The Incredible Hulk has always had a body horror slant to his stories, but the latest issue takes it to a new level, and fans are loving it.
The Hulk has been embracing his body horror roots a lot more often lately. It’s a far cry from what the Hulk was in the ‘90s and beyond, but fans love
The Hulk, who long was a technicolor green superhero palling around with The Avengers, originated in a different era. He’s something of a holdover from the monster-driven horror comics of old, where kids ate up horror comics but the industry had to pivot following the creation of the Comics Code Authority.
While the theme of body horror was always present to some degree, the past few years of Hulk have embraced it more than usual. Usually, this was with his gruesome transformation from Bruce Banner into The Hulk, but the latest issue took a different approach.
Hulk fans love the unique body horror of his latest transformation
The Incredible Hulk #5 features something we don’t see that often: the Hulk transforming into Bruce Banner. It is, needless to say, an absolutely horrifying arrangement of panels.
The panels see Hulk shift back into Bruce Banner, a transformation that is not depicted often. The transformation is depicted as incredibly painful, with Hulk’s body contorting, twisting, and even coughing up blood at one point.
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Naturally, fans loved the panels. It sounds unsettling, but it is worth remembering that Hulk fans traditionally love the body horror aspects of Hulk.
“This might be my favorite Hulk transformation of all time now.” user Comic Book Panels I Fell In Love With said. Another, Ashley Talks Comics!, described the panels as what the LEGO Hulk’s transformation looks like to other LEGO characters.
This is what the Lego Hulk transformation looks like to other Lego pic.twitter.com/yi1P2uXVbm
— Ashley Talks Comics! (@ComicGirlAshley) October 18, 2023
The creative team for the Hulk just upped the ante for body horror with a reverse transformation of the Jade Giant into Bruce. The full image (not posted here) is repulsive. pic.twitter.com/SwPiSgFwdk
— Liam McGuire (@LiamRMcGuire) October 18, 2023
Some were a little more straightforward with their feelings, though, with one user simply commenting, “That’s actually horrifying.”
For many, the appeal is in the creativity of the images. So many Hulk transformations are done off-panel or in quick cutaways, and many transformations back to Banner are usually depicted as simplistic as Hulk just shrinking back down. Such a graphic take on such a rarely depicted moment is a breath of fresh air.
The Incredible Hulk #5 is available now from Marvel Comics. For more Hulk & comic book news, be sure to follow all our coverage.