The Savage Hulk Strikes Back!

[BioHazard]

I am aware that the titile of this thread is rather non-PC (and I apologize in advance to any viewers who were offended), but a major theme throughout Hulk's history is his, and consequently Bruce Banner's, inability to adequately cope with overwhelming negative emotions. That said, while I believe that this is an integral element of his character, is it also necessary that the Hulk be portrayed as mentally challenged as well? I anticipate an old-school, "purist" defense of this infantilism as explanatory and reflective of Banner's grossly underdeveloped coping skills, or as the expression of his "Id", but it is undeniable that the smarter Hulks generally (not exclusively) tend to produce more compelling and provocative stories, enabling him to feature in smash-fests as well as more intelligent and provocative themes. While many argue that PAD's Joe Fixit was Hulk's most successful and appealing personality, I personally enjoyed the more recent "gravage" Hulk incarnation during Pak's recent run. One of the reasons that WWH enjoyed such trmendous popularity is that it established new dimensions to the personality of the apparently Banner-less Hulk. He may not have been a super-genius on the cognitive level (although Cho argues that he always exercised his super-intellect beneath his savage persona), but he was a cunning warrior and superb strategist, whilst simultaneously prone to the impulsive, consuming wrath that only the Hulk can manifest. However, at the end of Hulk #3, we have the apparent return of idiot Hulk, who speaks to himself in the third person, and is incapable of coherent dialogue. Now, with Red Hulk "about" to take on Green Hulk sometime in the coming months, I actually find myself rooting for Red Hulk, if only because it marks a divergence from the idiot Hulk that I never found particularly compelling. He doesn't have to be a dull-witted behemoth to be the misunderstood monster cursed with brutal propensities despite his (often) benign intentions, and I think that his development during Planet Hulk showed us that. I'm personally dissapointed by the re-emergence of the simple-minded savage, and am hoping desperately for the return of the "Gravage Hulk", especially since, as PH and WWH demonstrate, Hulk fans were actually appreciative of Hulk's psychological maturation. Bring back the "Hulk" the Barbarian!!!! Am I alone here? What do you guys think?

[Marcus_Maximus]

Give the guy a gold star.

[Seraku]

My brother is autistic
*insert 50 page rant*


anyways I agree completely with the sentiment

[Haquim]

I am aware that the titile of this thread is rather non-PC (and I apologize in advance to any viewers who were offended), but a major theme throughout Hulk's history is his, and consequently Bruce Banner's, inability to adequately cope with overwhelming negative emotions. That said, while I believe that this is an integral element of his character, is it also necessary that the Hulk be portrayed as mentally challenged as well? I anticipate an old-school, "purist" defense of this infantilism as explanatory and reflective of Banner's grossly underdeveloped coping skills, or as the expression of his "Id", but it is undeniable that the smarter Hulks generally (not exclusively) tend to produce more compelling and provocative stories, enabling him to feature in smash-fests as well as more intelligent and provocative themes. While many argue that PAD's Joe Fixit was Hulk's most successful and appealing personality, I personally enjoyed the more recent "gravage" Hulk incarnation during Pak's recent run. One of the reasons that WWH enjoyed such trmendous popularity is that it established new dimensions to the personality of the apparently Banner-less Hulk. He may not have been a super-genius on the cognitive level (although Cho argues that he always exercised his super-intellect beneath his savage persona), but he was a cunning warrior and superb strategist, whilst simultaneously prone to the impulsive, consuming wrath that only the Hulk can manifest. However, at the end of Hulk #3, we have the apparent return of idiot Hulk, who speaks to himself in the third person, and is incapable of coherent dialogue. Now, with Red Hulk "about" to take on Green Hulk sometime in the coming months, I actually find myself rooting for Red Hulk, if only because it marks a divergence from the idiot Hulk that I never found particularly compelling. He doesn't have to be a dull-witted behemoth to be the misunderstood monster cursed with brutal propensities despite his (often) benign intentions, and I think that his development during Planet Hulk showed us that. I'm personally dissapointed by the re-emergence of the simple-minded savage, and am hoping desperately for the return of the "Gravage Hulk", especially since, as PH and WWH demonstrate, Hulk fans were actually appreciative of Hulk's psychological maturation. Bring back the "Hulk" the Barbarian!!!! Am I alone here? What do you guys think?

