HULK
March 31, 2007 – 6:05 pm
HULK
 The Hulk was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. Stan was the writer and Jack was the artist for the Hulk. He is a superhero and is published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in “Incredible Hulk # 1†which was released in May 1962.
The Hulk’s real identity is that of a nuclear physicist Dr. Robert Bruce Banner. Bruce’s father is an alcoholic who murdered his wife when Bruce was a kid. Bruce studied nuclear physics and after finishing his college started working at the United States Defense Department. At the Defense Department, Bruce is involved in designing and constructing the first gamma bomb which is a nuclear weapon with a high gamma radiation output. Bruce is present at the first trial of the gamma bomb when he notices that a civilian had breached security and was in danger.
Bruce tries to save the teenager and while doing so gets exposed to intense gamma radiations. Even though by some miracle Bruce survives the accident the radiation caused an inexplicable change in his physical characteristics. In initial comic stories it is shown that Banner transforms into the Hulk, who is a savage and one of the most powerful person of the earth, every day at sunset. But in later editions Banner transforms into Hulk only when he becomes angry.Â
Banner used to work under General Ross who now takes upon himself the task of catching the Hulk with an army battalion. Betty Ross, daughter of General Ross, has soft feelings for Bruce which are equally reciprocated by him. Betty is against the idea of her father actively pursuing Hulk and tells her father the same thing in no less term. In “Fantastic Four # 12†released in March 1963, Banner takes help of a gamma ray machine to transform himself into the Hulk. First Rick Jones and later Jim Wilson are shown as friends of Hulk.
After the first series was scrapped after six issues, the Hulk starred again in a feature of his own “Tales to Astonish†in 1964. The Hulk’s real identity was made public in a comic released March 1966. In the 1960’s the Hulk had two main opponents, the Leader and the Abomination, who was also a gamma power but stronger than the Hulk. After Peter David started scripting the series in 1986 Banner’s character was changed. Earlier it was shown that negative emotions of Banner found their way out through the Hulk. David portrayed Hulk as a victim of child abuse and suffering from DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). When Bruce is hypnotized to cure his DID, a new Hulk evolves who has all the positive traits of Banner,
green Hulk and gray Hulk.
When Editor Bobbie Chase advised David to kill Ross and make Hulk more savage, David refused to do so and quit his job. After him several writers came but most of them were not able to impress much. Peter David returned back as a writer of the Hulk to work on “Tempest Fugit†only to leave once again.
Universal Pictures released “The Hulk†in 2003. Directed by Ang Lee this movie shows how Banner transformed into the Hulk. In this movie Nick Nolte played the role of the Hulk. “The Incredible Hulk†is due to be released on June 27, 2008. Louis Leterrier will be directing it and “Abomination†will be the villain in this movie.