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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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Comic Journal: Absolute Batman #12

 

Dear Journal


I was straight up giddy to be handed the latest issue in the Absolute Batman series, one that proves that the Dark Knight is the best superhero in any universe. Issue 11 left us with the ominous scene of Bain standing over Batman's closest circle of friends, who, in the regular universe, positioned themselves as his greatest foes. I guess it just goes to show that Bain is positioned against Bruce, no matter which timeline they traverse, although this time, he shows that there's more than one way to break a bat beyond bending a back. 

In one go, Bain becomes the common origin source for The Penguin, Two-Face, Croc, and the Riddler, and what a way to do it. Halt, hear all ye squeamish ninnies, the visuals from #12 will give you nightmares, but the response from Batman and Alfred has me salivating, and while the entrance of a very cool looking Cat Woman was welcome, it's Joker's (hopeful) entry that I'm hoping and holding out for. Now what to read while I wait for #13?   

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