Hulk SMASH!

When Dr. Bruce Banner exposed himself to Gamma radiation not a lot of people predicted it would change the face of comics forever. But it did. This week’s edition of Get To Know Your Superhero focuses on the big green monster known as The Incredible Hulk. I won’t go into every single detail of Hulk’s existence, but this edition will give you a quick glance into some of Hulk’s origins, his motivations and some interesting facts.

Hulk was created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962.

Dr. Bruce Banner was a scientist researching Gamma radiation and after a botched experiment he was exposed changing his life forever.

After the experiment Banner gained the ability to turn into Hulk when he became angry.

Hulk’s powers are limitless strength depending on his emotional state, invulnerability to almost anything imaginable and the ability to leap into orbit.

Banner’s love interest is Betty Ross, the daughter of General Ross.

General Ross originally devoted his life to capturing the Hulk.

Betty and Bruce were a couple until the Gamma incident; she remained a good friend.

In 1998 Marvel made the decision to have Betty Ross die.

Hulk has appeared in 2 well known forms: Grey Hulk and Green Hulk

Grey Hulk is also know as Mr Fixit, a seedy Vegas tough guy

Green Hulk is also known as Savage Hulk, the unstable, emotionally driven angry version of Hulk.

Bruce Banner joined the superhero team The Avengers with Ironman, Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp and eventually Captain America.

Although his strength is a major asset to the Avengers, Hulk eventually proves to be too unstable.

Sparking two of the most popular story lines in Marvel history, Hulk is shot deep into space after almost destroying Las Vegas.

A group of powerful mutants including Professor Xavier and Mr. Fantastic arrange to trick the Hulk into a entering a space shuttle and launch him into space forever.

This eventually sparked the World War Hulk story line which fed directly into the Marvel Civil War series.

If you would like to read more on World War Hulk, click here.

Lou Ferrigno portrayed The Hulk in a TV series from 1978 to 1982.

Eric Bana portrayed Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee fail Hulk feature film in 2003.

Edward Norton played Bruce Banner in the 2008 Louis Leterrier feature film version of Hulk.

It is rumored that Norton could reprise his role as Banner in the upcoming Avengers feature currently being planned by Marvel.

So there you have it, the bare bones of what you should be aware of concerning The Hulk. It is also interesting to note that Stan Lee created Hulk as a modern version of Frankenstein. Whether or not this Avengers flick actually happens I still think it’s good to know some of the important facts about the Hulk. Sure I only glazed over aspects like the his different personalities and the entire World War Hulk story line, but I figure if you know the beginnings, then you can source the rest of the info on your own. Until next kids…

Heres something to get excited over in the upcoming year.  Madhouse Studios in conjunction with Marvel Animation will take on a project of redefining Iron Man and Wolverine as anime.  Not a whole lot of information was divulged.  So I’m curious to see if there will be differences in story, character history and background from the American counterparts.  After viewing the teaser trailers, I’m definitely looking forward to a final product.  Check the trailers below.

Image Source: Sankaku Complex

Not sure how much everyone out there knows about Ironman 2, but it has been confirmed that Tony Stark’s nemesis in the sequel will be none other than Whiplash. Whiplash is one of Ironman’s original foes and keeping with the theme of this weekly post, here is some info you might find interesting concerning Mickey Rourke’s latest character. So here’s Whiplash in the latest edition of Get To Know Your Superhero:

Whiplash first appeared in Marvel comics in 1968 and was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan.

His real name is Mark Scarlotti.

Scarlotti, like Tony Stark, is a genius level weapon developer.

Scarlotti worked for the crime organization named Maggia.

While working for Maggia, Scarlotti took an assignment to go undercover and work for Stark Industries to steal intelligence and eventually take down Tony Stark.

During his time as a weapons developer, Scarlotti developed duo cybernetically controlled titanium whips that he uses to deflect bullets, smash his opponents and vault his body over obstacles.

Once the whips were developed, Scarlotti became Whiplash and attacked Tony Stark.