I agree wholeheartedly...
I hate the stupid hulk someone in Marvel seems to like so much. he tells me nothing, while Fixit, the professor (or the Maestro, for that matter...:evilsmile: ) are all compelling personalities and generally allow for compelling stories.
Iloved WWh's hulk too, yet we disagree on something: I think Hulk & Banner were one and the same during the last part of Planet Hulk (when he reveals Banner to Caiera) and during the whole WWH (as clearly shown just after Banner punches down Sentry or when he tricks Strange...)
Anyway, I'm with you. Down with the stupid hulk give us back WWH's hulk (or fixit, or the professor...)

[Thor the Thunderer]

I am aware that the titile of this thread is rather non-PC (and I apologize in advance to any viewers who were offended), but a major theme throughout Hulk's history is his, and consequently Bruce Banner's, inability to adequately cope with overwhelming negative emotions. That said, while I believe that this is an integral element of his character, is it also necessary that the Hulk be portrayed as mentally challenged as well? I anticipate an old-school, "purist" defense of this infantilism as explanatory and reflective of Banner's grossly underdeveloped coping skills, or as the expression of his "Id", but it is undeniable that the smarter Hulks generally (not exclusively) tend to produce more compelling and provocative stories, enabling him to feature in smash-fests as well as more intelligent and provocative themes. While many argue that PAD's Joe Fixit was Hulk's most successful and appealing personality, I personally enjoyed the more recent "gravage" Hulk incarnation during Pak's recent run. One of the reasons that WWH enjoyed such trmendous popularity is that it established new dimensions to the personality of the apparently Banner-less Hulk. He may not have been a super-genius on the cognitive level (although Cho argues that he always exercised his super-intellect beneath his savage persona), but he was a cunning warrior and superb strategist, whilst simultaneously prone to the impulsive, consuming wrath that only the Hulk can manifest. However, at the end of Hulk #3, we have the apparent return of idiot Hulk, who speaks to himself in the third person, and is incapable of coherent dialogue. Now, with Red Hulk "about" to take on Green Hulk sometime in the coming months, I actually find myself rooting for Red Hulk, if only because it marks a divergence from the idiot Hulk that I never found particularly compelling. He doesn't have to be a dull-witted behemoth to be the misunderstood monster cursed with brutal propensities despite his (often) benign intentions, and I think that his development during Planet Hulk showed us that. I'm personally dissapointed by the re-emergence of the simple-minded savage, and am hoping desperately for the return of the "Gravage Hulk", especially since, as PH and WWH demonstrate, Hulk fans were actually appreciative of Hulk's psychological maturation. Bring back the "Hulk" the Barbarian!!!! Am I alone here? What do you guys think?

Zounds!!! A voice of reason!!!

[BioHazard]

I agree wholeheartedly...
I hate the stupid hulk someone in Marvel seems to like so much. he tells me nothing, while Fixit, the professor (or the Maestro, for that matter...:evilsmile: ) are all compelling personalities and generally allow for compelling stories.
Iloved WWh's hulk too, yet we disagree on something: I think Hulk & Banner were one and the same during the last part of Planet Hulk (when he reveals Banner to Caiera) and during the whole WWH (as clearly shown just after Banner punches down Sentry or when he tricks Strange...)
Anyway, I'm with you. Down with the stupid hulk give us back WWH's hulk (or fixit, or the professor...)

