Incredible Hulk: Pardoned

Reprints Incredible Hulk #269-285
Written by Bill Mantlo.
Drawn by Sal Buscema, Mark Gruenwald.
Inked by Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, Greg Laroque, Andy Mushynsky, Chic Stone.

Due to an overdose of gamma radiation in outer space (where Hulk battled his old foe the Abomination), Bruce Banner has gained control over his Hulk identity! He is now capable of changing into the Hulk at will and he retains all of Banner's intelligence. But it takes a little time for Banner to get used to this.
In his first battle, this new "Banner-Hulk" is captured by the U-Foes, an evil version of the Fantastic Four. Hulk eventually defeats the U-Foes in a battle that is transmitted live on worldwide television.

When the world learns that the Hulk is no longer a "rage monster", Hulk becomes a full-fledged superhero. He is given a Presidential Pardon for all his past rampages. None of this sits well with Hulk's toughest critic, General Thadeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. He doesn't trust Hulk and tells the President, "The Hulk was, is, and always will be a menace to public safety!". Ross is forced to change his tune when the Hulk helps protect the White House from a flying saucer invasion. This is followed by a ticker tape parade through New York City in the Hulk's honor.

Hulk saves Sasquatch from Wendigo.

This new, intelligent Hulk must do battle with adversaries old and new. But thankfully, there are also plenty of guest stars on hand to help out.
Sasquatch teams up with Hulk against Wendigo!
She-Hulk (AKA Bruce Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters) joins forces with Hulk to stop Arsenal!
Hulk teams up with the Avengers to fight one of his arch foes, the gamma-spawned genius known as the Leader, who sends them on a dangerous trip through various time periods.

Banner's longtime girlfriend Betty Ross is also featured here. She has been working with Bruce on a cure that will free Bruce from the Hulk persona once and for all. Betty isn't happy when it appears that Banner now enjoys being the "intelligent" Hulk. Will this spell the end of their relationship?

Hulk's best friend and sidekick Rick Jones gets into trouble when he intentionally zaps himself with gamma radiation in an attempt to become another Hulk in order to help Banner. Only Banner himself can save Rick from gamma poisoning.

Bereet's "Energy Eaters" help Banner break free!

Banner gets a new traveling companion in Bereet, a filmmaker from the planet Krylor. She's been making very popular movies about the Hulk and observing him from afar for years and now she visits Earth to meet him. Bereet is shocked to meet an "intelligent" Hulk, but believes she (and her alien technology) may be able to help Banner adjust to his new life as a celebrity hero.

Review:
One of my favorite eras of Hulk stories. It was an exciting change of pace for the Hulk and it was fun to read these some of these issues when they were published in the early 80s.

Story:
Bill Mantlo deserves a lot of credit for changing the direction of The Incredible Hulk. The "Savage Hulk" may have given us one of the all-time greatest catch phrases ("Hulk will smash!"), but by 1982 it had run its course. There's one story here that consists of nothing but heroes giving speeches that welcome Hulk into the superhero "community". No fight scenes take place, but it's never boring. Hulk's supporting cast is also well handled here. Betty Ross and Rick Jones both question their roles in Banner/Hulk's life. Mantlo even brings back Hulk's old friend Jim Wilson for a one-panel cameo!

What about the villains? The Abomination, Leader (and his horde of Humanoids) and Wendigo, all part of Ol' Greenskin's classic rouges gallery, return to battle Hulk in this tpb. And we also see the second appearance of the U-Foes, who were created by Mantlo and Buscema. They were one of my favorite villain teams of the 80s. I wonder why the U-Foes never battled the Fantastic Four!

Hulk & other heroes defend Washington,DC from flying saucers!

Art:
As I said back in my first post here, Sal Buscema was one of the most prolific artists of the Bronze Age, so it's about time that some of his Hulk issues get the collection they deserve. His Hulk art is as good as I remember, and it looks even better today on the glossy paper used in this tpb. Several different inkers worked on this. They all do a decent job, but Joe Sinnott's inks are the best. In an interview published earlier this week, Buscema said, "Joe Sinnott is a master. He made me look good all the time. I was always very appreciative of that". The Buscema/Sinnott art here is living testament to that statement. Mark Gruenwald pencils one issue (nicely inked by Greg Laroque) that's collected here too. Gruenwald's art looks a bit slicker than Buscema's but it doesn't feel out of place.

How does it look?:
It looks good, the images above are scanned from the book and so is this page featuring Hulk and the Avengers:

Hulk & the Avengers fight the Humanoids in space.

The Mantlo/Buscema years represent a classic era of the Hulk. A tpb collection of their work on the title was long overdue. The Incredible Hulk: Pardoned is highly recommended.

My rating: