Immortal Hulk #50

This will always be a decisive title and what better way to complete than to try and close all the plot points from previous issues while adding to the Banner mythos at the same time. Is it the ending we all had in our head, no, but that's why we're not writing comics and Ewing does. Immortal Hulk will be debated for a long time, and as long as people are speaking about it then that's the point. Read Full Review

It's not hyperbole to say this is a superb final issue. It's the perfect climax to the greatest run in the history of the Incredible Hulk. Read Full Review

External factors aside, Immortal Hulk #50 is a fantastic ending to a series that was at the pinnacle of superhero comics. It's everything that made the previous 49 installments what they were, stuffed into an 80-page package. From its scope to its action and art to its final statement on who the Hulk is and what he means to Bruce Banner, Al Ewing delivers an ending that cannot be missed. Read Full Review

Joe Bennett delivers some brilliant visuals filled with scope and gorgeous details. The issue is filled with emotion on every page and each panel delivers some great imagery. Read Full Review

Beyond some minor quibbles at the end, The Immortal Hulk #50 stands as a colossal climax for one of the most critically and commercially successful superhero series of the past decade. Read Full Review

Pain, suffering, torture, indifference, isolation : these are constants in Banner's life, whether he has on a pair of eyeglasses or ripped shorts. If you dont know these constants then this book is not for you, I invite you to spend your time elsewhere. But if you've been through hell to the point that is all you know and all you have to look forward to, then Ewing and co. invite you for one last trip to The Below Place : with Bennet's absolutely devious art style that would make Elphias Levi blush, and Ewing's soul piercing words ; even if your tear ducts become dried up from this trip through the Hulk's personal hell " one page of the Immortal Hulk No.50, and you'll consider making reservations where the One Below All can only be called a great host. Read Full Review

Bruce Banner's alter-ego(s) literally go through hell, but it all ends as well as it might have, including the last word on The Green Door. Well worth a read, even if the artist is on my avoid list. Read Full Review

IMMORTAL HULK ends as if readers are supposed to forget about the last 50 issues and the impact they had on the character, which really diminishes the weight of the series. Read Full Review

Psycamorean

Oct 13, 2021

This ending was fucking great. I know some people might be a little... confused or disappointed by the ambiguity of the issue. And, ambiguity is being used for lack of a better word here, I just don't know what else to call it. I remember way back during the Hulk in Hell arc, there were a lot of people who turned their nose up to the Judaism mythology present there. So, if those people even make it this far, I wonder if they'll dismiss this too. Hulk is essentially the Job of the Marvel universe here. The One Above All created him as a test. Either he becomes a hero, and becomes Geburah (Good), or he succumbs to all the suffering and he becomes Golachab (Evil). Luckily, in spite of issue 25's dire predictions, he is not broken, and therefor e he's Geburah. And from there, it's all about the balance of Geburah and Chesed. Either Hulk becomes the left hand of God, embracing strength, and therefore the breaker of worlds. Or he becomes the right hand, embracing mercy, and doesn't smash everything. I'm simplifying the ideas here, but nonetheless, this is a very smart way to end this book and I can't help but get that needling feeling in the back of my neck that too many people will not appreciate it. This is one of best Hulk runs ever. It deserves all the praise it gets, if not more. I have no idea how Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley are going to transition from this to what they're doing. It's going to be very different, it's probably going to turn some people off, and I just hope there isn't nonstop comparisons between that run and this run. That won't be good for anyone. Seriously, if Al Ewing never writes another issue of comics, he's left an indelible mark on not just Hulk, but Marvel, and the wider industry. I guarantee that, much like with Hickman's Avengers into Secret Wars, there will be attempts to capture this lightning in a bottle again by other creators on other properties. I just hope they're successful. We need smart comics. They're always written by people from the United Kingdom, it seems. Maybe the rest of the world can get in on this at some point. more

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Psycamorean - Oct 15, 2021

I guess so? Anti-semites don't exactly know the religion well. And as the artist, it's not like he controls what's written in the comic. What does this have to do with my review though?

Psycamorean - Oct 15, 2021

Yeah, it's odd, but you can buy the issue without directly supporting Joe Bennett. Artists get paid via commission. He's already been paid, he's not getting more from you buying a comic he drew. The most you could argue buying the issue would do is give Marvel incentive to rehire him because his name brings in sales, however they've blacklisted him publicly so that wouldn't happen.

Psycamorean - Oct 15, 2021

Maybe wait till it goes on Marvel Unlimited.

Mout - Oct 16, 2021

https://youtu.be/zMVkZGm4L_I Joe fell off hard, just take a look at the losers interviewing him.

maljoss - Apr 7, 2022

Great review. You did a great job breaking down the subtext of the issue. I agree that this is one of the best Hulk runs in the last 20 years. However, I'm one of the confused and disappointed people who didn't appreciate the way it ended. I've re-read it several times, just to see if I"m missing something, but I find myself getting irrationally angry, each time, at the investment of money, time, and energy that was necessary to get here.

REYNARD

Oct 13, 2021

Hulk's Bible Stories: the Finale! Mercy = Strength. What a great ride.

