Warning: this article contains spoilers for the The Immortal Hulk #42!
As The Immortal Hulk nears its ending with issue #50, things have never looked worse for the Green Goliath. After being tricked by Samuel Sterns, aka the Leader, the Hulk’s various personae are in disarray, leaving his weakest form – the rogueish Sunshine Joe – to keep their body out of the hands of the Gamma Flight and protect the childlike Savage Hulk from harm.
At the start of Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s critically beloved series, it emerged that gamma mutates like the Hulk have access to the Green Door – a portal that allows them to escape the hellish Below-Place and return to life. Sadly, The Immortal Hulk #25 revealed that the One Below All – the terrible ruler of that domain – had a plan of its own, intending to hollow Hulk out and use his unkillable form to destroy all of existence and stop another reality forming in its place. Though beings at the end of time sent a warning back to stop this, it was intercepted by the Leader, Hulk’s nemesis, who set about using the information for his own ends.
One of the Leader’s biggest moves so far has been confronting and slaying the Devil Hulk persona, after which he dragged Bruce Banner “Below,” horrifically torturing his old nemesis. Hulk’s surviving personae have been running loose ever since without the guidance of Devil Hulk or know-how and contacts of Banner, but in a summary and preview from Marvel Comics for the upcoming The Immortal Hulk #42 from Marvel Comics, the story is finally returning to Banner and the Leader:
At the year’s end, costs are counted — by Jackie McGee, Eugene Judd…and Samuel Sterns. All the Leader’s plans have finally come together in what may be his greatest triumph. But is that enough…or will the ONE BELOW ALL claim his due?
With a staggering cover from Alex Ross which takes inspiration from Hieronymous Bosch’s depictions of hell, it’s clear that Ewing and Bennett are finally ready to return to the horrific torments of Bruce Banner, as well as teasing the ultimate reckoning between the diabolical aspirations of the Leader and the far grander evil of the One Below All.
While The Immortal Hulk has done some amazing things with body horror, those torments have generally been leveled against creatures like the Hulk or Abomination, whose bodies are already twisted and alien. It seems as though as the series enters its endgame, its creators are reaching deep into their bag of disgusting tricks, tearing Bruce Banner to pieces and turning the Leader – formerly one of Marvel’s sillier super-villains, with his stretched forehead and pencil mustache – into an eldritch horror to keep fans up at night. The Immortal Hulk #42 will release on January 13, a treat for fans even as they hope the series will never end.
