It's all change at Marvel right now, with every day bringing news about the publisher's plans for the future. Teaser images have hinted at a very different landscape once Secret Wars wraps up, with an all-new Wolverine and Brian Michael Bendis relaunching Invincible Iron Man. Perhaps the most drastic change on the horizon, however, is for The Incredible Hulk. Who, if Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso is to be believed, won't be Bruce Banner any more. So then who, prey tell, will be occupying those stretchy purple trousers for the foreseeable future? "In some cases, a new character will be wearing familiar costumes, or will have moved, or will have significant shifts in their relationships to other characters," says Alonso. "Many of those changes will be shockingly big," he continued, saying of the Hulk, "The same people who went crazy with female Thor will have a field day with this one." The more literal-minded rumour-mongers took that to mean that She-Hulk, part-time lawyer Jessica Walter, would simply be dropping the gender designation of her name. Others still suggest that Ultimate Reed Richards, one of the major villains in Secret Wars, might be the one to take on the mantle (especially with fellow Fantastic Four members Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm apparently joining the Inhumans and Guardians Of The Galaxy, respectively). Most intriguing and popular of all, however, is that the new Hulk may be one Amadeus Cho. Also known as Mastermind Excello, boy genius Cho was mainly used as a sidekick in books like the Avengers and Hercules. He did play a role in recent Hulk stories, too, and was a major character in the Avengers and New Avengers stories in the lead up to Secret Wars. Hulk connection, young scientific genius, bit of an ego and temper...how are his smashing abilities, though?
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
