Totally Awesome! HULK is All New, All Different!

Marvel's latest attempt in their continued march towards a more progressive and diverse lineup of characters, has Amadeus Cho becoming:

Totally Awesome HULK

Amadeus Cho is a Korean-American. One of the most endearing parts of this concept is that we're given a Korean-American creative team to go along with it: Greg Pak (writer) and Frank Cho (artist).

Hulk is now a 'person' of color. Although, technically he's always been that way hasn't he? The jade giant has been rampaging through the pages of comic books for over 50 years now. We've seen several different 'colored' versions of HULK over the years (Red, Gray etc.). But this change isn't about giving that classic muscle car a new paint job, it's about finding someone new to drive it. Someone who will take the wheel and push the limits.

This change is more about Bruce Banner being freed of the burden, while young Amadeus Cho will embrace it. Although for PR purposes, it's being emphasized as a change for diversity.

For those who aren't familiar with Amadeus Cho's back story, he was created about 10 years ago by series writer, Greg Pak. He's a super-genius who lost his parents when his home was destroyed by Pythagoras Dupree, an envious villain who sought to kill all those smarter than him. As Cho escaped the blast, he was on the run to stay alive. Having been rescued at one point by the Hulk, he befriended the beast and understood the aggression as reactionary. When he learned that his sister was still alive, Cho vowed to search for her whereabouts.

But what about Bruce Banner? In an interview with EW, Marvel's editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso, had this to say:

What is his story? It’s far from finished. People shouldn’t think that we’re jettisoning Banner — he has a place in the Marvel Universe, and I think it’s going to become more fascinating what that place is in the coming months.

We should see a contrast between how Amadeus handles the responsibility of this new power, compared to Banner. Described as a 98 pound teenager, who is the 5th or 6th smartest person in the world, he'll certainly have a different approach than his predecessor. Extracted from the interview, it sounds as though the first arc will be a 'monster hunt' for the HULK. Which will be a lot of fun, considering the earth-shattering action that can be drawn by series artist Frank Cho. The new series could continue Cho's search for his sister, along with exploring a Hulk who doesn't consider it a burden, such as Bruce Banner did.

In the aforementioned interview, Alonso teased the direction of the new series:

The first arc is going to tell two stories: one is going to take place in present time, which is going to be Amadeus being totally awesome as the Hulk, and kicking ass and getting a threat that is scaled to his power. And I’ll also tease that there are seeds in this story of something larger, that will be relevant to the entire Marvel Universe sometime toward the end of the year.

According to a poll over at Comic Book Resources, early results indicate the majority of fans aren't happy with the change, or are reserving judgement until they've had a chance to read it.

As is the case with most changes to traditional characters, long-time fans become alienated and see it as a sign that their generation is being pushed out the door. However, drawing in a younger audience is the only way for comic books to have sustainable readership in the future. These changes are viewed as a necessary evil, to not only integrate a wider diversity of characters...but readers as well. As long as the focus continues to be on telling good stories, it's a risk that should pay off.

And if it doesn't, they can always re-boot the universe.

*All images courtesy of EW via Marvel