Superheroes have been around for a long time, and by this point, the thousands of collective stories told across decades have covered what many consider to be all the ground these stories could. There’s the old saying that there’s nothing original under the sun, and that’s definitely true to a certain extent. Stories have long since learned from and repeated each other, with each new writer putting their own spin on the material. However, every now and again comes a comic run that truly feels special, like it’s taking things in a direction nothing has before, and that’s exactly the type of story we’re here to talk about today.
For characters like the Hulk, who seem to repeat the same types of stories far more often than others, these original-feeling takes seem especially rare. Yet, “The Ω Hulk” storyline did exactly that, giving us something we’d never really seen before: an intelligent Hulk. Not the Hulk with Banner’s intellect, but the Hulk transformed into a super genius all his own and trying to fix the world, all while his worst future hangs in front of him like fate. Unfortunately, we’ll never get a proper conclusion to this arc because it was forced to wrap up very prematurely by the onset of Marvel’s biggest event, which reset everything. Secret Wars (2015) is easily one of Marvel’s best, smartest events, but it killed a potentially classic Hulk storyline.
This storyline was spurred on after Bruce Banner was shot in the head, and Iron Man injected him with the Extremis Virus to save his life. Banner modified the Extremis inside of him to grant the Hulk intellect to match his, becoming Doc Green, and the Jade Giant immediately went to work fixing the world. His ultimate goal was ridding the world of all gamma-mutates and permanently burying Banner inside of his mind, and while he did mostly accomplish that first goal, it was far from the most interesting part of this story. Across the entire endeavor, as Doc Green’s influence grew and he took more control, he started to dream of the most famous evil future for the Hulk, the Maestro.
This evil counterpart hails from what is easily one of the Hulk’s most memorable storylines, and although we see him plenty in other universe tales, we’ve never seen the path that might lead Banner down that road. This story gave us that glimpse, focusing on how the Hulk, even a super-intelligent one, ultimately lacked the very human heart that let Banner keep his rage in control. Doc Green could see himself making the choices that would lead to becoming the Maestro, but still believed in his mission, adding a unique tension as he fought against his future while he carved it. This was only made more complicated by an AI he created of himself, which went rogue with even less humanity than he had. This setup had a genuinely original source of tension and drama, but unfortunately, it never came to completion.
Unlike DC, which has reset its continuity multiple times, Marvel doesn’t do reboots. Barring retcons, every Marvel story ever published is canon, simply slid further into the future to account for the amount of time passed. That’s what made everyone unprepared for the quasi-reboot when Secret Wars ended. It didn’t wipe out past continuity, but it did reset everyone into new status quos. For the Hulk, that meant the Doc Green storyline was shoved aside, hastily wrapped up just before the event, with a brand-new, Totally Awesome Hulk taking over after it.
We never truly received closure for this storyline. Gammon, the rogue AI, was merged with the Leader in Immortal Hulk #34, and the Doc Green persona has been mentioned, but has remained dormant since his disappearance. It’s a darn shame, given that the Maestro himself is such a beloved villain and he was actually being used in the first new way since his debut. Abandoned storylines leave a bad taste in my mouth, especially ones with the potential to go the distance. Secret Wars (2015) was an incredible event that I wouldn’t trade a dozen Hulk storylines for, but the fact that it prematurely ended this story will always leave a blemish on its record.
What abandoned storyline do you pray could have a resolution? Let us know in the comments below!
