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I'm delving into several of the new Marvel Now! titles currently, notably Indestructible Hulk, which has not disappointed. With S.H.I.E.L.D. unable to pin the Hulk down, it's obsessed Director Maria Hill is surprised to see Dr. Banner show up in an Alabama diner, offering a bargain out of their stalemate. Banner has come to realize that the Hulk is virtually indestructible, and there is no cure for his transformation into the gamma-driven beast. But if that rage could be harnessed in service of S.H.I.E.L.D., they might provide Banner with the necessary environment to work on the things that can be fixed, solving scientific problems for the betterment of mankind and perhaps making up for all the damage he's done.
The dialogue is great between Banner & Director Hill, Banner's frustration with his situation, and jealousy of Tony Stark being thought of as a hero, while he is labeled as a monster. There's an ego at play here, with a complicated psyche and a short fuse. He reveals to Hill his knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plan to raid the Mad Thinker's nearby bunker, offering the Hulk's services in place of what he knows to be a trap set up by the mastermind villain.
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Director Hill accepts Banner's last minute offer for an "audition", and the indestructible Hulk surprised the unsuspecting villain, who launches a counter attack with his enormously powerful tech.
The Mad Thinker had mistakenly underestimated the exponentially unlimited power of the Green Goliath, who withstood beams that melted adamantium, tearing the armored battle armor apart. Director Hill pulled the defeated Mad Thinker and Banner from the rubble after the roof fell in, hiring the scientist on the spot. "I've decided I'd rather you for S.H.I.E.L.D. than against us. Come with me and let's get the paperwork started." "Thanks", coughs Banner, "You won't regret it."
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Indestructible Hulk #2 finds Tony Stark paying S.H.I.E.L.D. a visit, surprised by a notably different Dr. Banner working away on various miracle projects. Sent into the field for test run on one of Banner's projects, a condescending Stark sets the frustrated scientist's transformation off while tinkering with his equipment.
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A spectacular battle in the snowy Himalayas ensues, but the Hulk unexpectedly saves Iron Man at the last minute, pushing the hero away from the overloading gamma-fracking instrument right before it explodes...
The two exhausted men retire to a warm mountain resort to argue their ideologies concerning applied science over dinner, but Tony excuses himself to take a call from Director Hill, requesting he transport Banner to Montana where a situation is underway... to be continued in issue #2 of Indestructible Hulk! The artwork and dialogue are superb on this new book- if you aren't reading it, I'd recommend you start. Read Colin Smith's exhaustive summation of this new series on Too Busy Thinking About My Comics- he was less enthusiastic about the art than myself, complaining of restricted range of emotion moving the character's through the story. I understand his critique of artist Leinil Yu's sometimes unreadable body language and facial expression, but it's beautiful to look at. I will continue following this...
More Later- Make It FUN!
Good to see they are still using the old Mad Thinker. Last time I read a story with him was in Amazing spiderman 242.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I really love the direction that this is going in, as well as the humor and personalities in it. I know people look at the art a lot, but honestly I've come to see the artist as less important than the writer, considering how quickly artists hop books these days. It's a shame, but it is what it is. =( Still, this book looks excellent and looking forward to MANY more.
ReplyDeleteThe writing in this series definitely has me intrigued--and I'm really not finding the artwork terrible by any stretch. So often I go back and forth over which part of a comics story--writing or artwork--is more important to me. I've read stories where the writing falls far short of the amazing images that tell the story--and by contrast, I've seen artwork that just isn't up to the quality of the writing at all. In either of those cases, it's the story itself that has to salvage the issue for me. As long as the concept is interesting to me, it can go a long way toward making me overlook writing shortcomings or phoned-in artwork.
DeleteI guess that's why only a few stories are stand-outs for we readers, eh? I mean, if the writing and/or artwork were always balanced in quality, we'd probably have a lot of trouble narrowing down our favorites. :)
Now this sounds like a cool read!
ReplyDeleteI have been with the Hulk from way way back in the 70s and have seen many of his transformations but this is one of the freshest takes on the character that I have seen in a long time. I like when Banner is not such a weakling. The art is fantastic on this series too.
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