Who wants some sources for today's #ImmortalHulk #34 with the Leader's life story? Thought so! (CC: @Al_Ewing)

SPOILERS!

Leader's origin was 1st seen in Tales To Astonish #63 (1/1965). Created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko, he was an unnamed laborer caught in a gamma accident. (1/)

(Page 1-3) This time Sam Sterns (name revealed in Hulk #129) is shown to have actually died from the accident. In this way he now mirrors Hulk, as Banner died in the flashback in Avengers #684. Both saw the Green Door but didn't understand it then. Big parallels begin. (2/)

Here, Sam's thirst for knowledge (again, from his origin) is framed as a quest to find out what happened to him, where he went when he died, why he came back, etc. It's made out to be something spiritual, an interesting dichotomy. (3/)

(Page 4) Sam mentions his brother Phil, "the smartest man [he] ever knew" yet "talking to him now is like barking back to a dog." Much later, Phil would be introduced to Hulk fans as Madman, in Huk #363 as Phil & 364 as Madman. (4/)

Madman was killed by his brother in Thunderbolts (2013) #6 & last mentioned being in Mephisto's hell in #32. Why he wasn't in TOBA's hell or even resurrected is a good question.

Re: "Gamma Bomb Test Goes Wrong" headline - did Sam become Leader before Banner became Hulk? (5/)

(Page 5) Hulk & Leader's 1st battle was in TTA #62-74, where also were introduced his minions, the robotic, rubbery Humanoids. Leader's monologue here shows a similar attitude to Lee's original version, wanting to study Hulk & make him his ally. (6/)

(Page 6-7) Leader's 1st shown death is from TTA #74 where he wore the Ultimate Machine stolen from the Watcher's home on the moon. Guess who he sees after his "death"? (7/)

(Page 8) In parallel to Avengers #684 page 4, again and again the Leader is resurrected. Hulk & Samson watched the Leader be atomized in Hulk #225; the Leader plunged into lava in the past in Hulk #284. Leader would of course attribute his resurrections to his superior mind. (8/)

(Page 9) Having lost his powers & intellect, locked within his own lair per flashback in Hulk #331, Sam schemes a plan. Will be be smarter when he regains his power? (9/)

(Page 10) Regaining his powers and gaining a Jiffy-Pop head in Hulk #332, Leader schemes to create more Gamma beings. This is the Middletown disaster in Hulk #340-346, wherein he created Jailbait, Hotshot, Ogress, Omnibus and Soul Man. (10/)

Side note: Jailbait & Hotshot both died through some prodding by The One Below All in Immortal Hulk #3. Coincidence? (11/)

(Page 11) Leader used Soul Man to resurrect Rick Jones' girlfriend Marlo Chandler in Hulk #397-400.

Side note #2: Rick & Leader were mentally linked as in Hulk #332 Leader drained Gamma from Rick (who'd become a Hulk) to power his return. (12/)

(Page 12) The Hulk killed the Leader in Hulk #400. His soul was shown to be possessing Omnibus (Burt) in Hulk #436-442, having him mentally control members of the army including Matthew Talbot for unknown reasons. (13/)

(Page 13) Burt/Omnibus was left on the Arctic tundra by Hotshot, Jailbait & the rest of the Leader's society in Freehold & subsequently mauled by a polar bear. He couldn't convince them he was controlled by the Leader. He returned in Hulk (1999) #30-32. "Spiral Staircase" (14/)

The Leader built the body you see on this page & had Banner help him commit suicide. Interesting callout: he tells Banner in #31, "I'm not God, Bruce. Not yet." The dialogue on the page is all from #31 as the Leader "dies" and enters the realm of TOBA. (15/)

(Page 14) In Hulk (1999) #32 Ant-Man goes inside the Hulk to administer the cure for a genetic disease ravaging his body. (The cure, given Hulk by Leader, involves Brian Banner's DNA. Hmmm.) Hulk's body seizes, his mental plane in shambles when the Leader renews contact. (16/)

The dialogue here is the same, right down to Banner's refusal to aid. But it's only because Bruce is dealing with his own quite critical struggle to survive, and really isn't anything personal. Sad that the Leader can't see that. (17/)

(Page 15) Leader returns to life & renews his acquaintance with MODOK as seen in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha. Together they transform "Thunderbolt" Ross into Red Hulk as seen in Hulk (2008) #23. Ross drains the Gamma from the Leader, turning him back to Sam Sterns in Hulk #24. (18/)

(Page 16-panel 1) The Leader became Red Leader in Thunderbolts (2013) #2. He made a deal with Mephisto in #20, then betrayed his teammates, reneged on the deal and was sent to Mephisto's hell for it in Thunderbolts #32. (19/)

(p2) Red Leader was next seen having "taken a turn with the occult" & encountered the Hulk's Doc Green persona in Hulk (2014) #13. Green depowered him, but thanks to an evil Banner-based AI called Gammon, he soon became his old green self. Here we learn Gammon's final fate. (20/)

(p3) She-Hulk was killed by Thanos in Civil War II #1 though everyone thought she was just comatose. Leader encountered the gray-skinned She-Hulk in She-Hulk (2018) #159-161. He gave Gamma to obsessed fan Robyn Meiser Malt and tried to get She-Hulk to kill her. He failed. (21/)

(Page 17) Dr. Alba was the Weapon X scientist with whom Leader aligned during the Wolverines miniseries (Hulk/Wolverine/Weapon H team-up). Next we see the final moments of Immortal Hulk #25 where Leader intercepted Par%l's message. Now we know whose side he's on. (22/)

And nothing more need be said. If you've taken the time to read through all of this, you have my congratulations! Can't wait to see how the cliffhanger & everything we saw this issue feeds into the rest of the series. Keep on Hulkin'! (23/23)

LATE POSTSCRIPT:

The Leader's tale brings another recurring theme to Ewing's Immortal Hulk: the union of science and magic/mysticism/spirituality. That's a throughline in the tragic journey of Sam Sterns. Take a look at Puck's narration from Immortal Hulk #13, attached. (24/24)