Afre

Oct 13, 2021

I didn't know what to expect of this. How would Ewing end this all? Very well it seems. I have no problems with this. Everything just feels... nice. Good. Great. I just liked this so much. It feels very definitive ending to Ewing's run and I quite like it. I will miss this series, but I'm glad that it got the ending it deserved. But it's nice to have a so good feeling after the series had ended you know? To say, I'm content after finishing it.

daspidaboy

Oct 13, 2021

Gonna be honest. Not a fan of Al Ewing, think he's overrated and his crossover events and 80 percent of his other comics are not that good and are lazy. But this series? Yeah, its definitely on the same league as Geoff John's Green Lantern, Brian Michael Bendis Avengers, and Hickman's Fantastic Four. Great art, great concept, and great plot and pacing. It's also really smart and it's very weird how Hulk's ending was MUCH more satisfying than Nick Spencer's Spider-Man. Overall, I think this is one of the greatest comic book series of all time, and I'm sad to see it go. It's a near masterpiece that anyone should read and have a good time.

Rachit Mittal

Oct 14, 2021

Great issue. The only disappointment I had is Green Scar and Devil Hulk not present here. I liked one thing very much. Instead of trying to give more powerful Hulk, Al Ewing tried to give a balanced Hulk. Balance Hulk System. Banner, Savage Hulk, Joe Fixit at peace. I think Al Ewing really adores Peter David run on Hulk. Peter David also tried to give a balanced Hulk by merged Hulk which later retconned into Proffessor Hulk persona by Paul Jenkins. Al Ewing did in much better way than David. Al Ewing here is just great. Though I think Ewing uses so much expositional dialogue in most of his work but here it is not much and also it works.

SinceAge7

Oct 15, 2021

Excellent ending to a fantastic, legendary run. I was never a reader of Hulk ( I've been reading comics since I was 6 yrs old) the character to me was one dimensional and too predictable: get angry, smash things and then feel sorry about it all. This run made me a Hulk reader moving forward.

Loafy Trophy

Oct 15, 2021

I've been trying to collect my thoughts on this issue since Wednesday because this run was so dark and exciting and full of allegory and Hulk history, that it was admittedly dense. I've loved it since the very beginning and after reading #50, its safe to say Ewing absolutely stuck the ending. Ewing has outright referenced the Book of Job numerous times throughout the run and the parallels to that story are clearly apparent here, but handled in such a thoughtful way that it really, really works. I love that the answers the One Above All gives are too big in scale for Joe to comprehend and that all he can end up concluding is that the choice about Sterns is Savage Hulk's to make, which really demonstrates Joe's growth during the run. The way Savage Hulk closed the loop of violence by forgiving Sterns, thus erasing the Cain and Abel-esque sin that created the green door was absolutely brilliant too. It really made the opening flashback work perfectly for me and the little touches, like the Left-handed fist on the cane, to the skull in the lab, just showed how much care was put into even this small part of the story. Even the ending was perfect and cyclical, going back to the very 1st issue as Bruce looks horrified into the mirror and asks "Am I a good person?". Instead, in #50, we get a more confident, more in touch with himself Banner. The Hulk personalities have forgiven one another, are working in tandem and I'd love to see that character growth stick around for a while as we move into Cates' run. I'm not sure that we'll see anything quite like this at the Big 2 for quite some time and I'm gonna miss it. more

huz

Oct 15, 2021

When Marvel announced the original heroes returning for the Fresh Start relaunch, Bruce Banner got the least amount of enthusiasm. A lot of readers even doubted how many good stories there were left to tell about the character. Three years later, Al Ewing and Joe Bennett conclude one of the most acclaimed series in all of comics.

Kalaoui

Oct 16, 2021

Nuff Said!

Nurdboy42

Oct 19, 2021

They may as well cancel all future Hulk books because they'll never come close to how incredible this run was.

Kreniigh

Oct 25, 2021

I mean, Ewing kind of whiffed the swing by not finding room for classic villain Goldbug, but here's a 10 anyway.

Julhin

Jan 11, 2022

This run was fucking amazing. I'm not the biggest Hulk fan in the world, haven't read much of his stories, the only Hulk runs i had read from beginning to end at this point were the Greg Pak run(i really enjoyed it) and the Peter David run(Which was until this point my all time favorite), and i also have read some classics from the great Bill Mantlo Run. So please don't take everything i say so seriously, because i'm not a Hulk fanatic. That being said, this is now my favorite Hulk run ever. What Ewing and Bennet did here is gonna be remembered, referenced and impactful for years to come, it has redefined the Hulk in so many big ways that it's almost impossible to list every single thing. They brought Hulk back to his Horror roots, and b uild something completely new using everything that came before as foundations, instead of just simply throwing everything away with a stupid retcon. Everytime someone ask what is the first thing that comes to my mind when i hear the name Hulk, or what defines Hulk for me, i will think about this run. more

CrazyforRAMU

Mar 03, 2022

This finale is a brilliant comics version of the book of Job, and it appends a profoundly optimistic modern response ("If you suffer, what do you do with that suffering?") to the ancient debate. Plus, it's insanely well-crafted. It takes on even more than you'd expect from 80 pages, and it does it all nigh-perfectly.

