Summary
Warning: Spoilers for The Incredible Hulk (2023) #14 ahead!Bruce Banner has long struggled to control the monstrousHulkthat resides within him, fighting day and night to not surrender to the beast’s violence and turmoil. Now, however, a rare glimpse into the Hulk’s psyche reveals just how terrible the monster’s mind actually is,with the Hulk’s mindscape drawing direct parallels to Hell.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, and Matthew Wilson’sThe Incredible Hulk (2023)#14 hardly wastes a beat before Bruce Banner is struck by an oncoming truck, triggering his transformation into the Hulk and subsuming his psyche beneath that of his monstrous alter-ego’s. Banner’s consciousness instead awakens in “the Hulkscape,” a violent land of chaos beset by explosions and titanic beasts.
There’s more to the Hulkscape than initially meets the eye, however -one panel in particular lifts its imagery from one of the most famous depictions of Hell in classical art.
Hulk’s Gross New Transformation Will Change How You See His Strength Level
When Bruce Banner calls upon his gamma-powered other, the Hulk tears right through Banner on the way out. His newest transformation is pure horror.
The Hulk’s Chaos Has Roots In Classical Art
The 1400s painter Hieronymous Bosch is famous for his surreal and abstract paintings.Bosch’s most famous work is arguably the triptychThe Garden of Earthly Delights, which depicts Heaven, Earth, and Hell respectively on three separate panels. The panel of Hell in particular is famous for its strange and twisted figures, two of which - the large, pale, bent-over figure and the bird-headed demon swallowing a person whole - are directly referenced inThe Incredible Hulk#14’s Hulkscape, drawing a direct comparison between the Hulk’s mind and Hell.
The tragedy of all of this is that the Hulkscape isn’t actually all dissimilar to Banner’s previous treatment of the Hulk in the “Starship Hulk” storyline. In an attempt to take control of the Hulk, Banner fitted himself with technologythat let him partition and control the Hulk’s psyche, torturing him andprovoking its rage to act as a power source. Now, in the Hulkscape,Banner reaps what he has sown, facing the fury and abuse the Hulk had to contend with at Banner’s every whim - but with none of the Hulk’s strength or resilience.
Check out the beginning of the “Starship Hulk"arc inHulk (2021)#1, by Donny Cates, Ryan Ottley, and Frank Martin, Jr.!
The Hulkscape: A Hell of Banner’s Own Making
This use of art highlights the current, fascinating take on the Hulk’s character: that he is Banner’s ultimate punishment. Depictions of the Hulk have swung back and forth between mindless violence and having his own, separate identity, but the vision presented within the Hulkscape suggests thatthe Hulk’s psyche is something altogether alien and torturous to the human mind.Furthermore, with the Hulk using the Hulkscape to deliberately torture Banner’s consciousness, it becomes clear that being theHulkis now Banner’s literal, personal Hell.
Hulk
The Hulk, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is physicist Bruce Banner transformed by gamma radiation. He morphs into a giant, green-skinned creature of immense strength and invulnerability when angered. Struggling with his transformations, Hulk allies with other heroes, battling villains while balancing his intellect with uncontrollable rage, making him a central figure in Marvel’s universe.
