The Incredible Hulk BTS Featurette

[FrostBite]

When Tempest Fugit was originally planned it, PAD stated that it was supposed to be young Banner from the Ultimate Universe, but was later changed before the book's release to exist within Marvel 616.

Really? I had no idea, awesome bit of trivia there though!

 

[Gamma Ra]

Really? I had no idea, awesome bit of trivia there though!

Here's a link that speaks about it:

"David originally pitched his story for an Ultimate Hulk launch. Though the powers-that-be opted not to go for an Ultimate Hulk title, Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada enjoyed David's pitch so much that he decided to set the story in the regular Marvel Universe."

http://www.hulkmovie.com/news/09_30_04.htm

 

[Obi-Ron]

They're two sides of a coin, so to speak, and that relationship is at the heart of the intriguing dichotomy that comprises the basis of the character.

Well said.

 

[Nivek]

When Tempest Fugit was originally planned it, PAD stated that it was supposed to be young Banner from the Ultimate Universe, but was later changed before the book's release to exist within Marvel 616.

Hulk is an extremeley well rounded and complex character but most people at first glance miss the real conflict. Hulk is more than just repressed anger and pent up rage released, he's also Banners will power, drive, survival instinct, subconscious reflex, etc... with his on desires. That's why a speechless Hulk limits the greatness of this character so much.

Yes yes yes. Thank you. You do get it.

The Hulk is Bruce, or at the very least, the Bruce thats he lets out. I know how people feel about Bill Mantlo's Monster, but that kinda cemented my opinion of how the Hulk works, exemplified in alot of the best parts of PAD's multi-year run.

 

[Gamma Ra]

Yes yes yes. Thank you. You do get it.

The Hulk is Bruce, or at the very least, the Bruce thats he lets out. I know how people feel about Bill Mantlo's Monster, but that kinda cemented my opinion of how the Hulk works, exemplified in alot of the best parts of PAD's multi-year run.

Well considering I've been reading Hulk comics for about 30 years, read every Incredible Hulk comic, and almost every other comic he's appeared in, I should hope I 'get' something.

Bill Mantlo was the first writer that stated Hulk was Banner's survival instinct in the Crossroads story. Mantlo, among we Hulk fans is hit or miss, you either liked what he did or hated it. It's his take on the Hulk, that actually opened the door for PAD to do what he did to the Hulk, via Mantlo's Banner Hulk and later Mindless Hulk.

One of my top three Hulk stories is issue #112.

 

[TheBeastWithin]

That close-up shot at the end is friggin awesome.

 

[co2]

Bill Mantlo was the first writer that stated Hulk was Banner's survival instinct in the Crossroads story. Mantlo, among we Hulk fans is hit or miss, you either liked what he did or hated it. It's his take on the Hulk, that actually opened the door for PAD to do what he did to the Hulk, via Mantlo's Banner Hulk and later Mindless Hulk.

One of my top three Hulk stories is issue #112.

I'm with ya on that, Bro.
And as far as my favorite Hulk writer goes, PAD may be #1 but Mantlo is a very close second.

 

[Gamma Ra]

co2, PAD by far has done so much for the mythos of the Hulk, that he made it possible that you can take the character in so many directions. Mantlo is a favorite writer of mine but also Roger Stern, Len Wein, Steve Englehardt and of course Stan Lee have planted so many seeds and added defining elements to the character of the Hulk, that only by a thorough study of the character, can one truly get the full gist of him.

Greg Pak's one who seemed to get it.

 

[The Guardian]

INTERESTING READ FELLAS, MANY DIFFERENT OPINIONS BUT SIMILAR CONCLUSIONS, I HAVE TWO MARVEL CHARACTERS THAT I LOVE DEARLY, SPIDEY BEING 1 AND THE HULK BEING THE OTHER!!! I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE HULK WAS IN THE EARLY 80S CARTOON WITH SPIDEY, AFTER THAT I WAS HOOKED!!! I'VE LOVED THEM EVER SINCE, MAYBE BECAUSE I CAN RELATE TO THEM SOOOO MUCH ON A PERSONAL LEVEL!!! TO ME THEY ARE THE RICHEST CHARACTERS IN MARVEL, NO DISRESPECT TO FANS OF THE REST OF THE CHARACTERS, WHICH I LOVE AS WELL, JUST NOT AS MUCH AS THESE TWO!!! I RELATE TO THE HULK IN THE WAY SOCIETY SEES HIM DIFFERENTLY, THEY FEAR HIM, JUDGE HIM, BECAUSE HE'S DIFFERENT FROM THEM AND SO HE BECOMES ISOLATED FROM THEM!!! I CAN RELATE TO THAT PART OF THE CHARACTER BUT ALSO TO THE PART OF HIM(BRUCE), THAT FIGHTS TO BE MORE THAN WHAT SOCIETY THINKS OF HIM, TO THE PART OF HIM THAT STRIVES TO SHOW THEM THAT HE DESERVES, LIKE THEM TO LIVE!!!

