Hulk. If we posit that the young Rick (pre-Sidekick) had a self-image problem, his "Hulk", while similar, is equally opposite.
Ross - while Loeb put it too bluntly in "Grey", the Banner and Ross are much more similar than they would like. It is not unreasonable that the Ross Hulk would be very much like the Banner Hulk, whether it is a question of opposites, or repressed feelings, or whatever.
Grimm - OK, his Hulk is not an Opposite. In following the trope, "What if Doom became the Thing?", Ben should have become the Leader. (Taking, of course, the name "Big Brain".) But this was an FF book, and so he had to follow the "Ben is more interesting as the Thing" trope, hinted at by Lee/Kirby, and made explicit by Gaiman in 1603.
Anyone else at the first bomb blast - What If, alternate history, whatever - become "The" Hulk, without being a "Puny Banner" to start with?
PAD -
Like so much BCS-T (yours and anyone's), it didn't strike me at first, but seems quite obvious in retrospect, perhaps even a touch too clever for it's own good.
But I had actually ascribed a completely different - but equally brilliant - BCS-T to the tale. Perhaps it was the emphasis on a lack of speech, perhaps it was the use of narration rather than a direct internal monolgue, but the Ross Hulk seemed quite removed from his situation. His mind was off doing something else while his body went on "Auto-Pilot Destruct". This crystalized for me during his last battle, where he finally seemed to understand what had happened to him, but he was more concerned with the theoretical military applications of "the Hulk" rather than what the Hulk was doing to the military at that moment. And because he wasn't paying attention, "someone got hurt".
Banner, on the other hand, is MPD. He has spent all of his life making sure that his anger doesn't get out of control. While the Hulk is seen as Banner loosing control, it may be that only his rigid personality is enough to control the Hulk at this point. Because he has all this experience keeping control, he is actually able to contain the Hulk's fury, even to the point of "The Hulk has never killed anyone in all of his many rampages, even by accident". But Ross, who was not constantly fighting for control, had collateral damage.
(I had also just finished reading your Hulk movie novelization, where the idea of Banner needing to stay in control was more emphasized. I was quite glad to see the movie validated, and only wish more of your concepts had been on the screen.)
Kim,
I wasn't ragging on your idea. I think it's interesting given that there have been two "What If?" tales where different people got blasted by the gamma bomb and turned into Hulks. If Logan had been out there on the test sight that day, playing his mouth harp like a fool while kicking back in his cool ride, would he then be WolverHulk? I'd assume so.
I just think that only Bruce Banner should be the Hulk.
Hey!! Queseda!! Find some way to make this a monthly. You're in The House Of Ideas. Now prove it.
There should have been one more page, where Major Talbot approaches the scene, and he and Bruce end up killng each other. After all, they were the only members of the Hulk cast to survive the story, LOL!
I really enjoyed the comic. It was great to see that pompous bully on the receiving end for a change. I'ma have to go check out the main Hulk series now.
Jim In Iowa,
"Nice cover. But saving my money, for when you return to the Hulk series. Sorry."
Jim, you can't spare three bucks? I'll send you a copy if you want.
Jason Levine,
"But then if you do then the Marvel bigwigs might say 'Well, his "What If?" book didn't sell very well, therefore he must not be a popular writer on the Hulk...DUMP HIM!"
Oh, please. This statement is ridiculous. people generaly buy "What If?" who are interested in the concept. Then it's character second and writer third. The CONCEPT and its sales during "What If Week" is what Marvel will be looking at, to see if the CONCEPT is still popular.
This is like saying Marvel would immediately axe bendis from "Daredevil" and "Avengers" if their "What If?" stories written by him didn't sell, despite the fact that sales on the main title are strong.
And that is what it will come down to, how the REGULAR series sells.
"Get that guy from Identity Crisis to write the Hulk."
Although he s a good writer, I doubt that is where he will end up.
"I know it sounds silly"
Yes, it does.
"but I'm almost certain that ('s) how the dain bread Big Wigs at Marvel must think."
Then you really don't know what you're talking about.
Because the Big Wigs, especilly Quesada, are the ones who made the offer in the first place. Fans were asking him about it at WizardWorld Philly in May 2003. Wizard has done stories on it. Reaction has been favorable.
So if after all that, sales are strong on the new arc, they will gladly offer him more issues to do.
If sales on the new arc are disappointing, they will look elsewhere and thank PAD for his efforts.
That's all it really boils down to.