I have often described the Hulk as being my “first favorite character.” I usually follow that statement up by how long it has been since I’ve enjoyed reading his comic book. Mark Waid is among my favorite writers, but I didn’t follow the “Marvel Now” series because I found the art unappealing. But now Hulk is back in a “new #1” with Waid still at the helm and Mark Bagley on art chores. Here’s what happened in issue #1…
[SPOILERS] At the end of the recently completed series (if you can refer to a series which ends on a major cliffhanger as “completed”), Bruce Banner had been shot in the head. The first issue of the new series is told from the point of view of the surgeon who has been chosen by SHIELD to save his life. But all is not as it seems. It turns out that the organization which has set out to save Banner’s life is not SHIELD, and they want the doctor to implant a device in Banner’s brain which would allow them to control the transformation and the Hulk’s behavior. The surgeon turns out to be an old colleague of Banner’s, and while he contemplates violating his Hippocratic oath by “accidentally” killing Banner on the table, the decision is taken out of his hands by the anesthesiologist, a woman whose family was once saved by the Hulk, who allows Banner to awaken during the procedure. He becomes the Hulk and saves the innocent surgical staff, but the villains escape and the Hulk disappears. Banner is found two weeks later, with his brain partially hanging out of the still open hole in his skull, now suffering from permanent brain damage. [END SPOILERS]
Waid certainly seems to have written himself into a hole straightaway. I have an idea how he might resolve it, but we shall see. I’ll be back for issue #2, certainly, but even if I end up not liking this series, Savage Hulk written and drawn by Alan Davis is waiting in the wings.
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Sounds like a cool premise! So we don't know who shot Bruce?
I don't know. Maybe those who read the previous series have some hints (but I don't think so). I bought issue #2 of this series yesterday. I'll likely add some comments to this discussion early next week. Anyone else reading it?
The second issue features the Abomination, one of my favorite villains. A couple of years ago I hosted a thread examining all of his appearances in chronological order, but I may have since missed a few of the more recent ones. The story is pretty depressing, overall. Bruce Banner is brain damaged, for one thing (as I already noted), and the small town he’s living in seems to be populated by more undercover SHIELD agents than actual residents. There are multiple factions among the agents, because no one group of them knows which ones, if any, might be rogue. The Abomination has been reconstructed from a genetic pile of goo and sent by (another?) mysterious organization to capture Banner, but the group which implanted the device in his brain controls the transformation. If Hulk is generally less intelligent than Banner, it makes one wonder what this Hulk is like. All in all, it’s a pretty dark story.
ISSUE #3: We learn some more about the organization which abducted the Hulk and sent the Abomination against him. We also learn abot the exact nature of this particular incarnation of the Abomination. The Hulk’s healing factor is healing Banner’s brain, but not his mind. This leads to a creepy scene in which Banner’s persona changes from panel to panel. Sometimes he’s a genius, sometimes he’s an idiot, sometimes he’s a partial amnesiac. The danger is, if he transforms to the Hulk during this process, it may “cement” one of these personas in place. Then he transforms. This issue ends with the coolest full page panel I have seen yet this year.
ISSUE #4: Apparently, I waited too long for Mark Waid to be paired with an artist whose style I liked, because now that Mark Bagley has four issues under his belt, Mark Waid is out the door. (I think Bagley may be gone, too, but it’s a moot point; I’m leaving with Waid in any case.) The first part of the arc has come to a conclusion, But I’m left unsatisfied on the whole.
No matter. Paul Neary’s Savage Hulk debuts this week, so look for a discussion of that title soon.
At least for now, Bagley is staying on the book with new writer Gerry Duggan.
I think you meant Alan Davis, not Paul Neary. Neary is one of Davis' frequent inkers, but I don't think he's paired with him on Savage Hulk.
What the--!?
Of course, you're right... I meant Alan Davis.