Whiplash is defeated at the hands of Ironman and his body is returned to Maggia.

Whiplash, embarrassed, is kicked out of Maggia and changes his name to Backlash.

Backlash blames Tony Stark and Ironman for his demise and vowed revenge.

After a short time of trying to live a normal life, Scarlotti is contacted by Maggia again with a job to assassinate another scientist.

Backlash agrees, but is stopped by Rhodey and Spiderman and thrown in prison.

When he is released, Scarlotti is contacted by crime lord Justin Hammer to become a freelance thug.

Backlash is also contacted by The Architect to compete against other villains for a large cash prize. Craving a normal life, Scarlotti agrees to go to NYC.

Backlash is then defeated by Bullet and brought to the hospital where he calls his wife to come clean.

Scarlotti’s wife agrees to go to NYC and bring his costume – but she is brutally murdered by an assassin named Shatter-Head.

Backlash eventually find Shatter-Head and snaps his neck.

Around this time Ironman (Tony Stark) returned from another dimension and Backlash changed his name back to Whiplash.

Whiplash goes on a hunt for Tony Stark when he is met by the Ironman costume (at this point the costume can control itself letting Stark and Ironman coexist).

The Ironman costume beats Whiplash to death and drops his body into a river.

So there you have it. Whiplash is a very torn character who basically represents the opposite of Tony Stark. He is resentful, not heroic and can be bought. Now that you have some back story on Whiplash, you can go into the theater next Summer and impress your friends with your knowledge of Tony Stark’s latest villain.

The Marvel Universe usually focuses on the good’ol American origins with most of its characters, so when the idea of creating and all-Canadian team came up, audiences questioned the decision. Alpha Flight hasn’t exactly been a winning franchise for the comic juggernauts, but their stories intertwine and infiltrate one of the biggest in comic history. Interested in the Canadian comic way? Want to know more about Alpha Flight and what they mean to the Marvel Universe? Read on.

Alpha Flight was originally created in 1979 by John Byrne for an Uncanny X-Men storyline that included parts of Wolverine’s origin.

The all-Canadian team originally consisted of the following members: Guardian, Vindicator, Marrina, Northstar, Aurora, Puck, Sasquatch, Shamen and Snowbird.

After some mild success because of their involvement in the Wolverine storyline, Marvel decided to publish a series that focused on Alpha Flight.

Alpha Flight worked for Department H, a fictitious Canadian equivalent to the Department of National Defense.

Each team member had very distinct Canadian backgrounds such as an amphibious woman from Newfoundland, a dwarf bouncer from Saskatoon and a Sasquatch from British Columbia among others.

Alpha Flight also included one of the first openly homosexual comic characters in Northstar.

The comic series continued for about a decade when it was put to rest in 1994.

Alpha Flight was resurrected in 1997 with brand new team members, but the series lasted on 20 issues and was stopped in 1999.

The second installment of the series focused on Alpha Flight’s efforts to leave the ruling hand of Department H.

The third, and so far final, Alpha Flight series began in 2004, but after only 12 issues, the series was again canceled.

Alpha Flight was resurrected by Sasquatch as he scoured Canada recruiting for the newest rendition of the team.

Omega Flight was created in 2007 but only after most of the members of the original Alpha Flight looked to have been murdered by the Collective.

Alpha Flight could be back. Marvel has recreated them twice already which means they are not opposed to doing something of the sort. The all-Canadian team was very unique for its time because to Americans they were an foreign super hero team. As interesting as that sounds, it has just never really taken off. X-Men Origins: Wolverine really should have included something about Alpha Flight, if not only to stay true to the storyline, but also to please some of the Alpha Flight fans out there. But like I mentioned above, we probably haven’t seen the last of Alpha Flight.

As one of the very first comic characters to be born out of an animated series, X-23 has made a huge splash in the comic world. With an unstable bloodline and some of the most uncontrollable rage, she’s quickly becoming a Marvel and X-Men favorite. Not exactly sure who or what I’m talking about? Read on to find out some facts about X-23 that you should know.

