'Planet Hulk' was one of the most amazing storylines I had ever read. So why have I been delayed reading the 'World War Hulk' aftermath and its numerous tie-ins? The truth is that I still haven't completed my run on those. But I am planning on doing a large dump for books I no longer want (and hope to trade for new stuff). This collection of issues of the Incredible Hulk (#106-111) set during the Hulk's revenge on the Illuminati for killing his wife and child on Sakaar doesn't even focus on the mean green machine. He's more of a secondary character here. Instead, it's more like the Amadeus Cho show. And I hate Amadeus Cho.
Or at least, I did.
I wasn't a fan of when Cho became the Totally Awesome Hulk. My dislike wasn't the he was Asian. Nor did I care that he was, albeit temporarily, replacing Bruce Banner. I felt that his brashness mixed with awkward interaction as a new superhero was too much like Rick Jones. So much that I really wondered why didn't they just use Rick Jones for this?
Amadeus Cho is supposed to be like the third smartest person on the planet. So why was he so stupid as a Hulk? He was able to keep his personality, unlike Banner who often is unable to maintain mental control during his changes. Yet despite being a MENSA on steroids, the Totally Awesome Cho was a total meathead compared to his supposed genius. That opinion of the character all changed in this book.
Far from being hulkified, this Cho is rather brilliant. Frightengly brilliant. Amadeus learned the truth behind the Hulk's disappearance and feels that the Hulk's desire for revenge is justified. However, to prevent further bloodshed, Cho bought a million acres in the middle of New Mexico and created a sanctuary for the Hulk; guaranteed to keep away those annoying humans! Too bad Cho used his super brain to rob X-Man Warren Worthington's mega sized bank account to find the project.
Cho's theft prompts Hercules and the Angel to confront the teen. And with proof in hand, Amadeus is able to swing them onto his side, meaning the trio is now in violation of the Superhero Registration Act. With SHIELD and the Illuminati on their tail, Cho and his new allies must make it to the war zone that is Manhattan and convince the Hulk to accept the teen's offer of sanctuary without exacting retribution for the death of millions of his people on Sakaar.
After the events of this book, the title changed from the Incredible Hulk to the Incredible Hercules. Here's where things get confusing. If the cover to this trade tie-in to 'World War Hulk' is to be believed, it was as published as Incredible Hercules. But all 5 issues that are collected here were originally published as issues of Incredible Hulk. Assume either and you would be wrong as the credits attribute this book as being published as merely Hulk.
I had waited all this time thinking this was the beginning of the Hercules run, which assumed the numbering of the Hulk series for 30 issues. In a way, that's all very true. But if you're trying to collect the entire run, you're going be running in circles with Marvel's maddening way of categorizing and numbering titles as they've done this to at least 6 other 'World War Hulk' tie-ins including a collection of X-Men issues.
I really liked the writing of Greg Pak, which is ironic because he also wrote the Totally Awesome Hulk series of which I was not a fan. Maybe it deserves a second look. Above all, I definitely want to read Pak's Incredible Hercules series, which if it's only half as fun as the contents of this book, I am in for a treat. Let's just hope those books aren't collected under the title of The Avengers or something to that effect or I'll never find them...
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment