Superheroes make stories super exciting. Sometimes, storytellers go way beyond to make it work. And this is exactly what has happened when Hulk’s psychiatrist, Dr. Samson retells the story of Hanukkah. He claims that the Avengers are there.
Dr. Samson is a good psychiatrist of Bruce Banner. He is also the recipient of a gamma experiment that has infused in him the superhuman strength along with green hair. He is a supporting character in The Incredible Hulk. His character has been developed by Peter David. According to him, Dr. Samson is one of Marvel’s Jewish Superheroes.
This has inspired David to compose a story of “Revisionist History” for Marvel Holiday Special 1993. Here, Dr. Samson tours his old school where he tells the story of Hanukkah. Though, things have not gone the way they were planned.
Samson’s story starts out in a conventional way where he explains how a group of Jews i.e. the Maccabees were battling their autocrats in Judea. Nonetheless, the kids begin peppering Samson with issues about how the Maccabees can be deemed soldiers without guns. Baffled, Samson modifies his tale. He tells the children that the Maccabees had big guns that could bring down the buildings. This has resulted in the story’s artist to unexpectedly redraw the slender Maccabees as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Hanukkah Miracle Is The Human Torch
Things have got crazier. Dr. Samson strives to tell the children about the Jews’ oppressor Antiochus IV. One kid asks if Antiochus was similar to Doctor Doom. Samson acknowledges that Antiochus IV was, in fact, the Avengers’ automated adversary Ultron. Also, he gives Antiochus IV a battalion of terrible devils from “Heck” who go on to overcome the city of Judea.
Entirely tossing belief and chronology out of the window, he commences snatching from other comic book companies to claim that Judea looked like a Krypton. As the children get more into the tale, Samson puts in that Captain America, Wolverine, and the Hulk have fought along with the Maccabees in the war. He enlarges the story by telling that Captain America has brought out Goliath with his shield.
Now kids have started adding their own thoughts to the story. They have started claiming that the person responsible for the Hanukkah miracle is the Human Torch. They have thoughts of Human Torch who has hidden under the lamp so as to light it. When they begin alleging the Torch is accountable for Moses’ burning bush. At this point, Samson loses it and educates the kids the story again in a frightening fashion.
Kids persist in enquiring about the Jewish kid’s not getting Santa Claus. Samson claims that Antiochus IV has murdered Santa by dropping an anvil on him. This has caused the whole class to start yelling. He asks the teacher if she would like to call him for the leftover story, and the teacher kicks him out of the school.
This story is based on Peter David’s Hebrew School days. Nor always the superheroes mix well with conventional heroes.