X-23 first premiered in the animated series X-Men Evolution, but her first comic book appearance came a few years later with the title NYX in 2004.

She was created by Craig Kyle for the television show.

X-23 is a Wolverine clone.

After the original Weapon-X storyline it has been documented that some of Wolverine’s DNA was saved with the intention of cloning him into a controllable killing machine.

X-23 marks the 23rd attempt at cloning Wolverine.

Like Wolverine, her skeleton has been fused with Adamentium and she too has the ability to heal and protrude retractable claws.

Unlike Wolverine, X-23 can only protrude two blades per hand and one blade from each foot.

X-23 escaped the lab where she was created with the help of scientist Sarah Kinney.

She has since named herself Laura Kinney after Sarah Kinney who she believes to be her mother.

Upon her escape, X-23 found herself in New York helping other young mutants in the storyline NYX.

In X-23: Target X she is caught by SHIELD and interrogated by Captain America and Dare Devil (Matt Murdock) where she reveals to them how she tracked down Sarah Kinney’s sister in San Francisco.

In the comic storyline X-23 makes friends with a victim who is being attacked by other mutants. X-23 kills some of the attackers in defense, but the evidence points everyone to Wolverine.

When Wolverine shows up to investigate himself, X-23 attacks him on sight.

After the fight, Wolverine takes X-23 to the X-Men where she is introduced to her new life.

After M-Day (the Marvel date where the majority of mutants lost their powers), X-23 maintained her healing ability.

She is later recruited by Cyclops for the team X-Force.

X-23′ relationship with Wolverine is very similar to that of a father getting to know his child at a very late age. As intriguing as the storyline is, Marvel hasn’t really explored this as much as they should. Instead, X-23 has been thrown into the group of new mutants that will eventually take center stage in the Marvel Universe. I wouldn’t be suprised if Marvel took this character and did something really special – she’s basically a female version of Wolverine and it presents a ton of potential. Now, when someone asks you who some of the new X-Men are, you have a pretty interesting story to tell them.

Ya’ll ready for the crazy ride that is Deadpool? When/if you go check out the Wolverine movie you should probably know who or what Ryan Reynolds‘ character actually is. The “Merc with a Mouth,” is one of the most popular comic characters of the modern age, but not necessarily for his ninja-like skills or his blood-red costume, Deadpool is famous mostly for his ability to piss off his opponent with his words. And here we go…

Deadpool was created by Rob Leifeld and Fabian Nicieza and first appeared in an issue of The New Mutants in 1991.

Since his creation, multiple back stories and histories have been published.

Deadpool is most often linked to Cable and the X-Force, but he is also a freelance mercenary who plays both the good and evil angles.

It has been documented that Wade Wilson (Deadpool’s real name) was born into a military family, but he found his true calling in special forces when his alcoholic father was killed.

After dropping out of military school at a young age he became a mercenary for hire, but soon contracted terminal cancer.

When Deadpool decided he wanted his life to go on, he volunteered for the Weapon-X program – the same program that gave Wolverine his metallic skeleton.

Wade Wilson was then injected with the healing power extracted from Wolverine and essentially became an unstoppable soldier for the Weapon-X program.

On a Weapon-X mission, Deadpool discovered that one of his agents was psychotic and killed him; his punishment was for him to be sent to “The Workshop,” a place for failed experiments.

It is in “The Workshop,” that Wade Wilson officially became Deadpool. Him and the other inmates had an ongoing pool for who would die next, but because of his healing factor, Deadpool knew he would never die.

Upon discovering his healing factor, Deadpool became obsessed with death and eventually fell in love with a female incarnation. But because he could never die, he was rejected by death and throws himself back into the mercenary world.

Later issues showcase Deadpool in multiple intergalactic story lines that involve Cable and Domino.

He has been involved with the team X-Force, but also as a bounty hunter contracted to kill.

Deadpool has fought and defeated Wolverine, but the victory did not last on account of his last words taking forever to get out.

