Hulk is the latest Marvel character to get an awesomely diverse makeover
Marvel is rolling out a brand new comic for the Hulk later this year, Totally Awesome Hulk #1. Already it sounds like a totally awesome new Hulk story, but there’s going to be one BIG thing different about it: Dr. Bruce Banner isn’t going to be the one transforming into the Hulk. Instead, for the upcoming issues, when Hulk calms down and transforms back into his human self, he’s going to be played by genius boy-wonder Amadeus Cho who is Korean-American. Now that is totally awesome.
This is just the latest mixup in the Marvel universe, and we’re loving it. This past year alone Marvel has made some huge strides to diversify its comics, and the response to them has been fantastic. Ms. Marvel is now all about a Muslim-American teenager; Thor’s now a woman; and now, this new Hulk with Amadeus Cho will mark the first time Marvel will publish a comic starring a Korean-American.
Just who is Amadeus Cho? He’s been around in Marvel comics for a while, but has never found himself with a secret superhero identity before. At age 19, he’s considered one of the smartest people in the world, and aside from the fact that he’s a kid and Bruce Banner’s an adult, there’s going to be one HUGE different between OG Hulk and this new one — Cho is going to LOVE being the Hulk.
“He’s 19 years old, he’s on top of the world, he thinks he’s right about everything…and he might be. Or he might not be,” Marvel writer Greg Pak (who also happens to be Korean-American) explained to Entertainment Weekly, “But this is a kid who’s got a ridiculous amount of confidence. A lot of it has been justly earned, but he may be in over his head, and he’s going to come in here and he’s determined to be the best Hulk there’s ever been. He loves being the Hulk. And that may cause massive trouble for everyone else in the Marvel Universe.”
If you need a quick refresher, Banner hates being the Hulk. You can see that clear as day on his face in the Avengers movies if you don’t want to leaf through a bunch of Hulk comics. This reason alone is why this new set of issues is called “Totally Awesome.” Cho thinks becoming the Hulk is totally awesome, and we agree.
Cho and Banner have crossed paths before in the comics, with the latter having saved the former’s life before. “[Cho] basically started out as Hulk’s number one fan because he’s a crazy teenager with as little impulse control as the Hulk, so he kind of identified with him,” Pak explained.
With the introduction of Cho as Hulk, that means that the other Hulk is going to disappear for a while. Somehow, Cho is going to get the Hulk powers, and Banner will literally disappear. The first story arc of Totally Awesome will focus on Cho being totally awesome (of course) along with flashbacks that will explain how he came to these powers, and what the heck happened to Bruce Banner.
Big, exciting stuff, guys, and not just because Hulk is a big, exciting guy. The first issue of Totally Awesome Hulk #1 goes on sale in December.
(Images via Marvel.)
