Complete Marvel Reading Order News and Reviews

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #605

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Ariel Olivetti

Published: February 2010

The Incredible Hulk #605 marks the conclusion of Bruce Banner’s life lessons for his son. Not that Skaar has learned anything much, but things are going to have to come to a conclusion on that front due to the upcoming Fall of the Hulks storyline.

This time around, Banner and Skaar find themselves teleporting into New York City to fight off an invasion from the Mole Man, who always seems kind enough to pose his monsters in an homage to the cover of the first issue of Fantastic Four. But it turns out that the Mole Man is not out to actually conquer the world, but rather to offer the allegiance of his monsters to Skaar.

The Mole Man’s latest army is composed of creatures that were aboard the Hulk’s stone ship when he attacked New York in World War Hulk. Those monsters then bow down to Skaar, who they see as their true master. Banner definitely seems to have predicted this, apparently wanting to see if Skaar can follow the path of good when offered a chance to destroy. Banner also seems to have foreseen an attack from Tyrannus, the Mole Man’s rival and one of the Hulk’s oldest foes. In fact, Banner seems so unsurprised by the entire turn of events that Reed Richards is left worrying that he might have put millions of lives in danger just so he could deliver a teachable moment to his son.

In the end, Skaar rejects the allegiance of the monsters from Sakaar, killing them and wounding Tyrannus. Both Tyrannus and the Mole Man are sent packing, and Skaar is hailed by New Yorkers as a hero. The world is now ready to meet the new Hulk. But is Skaar ready for the old Hulk’s return?

The backup story concludes Lyra’s tale as she defeats the remainder of General Ryker’s goons. She manages to use trickery, allowing the enemy to absorb her powers and then using psychological warfare to make her angry. Absorbing Lyra’s power also means absorbing Lyra’s weakness, which means that anger makes her weaker. Lyra wins the day. And Ryker decides to back off for now. The story ends with a mystery person making Lyra a proposition, but we’ll have to wait for the Fall of the Hulks event to find out who this person is.

The backup story never really offered much in the way of surprises, but was never all that bad and allowed Lyra to strut her stuff. The main story is admittedly another in a series of seemingly random comic book battles, but it has a point to it and is overall extremely fun. There’s a lot of good humor and some nice bantering between Banner and his son. And the promise of the return of the real Hulk is something to look forward to. The art here is a bit uneven due to Ariel Olivetti and Paul Pelletier splitting chores once again. I don’t know if it’s the inking or not, but something about Pelletier’s pencils don’t seem to work well here. Regardless, The Incredible Hulk #605 is another very good entry in a very entertaining series. Hopefully that will continue as we plunge into the Fall of the Hulks event.

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #603

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Ariel Olivetti

Published: December 2009

The Incredible Hulk #603 brings Skaar face to face with the other son of a well-known Marvel character, Daken. The issue has some interesting implications about both Skaar and Banner, while revealing a larger threat.

Why Wolverine showed up popping his claws last issue is anybody’s guess. I suppose he just wanted to look cool for the last page. It turns out he’s there to talk to Skaar, but gets soundly trounced. Skaar leaps off and winds up confronting Daken in a bar. Back at the comic shop where the fight started, Wolverine warns Banner that Daken has set a trap for Skaar, but Banner reveals that he’s the one who tipped Daken off and set it. Banner also reveals that his shields can be diverted for offensive use, and he winds up blasting Wolverine around before the pair sit down and scout out what’s going on between Daken and Skaar.

Daken has apparently stopped trying to kill Wolverine, and Banner claims that he wants Skaar to learn a thing or two from that. But is that really his master plan? We’re not totally sure, since Banner himself is being particularly evasive lately. What is definitely not part of his master plan is when Skaar transforms into his smaller self and asks Daken to kill him. Banner and Wolverine join the fray, but with the Murasama blade that disables healing factors, Daken is able to get the upper hand on Skaar and nearly kill him.

It’s Banner who stops the fight by threatening to kill Wolverine in retaliation. Neither Daken nor Wolverine buys that Banner is a killer, but Banner reveals a bit about his past that changes their mind. Back in the 1990s, Peter David wrote Incredible Hulk -1, which revealed that Banner had accidentally killed his father. But this coupled with Greg Pak’s revelation in World War Hulk that the Hulk had never accidentally killed somebody suggests something darker about Banner: if Banner can run all the numbers and prevent the Hulk from killing, that means he must have killed his father on purpose. As Banner concludes, “Maybe the real reason I became the Hulk…was to protect the world from Banner.”

