Why Primal understands The Hulk better than Marvel

From Ang Lee’s adaption of The Hulk (which I do still like) to overtly meme’d large man that wears glasses and a v neck, Marvel never really got the ‘unstoppable force of nature’ thing right did they? This is a timeless question I have asked myself since being first aware of the character that I, as an angst-riddled guy, try my hardest to love. Met only with what appears to be the famed company’s growing disinterest and or misunderstanding of what makes The Hulk something everyone should fear. The closest I have ever seen them getting it right was the Planet/World War Hulk series, where even there, the well-known line “HULK SMASH!” doesn’t go far enough. In The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, all the lore and freedom you’d expect from the character is there, but when you, an 8 foot, 1400lb monster punches a human, they simply fly back…

I decided to revisit Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal today. I was reminded how the season finale, “Rage of the Ape-Men,” is the one piece of media that I can recall that truly nailed the spirit of the angry green giant.

If you have any interest in watching this truly amazing series, I suggest skipping the spoilers to come and get on that now. If you don’t care about spoilers (like I do), read on.

The first third of this episode is so unlike the rest of the show that it alone makes for among the more memorable moments from the series. Even in the advertisements you the viewer are promised (and delivered) all the guts and glory in the world. Your first helping in this last episode is our T-Rex and Caveman soaking in a beautiful oasis. Even after seeing this show so many times, the way they literally get smacked back into reality still surprises me. They awaken to a bone riddled coliseum populated by a pack of angry apes (the spectators’ designs absolutely resemble Planet of the Apes). Our captured protagonists bear witness to 5 gorillas that must beat the shit out of each other for the glory of killing Spear and Fang.

When one comes out victorious, they are given a sip of a black liquid that turns them into a giant green gorilla. The T-Rex (Fang) is lowered down to get beaten the shit out of by this thing to an extent Marvel would find to be the limit. From the moment the caveman (Spear) breaks free to drink the entire bowl to the end of the episode, this is what I like to refer to as Hulk REALLY smashing!

“What does Hulk smash mean to you?”

Hulk Smash is ripping off your enemy’s limbs and caving their skull in with it. Hulk Smash is punching off the faces of some and leaving others in a literal bloody pulp. Hulk Smash is climbing out of a hill of corpses when you go back to normal, only to find the surrounding area littered with destruction and gore.

When you put it like that, Marvel never really got it right (even before the ownership of a certain family-centric business). If I missed something, let me have it! Otherwise, revisit Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal because it’s just a beautifully executed show which I cannot wait for Season 2 of.