Son of the Hulk

 

Today’s post will again be something a little different, a look at something we did not see in the MC2. For this entry in what I am still calling the Untold Tales of the MC2 which looks at costumes, concepts, story ideas and characters that never made it to the printed page, we first need to talk about someone who did make it into the MC2: the Son of the Hulk.

 

Making his first and only appearance in the pages of A-Next #3 is the young son of the Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk, David Banner. In this issue we learn that Bruce Banner has retired to Denver, Colorado and he indicates he is finally rid of his alter ego for good and has not seen Doctor Strange in years. When Strange appears unexpectedly to reform the Defenders, he takes complete mental control of Banner and forces Bruce to once more transform into the Hulk. Concerned for his son as he begins to change into the Hulk, Bruce shouts for his son to run but Doctor Strange assures him that David is in no danger. David Banner is left stunned and confused, and this is all we see from the boy in the published works of the MC2.

 

Now, let us take a look at the unpublished side of things for David, thanks once more to MC2 co-creator, artist and ideas man, Ron Frenz. On his official Facebook page, Ron shared the following image with this description:

 

Davey and (the Green) Goliath!

An un-used MC2 idea for Bruce Banner and his young son David involving an accidental gamma mind link and ensuing hi-jinks!

 

While it is just a concept that never saw publication, Mr Frenz evidently put some thought into this, going so far as to clarify why ‘Davey’ has green hair in his sketch when asked:

 

The “gamma mind link” turned his hair green.

 

It sounds like this unpublished story idea would have been a lot of fun. As I mentioned in my She-Hulk post, we don’t know who would have looked after David Banner after his father was sent to Limbo by Loki and it’s never mentioned who his mother is or even if she’s still alive. Perhaps that is a topic for another time?

 

Until I stop exploring every corner of the MC2 and finding more reasons to love it, I remain

 

frogoat

 

She-Hulk in the MC2

 

It’s that time again; there’s a new Marvel series about to release on Disney+ and I’m scrambling to provide a tangentially related post about the protagonist. For today’s entry, we’ll be looking at the Bruce Banner’s favourite cousin: Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk just in time for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. This is She-Hulk in the MC2.

 

Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk is seen alongside various other major Marvel female heroes in Spider-Girl #60 on both the issue’s cover and within the thoughts of May ‘Mayday’ Parker as the latter reflects on her place amongst the other superheroines who came before her. The real-world reasons for these cameos was to acknowledge prior female heroes as the Spider-Girl title reaching it's 60th continuous issue, something only one other solo female superheroine title at Marvel had achieved, that being none other than Sensational She-Hulk. The Spider-Girl title would go on to surpass this, reaching issue 100, a feat still unbeaten to this date.

 

Jennifer is not seen among the gathered Avengers who travelled to an alternate earth for the original team’s final mission. So at least we can likely rule out her dying on the mission. Either way, no specifics are given, and as such her status remains unknown (A-Next #7).

 

In terms of where the MC2 version of She-Hulk potentially branches off from the Main Marvel Universe, my best guess estimate is after Fantastic Four #416, most likely around Heroes For Hire #8-#9 based on their publication date. Events following this point may have played out much the same up to an unknown point, but there is simply no information available to say one way or the other. 

      

 

Jumping around a bit, when we first meet Jennifer’s cousin Bruce, we learn that he's retired to Denver, Colorado and has a son named David. Bruce indicates he is finally rid of his alter ego for good and hasn't seen Doctor Strange in years. When Strange appears unexpectedly to reform the Defenders, he takes complete mental control of Banner and forces Bruce to once more transform into the Hulk (A-Next #3).

 

Much later during the events of the Last Hero Standing mini-series, Bruce Banner aka the Incredible Hulk is enthralled by Loki's spell and goes on a rampage against several of the Earth's heroes. Finally freed when Captain America breaks Loki's connection, Hulk narrowly avoids death at Thor's hands. Devastated by the fresh destruction he has wrought after his years rebuilding his life, the Hulk joins Loki as he is exiled to Limbo by Thor.

 

Hulk's exile leaves it up in the air who is looking after his son, David Banner. Perhaps Betty Banner (formerly Betty Ross) is alive and well in this reality? Or if not, perhaps Aunt Jennifer is raising her young nephew? We may never know!

 

Until I figure out I’m just a character in a work of fiction, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

Hulk in the MC2

With all the build up for Avengers: Endgame, I've elected to cover the MC2 incarnations of the films main cast. For this entry, we'll be looking at the green-skinned giant himself, the Incredible Hulk!

Bruce Banner makes his MC2 debut in A-Next #3 where we learn that he's retired to Denver, Colorado and has a son named David. Bruce indicates he is finally rid of his alter ego for good and hasn't seen Doctor Strange in years. When Strange appears unexpectedly to reform the Defenders, he takes complete mental control of Banner and forces Bruce to once more transform into the Hulk.

 Pitted against the newly formed next generation of Avengers, Hulk remains under Dr Strange's control until a hit from Stinger's...erm...stingers breaks him free of the spell (A-Next #3). It's also worth mentioning that this is where Dr Strange informs Doc Magus that the Hulk has a destiny to fulfill. While the action ends there, J2 #3 expands on the fight between J2 and the incredible Hulk and ends with the two demonstrating mutual respect for one another. 

It seems Banner is back to transforming into the not-so-jolly green giant but he appears to maintain some control over the Hulk if not retaining all of his intelligence, as he shows up in J2 #12, accompanying his fellow Defenders into the Crossroads of Infinity on a mission to rescue J2 and Doc Magus and the original Juggernaut and in Wild Thing #0 helping Wolverine, Dr Strange and Wild Thing against a pack of Wendigos.

