WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Immortal Hulk #5 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett, on sale now.


Everyone’s having a bad time in Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s Immortal Hulk series, but perhaps no one has it quite as bad as Walter Langkowski, the superhero Sasquatch. Reintroduced in Immortal Hulk #4 as a man with a problem seeking Bruce Banner’s advice, Langkowski was quickly dispatched in a bar fight. The hero, who has been part of Marvel canon for just under 40 years, died on the operating table, but that wasn’t the end.

Issue #5 sees Langkowski rise again in the form of Sasquatch, though as a beast changed. Hulk and Sasquatch fight it out. Hulk eventually wins, but he does so by employing a technique the Jade Giant rarely calls upon. In the process, the Immortal Hulk also depowers Langkowski, effectively rendering him nothing more than a human.

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Immortal Hulk has been steadfastly focsed on gamma-irradiated villains of yore. So far, readers have caught up with what remained of Riot Squad and were even introduced to a new batch of villains with familiar, radioactive problems. Each time, a mysterious Green Door has played a pivotal role in gamma-irradiated people going a little off their rockers. Such was the case with Sasquatch, who was possessed by one of the Green Door’s minions.

Hulk and Sasquatch discover they are equally matched in a throwdown, which leads Hulk to employ his gamma absorption power on his fellow hero. This, of course, is not the first time the Hulk has absorbed a lethal amount of gamma radiation like he was a hungry kid sat in front of a bowl of Halloween candy. Perhaps the most famous and recent instance of Hulk draining another character of their gamma power was Avengers #685.

That issue, which also credits Ewing as a writer, sees the then-Incredible Hulk drain the Red Hulk of his power. The fight took place during the Avengers: No Surrender arc, which saw the Incredible Hulk resurrected to compete in a gamified apocalypse between the Challenger and the Grandmaster. The Challenger tasked Hulk with retrieving the Pyramoid held by Voyager. Red Hulk, otherwise known as Robert L. Maverick, was on the defense and even had the Iron Patriot armor, but he really didn’t stand a chance. Hulk barreled in and quickly sapped all his gamma power, rending Maverick a puny human once more.

Something similar appears to have happened with Sasquatch, though in this case the move might have been a calculated one. See, the creature that had taken over Sasquatch wasn’t the one behind the Green Door, it was something of a minion. This minion opted to take a human face, a recognizable face to terrorize the Hulk. That face was Brian Banner, the abusive father of Bruce Banner. So, while Hulk was able to sap Sasquatch’s power, making him all the stronger, it has also seemingly sapped whatever is wearing Brian Banner’s face, too.

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There’s no telling exactly what that means, if the Brian Banner creature is now a mere annoyance for Hulk or if it will steadily start taking control, driving him mad like it did with Riot Squad. What’s certain is that the depowering of Sasquatch is a bad sign for anyone in Hulk’s way, as Walter Langkowski was one of the few heroes who might have been able to stand up to -- or at least subdue -- the Immortal Hulk, should the need have arisen. And remember, we’re talking about the Hulk here, so the need will almost certainly arise -- and now there’s one fewer hero who can perform that all-important job.