The Ultimate Hulk

Marvel Berkley/Byron Preiss Productions Prose Novels

by Stan Lee (Editor/Introduction), Peter David (Editor/Contributor), Christopher Golden (Contributor)

This stunning new collection delivers more than a dozen original, never-before-published tales starring one of Marvel Comics' "TM" most enduring characters: the Incredible Hulk. The stories span the entire career of the green goliath, from his early days as an inarticulate savage to his more intelligent incarnation to an unprecedented glimpse at his future as he faces the end of the world.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Marvel, Fantasy, Media Tie In, Comics

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sidekick" by Denis Bravam, 2 stars.
"In the Line of Banner" by Danny Fingeroth, 3 stars.
"Transformations" by Will Murray, 2 stars.
"Assault on Avengers Mansion" by Richard C. White and Stephen A. Roman, 2 stars.
"Pitfall" by Pierce Askegren, 3 stars.
"Out of the Darkness" by Glenn Greenberg. Shades of Straw Dogs 3 stars.
"Truck Stop"by Joe Duffy. 3 stars. Fun to live inside Hulk's muddled head for the denouement.
"Hiding" by Nancy Holder and Christopher Golden. 3 stars. Truth and consequences following a Hulk incident in NYC.
"Here There Be Dragons" by Sholly Fish, 2 stars.
"A Quiet, Normal Life" by Thomas Deja, 3 stars. There's always a, "What If...?" story in these anthologies, isn't there?
"A Green Snake in Paradise" by Steve Lyons. 3 stars.
"The Beast with Nine Bands" by Joe Wolf, 4 stars.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting compilation of short stories. Some were better than others. Each story takes place at a different point of the Hulk's "career", and I think some of them are in relation to the novels that were written around this time period as well. One of the stories was especially sad; it did not make much sense, but it was sad. It is funny - I always thought General "Thunderbolt" Ross was a U.S. Army general, but in these stories he is U.S. Air Force. I must have missed that, hahahah!

Transformations was an interesting read and a bit funny as well. Magneto pays a visit to Ross's base in order to call the Hulk out because he thinks the Hulk is a mutant. When he discovers the Hulk is actually a mutated human and not a true mutant from birth, he abandons the Hulk (i.e. - flees the scene). But he does learn not to mess with the Hulk.

Assault on Avengers Mansion was meh for me. Dr. Doom is the dude in charge of the attacking robot that is TWO STORIES TALL!!! (where were the other heroes in NYC, like the FF, during its rampage?). Not sure where Thor was during this assault, but he probably would have made short work of the robot in conjunction with the Hulk. Maybe. In any case, the best part of the story is Bruce Banner saving the day and foiling Doom's plans in the process. Just how did Doom manage to get a two-story robot buried in NYC without anybody noticing?!?

Pitfall was a fun story as it was a bit of a "sequel" to the earlier comic where a Communist spy steals a suit similar to Iron Man's armor that would allow the wearer to take on the Hulk and survive. It could probably even defeat the Hulk up to a point. In the end, the Hulk wins by knocking the suit back into the pit in which the spy fell in the original story. Probably the most interesting part of the story for me was the psychiatrist brought in to study the people at the base, especially Bruce Banner, and decides not to reveal Bruce's secret at the end after Bruce saves him and returns the stolen plans to the U.S. government.

Out of the Darkness was a sad story despite it not making sense at the end. Bruce is found by his "idol", Dr. Henry Thesiger, after his latest "Hulk episode" and Thesiger helps Bruce find a "cure" from the Hulk. After Bruce's ability to transform into the Hulk has been "removed", Bruce helps his hero bring Thesiger's beloved Caroline Hartley from a rare blood disease that will kill her. Thesiger had put her into a coma and kept her in a kind of suspended animation while trying to find a cure. With Bruce's help, she is cured and brought out of her coma, but her memory is gone. I honestly don't remember if that was due to a prior accident or a side effect of the treatment, but then she "falls in love" with Bruce and he "falls in love" with her as well (more like a bad case of infatuation). But Thesiger is jealous and angry because of his now-spurned love, and when Bruce tries to make things right, Thesiger zaps his assistant Barney Garvin with gamma radiation to make him strong enough to defeat the Hulk after removing Bruce's "cure". Bruce reverts to form, saves Caroline as the Hulk, and leaves Barney and Thesiger behind in Thesiger's burning home (Hulk does not know or remember the two men are in still in the basement), and Banner's cure is destroyed as well. So it is sad because Bruce was cured for a brief time, and nonsensical in the "love triangle" the author created to restore Bruce's ability to turn back into the Hulk because of a jealous old man. The "dumbest"/worst part is that Bruce leaves Caroline behind after all of that. I realize she couldn't be around him, anyway, because of the Hulk, but it seemed like a stupid "love triangle" to me as it made no sense to me that Bruce would supposedly fall in love with her that quickly.

Truck Stop was a mildly interesting story. Bruce is picked up by a friendly truck driver, and the two make a wrong turn and end up in what I thought was going to be a small town in another world. As it turns out, it is a town controlled by some biker gang, and the Hulk eventually defeats the gang and frees the town. The best part of that story is Rico Melving planning to marry Hope and live happily ever after.

Hiding was a good story. Bruce wakes up to find a former doctor tending to his wounds. He helps her work through her "personal demons" and encourages her to get back into the E.R. where she will do the most good with her life.

Here There Be Dragons was fun. It is set in the time when Hulk's body and Bruce's mind were combined and Jarella was still alive. He uses his brains to solve the "problem" of a dragon roaming the countryside and discovers the joy of being able to use his intelligence while in the Hulk's body. It's a good story; I enjoyed it.

