Revealing what is probably the worst-kept secret in comic book history, Marvel officially announced on Friday that the Hulk in its new Totally Awesome Hulk comic is teen genius Amadeus Cho.
Marvel teased the identify of the character over the past month, though speculation about Cho being the new Hulk started much earlier in the summer. But Marvel has now officially confirmed this, and in doing so, makes history: this is the first Marvel series with an Asian-American lead character, writer (Grek Pak) and artist (Frank Cho).
The new title is part of Marvel's "All-New All-Different Marvel" campaign that begins this fall. That campaign sees the launch of over 60 new titles, many which promise to be as groundbreaking as Totally Awesome Hulk.
Most readers think of Bruce Banner as the Hulk, but for this title, Marvel felt that Cho was the obvious choice — making for a different kind of Hulk than previously seen in comics.
"He's 19 years old, he's on top of the world, he thinks he's right about everything... and he might be," said Pak in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Or he might not be. But this is a kid who's got a ridiculous amount of confidence. A lot of it has been justly earned, but he may be in over his head, and he's going to come in here and he's determined to be the best Hulk there's ever been. He loves being the Hulk."
This is certainly different from Banner's Hulk, because Banner saw the Hulk as a burden, whereas Cho embraces it. Marvel explains that this is why the title of the comic is Totally Awesome Hulk — because that's how Cho sees it.
Pak also served as one of the creators of Cho, who won a young genius contest that resulted in his parents being killed and leaving him to run for his life. The Incredible Hulk saves him at one point in his story, which leads to him viewing the Hulk as both a hero and a friend. His superpowers are those of the mind, making him one of the most intelligent people in the world.
"It wasn't what we imagined 10 years ago when we created the character, that this is exactly where he would end up," said Pak about Cho. "But just given the character's history, it makes total sense. And the story is totally true for both the Hulk story and the Amadeus story, so it's a lot of fun when those kinds of things can naturally come together for something this big."
Totally Awesome Hulk #1 hits comic book stores and online outlets in December.
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