The Immortal Hulk #36 - Marvel Comics

IMMORTAL HULK No. 36, October 2020

Offering a marvellous mixture of Machiavellian manipulation and a seriously savage slugfest, Al Ewing’s penmanship for Issue Thirty-Six of “Immortal Hulk” must surely have assured many of this publication’s readers that the Leader’s presence within the ongoing series was going to generate some sense-shattering shenanigans for Bruce Banner’s alter-ego. In fact, having previously caused the jade giant to spectacularly disintegrate the hapless Mayor of Georgeville in this story-arc’s previous instalment, Sam Sterns arguably goes one better by manipulating the titular character into immediately duking it out against the increasingly cocksure Gamma Flight for the vast majority of this twenty-page periodical.

Happily however, this lengthy swapping of punches, kicks and limb-ripping disfigurements contains plenty of emotional moments alongside its bouts of pulse-pounding pugilism, with Ewing’s use of Titania as a highly annoying catalyst for much of the savage action proving remarkably successful. Mary MacPherran’s personality has always been based upon a ‘hit first, think afterwards’ principle, and in “The Thing In The Tube” the British author takes the human mutate one step further by having her assault Jackie McGee simply because the reporter realises the supposedly reformed super-villain is clearly “escalating” an already bad situation.

Likewise, the former “2000 A.D.” writer does a similar job with poor Puck, who seems a far cry from the popular acrobatic hero depicted in John Byrne’s days on “Alpha Flight”. Without even pausing for a moment to contemplate just how the green goliath suddenly gained the power to cause a violent gamma explosion, Eugene Judd leads a vicious surprise attack against the hapless Hulk, mercilessly gunning down his former “team-up” friend despite Banner making it clear he wants no part of a confrontation; “Little Man? No… H-Hulk… Hulk not want this… Hulk not want fight!”

Joe Bennett should also take a big bow for his pencilling’s part in making this comic such a ‘thrill-a-panel’ ride. The Brazilian artist’s use of body language to depict all the unbearable haughtiness and arrogance of Absorbing Man’s muscle-bound wife is absolutely top-notch, and probably made Titania’s ultimate defeat at the unfathomably strong hands of the founding Avenger garner quite a few cheers from this book’s Hulk-heads when the behemoth finally decides he’s had quite enough of being MacPherran’s punching bag.

Writer: Al Ewing, Penciler: Joe Bennett, and Inker: Ruy Jose