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mysteriousmre 's review for:
Immortal Hulk Vol. 3: Hulk in Hell
by Al Ewing
Volume 3 of Immortal Hulk reveals the big bad of the series, the anti-thesis of Marvel's One Above All: The One Below All. Didn't see that coming.
I also didn't see myself reading up on basic concepts from the Jewish Kabbalah or Zoroastrianism in order to better appreciate a Hulk book.
But here we are.
Logically speaking, the gamma bomb that hit Bruce Banner and created the Hulk should not have worked. The radiation should have killed Banner outright, or at least given him cancer. Not turn him into a giant green monster. Ewing uses that fact to open up the possibility that Hulk's origin and existence is something more supernatural than science fiction. Its an interesting take that opens up a plethora of potential stories moving forward with the Jade Giant.
The One Above All in Marvel's continuity shares a lot of features with the Judeo-Christian God, so it would stand to reason that The One Below All would be some version of Satan or the Devil, but Ewing instead takes inspiration from the Qliphoth Thumiel from the Tree of Death (the anti-thesis of the Jewish Kabbalah's Sephiroth Kether from the Tree of Life). Instead of being a singular force, The One Below All needs a partner to be its most powerful and influential. And that's when things get CRAZY (yes, I'm well aware this is already A LOT to digest. I'm gonna come back to that feeling in a sec. Just stay with me folks).
Enter Brian Banner. The Hulk's abusive father who has his own history with gamma radiation and every reason to hate our protagonist. Ewing pulls a ton of key figures from Banner's past to fill you in on what Hulk's status quo has been the past few years, then uses their presence to let us see these characters through this new supernatural lens. It's a really cool reimagining of the Hulk character and mythos, but its more than a little overwhelming. And that's honestly the best way to describe Volume 3 of this series:
Good, but overwhelming (Told ya I'd come back to it).
One of the most consistent criticisms I've heard about this book are the portions of text dedicated to talking about the earliest conceptions of evil in the Jewish Kabbalah and Zoroastrianism and ultimately I agree. My main criticism of the previous volume was that I didn't get a good sense of just what Hulk was facing, and I wish some of this information had been there. I love Ewing just going on an explaining his inspiration for these new characters and this new context for them, but its a lot to digest. I don't blame readers for turning their brains off and skimming through those parts. Volumes 2 and 3 are two halves that are unbalanced and it hurts the quality of the story overall.
But man is this just a cool story. Hulk versus the literal embodiment of chaos and destruction. Who'd have thought we'd ever get a story like this that makes sense? The execution leaves something to be desired, but for all its flaws I'm still coming back for Volume 4. This is the most interested I've been in the Hulk in years.
I also didn't see myself reading up on basic concepts from the Jewish Kabbalah or Zoroastrianism in order to better appreciate a Hulk book.
But here we are.
Logically speaking, the gamma bomb that hit Bruce Banner and created the Hulk should not have worked. The radiation should have killed Banner outright, or at least given him cancer. Not turn him into a giant green monster. Ewing uses that fact to open up the possibility that Hulk's origin and existence is something more supernatural than science fiction. Its an interesting take that opens up a plethora of potential stories moving forward with the Jade Giant.
The One Above All in Marvel's continuity shares a lot of features with the Judeo-Christian God, so it would stand to reason that The One Below All would be some version of Satan or the Devil, but Ewing instead takes inspiration from the Qliphoth Thumiel from the Tree of Death (the anti-thesis of the Jewish Kabbalah's Sephiroth Kether from the Tree of Life). Instead of being a singular force, The One Below All needs a partner to be its most powerful and influential. And that's when things get CRAZY (yes, I'm well aware this is already A LOT to digest. I'm gonna come back to that feeling in a sec. Just stay with me folks).
Enter Brian Banner. The Hulk's abusive father who has his own history with gamma radiation and every reason to hate our protagonist. Ewing pulls a ton of key figures from Banner's past to fill you in on what Hulk's status quo has been the past few years, then uses their presence to let us see these characters through this new supernatural lens. It's a really cool reimagining of the Hulk character and mythos, but its more than a little overwhelming. And that's honestly the best way to describe Volume 3 of this series:
Good, but overwhelming (Told ya I'd come back to it).
One of the most consistent criticisms I've heard about this book are the portions of text dedicated to talking about the earliest conceptions of evil in the Jewish Kabbalah and Zoroastrianism and ultimately I agree. My main criticism of the previous volume was that I didn't get a good sense of just what Hulk was facing, and I wish some of this information had been there. I love Ewing just going on an explaining his inspiration for these new characters and this new context for them, but its a lot to digest. I don't blame readers for turning their brains off and skimming through those parts. Volumes 2 and 3 are two halves that are unbalanced and it hurts the quality of the story overall.
But man is this just a cool story. Hulk versus the literal embodiment of chaos and destruction. Who'd have thought we'd ever get a story like this that makes sense? The execution leaves something to be desired, but for all its flaws I'm still coming back for Volume 4. This is the most interested I've been in the Hulk in years.