Banished to Outer Space/The Origin of the Hulk!/The Ringmaster
Featuring: Hulk
Release: July 3, 1962
Cover: September 1962
12 cents
Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers
24 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1, which notes Dick Ayers is the inker. He is uncredited within the issue itself.
There are perhaps three distinct stories here, but we’ll treat them in one entry.
Banished to Outer Space
The first story concerns General Ross’ ‘Plan H’ to banish the Hulk into space in a rocket. This story perhaps inspired a modern story where Hulk was banished into space and landed on what became known as Planet Hulk, by Greg Pak and Carlos Pagulayan. Planet Hulk was adapted into an animated movie, and it partly formed the basis of the film Thor: Ragnarok.
This story picks up right where the previous one left off, the very same night. Hulk is trapped safely away in the underwater cell they built. The decision to let Hulk free requires some stupidity on Rick’s part. He is tricked by General Ross, but his actions are absurd and merely serve the plot.
Anyways, then we get to science. When Rick realizes what’s happening, he takes the rocket’s controls to bring Hulk back to earth. But he does this as Hulk’s ship is being blanketed with radiation, and an electric shock travels from the spaceship to the controls.
Well, if you’ve done the math, you can guess where this goes. Of course exposing Hulk to radiation again will fundamentally change him. He becomes even more powerful, and now remains the Hulk even during the day. It’s not clear from this issue whether he ever turns back into Bruce Banner at all.
But what of the electric shock? Of course that created a mental link between Rick Jones and the Hulk, where Hulk is completely subservient to Rick. Only when Rick sleeps is Hulk free. Obviously.
What are Hulk’s motives? A question we’ve been exploring for two issues now. Sometimes he seems goal-driven. Sometimes he just rampages. And sometimes he plots against humanity. Here, he wants revenge on Rick for locking him in his cell. And later he goes on a rampage for no reason. Notably, when his rampage begins, he is in the room with Rick, who is helplessly sleeping. But perhaps his revenge motivation had faded by then. Or perhaps he simply did not notice Rick when there were telephone poles to smash.
The chapter ends with Hulk back in his cell for the second night. The ramrod holding it in place had been destroyed when Hulk broke out the night before. But Rick somehow managed to get a new one in time. Most likely, the artist made a mistake depicting the ramrod destroyed and then later intact, and the writer added narration to correct the plothole.
Notably, being rocketed into space was the exact fate of Gorilla Man.
The Origin of the Hulk!
Chapter 2 is a short recap of the origin of the Hulk from the first issue. I don’t spot any major changes.
The narration gives us some clue regarding Hulk’s alignment. He’s described as “uncontrollable” and the “foe of every human being on earth”.
The Ringmaster
Chapter 3 is really its own story. It concerns the Ringmaster and what will come to be called his Circus of Crime. The second page of the issue is pretty good. FBI agents come across the mystery of another sleeping town and find a clue. Were it the first page of the story, it would be a good setup for the story. As the second page, the splash summary had already given away the plot, spoiling any mystery this page may have offered.
We see some pretty inconsistent power levels for the Hulk, who’s been fighting off military tanks and jets, and who the military decided could only be stopped by being hurtled into space. We also learned in the previous chapter that his second exposure to radiation has made him more powerful than ever.
Nonetheless, a hose knocks him out.
The story on the whole isn’t very good. However, Ringmaster is the most notable super-villain we’ve met in the pages of the Hulk comic. The FBI investigation scene is almost great. And we get to see how the new status quo works, where Rick controls Hulk and often just rides on his back.
The art in this issue is oddly inconsistent. Rick sometimes looks like his teenage self and sometimes much older. Hulk’s haircut doesn’t match from one scene to the next; a lot of this may just be due to the colorist not coloring it right.
Ultimately, this issue is disappointing. The first issue of Incredible Hulk is one of the strongest comics we’ve yet seen, with a unique and intriguing premise. But this issue suggests they didn’t quite know where to go with that premise and seem to be somewhat flailing for ideas.
Rating: ★★½, 47/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
Characters
- Bruce Banner/Hulk
- Rick Jones
- General “Thunderbolt” Ross
- Ringmaster
- Bruto
- Teena
- Aunt Polly
- Human Cannonball
Minor characters
- Mike (FBI agent)
Story notes:
- Begins on same night as Incredible Hulk #2
- Cover notes Hulk can fly; he can’t– he just jumps really far
- Amount of hair on Hulk’s head seems very inconsistent
- The narration reads, “Once again Bruce Banner’s body is subjected to those powerful rays”? Surely, these are different rays. A different form of radiation. Should be closer to what hit the Fantastic Four than what hit Banner.
- First chapter has “Part 1” and the page count continues, so we’ll call this one story.
- Space radiation made him more powerful
- FBI investigate disturbance in town of Plainville
- The Clown is simply called the Clown
- We meet Rick’s Aunt Polly
- Ringmaster’s circus not given a name; will later be known as “Circus of Crime”
#19 story in reading order
Next: Fantastic Four #7
Previous: Journey Into Mystery #84
