I'm still a big fan of the scene where Hulk smashes up Dr. Stranges home in his grief and Valkyrie pleads with Strange to stop him, and he replies "They are only things". If his friends need to smash up his stuff to deal with his grief, he will let him do that.
@@capsulon445True, but it does lead to my favourite part of World War Hulk, where Stephen seems to be the only one who is willing to take at least some accountability for his actions. He still fucks up, royally, obviously, but the fact that he has to live with having ruined his friendship with Hulk suggests that he regrets his actions deeply.
It's kind of strange how well Hulk works in any sort of team even though being a loner is so deeply ingrained in the character. He's interesting on his own, but he really shines when he has to be around other people. There's not a lot of tension in your main character being an uncontrollable rage monster if there are no people immediately threatened by that.
I see your point I'm playing David and the Hulk in an RPG campaign set in the 70s TV show universe and the unpredictability of Hulk is really highlighted next to the likes of Strange.
Marvel has more recently been willing to play with the idea of the Hulk as a proper Avenger. The series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes started it, followed by the MCU and Avengers Assemble. It showcases how the Hulk really can work in a team setting where he has people to play off of, and how you can mess with the concept in different ways. Avengers EMH was a kind of halfway point between Joe Fixit and the Savage Hulk, kind of a moody jerk but genuinely wanting friendship and trying to be better. Avengers Assemble Hulk was more of a gentle giant with an occasional attitude. MCU Hulk was . . . all over the place. But all of these examples showed how a team setting could bring out the Hulk's potential.
While I Love Peter David's run of the Hulk, Roy Thomas run comes at a close second for me as it serves as your traditional stories of the Hulk and yet goes against the public consciousness of what others have thought of him to be. One such case is him being a loner which isn't necessarily true as he not only expands his supporting cast (Jim Wilson, Jarella and of course Dr. Samson aka worst physiatrist ever), he is apart of a team that treats him with a lot more respect as opposed to his short live time with the Avengers. Fun trivia : As the Hulk is battling the Thing in the elevator shaft in Issue 122 he quotes for the first time his other most frequent tagline which is "Hulk is the Strongest One There Is!".
Hey Doc Samson tries his best. It's not his fault that his patients are literally possessed half the damn time. Or so powerful that their whims warp reality. And he's only technically responsible for ONE of them going insane over the course of his treatments. In Marvel, amongst psychiatrists with names, that's an all star track record right there, able to put him in the hall of fame for his profession.
Are you perhaps forgetting Harley Quinn? She's so bad at her job she actually turned into a super villain while treating a patient. At least Samson, to the best of my knowledge, has never turned full villain because he was that bad at his job.
@@mikegates8993 True, but at least Harley had quit her profession to be a criminal full time, where as Doc Samon continues to be a physicist and without the aid of someone else (like the Ringermaster to put the Hulk into a trance leading into the Merge/Professor Hulk persona) cause more damage to his patients. For example he is partially responsible for the (supposed) death of Nick Fury in the "Over the Edge" storyline, when his treatments had cause the Punisher go more crazy than usual which lead Frank into thinking that Nick Fury killed his family. Granted this was done by the machinations of someone else messing with his treatments, but still there should have taken more precautions to ensure that this situation wouldn't happen. So while Doc Samson isn't crazy himself, his lack of foresight can make others worst condition.
A couple decades back there was a limited series called, I think, The Order, where the Defenders turned totalitarian, and Doctor Strange started wearing this full face mask, and I only now realize why.
To be fair to the Defenders, they're still pretty heroic; there are a lot of people who won't try to protect the earth even when it's in their own best interest.
I'm really hoping that with the introduction of Namor in the MCU we'll finally see this "team" happen. Defenders is such a cool group, they're not mainstream but they're arguably more powerful than most groups combined. Plus with Banner Hulk in the MCU wanting to start a new team and having Valkyrie running around, I'd love to see them just run into Namor and Strange and he's the one that insists they be a group because he sees the things they could do to keep their world safe.
I love when super teams each have a unique feel to them, not just in powers and gimmicks but in goals and relationships. Coworkers vs friends vs family, and so on.
A beat by beat discussion, retrospective and review of a character's entire comic history. You're a madman, sir, a madman, but I appreciate it deeply. Not to mention I'm just a huge Simp for the original Defenders lineup
I've been waiting in anticipation! The Incredible Hulk is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. I have binge-read his main books during college, so to see someone cover the Hulk's history in comics with great detail is amazing! Keep up the incredible work!
Happy to have this back, and for a bit of speed up on the issue count. I could listen to you talk comics all day, but I don't want to be 50 before you even get to the 80s.
I wonder if these early Roy Thomas issues are what inspired Bill Mantlo’s two year “Banner-Hulk “ arc during his run on the title in 80’s. There are some Parallels.
It's always funny seeing stories where the Avengers are treated as a more respectable option, in comparison to more counter culture protagonists. Because when you read the Avengers' own series, you realize they're a hot mess, God bless them. So if they're the guys who suppisedly have everything together, what does that say about everyone else?
huh, just finished rewatching the old ones.
Big Green's back in town.
I'm still a big fan of the scene where Hulk smashes up Dr. Stranges home in his grief and Valkyrie pleads with Strange to stop him, and he replies "They are only things". If his friends need to smash up his stuff to deal with his grief, he will let him do that.
This is why I love the Defenders, and it hurts my heart that in the future Dr Strange is going to betray his trust "On the road to Civil War".
