On the heels of a procedure conducted by Leonard "Doc" Samson which made use of a nutrient bath vat to physically separate Bruce Banner from the Hulk, which led to the re-emergence of the gray Hulk, writer Danny Fingeroth and artist Sal Buscema joined their talents to bring us the 1986 Hulk Annual which served as a coda to the whole affair, as Banner returns to the abandoned (and locked down by S.H.I.E.L.D.) Gamma Base to reconsider and perhaps salvage the hope he briefly realized for a time as a separate being from his raging alter-ego. But, judging by Banner's hesitancy and doubts, the procedure seems no less fraught with risk and uncertainty, even with his own expertise at the helm this time.
Joining Banner in this endeavor are the two people closest to him--his wife, the former Betty Ross, and Rick Jones, who shares responsibility in the tragic event which created the Hulk. Betty and Rick are of two minds as to whether Banner should go forward with what he plans. But there is another who will play a part in this drama, whose arrival coincides with what is at first believed to be a meteorite impacting in the New Mexico desert; however, upon learning that the object is emitting gamma radiation, SHIELD approaches the area fearing the worst. For Clay Quartermain and his forces, what emerges from the impact crater will surpass that assessment by far.
The threat of the Abomination, a creature originally receiving a more intense dose of gamma radiation than the Hulk, receives the expected response from the SHIELD troops--while he, in turn, proves that a single strike is sufficient to deal with their resistance. But given what follows, it seems there is now more to the Abomination--and less of his real identity of Emil Blonsky--than we, or SHIELD, had expected.
Obviously this isn't the Emil Blonsky we remember--but whoever is now in control of the Abomination's form, it later becomes clear that the will of Blonsky hasn't been suppressed as much as they would like. To make matters worse, an encounter with a storefront window unnerves this form's current host more than even SHIELD weaponry could accomplish, to the point of altering his plans accordingly.
In this annual, Fingeroth proves to be adept in taking the story which Buscema has laid out and offering a compelling script which covers all the bases and provides a good deal of substance to the plot, though he takes a few liberties to get there. First of all, it's surprising to see Samson's vat in a completely intact state; unless SHIELD has a compulsion toward tidying up after themselves, there's no reason why they would have reconstructed and refilled the vat after it was completely destroyed in the Hulk's previous escape, only to then abandon the base. As for the Abomination, who was reduced to atoms by M.O.D.O.K. and somehow rose to drift above Earth's atmosphere, his consciousness is merged with Tyrannus (who himself was reduced to a similar formless state after his dealings with They) when the two encounter each other in space, their merging complicated by the machinations of Mephisto. Those are some considerable strings to pull together for this story--though it must be its own kind of fun behind the scenes when writer and artist decide to (a) bring more than one villain to the party, but then must (b) dig into past stories in order to cobble together the means by which to facilitate their return from the dead.
But for now, Fingeroth gives us a consummate villain in Tyrannus, taking control of the situation at Gamma Base to suit his own ends, while having the power of the Abomination at his command and is ruthless enough to use it if necessary. That proves to be the case soon enough, when he threatens the life of Betty and thus triggers the Hulk's appearance in response.
With Betty's life at stake, Banner and Rick have no choice but to capitulate and assist Tyrannus with his plan to separate his form from that of Blonsky. Yet Tyrannus' presence has had the effect of making Banner second-guess himself once more, albeit from a different perspective--this time, dealing with the temptation to take advantage of Tyrannus' expertise and undergo the procedure himself. Realizing it's wrong to help Tyrannus, it would only involve twisting a few dials to interrupt the procedure at a crucial point and end his life--but that would also mean Betty's death, which Tyrannus has arranged should he not return to where's she's being held to prevent it.
In the nick of time, however, SHIELD arrives, having tracked the Abomination to the base and breaking in even as Banner wrestles with his conscience. From there, things spiral out of control, with neither Quartermain nor the newly-appeared Hulk being mindful of the delicate equipment in use, or, to say the least, Betty's situation. Tyrannus, on the other hand, is very mindful of one thing and one thing only--betrayal, and the cost thereof.
The battle lines drawn between our two powerhouses, Round Two of their battle begins--this time, with Fingeroth flip-flopping and deciding that the Hulk's rage increasing his strength does factor into their fight to his advantage. And while the Abomination can claim the same, the fact that the procedure has weakened him to a certain degree means that he's not in tip-top shape in this fight's early stages--and that, as they say, is the ball game.
In the aftermath, with Blonsky having gleaned from Tyrannus Betty's location, Banner and Rick arrive to her rescue not a moment too soon. Our nutrient vat, however, wasn't as fortunate, the equipment having been destroyed and there being no point in restoring it since Tyrannus' modifications were lost as well. But try telling SHIELD that--I'd bet one of Nick Fury's cigars that their crew is mobilizing to "tidy up" even as we speak.
7 comments:
Wow. I'm likin' Sal Buscema on this issue! And the credits suggest he did the pencils and the inks! Top drawer stuff. At first glance, I expected maybe Klaus Janson as inker.
Maybe Sal didn't have anything else on the "To Do List" and could devote some extra time and focus on this Annual?
Sometimes I wonder why the Hulk is popular at all. I mean, I do enjoy a good rock'em sock'em punch-up, but far too many Hulk stories end with "and then the Hulk keeps getting angry until he hits hard enough to win". I just prefer heroes who use the muscle between their ears for some tactical razzamatazz. I would expect Hulk's rogues gallery would clue in and not attack with overwhelming force, but come at Greenskin with tranqs and easy listening jazz.
That can surely be an interesting approach as well, Murray. On other occasions, where battles are presented as going the distance, I'm of the opinion that the only times the madder/stronger references have worked to the story's advantage are instances where doing so ramps up the tension level as to the Hulk being a clear danger to who or whatever he's fighting--i.e., his opponent(s) at some point becoming aware that the monster, despite their best effort, is coming for them. My favorite Thing/Hulk battle is one such example, where Ben Grimm, his mind turned hostile by a recent effort to give him the power to change back and forth at will, is nevertheless at the top of his fighting game against the Hulk, and just as determined to defeat if not destroy him; but even for him, there comes a moment when he appears to acknowledge the nature of the Hulk's power, and that what he fights is relentless, tireless, and determined to kill him. The thought doesn't deter the Thing from angrily responding with his own brand of determination to batter the Hulk senseless, or worse--but it's a moment that makes the story even more of a page-turner than it was, allowing the Hulk's rage in proportion to his power to be more effectively put to use than as the means by which he can overpower a foe like the Abomination who can make the same claim.
That classic Thing-Hulk battle is most assuredly one of the aforementioned "rock'em sock'em" stories that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Upon further reflection, I should refine my statement: "I don't know why the Grey Hulk is popular at all." Grey Hulk, or whenever he has that moderately intelligent thug personality regardless of his skin colour.
When it's the savage, childlike Hulk, I have much more tolerance indeed. Villains picking on the simple Hulk is the act of a vile bully, and watching an enraged Hulk pound them flat is usually quite satisfying. When heroes fight the childlike Hulk, usually with good intentions (the Thing-Hulk battle above being an exception), the story is not unlike the heroes trying to stem the damage of a natural disaster. A potential page-turner of a plot.
With this post, I confess a gruesome fascination in wanting to see the Tyrannus-Abomination attempt to conquer the planet. Facing off against the Avengers or Dr. Doom in his march to domination. Getting beaten by an enraged "Thug Hulk" fetched only a shrug.
Easy listening jazz defeats all of us, Murray.
Comicsfan, is it just me, or does it look like Our Pal Sal was trying to draw a bit like Walt Simonson here? They were working together on Thor in '86, right?
-sean
I am generally not a fan of Danny Fingeroth's writing. He was one of the more mediocre writers during the latter part of Tom DeFalco's tenure as EIC. But he does a fine job here doing a much needed task - returning two Hulk villains so they can be used again in the future - the Abomination and Tyrannus.
While I never thought Tyrannus an interesting villain, I always thought the Abomination should have been an A List villain up there with the Marvel greats. While I admit in practice the Abomination never achieved those ranks, his presence in Bring on the Bad Guys cemented in my mind that he should be at the ranks of foes like Doom, Magneto, and the Green Goblin. So this was a needed first step. (Alas the Abomination's subsequent appearances would never achieve the lofty heights I wanted.)
However, I did think Fingeroth made Tyrannus interesting enough that I was interested in what would happen with him later. He displayed a ruthlessness I very much liked. And I think a direction that removed him from Subterranea (where he'd be nothing more than a second rate Mole Man) was a good move. It should have given him a chance to make him something else, while building on those foundations that were distinctive.
However, owing to this annual's "fill in" status by creators not associated with the ongoing Hulk monthly series, nothing was done with the potential established here.
Chris
Chris
Actually, Murray, I'm not really riveted to the child-like Hulk in battle. ("Hulk does not like this 'clobberin' time,' Thing! Hulk thinks it is dumb! Hulk thinks Thing is dumb, too!") Give me the Hulk of FF #112 any day--an uncontrollable, unstoppable bruiser of few words, and a threat that won't subside until his foe goes down.
I should also take the opportunity to correct my response when I mentioned that, like the Hulk, the Abomination's power increases with his rage, which isn't the case. His only advantage in such a fight is that he received a greater dose of gamma rays that made him initially stronger than the Hulk. Fighting the weaker, gray (or grey in the U.K.) Hulk offered him even better odds, given that he had a greater amount of time to down the Hulk before his foe's strength surpassed his own. Whether gray or green, the Abomination (or Thor, for that matter) might be better served by adopting a strategy of going all-out on the Hulk from the beginning, rather than a drawn-out fight that's only going to tire the Hulk's opponent against a tireless and ever-stronger man-monster.
Sean, gosh, I honestly didn't see a trace of Simonson in Buscema's work. His style here appeared purely his own, IMO.
Chris, like yourself, I wouldn't want to see Tyrannus again take up residence in the center of the Earth; he's much more interesting popping up here and there in schemes which would hopefully see him attain power (e.g., his appearance as a part of They). We've seen over the years that Tyrannus needn't be just a character stuck underground, where the Moloids offered him a power base of sorts with their advanced science, obedience, and weapons, and dependent upon an elixir which maintained his youth. He's canny enough to pursue his schemes of conquest anywhere that offers the resources he needs, whether that takes the form of alliances he uses toward his own ends or, as seen here, a powerful pawn that literally fell into his orbit.
I didn't intend that as a knock against Sal Buscema, CF - it makes sense to me that a working artist who'd been in the game for as long as he had might want to refresh his style a bit to keep up to date with what was happening. And looking at a panel like, say, that one of the SHIELD troops firing at the Abomination, you can't maybe see a few stylistic elements that recall Simonson, not even a bit...?
Ok, maybe it is just me then (;
-sean
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