The bluff works, and Banner and Skaar leave the scene. All the while, though, they are being watched by the Leader, who seems to be healthy again and plotting something of his own.

Our backup story continues Lyra’s fight against super-foes created by General Ryker. We get a little bit of background on the program, and things spill over into a local town. This story is progressing slowly, but it’s also letting Lyra strut her stuff in the combat department, so it’s at least a decent way to build up a new superhero and introduce her to an audience who may not know who she is.

The first two issues of Greg Pak’s return were a lot of fun, but this issue is the one that really gets the character development rolling again. Even without the Hulk, we find that Banner is a dangerous man, possibly more dangerous than the monster inside him. Although Paul Pelletier shares the art duties here with Ariel Olivetti and they both have very different styles, the transitions are done smoothly enough that they don’t distract from the story. With an interesting character arc and now a bigger villain on the scene, this story is a great way to shift Greg Pak’s return to the title into higher gear.

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #601

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Ariel Olivetti

Published: October 2009

The Incredible Hulk #601 brings Greg Pak back to writing duties on the character, and it is a welcome reunion. During his previous run on the title, he dealt mostly with the Hulk and very little with Banner. So how does he fare when the tables are turned and Banner is around without the Hulk? Terrifically.

This issue picks up after the red Hulk drained the gamma energy out of Bruce Banner, removing his ability to transform. Without the shadow of the monster inside looming over him, Banner is free to be more aggressive. He’s also using his genius-level intellect quite a bit, and is now walking around with a bag full of super-tech. He showcases his new personality on the subway heading into New York City, where he witnesses an abusive father and within moments hacks his cell phone to learn everything about the man. Even as a puny scientist, Banner can be intimidating, and threatens to smash the abuser if he ever raises a hand in anger against his son again. Thus we see that even with the Hulk physically gone, he still has a presence in this book.

Kids are a touchy subject for Banner, largely because he had a very abusive father himself. With his son Skaar walking the world, he seems to want to do some parental bonding with the boy. After retrieving some of the Hulk’s weaponry from World War Hulk, he lures Skaar into a fight with a robot he designed to withstand nuclear explosions. Banner’s stated objective is to teach Skaar the skills he needs to learn to kill the Hulk when he comes back. To start the training off, he picks a fight with the Juggernaut.

This issue is a breath of fresh air after the long dry spell since Pak’s departure. He gets right into the groove of things very easily, giving us a Bruce Banner who is more assertive and proactive than ever before but who still feels like the scientist that was introduced way back in 1962. It’s especially great that Pak remembered that Banner is one of the smartest men in the world and an inventor who could give Reed Richards a run for his money. It’s even better that he knows about Banner’s abused childhood and plans to tie that into Bruce’s relationship with Skaar.

In addition to outstanding writing from Greg Pak, Ariel Olivetti’s art is very good in this issue. While his style might not be for everybody, it fits the story that is being told right now. Olivetti also makes sure to make Banner look truly puny. No colorist is listed in the credits, so I’m going to gamble and guess that Olivetti might have done this work himself. If so, then he also deserves credit for making Banner’s normally brown eyes a bright shade of green, emphasizing that the Hulk is not so far beneath the surface.

Our backup story deals with Lyra, the new She-Hulk, as she seeks out the missing Jen Walters, who disappeared in the previous issue. Lyra is lured into a trap by some foes whose powers resembles those of the Hulk’s rogues gallery. The mastermind behind all of this is General Ryker, an old Hulk foe who last appeared in World War Hulk: Gamma Corps. This is an interesting backup with a good premise, and it will be nice to see how Lyra develops from here on out.

The Incredible Hulk #601 is a great start to a new story, bringing us a new Banner and an interesting new direction. It’s one of the best single issues of the Hulk somebody can get, even if the Hulk himself doesn’t appear. Among all other things, this issue really emphasizes that even if he doesn’t transform, Bruce Banner is still the Incredible Hulk.