THE IMMORTAL HULK #34 & 35: THE CHAIN WILL KEEP US TOGETHER

At the end of the incredible blockbuster issue that was #33, we learned that Hulk’s arch nemesis The Leader has been secretly commandeering the body of the recently-resurrected Rick Jones. The final page of that issue also showed the Leader standing (rather comfortably) in the afterlife hellscape that the gamma characters go to whenever they die, and on the ground behind him was the body of Banner’s father Brian, looking like a deflated balloon.

This raised a number of questions.  Since Rick’s resurrection, has he ever actually been Rick, or has the Leader been in charge of him this whole time? Also, Brian Bannner has been a major character in this series, being present whenever the gammas are at the hellscape.  Has the Leader been controlling him as well? Has he been… WEARING HIS SKIN???

This was quite the cliffhanger, which is what makes #34 such an unfortunate issue, because instead of answering these questions or even furthering the plot in the direction of any answers, #34 instead provides kind of a basic recap of the Leader’s career in general. If you’re already familiar with the character and his history, this is just a filler issue for you, and a disappointing one because of the cliffhanger that came before.  At any other time, this wouldn’t have been so bad, but since this issue was delayed for a couple of months because of the quarantine, the lack of a pay-off stings a little extra. Also, Artist Joe Bennett has quite a following, and they will be pretty disappointed that 34 and 35 are both handled by guest artists.  These gripes are not about the quality of the issue so much as the timing.

However, if you’re not familiar with the Leader, this issue should make for a great and welcome introduction. It is well written, all from the Leader’s perspective, and the guest team of Butch Guice and Tom Palmer turn in a beautiful job on the art. Guice’s classic style is always welcome, and Palmer is a comic’s legend, so no complaints there. Also, there have been preview pages of upcoming issues, so we know that Joe Bennett will be back soon.

Speaking of the art though, this series has a criminally unsung hero in the colorist, Paul Mounts, who has consistently turned in a stunning job every time, and even more then Bennett has defined the visuals for this title. Cheers to Paul! Great job!

#35:  With Number 35, things are looking up considerably. We get some great interaction between Bruce and Savage in their mindscape as they begin to work out some of their issues for the first time I can remember, and decide to work together to try to free Devil Hulk from an impenetrable prison of uncertain origin.  Joe Fixit visits for some fun, and Bruce and Betty have a confrontation that ends badly.

The relationship between Bruce and Betty is worse than it has ever been.  Betty stays in her scary Harpy form whenever he’s around, which makes him miserable. In this issue, she tells him that she’s leaving and he doesn’t take the news well.  But whether he likes it or not, they are broken up and he has to accept it.

Betty is one of the series’ most interesting characters now that she can assume a powerful and grotesque gamma powered form as The Harpy, a giant winged gargoyle.  She has endured so much hurt and disappointment throughout her life due to the misadventures of the men around her, and she has finally had enough of it. Instead of being expected to nurture and sympathize with out-of-control beasts even as they destroy her life over and over again, she now finally gets to be the beast, and she revels in this new invulnerability.  She sees her Harpy form as keeping her safe from harm at last.  Instead of being an endangered pawn in other people’s psychotic plans, she is now the dangerous wild card and if you cross her, she no longer has to hide and hope for help. Now she can just kill you without a second thought. I don’t know where Marvel may go with this character, but this new SDGAF empowered Betty is great and I am here for it.

After defeating Dario Agger and Xemnu in #33, the public is now overwhelmingly on Hulk’s side.  Rick and Savage go to visit a small town for a good will/good PR opportunity and it goes well for a while, but of course Rick is not actually Rick, so the toxic waste hits the fan on the last page with quite a splat.