Character Spotlight: Jackie McGee

I've been hanging onto this one for months because I wanted to wait until her actual debut to write it up (side note: I'm writing this June 15), but I've been waiting for years to get the chance to include it.

I don't think it can be overstated how important the Incredible Hulk tv series (1978) is to the public consciousness of the character. Until the recent Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok, it's what people think of when they think of the Hulk. And yes, I do realize that doesn't take his two solo movies into account. Neither did the public. When people hear the Hulk, they don't think of those movies or his animated series or, for the most part, even the comics - to them, the Hulk is Lou Ferrigno, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", and the Lonely Man theme.

It's surprising, then, how little impact that series has had on the comics. It's impacted the franchise as a whole, of course; both movies make reference to it and The Incredible Hulk (2008) specifically is basically a giant love letter to it, but the comics seem to keep it at arm's length. I can't even be completely certain I've seen a "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" reference, although I'm sure they exist.

If you know where I can find one, be sure to let me know!

It's particularly surprising because Bruce - excuse me, "David" - Banner isn't the only main character in the show. The only major recurring antagonist is reporter for the National Register named Jack McGee, who's convinced the Hulk is a threat and that exposing him will make him famous. That's a great villain for the Hulk and a different kind of threat than the military or supervillains. And yet, he has never appeared.

You know where this is going.

In June 2018, a new series called The Immortal Hulk debuted. The goal of the book was to bring the Hulk back to its horror roots. The Hulk was created from the idea, "What if Frankenstein and his monster were Jekyll & Hyde?" The series has come along way since then, going to the future in the 90s, going to space in the 00s, and this decade replacing him with a teenager, not to mention all the stories in between. Those weren't bad directions, and this new/old direction wasn't even necessarily treated as a course correction, but more of a "hey, we haven't done that in a while." With that in mind, the Hulk is now an immortal vengeance monster that once again comes out at night as he did originally. And since Bruce Banner is technically dead but the Hulk definitely is not, they might get into some undead stuff as well.

With all that being said, the first issue of the new series introduces us to Jackie McGee. She's a black woman instead of a white man, and she seems to work for the National Inquisitor instead of the National Register; regardless, she's hot on the trail of the Hulk, trying to find out what he's doing and how he can be back considering Banner is dead.

Is she in it for the fame like her counterpart, or does she have more altruistic reasons? Only time will tell.