The love for the Hulk is hereditary

Immortal Hulk #1

My original plan was to write about Immortal Hulk #2, one of my favorites from the first 10 issues. But I didn't find the time to do a deep reading, so necessary to write a proper analysis. So, instead, I'm going to talk about something I've wanted to share with my comic mutuals on Twitter since some time ago, and that is the experience of reading comics with my mother, specifically The Immortal Hulk.

But first, I must say I've been a Hulk fan since I was kid. My first contact with the Green Goliath was the Incredible Hulk series from the '90s, where I discovered Dr. Bruce Banner's tragic story, haunted by the military and unable to enjoy a quiet life with the love of his life, Betty Ross, all due to an accident that turned him into the powerful gamma-fueled monster known as the Hulk. In this show, Hulk was portrayed as the pinnacle of physical prowess, and I was amazed to see this unstoppable force proving his might against very imposing antagonists as the Wendigo and the Abomination and I liked that interesting rival that was the Leader. But at the same time, I was sad by the fact that Bruce, and therefore the Hulk, could never be happy. Bruce always had to be on the run, afraid of being caught by the authorities even though he was a good person who saved people whenever he could; and the mere idea of him having a joyful life with Betty was just an impossible dream, and this was so unfair that I couldn't help but feel sympathy for both the scientist and the Jade Giant. I was also surprised to see that it was anger that triggered the transformation. At such age, when seeing that I was like "Woah. When he gets angry he becomes an almost uncontrollable green titan. Incredible". I loved the concept, it was interesting and cool, but very problematic at the same time; but above all, it was something I could relate to when I was a kid (I think almost everyone can relate to it to a degree, eh?). There it started my love for the Hulk, with a show that could portray adequately such interesting and complex characters and themes. 

Title for the 1996 TV series

As you can expect, I enjoyed the character in other shows, movies, and even video games, until I could finally not only watch the Hulk but read it. I can't remember the exact date I had my first Hulk comic, but it was a trade of the second John Byrne's run. I felt like I was reading the best thing in the world, it was a comic book about the incredible Hulk after all! And it was something beyond special to me. First, it was a gift from my older brother; second, it's really hard to find a comic in a store here in my country, so it was a treasure; and third, it was my first superhero comic! And, well, I continued reading more and more comics (everything digital, of course). But nothing has changed my mind that the Hulk is the best there is! Hulk is, and always will be, my favorite thanks to the great stories written by Stan Lee, Peter David, Paul Jenkins, Greg Pak, Al Ewing, and many more, which made me see how complex and interesting the Hulk really is.

The John Byrne trade

Such fanaticism led me eventually to read the Immortal Hulk, my favorite comic book series at the time, and one of my favorites of all time too. Turns out I'm the type of person who always tries to share my latest interests with all my family and friends. If I watch a series, and the show leaves a considerable impression on me, I try to talk about it with almost everyone I know, and I try to get them to watch it too. And in the last two years, my biggest interest has been the Immortal Hulk, so you can assume that I've talked about it repeatedly with my family and friends each time a new issue is released. I even turned my best friend into a Hulk fan with this series! And of course, this includes my mom.

One day, when the series was still about on its first 15 issues, I asked her if she would like to read it with me, she said yes. We started from the beginning, and so far she's enjoyed every issue considerably. She waits for the next one as much as I, and her excitement is huge and honest. We've had very cheerful and long discussions about the issues (she has made me see things I was unable to see myself and that's the best). She finds the art of the series marvelous and shocking; she loves how unpredictable, deep and interesting the plot is and how well defined the characters are. Talking about the characters, her favorites are Jackie Mcgee, Bruce Banner (the whole system), Dr. McGowan, and... Doc Samson (yes, you read it right, Doc Samson. But don't blame her! All she knows about Samson is what is shown on the Immortal Hulk, nothing more). She hates Brian Banner A LOT (logically), she was very angry when the Avengers attacked the Hulk and has trembled at any antagonists who have put the Hulk on the ropes and beyond (which are, well, almost all of them).  And now, she is just waiting to see the destiny of the terrible Leader after all he has done. So you could say she's a Hulk fan, she is part of the gamma gang! But not because of me, I tell you. Actually, my mother has been a fan of the Hulk even since two decades prior to my birth.

The Incredible Hulk (1978)

Around the time I had my first Hulk comic, my mother told me she loved the Hulk when she was a teenager, that she watched the Hulk every day on tv, "when he was called David and the Hulk was just a very tall, muscle man painted green". She told me it was a tragic story, Banner could never have a moment of absolute calm, he always had to be on the road, escaping and fighting all the time, unable to settle and find love, among many other things. She felt a lot of compassion for the poor David, to the point she wanted to be his girlfriend to take care of him (and because Bill Bixby was very handsome too hahahaha). She watched a lot of episodes, probably watched them all, and always smiled when reminiscing those times.

I saw that as something very cool, my mom liked the Hulk too and that was amazing. But despite that, we never actively shared that love, aside from watching The Incredible Hulk movie with Edward Norton and the animated Planet Hulk movie together a long time ago. Maybe this happened because I made the mistake of believing that she wasn't interested enough or because her love for the Jade Giant was somewhat dormant at the time. I'm not sure. But the truth is, we never developed a strong bond based on the Hulk, for years our only conversations about the Hulk were just some occasional fan rants I threw at her. But that changed, as you can see.

One of my mom's favorites moments

While reading Immortal Hulk, I discovered that the love for the Incredible Hulk is actually as immortal as the character itself when I witnessed my mom's love for the Hulk resurrect stronger than ever. She loved that the first issues had some elements present in the 70's series, which was great to her, but what she liked the most was to see how much she didn't know about the Green Goliath. For her, it was a great journey to rediscover a character she liked so much when she was really young and to find out that Bruce and therefore the Hulk was considerably more than her beloved show portrayed. The complexity, the tragedy, the metaphors... Everything was deeper than she thought, and she loved that. She was shocked by Bruce's terrible childhood, she found interesting all the philosophical, theological, and psychological content; she liked to see all the political discourse, and was aghast (in a good way) by the distressing panels, pages, and terrible situations of the series. In conclusion, her once inert love for the Hulk was not only awakened but strengthened by the Immortal Hulk.

As a fan of the Hulk, this was something very beautiful to see. I love my mother with all my being and beyond, and I appreciate to infinity every moment we spend together. So imagine how I feel seeing that our reading of the Immortal Hulk has made our relationship the strongest there is. It is impossible not to smile.

And this is how I ended up enjoying The Immortal Hulk along with who you might say is a veteran when it comes to loving the popular Jade Giant, who is none other than my beloved mother. And, looking at the evidence, it seems the love for the Hulk could be hereditary, no? Just as Skaar inherited his gamma powers from his father, I inherited my love for the Hulk from my mother.

Bruce Banner with his son, Skaar