Mout

Mar 10, 2023

Is there a better run than Ewing's Hulk? I don't think so, I really fell in love with this series, it's so goddamn good, marvel could've retired the hulk after this, no one is going to overcome Ewing.

MindTwist

Apr 09, 2025

One of the best comic book series I’ve ever read. It’s so well written, so psychologically complex and rich in Hulk mythology that I couldn’t put it down. I breezed through the whole thing in a few days, and my only regret is that I won’t get to experience it for the first time again.

Ryan

Dec 18, 2021

Top 2 Hulk run ever

Ultimate Goblin

Jan 28, 2023

The Sterns' ancestors part was too weird and not necessary, but overall this issue is an outstanding conclusion for the series. 4 issues in 1, that's a lot, yeah, but it reads okay, it wasn't boring at any moment. What to say here... The run could be better. It's not a 10/10 masterpiece, it has weaker parts and stronger ones, I really think some people overrated it. But yeah, this comic is great for Hulk fans and as it seems even for some who wasn't interested in the character before. And I already see, that next run can't be as good as this... Sometimes the run had troubles with the pace, some parts were too quick, some too slow, some events were almost pointless and some could get more attention. Bruce didn't end the "world" as he w anted and everything stopped at Roxxon, okay. Some supporting cast characters had a great growth in this series and some were... well... not that interesting or important at all. I loved the parts with Joe, with Bruce, with Devil Hulk. The body horror elements were weird, but nice to watch. The gallery of old Hulk enemies was impressive, new villains wasn't that good, but it's fine there were some, at least. I kinda hate what the book did with Rick Jones, Walter/Samson and Betty. The Leader part could be better as well. Also some guest artists ruined the tone consistency and really made some parts worse. Ewing on the other hand made a solid work. Some ideas were repeated too much, some of them weren't really explained or good (like Red Joe Fixit), but the run still was mostly interesting to read and emotional enough, so I don't regret I spent my time on it. P.S. This review is the 3000th user review for this series! That's A LOT. more

Merlyn

Oct 13, 2021

A really great run with a very good last issue. While I liked this I felt like the One Below All was handwaved like he was nothing so that was a slight disappointment. Bennett was absolutely stellar here, say what you want about him, without his gorgeous art Ewing wouldn't have created this masterpiece (the same can be said about Al), there were times when the writing wasn't that great but Joe saved him. From now on in my mind the characters in Hulk's world will always be represented in this artstyle.

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maljoss - Apr 7, 2022

Amen. Bennett's Hulk is one of the greatest.

Rhinoeat

Oct 17, 2021

Smashing

Jmowarp

Oct 28, 2021

What an epic conclusion to one of my favorite Hulk stories. Congrats to Al Ewing & company for finishing this run on a high note.

DDJamesB

Oct 19, 2021

Im still going a little back and forth on this one. In one hand, Inreally enjoyed it. The other felt like it tried a little too hard. Overall, it was an ok ending, to what I thought, overall, was a great series.

Simon DelMonte

Dec 05, 2021

After all that, a letdown. I can't say I actually understood what was going on, or why we needed the secret history of the Banners and Stearnses. At least the art was great (too bad Bennett is a turd) and the character work was good. But in the end, Ewing didn't come close to sticking the landing. Not that it matters since we are reverting to the usual version of the Hulk.

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maljoss - Apr 7, 2022

The secret history bit was a bridge too far for me, too. It had not effect on the comic, or the series. Completely unnecessary.

pizzamain

Jan 21, 2022

i didn't read the issues leading up to this and let me tell you I understood nothing

maljoss

Apr 07, 2022

Epic disappointment. The best Hulk series in years ends with a muddled, self-indulgent mess. The art team of Joe Bennett, Belardino Brabo, and Ruy Jose is fantastic, and their work on this oversized book is a testament to their talent and skill. The comic LOOKS great... The story, however is terrible. The odd Banner-Sterns subplot set in the 1800's is unnecessary padding. It's purpose was to establish a link between the Banner and Sterns families that was, I guess, supposed to be a shocking reveal. But, it's meaningless because the characters are unaware of the connection, and it has no effect on the rest of the comic, or on the series. I fail to see why someone thought this was necessary. There is no need to create a connection betw een the Hulk and the Leader beyond "they have gamma powers". Are we going to find out, next, that Emile Blonski is Banner's half second-cousin? It was padding, and bad padding to boot. The trip through Hell to rescue Banner is a masturbatory interpretation of the Book of Job. There is much navel-gazing, much talking, and very little action. The Leader is dispatched with barely an inconvenience, and then we get to the meat of of the conflict... Yelling at God. The series ends with Hulk yelling at God, and getting no answers. Some might find this deep, or insightful. I found it dull and disappointing. Ewing failed to deliver on the expectations he had built for the last 49 issues. When I re-read this series, I will stop at 49, and just pretend this mess never happened. more