Come to think of it, Banner was pretty much acting in concert with Hulk during WWH, although Giant-Sized Hulk clearly depicted them as antagonistic facets of their fragmented psyche during the PH arc. Somewhere along the line there was a reconciliation - perhaps when the spikes were feeding off of his gamma radiation, or during Hulk/Banner's marriage to Caiera. Either way, isn't it ironic that Hulk/Banner seemed to reach their healthiest psychological state ever when they were at the peak of their rage? Perhaps THAT is what made Hulk so powerful... and so dangerous. However, it still begs the question: why should they be unreconciled now? Remember seeing Banner with luminescent green eyes after he fought Sentry? Additionally, both Hulk and Banner asked to stopped at the end of WWH. They seemed, even then, to finally be of one mind. And now Hulk's stoopid again. Maybe I wouldn't want to strangle Loeb if his title maintained a consistent monthly schedule, but no promises there either, given the way this nonsensical plot is going...

[ivesaidway2much]

I couldn't possibly disagree more with the original poster. One of the best (and IMHO the greatest) Hulk stories of all time featured Savage Hulk. It's almost entirely reflective, and as far as being emotionally compelling comics don't get much better than Hulk: The End.

There's a reason why when people mention the Hulk 99% of the time the one that comes to mind is Savage Hulk. There's a reason why Savage Hulk is featured in two major motion pictures, 3 animated series (with another one on the way), a live-action TV series, numerous video games, and countless toy lines. And it's not because he's incapable of producing provocative and compelling stories. I personally wouldn't even be a comic fan if the mid 1990's Hulk cartoon wasn't so freaking awesome. The Hulk is the second (or at worst third) most well known character in all of Marvel. How did he get there, if his major persona is as boring as the one you describe?

I think the issue is that some comic fans don't really take into account the major writing talent that the intelligent Hulk personas have had. Peter David, Paul Jenkins (before he started to suck), Peter David again, a mercifully brief stint by Daniel Way, and finally Greg Pak. For the most part the intelligent Hulks have gotten nothing but good to excellent writing. While Savage Hulk has received more of a mixed bag, with some good stories and an awful lot of bad ones. It's like comparing the Spider-man in Spidey Super Stories to the Spider-man during Roger Stern's run.

[IronKing]

I agree. Hulk doesn't need to be Banner 100%, but he doesn't have to be mentally handicapped, either.

Make him more of a loner. Someone who doesn't speak much at all. Something. HULK SMASH is classic Hulk, no doubt, but let's try something new.

[Tobias Drake]

I agree. Hulk doesn't need to be Banner 100%, but he doesn't have to be mentally handicapped, either.

Make him more of a loner. Someone who doesn't speak much at all. Something. HULK SMASH is classic Hulk, no doubt, but let's try something new.

I liked WWH Hulk. He wasn't Banner Brilliant, he wasn't Retard Hulk, but he was...clever. He smashed the X-Men through ingenuity and clever application of his strength, rather than just through berserker rage.

[abomin8ion]

so.

there has been the allover popular gravage wwhulk.
in my eyes coming closest to pads merger/fixit incarnations.

now there s red hulk and green idiot hulk.

my guess is, it s not banner and the hulk who re split this time
-it s the hulk himself. into opposites.

i remember loeb saying following about red and green:
green would stand for all the good and positive, so the return of the childlike beaneater doesn t surprise me that much, rather more i expected him after knowing for the machiavellian red s existence, which stands for me for all the hate in the world.

with banner in the middle.
OR: why shouldn t banner be the red hulk? too.

remember the the panel turning red when banner closed his eyes
at the end of wwh5? so why should it be "just" ross(or anyone else)
and not bruce banner?

i expect greeny to lose his first red comparison in #4, but there should be an comeback not too far away.
is this just the same old story about the bright and the dark force plus giving the audience "just" some "dumb" badass monsterfighting?

why not? loebs got me there as much as i appreciate peter david
or grek pak for his continuity.
and mcguiness is terrific - even if he s far too slow(i can t remember peak-quality pad and the tremendous dale keown being pi**ed off for delayings...)
and "mcguiness draws too many splash pages"? how could a hulk fan ever complain? i don t get it.

