Better death than being forever denied... THE SKY!

[mrosa]

In the mid-eighties there was a long story in The Incredible Hulk called 'Crossroads:' in order to stop the Hulk's destructive rampage, Doctor Strange exiled the green goliath in a mystical realm where he could harm no one and, in principle, be harmed by no one. The second part didn't work out too well and the Hulk kept jumping from one bizarre world to another where he had lots of cool high fantasy and science fiction adventures. Of all the stories, there's one told in the annual #13 that is particularly dear to me:

The story starts like many did, with the Hulk venturing through one of the many portals of the crossroads. This time he chooses one that contains tropical trees and seems able to sate his hunger. Unfortunately when he tries to eat a black fruit he discovers the food in that world is toxic to him. Moments later he sees a beast picking up the fruit and then he gets really mad:




But the meat of the beast ends up being as toxic as the fruit and he starts feeling sickness and pain.

Suddenly the pain disappears and the Hulk finds out he has company:



"... but a new nightmare begins," says the caption. The Hulk hurls his back against trees to dislodge the sinister creature attached to him, but it's stuck to him. Tired, the Hulk stops:



The symbiont, or Sym, then tells him the story of his people, how his ancestors dragged themselves out of water onto land and in order to survive developed the ability to create bonds with foraging beasts. It's a neat twist in these stories that Sym isn't evil at all, he was living contently with his host until the Hulk killed him. And at the same time he helps him and even has a soothing influence on him.

Slowly Hulk and Sym become friends and he even starts talking again. As for Sym, he's discovering an unexpected pleasure to having the Hulk as a host:




But Sym's species does not appreciate their relationship:




Again I like the twist here. Sym's people aren't evil either, they just want to save his life. But Sym is determined to see the stars and the Hulk is going to help him.



They undergo a journey for weeks to the highest peak of that world, risking their lives and facing starvation.



Eventually the snowing stops and the Hulk comes out the cave to find a night filled with stars. But he also notices that Sym is no longer on his back:




Sym dies in his hands. The sorrow the Hulk feels triggers Doctor Strange's spell and he's teleported back to the crossroads.

Crossroads is one of the best Hulk stories ever told, in case you're wondering, and this for me was the highlight. As a kid I simply loved it, and I'm sure it was the first comic book ever to make me cry.

(12 pages from a 38-page story)

Comments

[crinos]

Yeah, I recall the Crossroads story.

For a bit of background lead up to the crossroads: Before this Bruce had managed and arrangement where he had Banners mind and Hulks body, and was in the process of seeking redemption for the damage Hulk had caused and actually making a life for himself. Of course anyone who knows anything about comics knows that the only luck Marvel heroes has is bad luck, so enter Doctor Strange foe Nightmare, who uses his power in the dream world to drive Hulk crazy, subsuming Banner and causing Hulk to become a mindless rage machine.

Cue a massive battle with the Avengers and just about every other New York super hero out there. Of course, at this point, a Hulk without Banner is basically Mindless rage, AND is much stronger than normal, so sending him to another dimension was literally the only thing they could do to stop him.

Another major reoccuring character in this arc is the Puffball Collective, a sentient, shapeshifting collection of puffball mushrooms who tries and befriends Hulk. Unfortunately he turns out to be a minion of the N'gari, so it doesn't end so well.

[mrosa]

Ah, thanks for that background, I'm sure others will appreciate it.

What is amazing about Mantlo's run is how so many later storylines were basically variations of his: his rational Hulk was reused by Peter David during the famous Pantheon era; and his exile to the crossroads is similar to Planet Hulk. Doctor Strange was even part of the Illuminatti who blasted him out of Earth.

[thatnickguy]

Out of curiosity, is any of this collected? Crossroads or anything else of Mantlo?

[thatnickguy]

Ooh, never mind. Found out there's a collection coming out in May.

http://www.amazon.ca/Incredible-Hulk-Crossroads-Bill-Mantlo/dp/0785184481/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360546823&sr=8-1

[acerbictomes]

I did not expect this to be so sad. Thanks for posting it!

[slippy]

This is the last kind of story I'd have expected to turn out really sweet, but there it is. It's pretty cool - makes the story feel that bit more alien.

[mrosa]

I know, it's such an unexpected story. This had a great effect on me when I was a kid, I never forgot it. It was a pleasure re-reading it recently.