7 Years Later, Marvel Needs to Replicate Their Best Comic Series of the 2010s With More Characters

Seven years ago, Marvel created a modern masterpiece with the release of Immortal Hulk. The Jade Giant was brought back to his roots and given a new lease on life, literally, when he discovered that no matter how many times he died, he could always get back up. It is widely considered to be one of the best runs the character has ever had, and is already considered to be a new classic that all future Hulk stories will draw from and be compared to. Now, after this series revitalized the Hulk and brought him to new heights, it’s about time Marvel does the same with some of their other characters.

Immortal Thor and Mortal Thor are Al Ewing’s next entries into his Immortal reimaginings of characters, and while they certainly live up to the name, what the other Marvel heroes need isn’t an Immortal run of their own, but a comic that is their version of Immortal Hulk. Plenty of Marvel’s best, from Spider-Man to the X-Men, deserve that type of story, something that will both reinvent them and reinvigorate their best qualities. Every Marvel hero deserves a story like Immortal Hulk, and here’s why.

What Immortal Hulk Did For the Hulk

The best way to explain why Marvel needs to make more stories like Immortal Hulk is to explain how it helped Hulk’s character. There are two main ways that it did that, with the first being that it was a take on the Hulk that nobody had done before. Immortal Hulk was a genuinely new, creative direction for the character. It was a long, sprawling story with strong central themes that knew exactly what it was, and incorporated aspects from across the Marvel Universe that the Hulk hadn’t touched before. Tying the Hulk into the more mystical side of Marvel without throwing away the science aspects was a genius move that opened the green door of possibilities to a whole host of stories during and after this run.

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The second way it helped the Hulk was by paying homage to every era of the character and constructing a cohesive identity from that. Immortal Hulk brought in aspects from all over the Hulk’s long history in a way that rewarded readers who knew the lore, but didn’t overwhelm readers who didn’t. It also returned Hulk to his horror roots and asked why he was a horror character. An essential theme was asking who the Hulk and Bruce Banner are, and exploring that let the comic establish an identity that has since driven their characterization. Immortal Hulk was a creative new story that celebrated everything about the Hulk, and the energy and passion behind it redefined who the Hulk is.

What Immortal Comics For Other Characters Could Do

The biggest strength of the Immortal Hulk run was that it was a mature, nuanced story that pushed the character in a new direction while celebrating who he is. It took itself seriously without looking down on the characters or the readers. This reinvention and serious examination of characters is exactly what other Marvel superheroes need right now. Let’s use Spider-Man as an example. Imagine a serious, long-form Spider-Man comic that went in with the intention to explore Peter’s character while taking him in a direction he’s never been in before. It would treat Spider-Man seriously and with respect, but not throw away his essential humor, instead using it to highlight an aspect of him. 

This potential comic could tie together various aspects of Spider-Man’s mythos, such as his scientific origin and the Web of Life and Destiny. It could tackle themes such as what responsibility looks like to Spider-Man, and forge a new direction for the next several years of Spider-Man comics by breaking new ground that other writers can pull from. Again, we don’t need a comic that is exactly like Immortal Hulk. That story only worked for Hulk, but we do need stories that are that mature, with that much focus on celebrating what’s established while making something new. Stories like that defined characters for a generation, and every great character has a strong direction. 

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