GARY SWANSON
Real Name: Gary Swanson
Identity/Class: Normal Human
Occupation: Owner and Chief Contractor of the Green Cross
Group Membership: The Green Cross
Affiliations: John Jameson, Rick Jones, Jennifer Walters (the She-Hulk)
Enemies: (indirectly) The Hulk, Leader, Abomination (amongst other gamma-spawned beasts)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Appearance: (Unnamed) Incredible Hulk II#268 (February, 1982); (named) She Hulk II#4 (March, 2006)
Powers/Abilities: Gary Swanson possesses the normal human strength of a man of his size, height and build who engages in regular exercises. As leader of the Green Cross, he has shown managerial skills and knowledge in construction.
History:
(Incredible Hulk I#1 - BTS/Incredible Hulk II#268 (fb)) - Gary Swanson was a young man who used to
run with several boys near the military base where the first gamma bomb was
exploded. He met a young juvenile named Rick Jones and dared him to sneak on to
the base to check it out. Jones's appearance near the bomb, however, startled
Dr. Bruce Banner who rushed to get him to safety. Before Banner could jump to
safety, he was bombarded with gamma waves, and the Incredible Hulk was born.
(She Hulk II#4 (fb)) - Realizing his complacency and guilt leading to the creation of the Hulk, Swanson created the Green Cross a multi-million dollar charity organization, as a counterpart to the Red Cross dedicated solely to restoring Hulk-related disaster areas.
(She Hulk II#4 (fb)) - The Green Cross appeared in Bone, Idaho devastated by the out-of-control She-Hulk although news reports had blamed the destruction on the Hulk. Among the volunteers was Mrs. Jennifer Smith, actually Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, aiding in restoration of the town out of guilt and remorse. Swanson commended Jennifer on her devotion to the project unaware of her connection to it, but as he kept an eye on her to be sure she didn't over work herself, he discovered her real identity. As Jennifer came clear on her part, Swanson came clear on his reasons for the Green cross.
(She-Hulk II#9) - While Gary was in Las Vegas to help supervise clean-up from the Hulk's recent rampage, he attended the wedding of She-Hulk and John Jameson, acting as witness. He mentioned to She-Hulk that the Green Cross would be taking a break because there hadn't been any sightings of the Hulk since the Las Vegas damage was done.
(Incredible Hercules#113 - BTS) - The Green Cross brought disaster relief assistance to the New York area following the events of World War Hulk.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, named and developed by Dan Slott and Scott Kolins
Gary Swanson seems to be one of those "apex" characters important to the development of the characters in the Marvel Universe, but have yet to be fully developed, like the burglar who killed Ben Parker or even the blind man saved by Matt Murdock (Daredevil).
Considering that the Hulk's past would have become public knowledge late into the history of the Marvel Universe, Swanson would have created the Green Cross well into his adult years.
Profile by: WillU and Prime Eternal
CLARIFICATIONS: Gary Swanson is not to be confused with:
Images:
She Hulk II#4, page 27, bottom right
She Hulk II#4, page 29, top left
Issues:
Incredible Hulk I#1 (May, 1962) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Paul Reinman (inks)
Incredible Hulk II#268 (February, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Al Milgrom (editor)
She-Hulk II#4 (March, 2006) - Dan Slott (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
She-Hulk II#9 (August, 2006) - Dan Slott (writer), Paul Smith (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Last updated: 10/08/08
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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