Hulk #163Issue(s): Hulk #163 Review/plot: Unaware that Bruce Banner actually helped his father in the end, the Gremlin blames the Hulk for his father's death, and so when the Hulk, running north from Canada with General Ross' Hulkbuster planes on his tail, winds up above a secret Soviet facility, the Gremlin makes his move and has the Hulk captured. The Gremlin has devised "super-trooper" suits for the Soviet soldiers to wear... ...but it's really the repeated use of gas that subdues the Hulk. The Gremlin then puts the Hulk and Banner through a series of tests and experiments. Ross also gets captured. Eventually the Hulk manages to escape, but he refuses to free General Ross while he's leaving. Back home, Betty and Glenn get back from their honeymoon and Betty spots a newspaper. She's first elated to learn that the Hulk is still alive, but then she reads about her father and bursts into tears. No monster slugfests for Trimpe this issue, so i have to satisfy myself with his Kirbytech backgrounds. The Gremlin goes on to be one of the Soviet Super-Soldiers. I think bringing back the son of the Hulk's first foe is interesting, but the fact that he's tied in with the Soviet Union limits the possibilities (the script here and in future issues dealing with Ross's imprisonment has to do some hand-waving over the fact that the US and USSR were actually in a period of detente at this point and they wouldn't really be actively kidnapping US Generals or operating in Canada). We of course already have the Leader as a super-genius foe for the Hulk, but if he can have a variety of super-strong villains, why not super-smart ones as well? Quality Rating: C Chronological Placement Considerations: The Hulk's appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #119-120 takes place before this issue, which has the Hulk leaving Canada. References:
Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A Inbound References (2): showCharacters Appearing: Betty Ross, General 'Thunderbolt' Ross, Glenn Talbot, Gremlin, Hulk 1973 / Box 7 / EiC: Roy Thomas CommentsI would bet that the futuristic city hidden under the north polar icecap in this story is actually the same futuristic city hidden under the north polar icecap that was built by the Kallusians, as seen in Avengers #14. After it was abandoned, the Russians probably claimed it and the Gremlin figured out how the alien technology worked. Posted by: Tony Lewis | September 26, 2017 11:53 AM Comments are now closed. |
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