anyway, i can see many of you complaining about jeph loebs dumb writing style,
although nobody really seems to have a real idea what s going on,
or any real kind of explanation.

so why shouldn t there be the 70 s green moron?
we know him and he s welcome and we all know it wont last forever.

the red hulk owns all the viciousness fan favourite joe fixit could be able to, and more.
and there is all the brute power of the climax wwhulk.

if i want to stimulate my intellect i read a book,
or go and create by myself.

after 25+years of reading i d say: this is fun!

[carabas]

I am aware that the titile of this thread is rather non-PC (and I apologize in advance to any viewers who were offended), but a major theme throughout Hulk's history is his, and consequently Bruce Banner's, inability to adequately cope with overwhelming negative emotions. That said, while I believe that this is an integral element of his character, is it also necessary that the Hulk be portrayed as mentally challenged as well? I anticipate an old-school, "purist" defense of this infantilism as explanatory and reflective of Banner's grossly underdeveloped coping skills, or as the expression of his "Id", but it is undeniable that the smarter Hulks generally (not exclusively) tend to produce more compelling and provocative stories, enabling him to feature in smash-fests as well as more intelligent and provocative themes. While many argue that PAD's Joe Fixit was Hulk's most successful and appealing personality, I personally enjoyed the more recent "gravage" Hulk incarnation during Pak's recent run. One of the reasons that WWH enjoyed such trmendous popularity is that it established new dimensions to the personality of the apparently Banner-less Hulk. He may not have been a super-genius on the cognitive level (although Cho argues that he always exercised his super-intellect beneath his savage persona), but he was a cunning warrior and superb strategist, whilst simultaneously prone to the impulsive, consuming wrath that only the Hulk can manifest. However, at the end of Hulk #3, we have the apparent return of idiot Hulk, who speaks to himself in the third person, and is incapable of coherent dialogue. Now, with Red Hulk "about" to take on Green Hulk sometime in the coming months, I actually find myself rooting for Red Hulk, if only because it marks a divergence from the idiot Hulk that I never found particularly compelling. He doesn't have to be a dull-witted behemoth to be the misunderstood monster cursed with brutal propensities despite his (often) benign intentions, and I think that his development during Planet Hulk showed us that. I'm personally dissapointed by the re-emergence of the simple-minded savage, and am hoping desperately for the return of the "Gravage Hulk", especially since, as PH and WWH demonstrate, Hulk fans were actually appreciative of Hulk's psychological maturation. Bring back the "Hulk" the Barbarian!!!! Am I alone here? What do you guys think?
Paragraphs, man, paragraphs!

And yes, I agree. Monosyllabic Hulk belongs in the silver age.

[Haquim]

I couldn't possibly disagree more with the original poster. One of the best (and IMHO the greatest) Hulk stories of all time featured Savage Hulk. It's almost entirely reflective, and as far as being emotionally compelling comics don't get much better than Hulk: The End.


ONE story. I do not recall many other great stories with savage hulk. I recall plenty with different personas, but the usual savage story has always been about Hulk being hunted for whatever reason and then answering those threats (true or perceived) with brute strength.
What does that mean? To me that is much more difficult to tell good stories with savage hulk because he's so limited. You get few themes and then you are struck in the same circle.
Btw IIRC Peter David left Hulk because he disagreed with people at Marvel who wanted to bring back the savage hulk and he felt the character didn't work as well as other Banner's personalities for good storytelling (PAD lurks here sometimes, so maybe he can deny or confirm this himself).

There's a reason why when people mention the Hulk 99% of the time the one that comes to mind is Savage Hulk. There's a reason why Savage Hulk is featured in two major motion pictures, 3 animated series (with another one on the way), a live-action TV series, numerous video games, and countless toy lines. And it's not because he's incapable of producing provocative and compelling stories. I personally wouldn't even be a comic fan if the mid 1990's Hulk cartoon wasn't so freaking awesome. The Hulk is the second (or at worst third) most well known character in all of Marvel. How did he get there, if his major persona is as boring as the one you describe?


