It’s Hulk Vs. Sasquatch and the only real losers are the people in the path of destruction. Your Major Spoilers review of Immortal Hulk #5 awaits!
IMMORTAL HULK #5
Writer: Al Ewing
Penciler: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 5, 2018
Previously in Immortal Hulk: The monster inside Bruce Banner is fully unleashed – in a brutal, bloody battle with the monster who made him.
A SHOCKING REVEAL
After last issue’s freakout by Sasquatch, we get a slight flashback to his recent days on the Alpha Flight station, working for Captain Marvel. Marvel rightfully points out that he has been Sasquatch for a very long time without ever returning to human form, but when he tries, Walter Langkowski has to really work to force the transformation, only to find his orange alter-ego screaming at him in the mirror. In the present, Bruce Banner follows the trail of carnage to Sasquatch, hoping to talk his old friend down, but Walter isn’t home anymore. What’s worse, the monster that has taken over the gamma-irradiated form of the Canadian hero is a very personal one indeed: Bruce’s deceased, abusive father, Brian Banner. That revelation terrifies even The Hulk, which leaves the monstrous claws of Sasquatch to shred his green flesh. All the while, Jackie McGee watches in horror, waiting to ask one very important question…
THE END OF SASQUATCH?
This issue has a couple of shocking moments in it, including what might be the end of Sasquatch (though gamma-irradiated monsters have a startling tendency to bounce back from fatal wounds; heck, Bruce himself gets killed in the middle of this issue) and the explanation that, somehow, the gamma radiation that allows Bruce to resurrect also left the “green door” open for dad. This issue’s art is really unnerving, with the disturbing Bennett take on the Hulk balanced with a feral, fanged, clawed Sasquatch who is somehow just as misshapen and scary, and the facial expressions in this issue are riveting. Jackie McGee ends up in tears, Brian Banner sneers like only a man who is already dead can and Walter Langkowki is filled with dread about the fate of his furry other self. It’s a really effective issue that puts a new spin on this intriguing new Hulk status quo.
BOTTOM LINE: EERIE AND UNEXPECTED
For several issues now, we’ve been seeing the overlap of ghost stories and gamma science, and this issue finally busts that wide open and incidentally gives Bruce and The Other Guy something that frightens both of them, a seemingly impossible proposition. Immortal Hulk #5 changes things up, but keeps the horror and the excellent art, making for a startling bit of story with a mean-spirited punch and earning 5 out of 5 stars overall. This book just continues to get better.
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