A Quiet, Normal Life was interesting. Nebulon has the Defenders held captive and is trying to use a Cosmic Cube to create some kind of perfect/alternate life for each of the heroes for some reason. The story focuses on the Hulk, but everybody on the team is undergoing this process, each in their own fantasies (or, that is how I understood it). It seems Bruce/Hulk is cursed to live a life of tragedy in any reality - his father appears, trashes Bruce's lab, and turns into a hulk-life creature while attacking Bruce and his friends. Bruce's family was interesting - a boy and a girl, and Betty is a mix of Betty and Jarella. The story ends with Hulk destroying the Cube and the Defenders returning home; a "memory" of Betty with green skin waves good-bye before fading away. I cannot quite decide if that means this "fantasy/alternate reality" could return or not, but it was also a bit of a sad story because Bruce found happiness only to have it stolen from him. Again.

The Beast with Nine Bands was a crazy story with an ending I did not expect. It takes place after The Incredible Hulk #340 where he fights Wolverine. In this story, there is a mutated armadillo that keeps getting bigger and stronger, and Hulk (Joe) is going to take it out because it caught Joe off-guard and "beat" Joe up. When Joe confronts the armadillo a second time, the creature keels over and dies because its enlarged heart cannot take the traumatic changes that keep occurring to it.

Leveling Las Vegas was a fun story. This is Hulk when he is "Joe Fixit" and a bouncer in Vegas. The story starts out with Marlo misunderstanding something Joe said, thinking he is talking about her breasts, which makes Joe laugh uproariously shortly after he leaves his suite. There is a big fight about to take place. The Rhino uses this fight as a cover and breaks into the casino Joe is supposed to protect, stealing a lot of money in the process (cleaning the casino out). Joe confronts him, and their fight takes them into the desert. Surprisingly, the Rhino stops the fight and asks Joe why are they fighting, wouldn't it make more sense for the two of them to split up and split the stolen money. Joe thinks about it, then beats up the Rhino and steals the money for himself. It was a bit of a crazy story; kinda fun. I enjoyed Joe's conversation with the Rhino at the end - probably the most surprising moment in the story for me and the most fun.

The Samson Journals was interesting as it involved Samson's speaking with each of the aspects of Bruce's "personality" (or whatever you want to call it) - Bruce, green Hulk, and Joe Fixit. Joe wants to make a bargain to remain in control. The most hilarious part of the story involves Samson trying to help the Hulk understand what a memory is and the Hulk becomes fixated on bunnies. Where are you keeping bunny from Hulk? That whole "conversation" (transcribed from a recording" was just genius, in my opinion, because of how hilarious it was. Bruce Banner, a man with the mind of a genius, the eye of a hitman, and the heart of a child.

Playing it SAFE was interesting to me mostly because it involved the U-Foes and how surprised they were that their normal tactics failed so spectacularly against Bruce's mind in the Hulk's body. It was all a ploy of the Leader to test Bruce and see what happens when Bruce is pushed past "his limit" - whereupon the Leader discovers Bruce reverts back to his human form when pushed to far and Bruce loses control. It was an okay story; not one of the "best" in the compilation but definitely not "the worst", either.

The Last Titan is the best story in the batch, and also the saddest. Other than giant, mutating cockroaches, Bruce and the Hulk at the sole survivors on Earth. They have outlived and outlasted everyone. I suspect nothing else in the universe may be alive at this point, as well, but it is for sure the best time for Galactus to come and finally eat the Earth, hahahah! No protectors to save the planet. In any case, Bruce finally reaches the point where he is going to die, and he tries to bring the Hulk with him, but Hulk refuses to die. It is actually fascinating because of what it reveals about the Hulk's psyche at this point. He believes if he dies, then that means he lost and everybody else "wins" because Hulk was "defeated" by Death and is clearly not "the strongest one there is." It is so sad, because Hulk could finally have found happiness and peace, but chose to reject this chance. And that is it for Hulk. The story ends with him 100% alone, realizing he is alone, now, forever, and realizing he does not want to be alone after all. The story ends with Hulk feeling cold. I cannot decide if that means Hulk decides to die after all, or just that he is now fully empty inside and devoid of any reason to live other than "not letting them win".

The character development is so-so; the only real development that can take place involves side characters or characters created for the stories who are not in the comics themselves. It is not like the "main characters" can ever truly have any kind of development as that development will not last from story to story (or issue to issue). If any character development occurred for Bruce or Hulk, I would say it is more in terms of moments of humor or insight I did not expect the characters to have or show in some of the stories. Or perhaps showing more of Bruce's humanity and expressing the painful lessons he has learned in ways to other people that help them in their journey in life.

Those are my thoughts on the stories I liked the most. There were some other stories (chapters) I was pretty meh and did not care about them (or like them as much). I think I may have read this previously as some of the stories seemed familiar, but most of them did not, so perhaps I had previously only read some of them but not all of them. In any case, it was fun to read this collection of short stories (written 27 years ago as of this review) and visit a "more innocent time" for the Hulk (as it were, especially in light of all of the changes in the last few years or so).

[Mike Fantry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of great stories. The high water mark being Peter David's "The End". If you're a fan of The Jade Giant I recommend checking it out.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of this was interesting, others weren't. There are a collection of stories, which are sort of ok, but at the same time a bit weird. I did learn about the Hulk's father, which was new. If you enjoy short stories, then this is for you.

[Eric M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent audiobook about my favourite hero the hulk. If you grew up watching Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno’s portrayal of Bruce Banner and the hulk you will surely enjoy this. Well done and engaging, with excellent narration. A fun listen!