Marvel's New Hulk/Wolverine Combo Fixes the Last Version's Big Mistake
Warning: spoilers ahead for Immortal Hulk #44!
Marvel's Doc Sasquatch is a new hero who combines everything that makes Hulk and Wolverine great, fixing the major mistakes of Weapon H, Marvel's last attempt to merge these two mega-popular heroes. While Weapon H combined the two fan-favorite characters, the focus was squarely on mixing their powers, making for a hulking, six-clawed warrior who looked great on comic covers but failed to offer readers a compelling character. Doc Sasquatch is another story, combining what makes Hulk and Wolverine great more subtly, and to much greater effect.
Walter Langkowski was the classic Sasquatch of Alpha Flight, and came up against the Hulk earlier in Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's acclaimed run on Immortal Hulk, but was killed by General Fortean, not reviving despite the recent discovery of the Green Door - a process that allows gamma mutates like Hulk and Sasquatch to resurrect from death. Now, Leonard Samson, the super-strong hero previously known as Doc Samson, is in Langkowski's body, having had to work around the nefarious Leader to resurrect after his own death at the villain's hands. The merged result, Doc Samson, is a gamma-powered, super-strong hero - one Immortal Hulk #44 reveals is now prone to Wolverine's animalistic berserker rages thanks to the mystical influence of Sasquatch's powers.
Weapon H, otherwise known as Clayton Cortez, is a visual blend of Wolverine and the Hulk, though he also had genetic components of Lady Deathstrike, Sabretooth, Domino, and Warpath. He was a Marine who became a mercenary. This history allowed him to have a broad knowledge of various fighting styles, and he was a very effective soldier. Beyond these points, he doesn't have the characteristics that make Hulk, Wolverine, and Doc Sasquatch so compelling. Hypothetically, Weapon H should have been a highly interesting hero with an intense dark side. In reality, there wasn't much that made him intriguing beyond his hulking form and huge claws.
Weapon H had Wolverine's adamantium claws, Hulk's size and strength, and was able to largely control his Hulk form. He was designed to be a perfect weapon, bringing together the best of Wolverine and Hulk's powers, while using his powers strategically and with restraint. Ultimately, Weapon H was used in the same, boring way in which other companies have approached their own Hulk and Wolverine knock-offs: a competent and overwhelmingly powerful weapon. But the lack of restraint with their abilities and their struggle to maintain control is what makes Hulk and Wolverine so interesting, not just the damage they can do.
Doc Samson already had superhuman abilities due to gamma exposure, like the Hulk, though he did not have a separate beastly form. Walter Langkowski was likewise exposed to gamma radiation, turning him into the monstrous Sasquatch thanks to the influence of the Great Beast Tanaraq. Combined, they're the super-strong Doc Sasquatch, possessing high durability, a healing factor, almost unbreakable claws and a bestial thirst for blood once involved in combat. Having taken over the Sasquatch form, Doc Samson does not have the level of control that Walter cultivated before him, creating the type of internal struggle that makes Hulk and Wolverine so compelling.
Despite having his own abilities that stem from the same energy source and a close relationship with the Hulk, Samson is not a master of this new form. As a result, he has to fight the urge to release uncontrollable rage. Unlike the sturdy and tactical Weapon H, Doc Sasquatch isn't always in control, combining Hulk and Wolverine's temper issues into one of Marvel's deadliest new characters. Where Weapon H felt like something from the '90s age of "extreme comics," Doc Sasquatch is already a more nuanced take on someone trying to do the best they can with a situation they didn't ask for.
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