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Stillanerd Reviews: Generations: The Strongest (Banner Hulk and Totally Awesome Hulk) #1 review

By Mike McNulty

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The first of Marvel’s ten-part standalone specials. Amadeus Cho has a not-so “incredible” team-up with the original Hulk during his prime smashing days.

Generations: The Strongest #1

Writer: Greg Pak

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Artist: Matteo Buffagni

Color Artist: Dono Sánchez-Almara

Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

Covers: Jorge Molina; Matteo Buffagni; John Cassiday and Paul Mounts; Greg Horn; Dale Keown and Jason Keith; Francesco Mattina; Alex Ross; Joe Vriens; Mike McKone and Andy Troy

What exactly is Generations? This was a fair question to ask. When Marvel Comics first announced their upcoming miniseries, all their readers had to go on was an Alex Ross painting featuring past and present day versions of various superheroes. Even when Marvel at last confirmed Generations was a ten-issue series of one-shots, confusion persisted. Is there a connection with Secret Empire? Did it involve time travel? Were the classic heroes replacing the new ones? It all sounded so very, very vague.

Now that Marvel has released the first of the Generations one-shots, in which Amadeus Cho, the “Totally Awesome Hulk,” teams up with the original Hulk, Bruce Banner, there should be some answers, right? Well … sort of. Presumably, this issue happens sometime after Secret Empire, at least from Amadeus’ perspective. Also, according to the credit page, what’s happening involves something called “The Vanishing Point,” which is literally described as “a place where time has no meaning.”

Credit: Matteo Buffagni and Dono Sánchez-Almara (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Strongest (Banner Hulk & Totally Awesome Hulk) #1

[Generations: The Strongest #1] does give Amadeus some much-needed internal struggle going forward. Unfortunately, it also makes him virtually no different from Bruce Banner.

Thus, the comic opens with Amadeus finding himself in the past, where General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and the U.S. Army are attacking the Incredible Hulk in California’s Death Valley. At least, Amadeus assumes he’s in the past (considering Bruce Banner is dead at present). Not that General Ross really cares as he orders his troops to open fire on both Hulks.

What follows is what you might expect having the “Totally Awesome Hulk” winding up in the middle of your typical Incredible Hulk yarn. Both Hulks fight each other before turning back into human form. Amadeus and Banner avoid the military, steal some spare clothes, and engage in some dumpster diving. Even a giant monster wakes up to attack a coastal town. A pretty basic story, but in fairness, the Hulk always did rely on a basic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde template. If it wants to throw in some Back to the Future with a dash of Godzilla, it can.  

Credit: Matteo Buffagni and Dono Sánchez-Almara (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Strongest (Banner Hulk & Totally Awesome Hulk) #1

No, Greg Pak doesn’t set out to tell an original story with Generations: The Strongest #1. The goal with this one-shot is clearly intended to introduce both of Marvel’s mean green giants to an unfamiliar audience. Pak, of course, doesn’t do this by showing Banner or Amadeus being physically stronger than the other. Rather, he opts for simple character study in exploring how Banner and Amadeus perceive being the Hulk based on their own experiences.

Almost everyone knows Banner becomes the Hulk when he gets angry. A brief recounting of Banner’s origin, reminds us there is some deep-rooted psychological trauma involved other than Banner’s exposure to gamma rays. Like Peter David before him, Pak clearly views the Hulk as both a primal force of nature and a distinctive personality.

By contrast, Amadeus changes at will, while also retaining his intellect and personality. Nor was his becoming the Hulk the result of any an accident, but from his curing Banner. Also, while Banner laments at the destruction the Hulk causes, Amadeus stresses all the good the Hulk does. It’s little wonder why Amadeus believes being the green behemoth is a simple matter of proper anger management.

It’s also, according to the text, a belief that’s dangerous as it is naïve. There are two times when Amadeus, as Hulk, becomes more aggressive and reckless. It’s also shown that the longer Banner stays as the Hulk, the more articulate he becomes. By the time “Banner Hulk” lays a physical and verbal beating of the “Totally Awesome Hulk,” the message is loud and clear — no one controls the Hulk, the Hulk controls you. No coincidence it’s also the comic’s best moment.

Credit: Matteo Buffagni and Dono Sánchez-Almara (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Strongest (Banner Hulk & Totally Awesome Hulk) #1

If Generations: The Strongest #1 had better illustrations, trimmed down the page count, reduced the cover price by a buck, and didn’t lead into Marvel Legacy, it would make for a passable, but inconsequential Hulk tale.

This does give Amadeus some much needed internal struggle going forward. Unfortunately, it also makes him virtually no different from Bruce Banner. Before, Amadeus embraced being the “Totally Awesome Hulk” and tried convincing others he wasn’t a monster. Now, he sees the Hulk as a monster he must destroy … just exactly like Banner believed. How does this not make Amadeus seem like an overrated carbon copy? Better yet, why even replace — much less kill off — the original Hulk at all? Thanks, Civil War II.

Matteo Buffagni’s art is another huge strike against the book. In a comic where one character’s battle cry is literally “Hulk smash!,” the smashing better be outstanding. Not so with this. Here, everything looks stiff, static and over-posed. Facial expressions, especially General Ross’, make characters look either over-medicated or ready to fall asleep. One scene, in particular, depicts innocent bystanders supposedly fleeing in terror. Buffagni makes it look as if they’re having a light, afternoon jog.

The panel composition looks even worse. During the story’s most crucial moment, Buffagni either overcrowds the scene, pulls the action too far away, or doesn’t show enough detail. More than once, I kept trying to figure out what was happening on the page, because what I saw didn’t match up with what the word balloons said. Only when Amadeus and Banner conserved in human form did I have any clear understanding of what was happening.

If Generations: The Strongest #1 had better illustrations, trimmed down the page count, reduced the cover price by a buck and didn’t lead into Marvel Legacy, it would make for an acceptable, but also unremarkable Hulk tale. Given Pak’s talents, you’d think he’d do something more better-than-average. The “Incredible” and “Totally Awesome” adjectives used to describe the Hulk aren’t just for show after all.

Stillanerd’s Score: 2.5 out of 5

Next: Stillanerd Reviews: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 review

Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (possible spoilers)

Credit: Matteo Buffagni and Dono Sánchez-Almara (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Strongest (Banner Hulk & Totally Awesome Hulk) #1

  • “What the heck … ?” Later, we see Amadeus has no problem using H-E-double hockey sticks.
  • If Ross is attacking the Hulks with unmanned robotic tanks, why even bother with ground troops? He should at least know by now their rifles are useless.
  • You know, it occurs to me Amadeus’ only strategy is to hit something and have them chase him. You’d think someone whose mind literally acts like a computer could come up with a better strategy. Speaking of which …
  • Interesting how Amadeus, despite having a mind that can supposedly calculate the best courses of action, doesn’t come up with the same methods Banner does in avoiding unwanted attention.
  • Although, why couldn’t Banner just wait outside and out of sight while Amadeus hacks the ATM?
  • What is the reason Banner envisions his father as a literal monster in that flashback? That’s how he remembers him during that moment. Did I mention Bruce has some severe psychological problems?
  • Really, Amadeus? “Bottling up” and pretending “everything is cool” is “your whole life?” For a supposed super genius, you really need to brush up on your psychology.
  • Wait? Didn’t Banner just say he must “suppress” the Hulk “at all costs”? What does he think “bottling up” means?
  • “Banner! Evac that diner!” But didn’t Banner want to avoid going into the diner because he’d be recognized? Wait … no one recognizes him? Guess he feels pretty stupid eating out of the garbage now.
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