 

[Hugebear]

If the line was, "Do you know what scares me the most...?", and he's using the word "scares", that, rather unambiguously, implies fear. Guilt too, maybe, but fear in the face of the part of himself that could enjoy (and in doing so, possibly, reinforce) something like the Hulk. Not to mention all the times he desperately tried to not undergo that transformation. (Getting tasered into unconsciousness rather than succumbing anger, for example.) Overall, despite a few small fragments of his markedly damaged psyche that may have enjoyed the vague feelings of power ("who wouldn't?", is a salient question), it was fairly obvious that Banner wasn't, when all was said and done, exactly fond of the thing. Hooray for psychological complexity. Onions, and all that.

Fascinating. It’s very good.
“You know what scares me the most? When I change...when I totally lose control... I like it.";
The way I understood it was that Banner had bottled up his anger and horror since he was a child, so much that when he finally released his anger, he liked it. So many years of deep anger that was building up from what ever he was holding back from, didn’t or couldn’t let it out. It was maybe killing him inside.

 

[co2]

INTERESTING READ FELLAS, MANY DIFFERENT OPINIONS BUT SIMILAR CONCLUSIONS, I HAVE TWO MARVEL CHARACTERS THAT I LOVE DEARLY, SPIDEY BEING 1 AND THE HULK BEING THE OTHER!!! I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE HULK WAS IN THE EARLY 80S CARTOON WITH SPIDEY, AFTER THAT I WAS HOOKED!!! I'VE LOVED THEM EVER SINCE, MAYBE BECAUSE I CAN RELATE TO THEM SOOOO MUCH ON A PERSONAL LEVEL!!! TO ME THEY ARE THE RICHEST CHARACTERS IN MARVEL, NO DISRESPECT TO FANS OF THE REST OF THE CHARACTERS, WHICH I LOVE AS WELL, JUST NOT AS MUCH AS THESE TWO!!! I RELATE TO THE HULK IN THE WAY SOCIETY SEES HIM DIFFERENTLY, THEY FEAR HIM, JUDGE HIM, BECAUSE HE'S DIFFERENT FROM THEM AND SO HE BECOMES ISOLATED FROM THEM!!! I CAN RELATE TO THAT PART OF THE CHARACTER BUT ALSO TO THE PART OF HIM(BRUCE), THAT FIGHTS TO BE MORE THAN WHAT SOCIETY THINKS OF HIM, TO THE PART OF HIM THAT STRIVES TO SHOW THEM THAT HE DESERVES, LIKE THEM TO LIVE!!!

Spidey and Hulk are my two favs too. Always will be. Hulk has been a favorite ever since a 5 year old co2 saw Lou on the premier of the pilot episode of the show on that night in '77. I still remember that.

 

[Bannerless Hulk]

damn, cant stop watching this, love it, this is what i wanted the trailer to do, finally the marketing seems to be getting there

I only watched it once, but it does more for me than the trailer does.

 

[Gamma Ra]

It was good that they mentioned that this picture is a re-imagining, maybe the Ang Lee Hulk naysayers will be forgiving even before word gets around that the flick is good.

I think they need to push that even more.

 

[Sava]

I only watched it once, but it does more for me than the trailer does.

lol, i think its more Emil, we got to see more of him and it actually built up to the end better IMO, showing all the stuff that Emil went through and that close up of his hand was great.

 

[OneKnight]

I just can't see Hulk talking. A word or two over the course of the film is fine. Any more than that wouldn't fly. It's a perfect example of something that works well in the comic medium that would just be panned outside of it.

Ed Norton seems to agree.

 

[Kirmit]

lol, i think its more Emil, we got to see more of him and it actually built up to the end better IMO, showing all the stuff that Emil went through and that close up of his hand was great.

I agree, was funny though, by the end of the featurette I was liking the Blonsky character, as a villain I was expecting I'd love to hate him but he just seems like an alright guy.

 

[Bannerless Hulk]

lol, i think its more Emil, we got to see more of him and it actually built up to the end better IMO, showing all the stuff that Emil went through and that close up of his hand was great.

Yeah. All of it... the background stuff. It provided more of a context for the film than just a trailer with a cool faceoff at the end IMO.

 

[Sarg92]

I agree, was funny though, by the end of the featurette I was liking the Blonsky character, as a villain I was expecting I'd love to hate him but he just seems like an alright guy.

Roth said it was different playing Blonsky because even though he is a villian he isn't pure evil when in human form. It is when he becomes Abomination that he is evil.

Maybe that is why you do not hate him, he is just a normal soldier in the movie but then becomes selfish and wants power for his own needs, then you will start to dislike him.

 

[ArtTeacher]

Spidey and Hulk ARE Marvel's most well known characters. And that's exactly why we are getting another Hulk movie, despite the public disapointment from the last film. Like Kevin said at Comic-con when asked why another big screen Hulk?..."Because it's the Hulk!".

I loved that. It was nice to finally see someone from Marvel acknowledge what has been the standard for years, "There's Spider-Man...and there's the Hulk. Period."