Personally I blame Lou Ferrigno. And while it's true he's probably the second/third most well known marvel character (after spidey and close to Logan) it's also true his comic didn't sell well untill good storytellers like PAD or Pak made use of different personas rather than the boring savage hulk.

I think the issue is that some comic fans don't really take into account the major writing talent that the intelligent Hulk personas have had. Peter David, Paul Jenkins (before he started to suck), Peter David again, a mercifully brief stint by Daniel Way, and finally Greg Pak. For the most part the intelligent Hulks have gotten nothing but good to excellent writing. While Savage Hulk has received more of a mixed bag, with some good stories and an awful lot of bad ones. It's like comparing the Spider-man in Spidey Super Stories to the Spider-man during Roger Stern's run.

Look at it this way: those good writers realized they weren't going to be able to tell good stories for long if they used the limited savage hulk persona, so they decided to introduce more compelling aspects of Banner's personality...

[IronStarks]

Ehhh i blame Loeb, takeing away all the good character development from PH and WWH.

[BioHazard]

ONE story. I do not recall many other great stories with savage hulk. I recall plenty with different personas, but the usual savage story has always been about Hulk being hunted for whatever reason and then answering those threats (true or perceived) with brute strength.
What does that mean? To me that is much more difficult to tell good stories with savage hulk because he's so limited. You get few themes and then you are struck in the same circle.
Btw IIRC Peter David left Hulk because he disagreed with people at Marvel who wanted to bring back the savage hulk and he felt the character didn't work as well as other Banner's personalities for good storytelling (PAD lurks here sometimes, so maybe he can deny or confirm this himself).



Personally I blame Lou Ferrigno. And while it's true he's probably the second/third most well known marvel character (after spidey and close to Logan) it's also true his comic didn't sell well untill good storytellers like PAD or Pak made use of different personas rather than the boring savage hulk.



Look at it this way: those good writers realized they weren't going to be able to tell good stories for long if they used the limited savage hulk persona, so they decided to introduce more compelling aspects of Banner's personality...

A much more concise way of describing (and defending) my personal disdain for green Hulk's current regression. We all have our favorite characters. For me, Thanos was THE ONE. And as much as I loved his villainous ingenuity, I loved him even more when he became the enigmatic, ambivalent, introspective powerhouse during Starlin's last run. This is just to illustrate that, while we all love our favorite characters, don't we love it even more when they grow and mature into even more interesting ones? Besides who wants 20 more years of silver age Hulk stories? They've all been done already, though I have no idea what Loeb is trying to do here with his profusion of spontaneous gamma mutates. Traditional Hulk stories have typically utilized the frail but brilliant Banner vs. the vacuous yet physically invincible Hulk dichotomy, but I find that an approach more akin to the Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde relationship a fitting evolutionary development to the character concept. Maybe not as naive as Jekyll, or as malicious as Hyde, but I think the point is fairly obvious. Actually, disregarding his murderous impulses, Ultimate Hulk seems to strike this chord rather nicely...

[ivesaidway2much]

ONE story. I do not recall many other great stories with savage hulk. I recall plenty with different personas, but the usual savage story has always been about Hulk being hunted for whatever reason and then answering those threats (true or perceived) with brute strength.
What does that mean? To me that is much more difficult to tell good stories with savage hulk because he's so limited. You get few themes and then you are struck in the same circle.There's nothing limited about the character Savage Hulk. He's been hilarious in the last two runs on the Defenders. He's been dramatic in stories like Hulk: The End. And he's been everything else in between in great stories like Daredevil 163, Peter Parker v2 14, or Thor 385. The only limit on Savage Hulk is the skill of his writer.

