X-amining Incredible Hulk '97 #1

"Sins of the Father" / "Where the Wild Things Are"

1997

In a Nutshell

Hulk battles Gladiator, and gets blamed for Franklin's nightmares. 

Writer: Chris Cooper, Bill Roseman (2nd Story)
Penciler: Jeff Rebner, Kevin Lay (2nd Story)
Inker: Mark Irwin, Andrew Pepoy (2nd Story)
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos 
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Polly Watson & Bobby Chase

Plot

1st Story: Members of the Pantheon approach Doctor Samson, seeking his help to find the Hulk's illegitimate son, David. Samson is stunned, having never heard of of Bruce Banner having a son. Meanwhile, Gladiator and Oracle of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard are searching for a shape-shifter named Elamron, who was last seen with Hulk. All parties, including David, converge on the Hulk. Gladiator and Hulk fight, with Gladiator taking Hulk into space and Hulk turning Gladiator's heat vision back on him. But when Hulk sees the look of fear on David's face, he stops, reminded of his own childhood. In the confusion David — actually Elamron — disappears.

2nd Story: At the Massachusetts Academy, Franklin is plagued by dreams of a green monster. Concerned, Artie and Leech track down the monster, who turns out to be the Hulk. Artie projects an image of the X-Men, but Hulk smashes right through them. Artie and Leech proceed to pummel Hulk with everything they can find to throw at him. Hulk grabs the kids and tells them he's not Franklin's monster, that he would never hurt a kid. But that doesn't stop Franklin's nightmares.  

Firsts and Other Notables

This issue marks one of the few appearances of the Imperial Guard (or at least two them) during their weird "we've been sent to hang out on Earth" period as established in their eponymous miniseries. Gladiator will also appear in an Earth-set Devil Dinosaur one-shot, and that's about it for that status quo. 

Given that, it's hardly surprising that this is the first and last appearance of Elamron, the shape-changing alien posing as Hulk's fake son for some reason. 

The second story is set before Generation X #25, when Black Tom attacks and the kids leave the school. 

The green monster haunting Franklin Richards is meant to be the "Heroes Reborn" Hulk — since Banner and Hulk split into two during Onslaught: Marvel Universe and Banner went into Onsalught with the rest of the non-mutant heroes, there's a Hulk in each reality. 

A Work in Progress

Troyjan War

The centerpiece of the first story is clearly meant to be the Hulk/Gladiator battle (which essentially makes it a Hulk/Superman fight by proxy). 

In the second story, Trish Tilby is blonde (and her presence sets it before Uncanny X-Men #341).

Hulk's recent takeover of one of the Florida Keys (as seen in Deadpool #4) is referenced.  

The small orb/ball that has been accompanying Franklin of late (containing the "Heroes Reborn" universe) can be seen in the second story. 

The Reference Section

The name of the Hulk's fake son — David — is likely an allusion to the 1970s Incredible Hulk TV show, which renamed Bruce Banner, David Banner. 

Austin's Analysis
Incredible Hulk '97 #1 falls into a weird little sliver of time when Hulk's little corner of the Marvel Universe crosses over with the X-books more than usual. Certainly, the two have history together — Hulk appeared in the final original Silver Age issue, both the original X-Factor and the X-Men appeared in Incredible Hulk early in Peter David's run, and there was a small crossover later with the "All New, All Different" X-Factor when David was writing both books (and of course, Wolverine debuted in the pages of Incredible Hulk). But the X-Men don't have the same history with Hulk as they do with, say, the Avengers. Yet Incredible Hulk featured in some of the more integral non-X-book tie-ins during "Onslaught", on-par with Avengers and Fantastic Four. He just popped up in Deadpool. And shortly after this annual, Hulk will become a Horseman of Apocalypse briefly. 

I don't have any hot take or profound theory as to why that is; just an observation to fill some space, since ultimately, neither of these stories are terribly good nor narratively important. The Franklin/Artie/Leech story is cute, but ultimately goes nowhere. Clearly, the intent here is to keep the Franklin/"Heroes Reborn" connection on readers mind, as the end of that publishing experience draws ever closer. As such, the X-Men connection is more accidentally, driven by the fact that Franklin happens to be hanging out over in Generation X at the time. The main story is much more of a mess, filled lots of handwaving (Elamron comes and goes without explanation, at one point Hulk and Gladiator destroy a nuclear reactor and it's just not a big deal). But it's notable (well, "notable") for being a rare story to try and do something with the new status quo of the Imperial Guard outside their miniseries. That at least makes it a historical curiosity, however minor, for what its worth. 

Next Issue

The Gen X kids get lost in dreams in Generation X #28!

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