Hulk: Issue by Issue: The Incredible Hulk #5
The Incredible Hulk #5, January 1963
by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
"Beauty and the Beast" and
"The Hordes of General Fang"
- Gen Ross is showing footage of how indestructible the Hulk is. Apparently he can survice a nuke...does this mean the army actually tried to nuke the Hulk?
- Betty is in love with Bruce but thinks he doesn't even notice she exists.
- Oh, the angst!
- An evil ruler of the underground called Tyrannus plans to conquer the world but fears the power of the US and plans to use Betty Ross to his advantage.
- When Bruce arrives at the Ross household Betty is with an "archeologist" called "Mr Tyrannus"
- Not real subtle is he?
- Betty thinks, "Bruce looks jealous! I'm so glad I met Mr Tyrannus! Maybe this will make Bruce think of me as a woman!"
- Are we women really like this?
- Betty goes off with Tyrannus to show him some local caves...
- Okay, full stop. I know things were still supposed to be pretty innocent in the early sixties, but, really, what young woman goes off into secluded caves with a man she has just met?
- Bruce at least is suspicious and stalks follows the two.
- When Tyrannus captures Betty, Rick and Bruce-as-Hulk try to stop him, but are defeated by noxious gas ("The one thing your strength can't help you fight!" Rick laments to the Hulk.)
- Tyrannus, using the threat of harming Betty, forces to the Hulk to be a gladiator of sorts and pits him against a robot.
- God I love the Silver Age.
- I like the Hulk's Gladiator gear. There's something menacing yet kinky about it:
- At this point in the comics Bruce still controls the transformations with his Mad Science, and anger has yet to be introduced as a factor, but there seems to be a hint of the idea during this fight:
"As the Hulk advances upon his mechanical foe, all else is forgotten save the brutal love of battle. The part of his personality which is still Bruce Banner is almost gone -- and for that brief instant of red-hot rage, only the bestial, unhuman engine of destruction stands in his place."
- Aw, but even in his blind rage (which he starts to turn upon spectators) is undone when Tyrannus threatens Betty's life.
- When Tyrannus bores of Hulk he orders our green hero executed.
- Fortunately Rick Jones is in this issue and he saves the day buy using a disguise and rescuing Betty; the two then free the Hulk; while escaping the Hulk brings the pillars of Tyrannus's kingdom down.
- And like fucking clockwork Betty goes into shock during the escape and forgets the whole incident.
- Goddamnit Stan Lee.
- Hulk's reaction is interesting. At first he says, "Just my luck! That means she'll still hate me, and fear me, when we reach the surface! But who cares! I don't need her!"
- This seems to be the immature, temper-tantrum Hulk coming out.
- The end!
Next up, it's "The Hordes of General Fang"
- Oh man, I don't even need to read past the title...I sense impending Hulk vs. Communism.
- Continuity: Ross uses his Ice Gun against the Hulk...and it fails miserably when the Hulk's body heat quickly melts the ice.
- Bruce-as-Hulk Dickery when Rice Jones arrives late at the cave to help him transform back to Banner: "The Hulk waits for no one! Least of all a teenaged brat!" He transforms himself back to normal using foot controls.
- I can see why Rick Jones opted to hang with Captain America for a while.
- Upon reverting to normal Bruce reveals to Rick that each time he becomes the Hulk he becomes "more and more unwilling to return" to his normal self. He implores Rick never to let him remain the Hulk.
- I have an idea: why not JUST STOP BECOMING THE FUCKING HULK !
- The menacing General Fang is marching towards the small principality of Llasa. It's not explicitly stated, but I think it's safe to assume that Fang is Chinese and Llasa is meant to be Tibet.
- Bruce believes he can help as Hulk and transforms.
- I'm not going to lie, Fang has a pretty pimp entrance: six men carrying his leopard-fur-covered chair on a platform.
- There's a cute bit where Hulk (wrapped in a hat, coat and scarf) and Rick travel via plane, only to be recognized when the Hulk spazzes on the stewardess for spilling their drinks.
- Hulk dresses as the abominable snowman to terrorize Fang's troops...although I'm not sure why he couldn't just do it as the Hulk.
- Fang responds by using holograms to lure Hulk into a trap: an electronic cage.
- Maybe THIS guy should get Gen Ross's job. He's accomplished in a handful of panels what Ross has been attempting for five issues.
- Rick helps Hulk escape, and Hulk goes on to defeat Fang's army.
- When Fang attempts to flee, Hulk pursues him, declaring, "I wanna prove that nobody messes around with the Hulk and gets away with it!"
- While the comic has yet to explicitly link Hulk with Bruce's repressed issue, I like to think the above reaction is due to the festering of all those "milksop" comments from Gen Ross.- The story ends cryptically with both Fang (left stranded on Formosa) and the Green Giant himself noting that no human is safe from the Hulk.