by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer
Incredible Hulk
Issue #108
Written by Greg Pak, Art by Leonard Kirk
Published: September 2007
Despite being the title character, the Hulk doesn’t get much more than a cameo in The Incredible Hulk #108. Taking place between the pages of World War Hulk #2 and World War Hulk #3, this story is not really about the Hulk, nor is it about Amadeus Cho, whose team of Renegades have effectively taken over the Hulk’s book for the duration of the World War Hulk event. Instead, this story is about two of the Hulk’s closest friends: Rick Jones, the boy who is responsible for the Hulk’s creation, and Miek, the bug-like alien who was the Hulk’s first friend on the planet Sakaar.
The first half of this issue is almost entirely narration, with Rick and Miek each getting narrative boxes that explain their relationship with the Hulk. Rick, being a good-hearted human driven by guilt over what his foolhardy actions did to Bruce Banner, has always been the Hulk’s friend, even when the Hulk himself lashed out, including smacking him around in his early appearances and accidentally breaking Rick’s back in the 1990s. Miek, on the other hand, grew up on a harsh alien planet where only the cruel and strong survived. His relationship of the Hulk is one seeking eternal strife, as he points out all the times during Planet Hulk where the Hulk almost walked away and tried to be left alone, only to have Miek bring him back to the fight. There is a very ominous tone here as Miek shows that he has not learned a lesson of heroism from the Hulk, but one of vengeance and rage.
The story finally breaks out of the past when some SHIELD agents find Rick and tell him that they need him to help calm the Hulk down. Unfortunately, some of Miek’s hivelings find the agents and attack, killing them. This marks the first time in World War Hulk that some of the Hulk’s allies have taken human life, and also stands out as a breaking point for Miek, who attacks his own hivelings over the murder. Miek almost takes the life of one of the hivelings, but is talked down by Rick, who tells Miek that the Hulk is more than just vengeance and hatred. As friends to the Hulk, Rick tries to explain that he and Miek need to help him. Whether Miek agrees with this message is left vague, as he flies away, deciding that he will help the Hulk his way and that Rick will go about things the human way.
And that’s it. This story is pretty much the definition of filler, with nothing of substance really happening. We learn that Rick Jones is bound and determined to save the Hulk from his own rage, but we don’t find out how he got from Las Vegas in World War Hulk #1 to New York in World War Hulk #2. We are reminded once again that Miek is a darker reflection of the Hulk who has learned all the wrong lessons from his green-skinned idol. But neither of the characters really shows any arc or development, and the story is stuck in stasis between World War Hulk #2 and #3.
I suppose that this issue is written for those who might not have read Planet Hulk or who might not be familiar with Rick Jones’ role in the Hulk’s history. If that’s the case, then this issue serves as a good fill-in for what you’ve missed. But, as a filler issue, it means that those who actually do know the history of the characters won’t find much value here, and as such you’re not losing much if you decide to pass on this one while collecting the important pieces of World War Hulk.
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