@@capsulon445True, but it does lead to my favourite part of World War Hulk, where Stephen seems to be the only one who is willing to take at least some accountability for his actions. He still fucks up, royally, obviously, but the fact that he has to live with having ruined his friendship with Hulk suggests that he regrets his actions deeply.
It's kind of strange how well Hulk works in any sort of team even though being a loner is so deeply ingrained in the character. He's interesting on his own, but he really shines when he has to be around other people. There's not a lot of tension in your main character being an uncontrollable rage monster if there are no people immediately threatened by that.
I see your point I'm playing David and the Hulk in an RPG campaign set in the 70s TV show universe and the unpredictability of Hulk is really highlighted next to the likes of Strange.
Marvel has more recently been willing to play with the idea of the Hulk as a proper Avenger. The series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes started it, followed by the MCU and Avengers Assemble. It showcases how the Hulk really can work in a team setting where he has people to play off of, and how you can mess with the concept in different ways.
Avengers EMH was a kind of halfway point between Joe Fixit and the Savage Hulk, kind of a moody jerk but genuinely wanting friendship and trying to be better. Avengers Assemble Hulk was more of a gentle giant with an occasional attitude. MCU Hulk was . . . all over the place. But all of these examples showed how a team setting could bring out the Hulk's potential.
This series returns! Happy days indeed.
While I Love Peter David's run of the Hulk, Roy Thomas run comes at a close second for me as it serves as your traditional stories of the Hulk and yet goes against the public consciousness of what others have thought of him to be. One such case is him being a loner which isn't necessarily true as he not only expands his supporting cast (Jim Wilson, Jarella and of course Dr. Samson aka worst physiatrist ever), he is apart of a team that treats him with a lot more respect as opposed to his short live time with the Avengers.
Fun trivia : As the Hulk is battling the Thing in the elevator shaft in Issue 122 he quotes for the first time his other most frequent tagline which is "Hulk is the Strongest One There Is!".
Hey Doc Samson tries his best. It's not his fault that his patients are literally possessed half the damn time. Or so powerful that their whims warp reality. And he's only technically responsible for ONE of them going insane over the course of his treatments. In Marvel, amongst psychiatrists with names, that's an all star track record right there, able to put him in the hall of fame for his profession.
Are you perhaps forgetting Harley Quinn? She's so bad at her job she actually turned into a super villain while treating a patient. At least Samson, to the best of my knowledge, has never turned full villain because he was that bad at his job.
@@mikegates8993 True, but at least Harley had quit her profession to be a criminal full time, where as Doc Samon continues to be a physicist and without the aid of someone else (like the Ringermaster to put the Hulk into a trance leading into the Merge/Professor Hulk persona) cause more damage to his patients. For example he is partially responsible for the (supposed) death of Nick Fury in the "Over the Edge" storyline, when his treatments had cause the Punisher go more crazy than usual which lead Frank into thinking that Nick Fury killed his family. Granted this was done by the machinations of someone else messing with his treatments, but still there should have taken more precautions to ensure that this situation wouldn't happen. So while Doc Samson isn't crazy himself, his lack of foresight can make others worst condition.
A couple decades back there was a limited series called, I think, The Order, where the Defenders turned totalitarian, and Doctor Strange started wearing this full face mask, and I only now realize why.
To be fair to the Defenders, they're still pretty heroic; there are a lot of people who won't try to protect the earth even when it's in their own best interest.
I'm really hoping that with the introduction of Namor in the MCU we'll finally see this "team" happen. Defenders is such a cool group, they're not mainstream but they're arguably more powerful than most groups combined. Plus with Banner Hulk in the MCU wanting to start a new team and having Valkyrie running around, I'd love to see them just run into Namor and Strange and he's the one that insists they be a group because he sees the things they could do to keep their world safe.
I love when super teams each have a unique feel to them, not just in powers and gimmicks but in goals and relationships. Coworkers vs friends vs family, and so on.
Hulk being able to see Dr. Strange's astral form is kind of funny in hindsight what with the One Below All stuff.
A beat by beat discussion, retrospective and review of a character's entire comic history. You're a madman, sir, a madman, but I appreciate it deeply.
Not to mention I'm just a huge Simp for the original Defenders lineup
I've been waiting in anticipation! The Incredible Hulk is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. I have binge-read his main books during college, so to see someone cover the Hulk's history in comics with great detail is amazing! Keep up the incredible work!
Happy to have this back, and for a bit of speed up on the issue count. I could listen to you talk comics all day, but I don't want to be 50 before you even get to the 80s.
YESSSSSS!!! I'm so happy to see this series return!!!
I think It'd be cool if they made Hulk and Namor the introduction to Blade and Ghost Rider. Secret Defenders anyone?
I wonder if these early Roy Thomas issues are what inspired Bill Mantlo’s two year “Banner-Hulk “ arc during his run on the title in 80’s. There are some Parallels.
Great stuff as usual.
Already looking forward to the next instalment.
Seeing this, I probably would have enjoyed the Netflix Defenders series more if it was more accurate to the comics.
Holy crap! It's been so long, I thought this series had been abandoned
Is there anything toxic waste _can't_ do?
Thrill me.
HULK SMASH that like button!
It's always funny seeing stories where the Avengers are treated as a more respectable option, in comparison to more counter culture protagonists. Because when you read the Avengers' own series, you realize they're a hot mess, God bless them. So if they're the guys who suppisedly have everything together, what does that say about everyone else?
I don't mind the context, because Comic books!
So, is Sandman still made of glass or did he get better?
RUclips share this!