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The Infernal Hulk and Merleau-Ponty: Body Schemas and Structuring Absence

Won't the Real Hulk Please Stand Up? The Infernal Hulk comic series grants Bruce Banner his wish of separation from his monster, but the progression of the story reminds us to be careful of what we wish for. One of the most unsettling ideas in The Infernal Hulk is not that Bruce Banner loses the Hulk, but that losing him doesn’t bring relief. Banner is free of the monster, yet he is weaker, disoriented, and haunted by something that refuses to stay gone. The Hulk persists, not as a body, but as an absence that still shapes Banner’s life. This dynamic closely mirrors what philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty describes through the phantom limb. Amputees often continue to feel sensations in limbs that no longer exist. For Merleau-Ponty, this happens because the body is not merely a physical object, but a lived structure, a body schema through which we orient ourselves in the world. When something is removed, the body’s orientation does not immediately adjust. Banner’s condition in The ...
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Discover Wolverine’s Next Chapter: A Collector's Essential!"


 

Wolverine: The Undisputed Icon of the X-Men


When it comes to familiarity and indeed, popularity, Wolverine stands head and shoulders above all of the X-Men - voted most likely to succeed in the yearbook, and mimicked the world over with several children, myself once included, shoving pencils in the spaces between our fingers to imitate the unmistakable adamantium claws of this ferocious warrior. Ultimate Wolverine #1 cuts an imposing figure with the yellow and black tights that Logan so often adorned, replaced with a slightly more menacing black and red outfit, arranged into the foreboding and ominous red star of the so-called Eurasian Republic.

 

East vs. West: A Mutant Cold War


Indeed, from what can be inferred from some of the pages, the X-men have been divided into the good ol’ fashioned East vs. West rivalry, with the aforementioned republic placing mutants such as Colossus at the forefront of a brainwashing program to weaponise the immortal Wolverine. Logan’s memories are wiped, and he is let loose upon those who fight on the opposing side, leading to a nice reunion with fellow do-gooders, Mystique and NightCrawler. 

Ultimate Wolverine situates itself amongst a new wave of Ultimate titles that appear well-positioned to graciously open its doors to both long-time fans and newcomers not knowing where to begin. It’s a story that continues to push past the mere veracity of the protagonist in question by layering the story with a subtle, tragic tone that always points to the complexities of personal identity through the scope of memory. 



Logan: The Eternal Guinea Pig


Wolverine has seen and done it all, and he continues to cut an impressive, yet criminally misunderstood character whose rage is wholly justified considering how his entire life has seen him thrust into the role of guinea pig for the ends of greedy authority figures. The pages of this latest entry into the X-Men's larger universe hit hard and fast with Logan slicing through them at a breakneck pace and making an already short comic book feel shorter still. 

Yes, blink and you may just miss it, but this doesn’t mean that anyone should internationally miss out on an intriguing, and very well-written first title that invites us to walk with this new Winter Soldier on the path to recapturing memories so forcefully taken away. This first title will easily have readers salivating for more.


 

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