Btw IIRC Peter David left Hulk because he disagreed with people at Marvel who wanted to bring back the savage hulk and he felt the character didn't work as well as other Banner's personalities for good storytelling (PAD lurks here sometimes, so maybe he can deny or confirm this himself).IF I recall correctly Peter David left because he wanted to do a story about the Hulk dealing with the death of Betty (similar to his own life experience since he was going through a divorce at the time). But due to low sales numbers, Marvel wanted to return the Hulk to a more action-oriented tales. Then again, I could be completely wrong about that.



Personally I blame Lou Ferrigno. And while it's true he's probably the second/third most well known marvel character (after spidey and close to Logan) it's also true his comic didn't sell well untill good storytellers like PAD or Pak made use of different personas rather than the boring savage hulk.
Out of curiousity, which good storytellers do you feel failed to tell an interesting story when they attempted one with the "boring savage hulk"?


Look at it this way: those good writers realized they weren't going to be able to tell good stories for long if they used the limited savage hulk persona, so they decided to introduce more compelling aspects of Banner's personality...They didn't really introduce more compelling aspects of Banner's personality. For the most part, except for Bruce Jones' awful run on the comic, Bruce Banner has been marginalized in Hulk comics.

[ivesaidway2much]

A much more concise way of describing (and defending) my personal disdain for green Hulk's current regression. We all have our favorite characters. For me, Thanos was THE ONE. And as much as I loved his villainous ingenuity, I loved him even more when he became the enigmatic, ambivalent, introspective powerhouse during Starlin's last run. This is just to illustrate that, while we all love our favorite characters, don't we love it even more when they grow and mature into even more interesting ones? Besides who wants 20 more years of silver age Hulk stories? They've all been done already, though I have no idea what Loeb is trying to do here with his profusion of spontaneous gamma mutates. Traditional Hulk stories have typically utilized the frail but brilliant Banner vs. the vacuous yet physically invincible Hulk dichotomy, but I find that an approach more akin to the Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde relationship a fitting evolutionary development to the character concept. Maybe not as naive as Jekyll, or as malicious as Hyde, but I think the point is fairly obvious. Actually, disregarding his murderous impulses, Ultimate Hulk seems to strike this chord rather nicely...But there wasn't a lot of real growth between the different personas. Savage Hulk got hit by a gamma bomb and turned into Joe Fixit. That's just a freak accident. Not only was it not growth, but it was actually a regression. Gray Hulk was the first Hulk personality. And as far as I can recall there was never even an explanation for how Grayvage Hulk came to be. He just showed up one day. I like all of the Hulk's personas, but for the most part they are just random personalities floating around somewhere in Banner/Hulk's mind that pop up from time to time. I like change, but I've seen and/or read far too many entertaining Savage Hulk stories to believe that he's boring or uncompelling.

[gorthon616]

I am aware that the titile of this thread is rather non-PC (and I apologize in advance to any viewers who were offended), but a major theme throughout Hulk's history is his, and consequently Bruce Banner's, inability to adequately cope with overwhelming negative emotions. That said, while I believe that this is an integral element of his character, is it also necessary that the Hulk be portrayed as mentally challenged as well? I anticipate an old-school, "purist" defense of this infantilism as explanatory and reflective of Banner's grossly underdeveloped coping skills, or as the expression of his "Id", but it is undeniable that the smarter Hulks generally (not exclusively) tend to produce more compelling and provocative stories, enabling him to feature in smash-fests as well as more intelligent and provocative themes. While many argue that PAD's Joe Fixit was Hulk's most successful and appealing personality, I personally enjoyed the more recent "gravage" Hulk incarnation during Pak's recent run. One of the reasons that WWH enjoyed such trmendous popularity is that it established new dimensions to the personality of the apparently Banner-less Hulk. He may not have been a super-genius on the cognitive level (although Cho argues that he always exercised his super-intellect beneath his savage persona), but he was a cunning warrior and superb strategist, whilst simultaneously prone to the impulsive, consuming wrath that only the Hulk can manifest. However, at the end of Hulk #3, we have the apparent return of idiot Hulk, who speaks to himself in the third person, and is incapable of coherent dialogue. Now, with Red Hulk "about" to take on Green Hulk sometime in the coming months, I actually find myself rooting for Red Hulk, if only because it marks a divergence from the idiot Hulk that I never found particularly compelling. He doesn't have to be a dull-witted behemoth to be the misunderstood monster cursed with brutal propensities despite his (often) benign intentions, and I think that his development during Planet Hulk showed us that. I'm personally dissapointed by the re-emergence of the simple-minded savage, and am hoping desperately for the return of the "Gravage Hulk", especially since, as PH and WWH demonstrate, Hulk fans were actually appreciative of Hulk's psychological maturation. Bring back the "Hulk" the Barbarian!!!! Am I alone here? What do you guys think?

