Samuel Sterns, AKA The Leader, is finally worthy of his status as the Hulk’s greatest villain. In the latest issue of The Immortal Hulk, Sterns proves that the Jade Giant’s undoing will never be the result of a physical threat.
With the series set to conclude at issue #50, The Immortal Hulk #34, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Butch Guice, is the beginning of the climax, summing up the confusing backstory of The Leader, and setting him up as the one true nemesis of a Hulk that cannot be killed. The first six pages of the story catches readers up to the first time Sterns discovered the Green Door and was anointed as the avatar of an entity known only as the One Below All. The comic then proceeds to weave the rest of the Leader’s origin into a new tale where the Leader no longer relies on his superior intellect, but instead uses it to master other forms of knowledge, such as magic and the occult. He encounters Bruce’s father, Brian Banner, in the One Below All’s realm and thus gains the final advantage he needs to defeat the Hulk once and for all.
Ewing has previously led fans through the Green Door thirty-three times over the past three years. He has been assisted by main artist Joe Bennett, cover artist Alex Ross, and veteran colorist Paul Mounts. In the highly acclaimed series, it is revealed that the accident that transformed Bruce Banner into the Hulk also opened a metaphysical door to Hell, and imbued the creature with the powers of the One Below All. The Immortal Hulk is shaping up to be a horror epic, as Gamma monster after Gamma monster pour through the Green Door.
Having never been a Hulk fan, and feeling that the character’s best incarnations have already been represented in the MCU, The Immortal Hulk offered a door, if you will, that the films could not, by linking the monster to Stan Lee’s original vision; which was a combination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Every great character is always one good story from greatness, even the lamest ones, which the Hulk is clearly not. Each of Stan’s original creations were not only the building blocks of a shared universe that generates billions of dollars in all manner of media, but the quirks of each character continue to be a renewable resource that writers continue to tap into in order to revive them in countless runs over the decades.
Take a walk through the Green Door in Immortal Hulk #34, available now from your local comic book store or direct from Marvel Comics.