Deadpool is one of only a handful of mainstream comic characters to, “break the 4th wall.” This meant he knew he was in a comic book and would refer to the real world.

Despite the inputted healing factor from Weapon-X, Deadpool is horribly disfigured underneath his costume.

Deadpool is not (although he helped inspire) the DC character Deathstroke.

He has been romantically linked to Syrin, the daughter of Banshee.

Deadpool has incredible martial arts abilities, a healing factor and an arsenal of weapons developed by his friend Weasel.

He has officially “died,” 3 times in Marvel history only to be brought back to life by his healing factor.

It is well chronicled that Deadpool could in fact be the deadliest Marvel character ever had his mouth and attitude not gotten in the way.

There is tons more info on Deadpool and his many intergalactic cross-dimential journeys, but I figured these facts are the best to get started with. There’s no question as to why Deadpool is so popular, but he does have some true comic characteristics that even he seems to know about. So the next time you pass by a comic shop and you’re drawn into the world of  sci-fi, you can at least hold your own with the the 35-year-old who lives with his mom that works behind the counter.

Jubilee was introduced into the mainstream when the very first X-Men Animated series premiered with a storyline following her induction into the team. But her introduction into the Marvel Universe actually came much earlier and her story covers a lot of what has gone on with the X-Men of late. Here’s what you should know about Jubilee:

Jubilee first appeared in Uncanny X-Men in 1989 and was created by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri.

At the time of her introduction, she was the youngest member of the X-Men.

Jubilee is a Chinese-American born and raised (somewhat) in Beverly Hills California.

Her parents were murdered when she was young pushing her to an orphanage.

Jubilee escaped from the orphanage and lived in the Beverly Hills Mall where she was discovered by the M-Squad. She was then rescued from their clutches by the X-Men.

Jubilee is currently powerless after the House of M storyline, but her previous power allowed her to create “fireworks” from her fingertips.

She is officially inducted into the X-Men by Wolverine and plays a kind of side-kick to him for a while.

Being the youngest member of the X-Men, Jubilee always felt like an outsider, until she became part of Generation X, a team created and led by Emma Frost.

She eventually left Generation X after seeking revenge on her parents’ killer and landed back in Hollywood to pursue an acting career.

Jubilee’s acting career was cut short when she was invited to join the X-Corps, a team assembled by Banshee.

X-Corps was attacked and crucified on the front lawn of the mansion by the Church of Humanity which prompted Jubilee to take a leave of absence.

After M-Day Jubilee decides to run a half-way house for de-powered mutants when she is re-discovered by Wolverine.

She is again attacked and saved by Wolverine and SHIELD, but is severely injured.

Jubilee’s latest resurfacing occurs as part of the New Warriors, but her names has since changed to Wondra. Wondra’s powers are technology-based.

Jubilee is in all three X-Men films, but plays very small rolls in all of them. She was played by Katrina Florece and Kea Wong.

So there you have it; the brief, yet intricate story of Jubilee. It can get a bit harry trying to figure out who has powers and who doesn’t after M-Day in the Marvel Universe, but picking up a later issue of Jubilee helps explain a bit. Jubilee isn’t a hugely prominent character, but she plays an important role in the overall story arc of the ever-changing X-Men.

Ah the White Queen, Emma Frost. If you have recently picked up a new-ish issue of X-Men you might have noticed a few things. First, there are a lot less mutants running around these days. This was mainly because of the House of M and Decimation story lines where a major chunk of the mutant population either lost their powers or were killed in the Marvel Universe. The other major difference would be a lack of Professor Xavier. With the trouble surrounding the X-Men and mutants as a whole, Charles defected from the X-Men and his school in order to protect them from higher powers. Enter Emma Frost – the new Headmistress.

But that’s just a tidbit of the intricate history behind Emma Frost. Here are some facts that you should know about the scantily-clad psychic:

Emma Frost was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #129 in 1980.

She was first conceived as the leader of the Hellfire Club – a band of villains opposed to everything the X-Men stood for.

Emma’s powers are similar to Charles Xavier – she is an extremely powerful psychic with the ability to switch and control minds.