After this though, the Hulk doesn't appear for a while, finally re-emerging in Spider-Girl #86-88 where he briefly battles Apox the Omega Skrull before being sent into space. There he is rescued by the Earth Sentry and Nova and accompanies them to the Skrull Worldship and is present when the Skrulls surrender. 

Anyone who's read some of my recent posts knows what happens next. During the events of Last Hero Standing, Hulk is enthralled by Loki's spell and goes on a rampage against several of the Earth's heroes. Finally freed when Captain America breaks Loki's connection, Hulk narrowly avoids death at Thor's hands. Devastated by the fresh destruction he has wrought after his years rebuilding his life, the Hulk joins Loki as he is exiled to Limbo by Thor.

Now, that should have been the last time we see the Hulk in the MC2, but eagle eyed readers may have noticed a magical energy duplicate created by Sylene in Avengers Next #4-#5. Either this is an artistic error or confirmation that the Hulk found a way back to Earth. After all, Hulk is strongest one there is!

Hulk's exile leaves it up in the air who's looking after his son, David. Perhaps Betty Banner (formerly Betty Ross) is alive and well in this reality? Perhaps Bruce's cousin She-Hulk is raising her nephew? We may never know!

Until I find a form of gamma radiation that turns my genes green, I remain

frogoat 

Carol Danvers in the MC2

So I was lucky enough to see the Captain Marvel movie last night and I had a great time. It got me thinking I should do a little post about Carol Danvers in the MC2. That's where my trouble began.

For those who don't know, Carol Danvers first appeared in the Main Marvel Universe in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and eventually gained powers, becoming Ms. Marvel in Ms. Marvel #1. The MC2's Carol Danvers presumably shares the same published history as her Main Marvel Universe counterpart up to a point...more on that shortly.

The only time we see Carol Danvers in the MC2 is Spider-Girl #60 where she appears in her classic black Ms. Marvel costume on the cover amidst other superpowered women of Marvel (including the first female Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau- see here). However, Ms. Marvel only appears alongside various other previous superheroines in the thoughts of May 'Mayday' Parker as she compares herself to her predecessors. The real world reasons for these cameos was to acknowledge prior female heroes as the Spider-Girl title reaching it's 60th continuous issue, something only one other solo female superheroine title at Marvel had achieved, that being Sensational She-Hulk. The Spider-Girl title would go on to surpass this, reaching issue 100-a feat still unbeaten today.

Jumping into the world of speculation now, let's look at what we can guess at from other established facts. During her career as a superhero, Carol was known first as Ms. Marvel, then Binary during her time in space with the Starjammers team and -most relevantly- as Warbird following her return to the Avengers (Avengers vol. 3 #4). As this Avengers run was running concurrently with the first MC2 titles published in 1998 and 1999, some elements carried over into the flashbacks seen during A-Next #7, such as the costumes and team roster. Despite this, Carol does not appear. What this means is anyone's guess.

It's possible that if Ms. Danvers never rejoined the Avengers, she may not have taken on the moniker of Warbird, leaving it up in the air as to whether she stuck with Binary, went with Warbird or reverted to her Ms. Marvel identity or perhaps adopted the Captain Marvel title of her predecessor as in the Main Marvel Universe. Then again, as noted in my History of the MC2: Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return post, anything beyond Heroes Reborn: The Return #4 is completely up in the air!

Perhaps Carol is alive and well, albeit retired or elsewhere as she remains unseen. Alternately, given the large number of casualties during the Avengers final mission, it's also entirely possible that Danvers perished alongside so many of her teammates. Personally, I'm hoping for the former! Someone should ask Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman, as the two used to be friends...


Until I recover all my missing memories and piece together my damaged psyche, I remain

frogoat

The End..For Now?!

I felt it with Avengers: The Initiative. I felt it with She-Hulk. I felt it with Captain Britain and MI:13. I felt it with Exiles. I felt it with Young Avengers. I felt it with S.W.O.R.D. I felt it when Runaways abruptly came to an end mid-story...how come no one has asked Mrs Immonen what she had planned there anyway? SPOILERS, SWEETIE! I felt it with Slingers. I felt it with Avengers Academy. And I most definitely felt it when Spider-Girl ended. Cancellation.

This was a great series. Check it out!

Usually it's low sales, sometimes a creative team want's to finish the story, maybe the series get's demoted to a mini, or the publisher decides the concept either doesn't work or interferes with their company wide event.
Low sales can be caused by a number of things, the most obvious often sited reason-according to the internets being 'it sucks'. Other, more quantifiable reasons include problems with character, lack of a 'hook' to make it stand out in the crowd or a lack/overabundance/badly handled drama or action.

But, if the book is a critical darling and is well reviewed consistently, then why isn't it selling? This past decade is a good place to look: when a 'Big Event' title is released, with all it's myriad tie-in's and connected mini-series, chances are, people are going to by the Event stuff, because, hey! it's a big deal, apparently. It's got the hype, the marketing, the big characters and the already-proven writer and artist team. Your favorite soon-to-be-cancelled title or soon-to-be-forgotten character frankly don't stand a chance.

Six issues and cancelled. Seriously?!

The only good thing you can hope for when your little gem of a title bites the dust is a guest appearance in another title, perhaps a supporting role in one of those other team books....people like those Avengers, right?! Who knows, maybe one day we'll see a resurgence and we'll get a reboot, a relaunch, a fresh take. Question is, will it have the same magic or will it fail and leave you cold while simultaneously ending any chance of a revival for another long stretch, maybe forever....

Until I see a relaunch of all these and more, I remain

frogoat