Incredible Hulk #165. Aquon!

(Cover from July 1973.)

"The Green-Skinned God!"

Written by Steve Englehart.

Drawn by Herb Trimpe.

Inked by Sal Trapani.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by David Hunt.

They might claim that no one with any class batters his fish but the Hulk has other ideas. Rescued from the seabed, by Captain Omen's mutinous crew, our hero sets out to do just that as he finds himself up against Aquon; "Half-man half-fish and all hate!"

Inevitably our hero proves himself the more determined monster and, having had his metaphorical chips, Omen's forced to allow his crew to leave the submarine and live on the surface from now on.

This has to feature probably the most extraordinary climax of any story from the Herb Trimpe era as, having finally stepped onto dry land for the first time ever, Captain Omen's crew start to explode like tomatoes in a microwave. The silly sausages had forgotten they've adapted to live in the crushing depths of the oceans, not the gentler climes of the surface world.

It does raise the question of why Omen didn't warn them this was going to happen, as he clearly knew it would.

Then again, as we saw last issue, man-management doesn't seem to be his strong point.

Another person who's not good at winning friends and influencing people is Aquon. In his case, he has an excuse. He is, after all, "Half-man, half-fish and all hate!"

In fact, the, "all hate," seems somewhat inapt as it becomes clear he only fights when attacked, suggesting his hate levels are somewhat overstated. Did Aquon ever put in another appearance? I don't know. I certainly hope he did. The Hulk always benefited from the presence of a silly monster.

Other highlights are the rebellious crew adopting the Hulk as their god and showing our no-nonsense protagonist the few mementoes of the surface world they've managed to acquire over the decades; a leaf, a bottle and a newspaper. Needless to say, the ever practical Hulk thinks keeping such things is stupid. Is this Steve Englehart using the Hulk as his mouthpiece to comment on the Christian Church and its attachment to relics?

But despite Aquon, the relics and the deification of our hero, the story's focus lands squarely on that ending. No, it doesn't make sense - given Omen's pre-knowledge of what must happen - and the sight of the Hulk playing philosopher in the final panel breaks though the fourth wall but who cares? In the end, who'll ever forget the sight of people exploding? Or of Captain Omen's son Filius abandoning his followers and desperately trying to get back into the ship as it submerges, only to die like the cohorts he'd run out on?

Incredible Hulk #164. Captain Omen

(Cover from June 1973.)

"Phantom From 5,000 Fathoms!"

Written by Steve Englehart.

Drawn by Herb Trimpe.

Inked by Sal Trapani.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by David Hunt.

The romance of the sea may be lost on the Hulk but it's not lost on Steve Englehart who kicks the tale off with a quick bout of John Masefield's Sea Fever. He's not the first writer to quote poetry in the strip and I do wonder if The Incredible Hulk has at this stage featured more poetry than any other super-hero comic.

Sadly such dreaminess can't last and, deciding the best way to get home from the frozen Arctic wasteland he's found himself in is to go for a swim, the Hulk promptly finds himself captured by the mysterious Captain Omen, master of a gigantic submarine that doubles up as a citadel. Not short of ambition, Omen wants to claim all the sea floor as his territory.

Quite what the Sub-Mariner and Attuma would make of that isn't touched on but we do know the Hulk's not impressed and goes into Hulk Smash Mode, only to find himself stood on the sea bed and having to obey Captain Omen's orders if he wants to keep the air supply that's the only thing keeping him alive.

It's nice to see comic books honouring their tradition of total originality as the Hulk comes up against an antagonist who in no way resembles Jules Verne's Captain Nemo and has a name that's in no way an anagram of it. But, despite his lack of originality, Omen's an intriguing character. It's hard to make out if he's a bad guy or just lacks man-management skills and, as with last issue, Trimpe seems to be enjoying himself, in his depiction of the huge sub, with its strange-looking crew, mechanical birds and and giant Toad Whales.

Again the main intrigue comes from the capture of Thunderbolt Ross, with a new character - Colonel John D Armbruster - introduced. Armbruster's been engaged by Washington to lead the mission to rescue Ross from the Russians and even though I don't like to make snap judgements about someone, with his background in Vietnam and overly-brisk manner, I can't help feeling he's going to turn out to be trouble.