And you are absolutely right about Hulk And Banner. That scene in the car where Banner denies that he and Hulk are one in the same is THE most promising thing in that feature to me. I was so happy to hear that scene. That's the key. Banner wants to get rid of the Hulk (and sometimes vice versa) but he is really just in denial. He hates that extremely distinct side of himself so much, that he can't accept that it's really him deep down. He refuses to acknowledge it. I'm really pumped!

Loved that, too. It's a great feeling when the people handling something you really care about and have a lot invested in (at least emotionally), seem to really get it, you know?

We are debating a topic that has made Hulk comics interesting for more than 40 years. Are Bruce and Hulk one in the same?..Like I said, this is one of the most interesting questions of the comic, and has provided the comic with countless stories. And even then, it depended on who was writing. Sometimes it was a revelation to Bruce that he and Hulk could actually be one in the same. Most of the time, he refuses to even acknowledge that thought...and so does Hulk.
In my opinion, Hulk isn't a personality that just came from nowhere. The Gamma radiation didn't create a new personality, it just gave an avenue for one that had been repressed for so long to escape. It has been a part of Bruce since so many tragic events in his life had shaped it. Hulk was there a long time before the Gamma bomb went off. The Gamma bomb was just the trigger. Does he think and act like Bruce...No. He's a distinctly different personality...But yes, they are one in the same person.
That's just my opinion.
The fact that we can disagree and argue this point means that the character has inherently something very interesting going on....that's a good thing.

Absolutely fantastic post. A true answer to the "Hulk is just a brick/so one-dimensional/is nothing but smash" rubish that likes to collect in the corners of the Internet.

co2, PAD by far has done so much for the mythos of the Hulk, that he made it possible that you can take the character in so many directions. Mantlo is a favorite writer of mine but also Roger Stern, Len Wein, Steve Englehardt and of course Stan Lee have planted so many seeds and added defining elements to the character of the Hulk, that only by a thorough study of the character, can one truly get the full gist of him.

I love Mantlo. He defined the Hulk for me. I love all those writers you named, actually.

Greg Pak's one who seemed to get it.

EXACTLY. It's like Pak is the genius son of Stan Lee, Bill Mantlo, Roger Stern, Len Wein, and Peter David. He's the best parts of all of them. He shows such respect to their legacy, but regurgitates none of it. He's carving out his own legendary run, while tipping his hat to the giants that came before him. I absolutely love Pak. He truly gets it. He delivers truly moving, emotional, cerebral storytelling and clever, well-thought out, intelligent writing, all the while letting no one forget that the Hulk is THE strongest one there is.

 

[Nivek]

Too bad Pak isn't writing the reguler Hulk title. Instead, we have to deal with Loeb and his trampled continuity Hulk writing.

 

[Gamma Ra]

I just can't see Hulk talking. A word or two over the course of the film is fine. Any more than that wouldn't fly. It's a perfect example of something that works well in the comic medium that would just be panned outside of it.

Ed Norton seems to agree.

I can't disagree with you more. Hulk doesn't care to speak a lot, but he certainly should talk. He definitely has to have the right voice to fit his appearance.

 

[Gamma Ra]

I loved that. It was nice to finally see someone from Marvel acknowledge what has been the standard for years, "There's Spider-Man...and there's the Hulk. Period."



Loved that, too. It's a great feeling when the people handling something you really care about and have a lot invested in (at least emotionally), seem to really get it, you know?




Absolutely fantastic post. A true answer to the "Hulk is just a brick/so one-dimensional/is nothing but smash" rubish that likes to collect in the corners of the Internet.



I love Mantlo. He defined the Hulk for me. I love all those writers you named, actually.



EXACTLY. It's like Pak is the genius son of Stan Lee, Bill Mantlo, Roger Stern, Len Wein, and Peter David. He's the best parts of all of them. He shows such respect to their legacy, but regurgitates none of it. He's carving out his own legendary run, while tipping his hat to the giants that came before him. I absolutely love Pak. He truly gets it. He delivers truly moving, emotional, cerebral storytelling and clever, well-thought out, intelligent writing, all the while letting no one forget that the Hulk is THE strongest one there is.

Nicely stated!

 

[Obi-Ron]

I love Mantlo. He defined the Hulk for me.

Fans of Bill Mantlo will be saddened to learn that he received massive brain damage in a 1992 accident . The benefit book MANTLO: A LIFE IN COMICS was published last year to raise money to fund his ongoing care.

 

[co2]

Fans of Bill Mantlo will be saddened to learn that he received massive brain damage in a 1992 accident . The benefit book MANTLO: A LIFE IN COMICS was published last year to raise money to fund his ongoing care.

That was depressing when I learned about that. He was hit by a car whiile riding a bike. That's really sad to think he was turned into an invalid.

In my opinion, his writing combined with Sal Buscema's Savage Hulk art, is the definitive era of the Hulk.
I hope Marvel releases a Mantlo visionaries series like they are doing for PAD. Hell, even John Byrne has one coming out in July.

 

[Nivek]

Mantlo deserves his own Hulk visionaries, the Banner Hulk and the Crossroads arcs.