Emma was born into a wealthy loveless family and first discovered her power when she read her teacher’s dirty thoughts.

She was first introduced to the Hellfire Club when she auditioned to become a stripper.

After a series of events, Emma proves to the Hellfire Club that she is much more than a dancer and eventually leads the entire team.

She also created a mutant school to rival Xavier’s X-Men stooping as low as trying to recruit Kitty Pryde. From this school she formed a group known as the Hellions.

Emma’s school is eventually destroyed and all of her students killed by Sentinals. By then she had befriended Magneto and accepted a teaching job on Genosha (Magneto’s mutant-only society).

Genosha is eventually destroyed and all of Emma’s students killed again. Emma survives by a manifestation in her powers resulting in her skin becoming diamond-like (similar to Colossus).

After the attack on Genosha she is rescued by the X-Men and taken in by Cyclops to live in the mansion.

Emma and Cyclops begin to have a psychic sexual affair (they were getting it on in their minds) behind the back of Jean Grey.

Jean Grey is eventually killed and Cyclops is so ridden with guilt that he stops his relationship with Emma. Jean then comes back in a different form and urges him to move on without her.

Cyclops and Emma Frost become the new leaders of the X-Men – all to the demise of Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey (the daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey).

During the Superhuman Registration Act arc, Emma deems the X-Men as neutral and will not choose a side.

Emma Frost will be played by Tahyna Tozzi in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine Movie.

She was almost played by Sigourney Weaver in X-Men The Last Stand, then Brian Singer stopped the project and directed Superman Returns instead. The resulting X-Men The Last Stand did not include Emma Frost in the final draft.

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to know about Emma Frost! But now when you watch the new trailer for the Wolverine flick you’ll know who that woman is that turns to stone. Hope you enjoyed your latest class in Get To Know Your Superhero!

Who could have predicted that the teaming up of a Betty Ford alum and the guy who directed Elf would have resulted in the world-wide phenomenon that was Iron Man the movie back in 08? But now that RDJ (Robert Downey Junior) has solidified himself as the onscreen Tony Stark, you really should get to know the origins of Iron Man before you go spouting off to your buds about how awesome the sequel will be. The following is a short list of things you really should know:

Iron Man’s first appearance was in Marvel comics Tales of Suspense #39 way back in 1963.

Stan Lee created Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark as a way to reach comic readers about the Cold War. He hoped readers would hate Stark enough to see the other side of the Cold War – his plan backfired and Iron Man became hugely popular.

Tony Stark is loosely based on Howard Hughes (only not as insane).

Iron Man’s very first chest plate was designed and created by Ho Yensin while Stark was captured.

Stark meets his eventual BFF James “Rhodey” Rhodes after he escapes with his very first suit.

Stark’s circle of close friends include Rhodey, retired boxing champion Harold “Happy” Hogan and Virginia “Pepper” Potts.

Stark Industries is synonymous throughout the Marvel Universe having played a hand in technological developments for SHIELD, The Avengers and the X-Men.

Iron Man eventually goes on to become the leader of the Avengers and puts himself at the heart of the Marvel Civil War where his side battles Captain America’s side for the right to register all mutants. Iron Man eventually defeats Captain America.

Tony Stark is a (recovering) alcoholic.

After Stark fakes his own death, Rhodey dawns the War Machine suit to continue the legacy. When Stark returns, Rhodey is enraged and leaves Stark Industries to continue on as War Machine.

Iron Man was also the center of attention during World War Hulk.

Tony Stark does not have traditional super powers, but he is a genius.

Tony Stark and Pepper Potts never truly get together. Pepper actually marries Happy Hogan and the couple leave Stark Industries.

So there you have it. Some brief info on Iron Man that goes beyond the lore in the movie. Now when the sequel comes out you’ll have more to discuss beyond the replacement of Terrence Howard by Don Cheadle for the part of Rhodey.

