jkemble --
The Hulk is a character whose solo adventures I've never really followed. Are you a longtime fan (I go back to the Herb Trimpe days of the early/mid 70's with a few Hulk recollections...). If so, how do you feel about the almost constant changes in interpretation of the character?
Hey Doug,
that's actually J. ( Kemble is my last name. )
Well, I haven't keep up on all the Hulk's twists and turns,
I came back to Marvel about a year or two afyer spending
'99 - '04ish in the DCU. so, I don't know any of that stuff.
But I think I have a pretty good feel for the Hulk via PAD's first run
I tend to agree with Peter David (and other writers) concept that:
Bruce Banner was abused as a child, and he tried to bury his pain with
studies, which ironically released that buried agression and anger in the
form of a gamma bomb and a terrible accident. (Thanks to Rick Jones!)
In the Marvel U, Gamma Radiation has transformed many beings into many things, but the Hulk was also transformed by the hidden rage he had inside.
Now, here's why the Hulk changes so much; his mental state is unstable, he's got Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Hence the shrink, Doc Sampson. See, Gamma Radiation doesn't create monsters, it just enhances the person in green charecter exagerations (like the Leader for example)
Peter David actually adressed this issue back in the 90's. It's a great run, but I can't remember the issue numbers.
Okay, so, MPD huh? how did that happen? Well, unfortunatly, in the real world people with a tramatic past, often including family abuse, are more prone to create other personalities as a form of escape, later in life, the "other person" can become as real as the original. true stuff here, look it up in Psychology Today. A lot of people mistake MPD for schitophrania because of the laters sudden mood swings. MPD is more than a mood swing, people talk, dress, and even phisically look diffent because of body language and posture.
So, Hulk is an MPD, and that's why he changes so much. I guess Doc Sampson should give Bruce his cash back, huh?
I'm reading Planet Hulk now, but...
I think that one of the reasons that I like it is because it keeps referencing the whole "Jarella Sub-Atomic Universe" story. That was ,y favorite when I was a kid. That was the "Hulk Smash" hulk.
Anyway, to me the reason that I keep an eye on the Hulk is because I consider him to be teh outsider of the Avengers. He's teh true rebel Avenger, and I always enjoy seeing him cross-over with earth's mightiest.
anyway...
