1:54 PM
Brad
Cover Date: March 1963
Plot Overview: The Hulk returns to his hideout and once again becomes Bruce Banner. Banner is getting weaker with each dose of gamma radiation. He sees on the view screen where a military test is interrupted by an alien calling himself the Metal Master. He can control metal with his mind and he's come to Earth to conquer it. Rick breaks away and comes to find Banner. Banner uses his gamma ray gun to become the Hulk but his face doesn't change for some reason. He puts on a Hulk mask and heads off to battle the Metal Master.
The Metal Master keeps the Hulk at bay with various attacks until he knocks the Hulk out with a giant piece of metal. The military captures the Hulk as a result and the Hulk blames Rick for betraying him. Rick leaves dejected and the Hulk starts pounding on the prison walls.
Rick meets up with his old friends and they show him their new ham radio. This gives Rick the idea to form the Teen Brigade. The teen Brigade will become a nation wide group of teenage ham radio operators that will help out the Marvel superheroes.
Meanwhile the Hulk breaks out of his prison and returns to his hideout. He once again becomes Bruce Banner but he's even weaker than before. Rick arrives and Banner calls out to him. Banner is grateful for Rick's help and Rick realizes that it was the Hulk talking. Banner has an idea and they enlist the help of the Teen Brigade. Teenagers all across the country send Rick and Banner transistors and other parts.
Banner becomes the Hulk again and the Teen Brigade gathers to see what Banner and Rick have come up with. The Hulk walks out with a giant gun and confronts the Metal Master. The Metal Master is stunned that he cannot alter the gun with his mind. As a desperation move he tosses a piece of metal at the Hulk but the Hulk quickly captures him. The Hulk threatens the Metal Master until he changes all of the damage he caused back. The Metal Master then departs as the Teen Brigade is thrilled to have helped defeat him. The Hulk and Rick depart as the military arrives on the scene. Banner tries to change back but this time he's still the Hulk. The Hulk goes into a rage but suddenly turns back into Banner. The gamma radiation is getting more unpredictable with each usage. Banner goes to see Betty Ross and the issue ends with him telling her that he can't reveal his secret because he cares about her too much.
My Take: This issue felt like they were finding a groove with the Hulk issues. Banner continues to struggle with the Hulk when in the Hulk form and now the gamma ray gun is causing some odd side effects in him. It's also becoming clear that the transformation is slowly killing him each time he does it. It was nice to have 3 issues of building in a direction instead of the first 3 issues where the direction of the book changed every issue.
The strength of this Hulk series, to me, was the strong cast around Bruce Banner and the Hulk. And the cast became even stronger with the addition of the Teen Brigade. Most of the other titles have a supporting character or two while the Hulk has about 4 or 5 right now. It helps to develop both characters and lay the groundwork of the dichotomy of the Banner/Hulk personalities. It's really a shame that the book is cancelled with this issue. It feels like they had just figured out how to make this comic work.
The art was pretty good in this issue. I always have a soft spot for Steve Ditko's work. It felt like the art wasn't rushed. The Hulk also looked better than he usually does. I like the Metal Master character design a lot. He's not out there or cool, I just enjoy his design. And the effects for his metal altering were pretty good in my opinion.
I'd give this issue *** for *****
Notes: This is the last issue of the Incredible Hulk series. From here he kind of becomes a villain and antagonist for various heroes. After awhile, he'll become a co-feature in Tales to Astonish. This is the first appearance of the Teen Brigade. They will be an important part of the Avengers forming later this year and will play a role in several comics throughout the 60s.
I wanted to take a moment and look at why the Incredible Hulk failed as a book. I think it has to do with the lack of direction to the first 3 issues. It felt like Stan Lee had a really good initial idea and then didn't know where to go with it from there. The book also struggled from an identity crisis. It didn't know if it wanted to be a sci-fi horror book or a superhero book. I also think this book was a few years ahead of it's time. The anti-hero concept maybe wasn't quite ready to take off with the readers. The 60s needed to take hold a little bit more before that kind of a concept would be more widely accepted. Just my two cents though.
Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #1
Posted in: Betty Ross,Hulk,Incredible Hulk,Metal Master,Rick Jones,Teen Brigade,Thunderbolt Ross
0 comments:
Post a Comment