The smooth talkin card playin hustler Gambit will be featured in Marvel’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine later on this year, so I figured I’d take the time to explain who this man is and why he has such a devoted following. First off, I know there are tons of people out there who say Gambit is their favorite, but really have no idea who he is.  Education begins now:

Gambit first appeared in Uncanny X-Men in 1990.

His real name is Remmy Etienne LeBeau.

Contrary to what many believe, his power is not just the ability to throw exploding cards. Gambit’s power is his ability to control kinetic energy.

Gambit went to Mr. Sinister to lower his power so he could control it. In return, Mr. Sinister used him to lead the Marauders into the sewers of NYC to kill all of the Morlocks.

Gambit is not from France! He is from New Orleans. Hence Wolverine’s nickname for him, “Cajun.”

He was raised as a thief and is associated with 3 main groups, The Thieves Guild, The Assassins Guild and the Fagan Mob.

Until recently Gambit was a proud smoker, but Marvel’s recent decision no longer promote the habit has changed this.

He once fought, and beat, Wolverine in a Danger Room battle.

Gambit was exiled from New Orleans and became a traveling thief and gambler where he was introduced to the X-Men through Storm.

Gambit’s documented love interest has always been Rogue.

So there you have it once again. Gambit as an underground icon has gotten out of control and I find a lot of people say they are fans because they want to seem like they know what they are talking about (Man, that was pretentious wasn’t it?). So this is for you wannabes. This is for all of you out there who watched the OC and saw how chicks fell in love with Seth and now you’re trying to pass yourself off as a comic book aficionado.

With the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine coming out around the corner, New Era and Marvel present two fitteds.  The WolSnikt and WolHead both highlight elements that clearly define Wolverine’s ensemble.  The 12 year old Van would appreciate the one with Wolverines head along with Marvel Comics logo, comic book cover under bill and slash marks throughout.  The 31 year Van thinks the contrast stitching and thick embroidery is way cooler and would prefer the onomatopoeia fitted.  Oh and it comes in two colorways.  But on a serious note, I would buy both if I could.  Both fitteds are available now at the New Era Flagship stores and select New Era accounts.

Image Source: Strictly Fitteds

Rock-N-Jocks brings you the latest in the Comic Super Hero world of New Era fitteds. First up is the Superman New Era fitted, this hat is all black with the embroidered “Superman “S” logo in red”. The back of the hat features an embroidered “DC Comics” logo also in red. Next is the Punisher New Era fitted that’s murdered out in all black with the embroidered skull “Punisher logo” on the front in white. The back of the hat also has the embroidered skull “Punisher logo” in white. Lastly is the comic strip Fantastic Four New Era fitted. This hat has different comic scenes of Fantastic Four all over the hat. On the front, back and sides, also on the top and bottom of the bill.The back of the hat also has the embroidered “Marvel Comics” logo in red, yellow and outlined in black. Go pick up all three of these at www.rocknjocks.com.

Rock-N-Jocks is bringing you this Captain America New Era “Marvel Comics” 59/50 Fitted Hat. Rock-N-Jocks only has 25 pieces. This hat has a royal blue front with the embroidered “Captain America shield” logo in red, white and blue. The top of the bill is blue, with the bottom of the bill in red. The sides of this hat are white. The back is also blue with the embroidered “Marvel Comics” logo in red and white. Cop yours at www.rocknjocks.com.

Rock-N-Jocks just got in these Marvel Comics Incredible Hulk New Era Fitteds. These are crazy limited and will go lighting fast so get yours while you can. The first hat is all black with part of the bill in green and the tears in green also. The embroidred “Hulk face logo” is in green, and black. The inside of this hat is all green satin. The second fitted hulk hat has the incredible hulk marvel comics “COMIC STRIP” all over the hat. On the front, sides, back and bill of the hat.The inside is all white satin. The last one has a green front with embroidred “Hulk Eyes” in black and green. The bill is all green. The sides and back of this hat are black. The back of the hat has “THE INCREDIBLE HULK” embroidred in green with the inside of the hat in all purple satin!!! Get yours at www.rocknjocks.com.