Current-day Hulk is weird. I mean, there’s a Red Hulk,
Hulk’s got a son, and I think Banner and Hulk got split again with Banner going
mad. I actually don’t know what was going on with that since I never read it.
Anyway, I decided to jump into current Hulk with the launched title, Indestructible Hulk. It was part of the Marvel NOW re-launch that happened
after the Avengers Vs. X-Men crossover. I found the first three issues
somewhere but I don’t know where I got them. It might have been part of some
deal, but I’m not sure. I know it wasn’t when they came out. Today, I’ll be
looking at the first issue.
I was mostly interested in seeing how this was going to be
because Mark Waid is writing the book. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been
trying to read some of his older books and more recent ones. I’ve began to like
his writing. The penciler and inker on the book is Leinil Francis Yu. The two
created had collaborated before on the awesome mini-series, Superman: Birthright.
Sunny Gho handled the colors and Chris Eliopoulos handled the letters. The book
is edited by Mark Paniccia.
Indestructible Hulk #1
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Leinel Francis Yu
Colors: Sunny Gho
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Mark Paniccia
We start out in Manchester, Alabama. SHIELD is on the search
for the Hulk again and doing other things. Maria Hill, the current director of SHIELD, decides
to take a break in one of the diners there. While she’s ordering, Bruce Banner
shows up all of the sudden. While Hill is a bit flabbergasted that Banner would
come to SHIELD, he tells what he’s been up to. After the big fight in Avengers
Vs. X-Men, Banner went into seclusion to see if he could finally rid himself of
the Hulk. He eventually realized that it was impossible to do so with the way
current technology is.
Instead of finding ways to get rid of the Hulk, Bruce
realized the Hulk can be useful to someone like SHIELD. He also wants to use
his smarts in order to help the world. He wants to be remembered for his
science, not the Hulk. For example, he shows Hill a water purification unit
he just created. Hill, of course, is pretty hesitant to the idea, so Bruce
tries to blackmail her with classified SHIELD info. He also tells here that he knows
why she is really there. It turns out that the Mad Thinker is creating some
horrible weapon in the area and SHIELD is out to get him. When he tells her
that the threat is worse than SHIELD knows, she lets him come along as a test.
You probably should have "thought" about this, Thinker!
In a warehouse, the Mad Thinker… thinks as he perfects his
powerful weapon. Suddenly, Hulk and
SHIELD operatives bust in like the Kool-Aid Man to stop the Thinker. The
Thinker uses his weapon which is some sort of mech suit. Hulk takes on the
Thinker one-on-one battle while Hill and SHIELD retreat. Thinker thinks he has the upper hand but this
the Hulk were talking about here. The building collapses from the damage. Hill
and the operatives survey the damage and find a tired Bruce under some rubble.
The issue ends with Hill telling Bruce that he’s in.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
This issue was a pretty good intro into Banner’s new
situation. In fact, I like this new status quo. Instead of constantly trying to
rid himself of the Hulk, he’s just accepted that it might not happen anytime
soon. So, he’s going to use his knowledge to help the world and have SHIELD use
the Hulk to their advantage. It really does sound like a nice deal. I do wonder
if Marvel was influenced on how Banner is in the Avengers movies because it
does seem a little similar. The story and dialogue is pretty good. It’s witty
and pretty funny.
The artwork is kind of mixed for me. I do like it but I’m
not a big fan of Yu’s work in general. I will say that this artwork is better
than his work on Secret Invasion. The scenes in the diner are pretty good. It
all feels lively especially when Bruce gets “tested” by Hill. I do wonder what
was up with that. Were they expecting him to Hulk out in that diner with all of
those folk? Oh well, it was still funny. The action scene at the end was also
pretty good and Yu’s Hulk did look awesome.
Overall, this was a
nice intro to a new status quo. I’m going to try to catch up with this series
eventually since I also enjoyed the next two issues. Next time, I’ll be going
back to the 1980’s to look at a single issue from Peter David’s long run on The
Incredible Hulk. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and don’t pester known loose
cannons in diners. It might go bad for you and your swell morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment