"Clancy Brown's Red Hulk: A glimpse of Wolf's future in Gargoyles?"
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Hi, it's HeJaWolf (Hector)! If you're new, welcome to my blog, HeJaWolf's Shenanigans, where I discuss various topics regarding movies, TV shows, games, anything that catches my interest. Last time, I discussed X-Men '97, and what I thought about its potential future. For today, it's another Marvel animated show, but not as recent, and it's none other than Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. For anyone who doesn't remember, Agents of S.M.A.S.H. was one of the Disney produced Marvel animated shows that aired on Disney XD, which was set in the same universe as Ultimate Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers Assemble! Regarding the overall plot of the show, it focuses on Hulk and his team known as S.M.A.S.H. (Don't ask what it stands for, they don't go into it for some reason), which consists of A-Bomb, She-Hulk, Skaar, and Red Hulk, saving the world and stopping supervillains, one city and planet at a time, to not only help other people, but to show that they're not the monsters that the media paints them out to be. To prove their heroics, A-Bomb makes a web-series, using these drones to document their actions and such, along with the help of some heroes, like Spider-Man, Wolverine, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.
Going into the series, I wasn't fond of this particular era of the Marvel cartoons. I wasn't one of the people online yelling how horrible they were, but it was clear I wasn't into it as Avengers Assemble seemed childish from what I remember (I only saw the pilot and yeah, it wasn't great from what I recall), and Ultimate Spider-Man, while somewhat enjoyable (I do recall liking it, but mainly because I love Spider-Man as he's one of my favorite characters and superheroes ever), wasn't as compelling as other animated Spider-Man cartoons, especially the 90s series, and Spectacular Spider-Man. However, I decided to give Hulk a go, which I will go into the reason why for a bit, and to my surprise, it was entertaining. The show reminds me of Batman The Brave and the Bold, where the titular hero (heroes in this case) teams up with various other heroes, as well as the various 80s cartoons, like He-Man, with how silly and cheesy it can be, though occasionally takes time to be serious when necessary. The show was easy to watch as the show has an easy to follow narrative, as well as using recaps, has some decent animation, the show uses the many Marvel characters and elements in exciting ways, there's some great episodes, all of the voice acting is solid, and there's some good morals and messages for the audience to take away from each episode. It has some issues here and there, like certain storylines and episodes needing to be more fleshed out, and some of the humor not being great (there's some toilet humor that I could have done without), but despite that, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is overall an enjoyable series.
Regardless of my hesitation, why did I give the show a chance? Five words: Clancy Brown as Red Hulk! For any of you who don't know, Clancy Brown is one of my favorite actors who I always enjoy seeing, or hearing in this case, so when I heard he was voicing Red Hulk/Thunderbolt Ross, I couldn't help but be excited since he was one of the leads, and the idea of Clancy in that role was perfect since he usually plays the tough sergeant type characters in various movies and shows, and Ross is one, so it was excellent casting! Not to mention Clancy is a talented man with range, and makes anything he is in better, as he's voiced Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob, Lex Luthor in the various Superman and DC cartoons, Savage Oppress in Star Wars The Clone Wars, and in one of my favorite roles of his, Wolf from Gargoyles (he also voiced Hakon and Tomas Brod). And I am happy to report that not only is he great in the show, he's the best thing about it!
General Thunderbolt Ross is a major antagonist of the Incredible Hulk comics and various adaptations, who tries to capture the Hulk/Bruce Banner in order to steal his power, though not for the good of his country, but to weaponize it. He wanted the power of Hulk so badly that later on after many failed attempts to capture the Hulk, he decides to go through the process that transformed Bruce into Hulk, albeit in a different manner, and becomes the Red Hulk with all of his abilities, along with the ability of being hotter the angrier he becomes. He goes after Hulk for a while but has a change of heart and decides to become a force for good, fighting alongside Hulk and his allies. However, he still retains some toxic qualities, like being self-centered, constantly trying to prove that he's the best at everything, especially fighting, and always wanting situations to go his own way. Despite his faults, Ross does own up to his mistakes, and legit cares for his teammates, but wants to be seen as the tough guy with no noticeable weaknesses whatsoever.
The writing for him is fantastic, and the way Clancy Brown voiced Red Hulk is amazing, as he injects a lot of charm, energy, humor, and this testosterone-fueled attitude to his performance, but when it's needed, he does bring in the nuance and depth when necessary, as Red Hulk has quite a bit of baggage due to his previous encounters with Hulk and other characters! Not to mention it sounds like Clancy was having a great time in the recording booth. What particularly caught my attention though was his similarities to another character Clancy played, which is none other than one of my favorite characters ever, Wolf from Gargoyles! For no one who knows, Wolf is a character who is part of the team, The Pack, who loves a good challenge as he tries to show off he's the toughest but keeps getting one upped by Goliath (the main character of the show), so in order to compensate that, he undergoes a transformation into a werewolf of sorts (without the use of a full moon). And while not directly stated, it's implied that he has some major insecurities on his masculinity and more.
The number of similarities between Red Hulk and Wolf is astounding, as both start out as normal human beings who are somewhat on top of the game, they are jealous of their rivals' strengths, leading them to fight said hero, undergoes a transformation to even the odds, and has an ego, constantly bragging on how they're best and can handle anything, no matter what it is.
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What also made me resonate with Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Red Hulk's role in it is that it shows what a potential storyline for a redeemed Wolf could look like in future Gargoyles storylines, whether it would be presented in the new comics or a revival akin to X-Men '97. As of writing this, Wolf has yet to be given a redemption arc, but the new Gargoyles comics have delved more into his character, and while there are no signs of it yet, we get a clue on how Wolf was raised, and all I will say is it explains why Wolf is the way he is currently. We'll have to see where this goes, but while Wolf has his issues and is clearly toxic, he isn't evil, just horribly misguided, so the idea of seeing him come to terms with himself and paving the way for a better future would be beautiful and give Wolf a happy ending, which he really needs.
Hypothetically, if or when Wolf deals with his insecurities and gets his redemption, he joins the Redemption Squad. The Redemption Squad is a team akin to the Suicide Squad from DC but set in the Gargoyles universe where it focuses on a team of former criminals who are trying to redeem themselves by fighting various threats. The team consists of Hunter, Yama, Fang, Matrix, and Dingo, who was a former member of the Pack who had a friendship with Wolf until they sadly had a falling out in the Gargoyles episode, Upgrade. With one of the former members of the Pack being a part of the team, it makes that idea of Wolf joining the team interesting due to its potential drama. I imagine with Red Hulk's role in the Hulk series, it would be how Wolf acts. Determined, rough, kind of a bully, but when the right time comes, he will show what a team player he is and cares more than what he leads on.
After watching Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Red Hulk's role in the series, as well as being a massive fan of Wolf, the idea of Wolf getting a redemption of sorts makes me really excited, and I really hope Greg Weisman (the creator of Gargoyles) goes in that direction. I'm uncertain if it will go in that direction, but I hope it does. And to further add to my points, I'll leave a link to a friend of mine's post he did on Wolf who inspired me to start my blog, as his piece on Wolf is amazing and made a lot of compelling points regarding Wolf's characteristics and a potential redemption arc. Please check them out, as he did an amazing job on those pieces. Hope you enjoyed my piece regarding Red Hulk and Wolf and stay tuned for more shenanigans to come. As for what it will be? We'll see what happens next.
Link to Syd's Wolf pieces:
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