World War Hulks

The Incredible Hulk (2009) (Collected Editions) #3, Tie-Ins

by Jeff Parker, Harrison Wilcox, Scott Reed

The Hulks go to war! Everything Bruce Banner knows has been turned upside-down - and everything he's ever desired may be just a heartbeat away. Don't miss the insane action as Skaar faces his most brutal battle, and Bruce his greatest temptation - and the identity of a certain scarlet smasher is finally revealed! Plus: Brace yourself for the coming of Hulkpool! And see what the other hulked-out heroes are up to as the gamma-god of thunder and a not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man tear up Washington, D.C., and Wolverine and Bucky Barnes square off! And what path has led the Savage She-Hulk called Lyra the Wizard's Frightful Four? Collecting WORLD WAR HULKS #1, FALL OF THE HULKS: SAVAGE SHE-HULKS #1-3, HULKED-OUT HEROES #1-2, WORLD WAR HULKS: SPIDER-MAN VS. THOR #1-2, WORLD WAR HULKS: CAPTAIN AMERICA VS. WOLVERINE #1-2, and INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #312 and #609-611.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

448 pages, Hardcover

First published March 21, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to review the whole freaking thing together, instead of each book or title separately.

I really want to give this a 2.7. There's a lot of stuff going on in here, but the whole thing is just a really over-extended finale to Fall of the Hulks. I mean, these two events are really just one, and this is just the climax, but it's stretched into this whole big thing. There are some strong things (reveals, finally!), but I have to say that the resolution of both the Hulk/Red Hulk rivalry and the Hulk/Skaar rivalry are weak, so the whole thing ramps up to a big ol' fizzle.

Here are some specifics for each book:



Savage She-Hulks - fills in some holes, but is safely omitted. Nothing particularly interesting or important happens.

Hulked-Out Heroes - focuses on Hulkpool traveling through time trying to kill the original Deadpool. While I thought this story was actually pretty funny, it's way out of place here--I'm really just waiting to get back to the main plotline. This probably would have been better collected elsewhere.

Green Hulk issues - where the majority of the story happens. Even in three issues, this still feels too spread out. Or maybe it's better to say that all the time is spent on the wrong things. And the ending of the fight between Skaar and Hulk ?!? a big hug....awwwwwwww.......

Red Hulk issues - Alright, so as *terrible* as Red Hulk got in the middle, it is clear that there was actually a plan all along. And, even though I already knew the big reveal, I have to say it was handled pretty well. I actually thought these issues were the best in this whole big mess, particularly issue 23, the 'how did we get here' issue. So, if Red Hulk had been 12 issues instead of 24, it could have been brilliant. Should I blame Marvel or Loeb for this?

Wolverine vs. Captain America - dumb.

Spider-Man vs. Thor - pretty good, actually. The story actually manages to use the situation to tell us something about the characters motivations and their pasts. It might not be anything revolutionary, but it's slightly touching and revealing. I liked it.



So, the plot as a whole is solid, but it would have fared vastly better as a much more stripped-down story. All the mini-series and stuff are really unnecessary, and not even very good, for the most part.

[Hunter Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hulked-Out Heroes bits are fluff set pieces, but the story around them is good, and the ending redeems a lot of the problems.

[William Dickerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this story line was more interesting when it first happened, but since I knew the identity behind the Red Hulk and the story of it, it wasn't very exciting. It was still a good story, but knowing hindered it for me.

www.lockheed40books.com

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the oversized Hulk series of hardcovers, from the Pak and Parker (and sometime Loeb) run.