Today, see the time that Hulk and Thor had a major battle broken up by the power of...New York Jets fans?
In every installment of I Love Ya But You’re Strange I spotlight strange but ultimately endearing comic stories. Feel free to e-mail me at brianc@cbr.com if you have a suggestion for a future installment!
A MATCH MADE IN GREEN
On Thursday, the Jets hopefully drafted their first star quarterback since Joe Namath (yes, the Jets have had four quarterbacks make the Pro Bowl since Namath, but he's their last...and only All-Pro QB) with Zach Wilson, the #2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In honor of Gang Green's hopeful return to greatness, I thought we'd look at a time that Jets fans helped stop a fight between Thor and the Hulk.
On October 21, 2018, the New York Jets hosted the Minnesota Vikings. As part of this matchup, the Jets brokered a partnership with Marvel Entertainment. Amusingly, the press release commemorating the deal quotes the since-resigned Jets President and the since-let go Marvel Publisher:
“We are excited to announce our new partnership with Marvel Entertainment,” said Jets President Neil Glat. “We are always looking for creative, new experiences and ideas for our fans, and we look forward to working with an iconic brand like Marvel.”
“Marvel is thrilled to be working with a partner like the New York Jets to provide fans new and unique ways to connect with the Marvel Universe,” said Marvel Publisher John Nee. “This multi-faceted partnership – including comics, game day collectibles, and more – will bring some of our most popular characters like the Hulk and Thor directly to thousands of Marvel and New York Jets fans this season.”
The Jets/Vikings game was a "Green Out" and featured a limited-edition Hulk bobblehead to to the first 15,000 fans, courtesy of Toyota, and 55,000 posters of Kevin Sharpe's cover of The Incredible Hulk vs. Thor and there would also be a Toyota vehicle wrapped with Hulk-themed imagery at the stadium.
HOW DO YOU WORK THIS CONCEPT INTO A MARVEL COMIC BOOK?
Longtime New York Jets fan, Fabian Nicieza, who is also a longtime Marvel writer (and the co-creator of Deadpool), wrote the comic book, which was drawn by Kevin Sharpe and Walden Wong, with colors by Carlos Lopez and letters by Joe Sabino.
The issue opens with Thor and Hulk in a dramatic confrontation with each other....
The opening splash page is an homage of one of the most famous Hulk/Thor splash pages of all-time, the battle between the two during the Avengers and Defenders War, which occurred in 1973's Defenders #10, drawn by Sal Bucema and Frank Bolle. Buscema, of course, went on to draw Hulk for almost a DECADE in the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s.
The story is set in a sort of mixture of various Marvel continuities where the Hulk is a member in good standing with the Avengers, so sort of a mixture of the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity (this comic came out about a year after Thor: Ragnarok came out). As it turned out, the Leader was using a new piece of technology where he could control someone's eyes and ears and make them see and hear things that weren't there. He planned on using his new device to make the Hulk go on a rampage in Midtwon Manhattan, but when he used the machine on the Jade Giant, the Leader also accidentally hit Thor with the same device and instead of making the Hulk go on a rampage, the Leader was able to have the Hulk and Thor cause destruction in Times Square by making the other believe that he was one of their respective mortal enemies (Hulk saw Thor as the Abomination and Thor saw Hulk as Ulik the troll).
Even though he believes that he is fighting Ulik, Thor still has a better sense of his surroundings than the Hulk and he tries to move the battle away from the crowded Times Square. He smashes Hulk/Ulik all the way to the Holland Tunnel and soon the heroes are both battling each other in New Jersey. Before long, they end up at Metlife Stadium, home of the Jets (and the New York Giants, as well). Before that point, Thor finds a way to pierce through the Leader's evil spell (or whatever you would call it) and realizes that Ulik is actually the Hulk. This information doesn't help the Hulk, though, who wanders into the parking lot of Metlife Stadium more confused than ever (like why, exactly, is Abomination using fancy words like Thor?).
Once there, Hulk meets a young Jets fan who sort of reenacts the iconic Super Bowl commercial where the little kid offers Mean Joe Greene his Coke by selflessly offering the Hulk her hot dog...
At first, the Hulk assumes that the hot dog is some sort of trick, but when he realizes it as legitimate offer, he finds himself happy to be surrounded by so many friends in green. Thus, when Thor/Abomination arrives, the Hulk is so calm by the Jets fans that he Thor/Abomination convinces the Hulk to allow him to use Mjolnir to cancel out whatever was making them see things that weren't there. When Thor uses his magical hammer, the feedback explodes the Leader's device and actually sort of reverses the polarity and now the Leader is stuck seeing things that aren't there. What does he see? Nothing else but Jets fans!
Hulk and Thor then decide to go watch the Jets play the Vikings with their new Jets friends. Thor somehow believes that their Avengers iD cards will allow them to gain admittance to the game and no one corrects him, so I guess Avengers ID cards get you free tickets? You just know Doctor Druid took advantage of that perk!
If anyone else has a suggestion for a future I Love Ya But You're Strange, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!