Yes. Tragically, Savage Hulk is the one that is easily accessible, so I don't mind if they have that as an element of a Hulk persona but not as a core personality. Maybe a compromise between the differing view is have Banner -> Hulk -> Savage Hulk, you make Banner can go Hulk anytime, but when you make the Hulk angry he goes completely apeshit Savage Hulk.

[fred10]

I'll be the one to say it.

What's so non-PC about "Savage Hulk Strikes Back!"?

[Marcus_Maximus]

That wasn't the name of the original thread. See the third post.

[ivesaidway2much]

I'll be the one to say it.

What's so non-PC about "Savage Hulk Strikes Back!"?Ugh. You're probably one of those people who laughs at the Geico caveman commercials.
http://www.leveltendesign.com/buzzlevel/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/caveman_2.jpg
Disgusting.:evilangry:

[fred10]

I still don't get it. I kind of feel like a caveman right now. :confused:

[Scavenger]

I still don't get it. I kind of feel like a caveman right now. :confused:

Apparantly the original title of the thread was "Autistic Hulk" or "retarded Hulk"

[cernunnos]

The Hulk has always been one of my favorite characters, just behind Thor. As long as the story is good, I don't care what Hulk incarnation is on display. I liked Joe Fixit, Professor Hulk, and the Gravage Hulk that kicked butt in Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, but I'll always have a soft spot in my hard black heart for Savage Hulk.

[fred10]

Apparantly the original title of the thread was "Autistic Hulk" or "retarded Hulk"

Ah ha. Now that reference to the third post makes sense.:biggrin:

[Will.S]

The only appeal I see of the savage or "dumb" Hulk is his childlike innocence and naivete.

You feel really bad for him when someone manipulates him and then he finds that out and feels even worse than before and lashes out. Outside of that though, I always dug the smarter and more eloquent versions like the Banner/Professor Hulk, Grey Hulk, "Gravage Hulk" since they apply their power better and are more relatable.

[oboro]

But there wasn't a lot of real growth between the different personas. Savage Hulk got hit by a gamma bomb and turned into Joe Fixit. That's just a freak accident. Not only was it not growth, but it was actually a regression. Gray Hulk was the first Hulk personality. And as far as I can recall there was never even an explanation for how Grayvage Hulk came to be. He just showed up one day. I like all of the Hulk's personas, but for the most part they are just random personalities floating around somewhere in Banner/Hulk's mind that pop up from time to time. I like change, but I've seen and/or read far too many entertaining Savage Hulk stories to believe that he's boring or uncompelling.


Gravage appeared just after Savage Banner jumped on that grenade and it was no longer safe for him to turn back to Banner due to shrapnel in his head. He's really just the Hulk first personality modernized. Also my favorite as well.

[Karthak]

Amen. Gravage hulk is the most enjoyable hulk I have ever read. The only one that even come close is Fixit. I don't think I'll buy any more issues of Hulk, since I never want to see a hulk who refers to himself in the third person only ever again.

[b_sinning]

I always liked the professor hulk but thought he went away too easily.