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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #28, by Al Ewing, Tom Reilly, Matias Bergara, Chris O'Halloran, VC's Cory Petit and Alex Ross, on sale now.

Marvel comics are said to reflect the "world outside your window," although the degree to which the publisher has ever fully succeeded varies, often creating a question as to where that window is located as well as what it looks out upon.However, this idea of reflecting the world in which readers live also means, like in any other medium, providing relevant social commentary. The most recent issues of The Immortal Hulk reflect that "world outside your window" by approaching the political and social discourses surrounding such hot-button subjects as climate change, corporations and the news media, and the book is all the better for it.

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The Immortal Hulk#26 seesBruce Banner announcing his intention to attack the main entities exacerbating major societal problems, and often profiting off of the very issues they create. His goal is to provide real consequences for the injustices of corporations and other organizations. In his monologue,Banner mentionsclimate change, and the way the actions of particular entities creates a loop that trades results in destruction for short-term gain. There's no ambiguity here: Bruce's world is dying because of the actions of predatory members of the economic elite -- and so is ours, with 100 companies responsible for the majority of the emissions that place Earth at risk.

Hulk's first target is -- and this isn't a coincidence -- Roxxon Energy Corporation. The company is led byDario Agger, who in The Immortal Hulk#27 explicitly explains that he actively moved Roxxon away from renewable energy when he became CEO. However, this isn't due to the villain thinking climate change isn't real. Instead, Aggerbelieves the science about climate change, but he plans to profit off of the resulting "resource war." There's an advantagein destroying the world.

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Agger is certainly an exaggeration of a CEO who prioritizes profit over the greater good (although when the science is as irrefutable as it is in regard to climate change, the choice to ignore reality in favor of profits is certainly not much different). However, he's an expression of present anxieties and frustrations about the ultra rich and the CEOs of massive companies and whether they're doing enough to save our world.

In The Immortal Hulk#27, Agger explains he won't be hiding his true form anymore, remarking nobody will care that he's literally a monster. People also seem to have forgotten Aggersided against humanity in the War of the Realms. For Agger, there are no consequences for publicly being a monster. Roxxon's stock price is actually rising when the story begins, meaning Agger is making more money than he was before. Even though the CEO behind the company is a literal monster, people continue consuming Roxxon's products and services, which include Roxx News, YouRoxx and RoxxFace. Like in Hulk's explanation, there are no consequences for Agger's actions to enrich himself at the expense of others.

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As those aforementioned names imply, Roxxon itself is a composite sketch of various corporations, including Fox News, Google and Facebook. The critique of these three organizations are particularly important for understanding how Immortal Hulk explores the role media places in further perpetuating broken systems. Fox News is often critiqued as something of an uncritical mouthpiece for conservative views and claims; Google owns YouTube, which hosts videos linked to increasing alt-rightradicalization;Facebook has come under fire for its handling of disinformation and fake news spread on the platform. These organizations have failed to take steps to address these issues in earnest, in part because there's money to be made from not doing so. And the effects are clear:Fox News is still one of the most-watched cable brands in North America, Facebook reported record profitsdespite controversyand YouTube has 2 billion monthly users.

The Immortal Hulk#26 and #27 lay the groundwork for understanding the larger system, but #28 takes a more ground-level approach in showing how the aforementioned media organizations affect people. The Immortal Hulk #28 explores the story of a white, middle-aged security guard. His story draws on conservative, if not specifically alt-right, understandings of the world, which are a result of a steady diet of Roxxon's various media products. The security guard believes his purpose is to take back his country "for our children," even if that means taking it back from them when they choose to protest what they find wrong in the world.

The media the security guard consumes shapes his understanding of himself as right and righteous, while those who disagree with him as wrong and, in this case, worshipers of the devil. In turn, the security guard's views remain unchallenged, and he's unable to see the problems with his own beliefs, Roxxon's behavior and the general issues plaguing his world. By reinforcing his views and ideas, Roxxon has effectively created support for its attempts to profit off of disaster.

The Immortal Hulk#28 also explores the idea of dissent getting repackaged and undermined for the sake of profit.Before heading off to get his own Hulk, one of Dario Agger's lackeys reveals that Roxxon is actually using a shell company to sell Hulk masks with the intent of eventually leaking the company's involvement and the environmentally unstable nature of the masks so as to "dampen enthusiasm with the 12-18s." Here, Roxxonis actually planning to make money off attempts to protest while simultaneously undermining those working against them and for a better world.

However, don't mistake The Immortal Hulk's critique as a simple oneof good versus evil.Immortal Hulk has never shied away from graphically rendering the horror of the title hero's actions, making readers wonder if he has, in fact, become too brutal, and the book isn't starting now. Plus, the entire arc has the events ofImmortal Hulk#25, which sees Hulk as the Breaker of Worlds laying waste to the universe, priming readers to wonderjust how far his rampage, left unchecked, could go.

Most importantly, The Immortal Hulk#26 features a conversation between Amadeus Cho and Bannerexamining whether the latter's destructive plansare correct, and if he'd transformed from hero to villain. Cho serves as the voice of hope, believing that there are other potential ways to make the world better. The intersection of Banner's race and rage also play a role in the conversation, as it has in previous entries in the run. Although Banner's rage is a powerful tool, the aforementioned security guard is also angry. That doesn't mean he's right or that his attempts to make a better world mean one will come about. Amadeus subtly warns Bruce to check his privilege in how he's approaching his next endeavor, as he's "an angry middle-class white guy talking about revolution. That doesn't always end so well."

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However, Amadeus never says Bruce is wrong in his evaluation of how corporations are destroying the world. This conversation doesn't change the fact that what Roxxon is doing is wrong or that destructive, self-perpetuating systems are risking everyone on Earth for profit. This then leaves the question of how best to fix the problem which, if left unchecked, will lead to catastrophe. Bruce's experience reflects the frustration so many feel about watching the world around them collapse and feeling powerless to act, which is why Hulk's actions inspire a new Teen Brigade: The young and disaffectedfinally have someone who can dosomething about the problem.Immortal Hulkwants readers to question the title character and his methods while making the problem he's addressing clear and unambiguous.

The Immortal Hulkis engaging with some of the most difficult questions about the future of humanity and how to fix problems that threaten everyone.As new issues release,there will certainly be twists and turns that further complicate Bruce's quest and the politics of the book. All of this works together to create an urgent book reflecting some of the biggest anxieties of the world of its readers. Thisalso leaves one major question: When the system can only be fixed through radical intervention, does Hulk have any other choice?

The Immortal Hulk #29 releases Jan. 8, 2020.

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Immortal Hulk Is Unabashedly Political - and That's What Makes It Great - CBR - Comic Book Resources