World War Oh Shit They Snuck Another Huge-Ass Crossover On Us
World War Oh Shit They Snuck Another Huge-Ass Crossover On Us
Feb 27I’ve been reading Planet Hulk loyally over in The Incredible Hulk; I think it’s been fun, absolutely credible science fiction with the Green Goliath tossed into the mix as the ultimate wild card.
As such, I’ve been excited for World War Hulk, the miniseries coming this summer in which the Hulk finally returns to Earth to ostensibly seek revenge against those especially puny humans who chose to blast him out into space.
What especially excited me was Joe Quesada’s description of the event as a “sorbet” after the universe-spanning angst and chaos of Civil War. Here’s more of what he said:
However, with respect to the sheer number of tie in titles, this will nothing like Civil War. It’s a giant story but not a giant publishing event so the investment for fans will be minimal and it will be constructed very similar to our past Ultimate Universe events. But, the story will involve almost everyone, will have lots and lots of smashing and will answer some questions once and for all that have been troubling Marvel readers for some time now.
In other words, not as big, right?
WRONG.
Unless, of course, my idea of a “minimal” investment is different from Joe’s. I assumed I’d be okay buying the mini and the main Hulk title. Instead, there’s upwards of thirty-something tie-in books.
Sure, Civil War probably reached close to 100 tie-ins when it was all done, or at least something like seventy. But it was a universe-spanning event. Everyone in America who was a superhero was affected.
Is everyone really affected if the Hulk returns and wants to beat the shit out of Tony Stark? Okay, maybe his friends. But Ghost Rider? The Young Avengers? The Irredeemable Ant-Man?
And more importantly, why does a single big event miniseries now suddenly need three to four one-shots and other miniseries to fully tell its story? Why not just tell the whole story, um, IN THE ACTUAL STORY?
Worst of all, why is it that I’m a 30-year-old man who’s been collecting comics off and on for half of his life, and I’m just now getting around to bitching about greedy money-grubbing crossovers???
WAAAAH!
If it’s done right, it’s going to be something that affects the entire Marvel universe (or at least the bits of it on Earth) – the name indicates everyone’s going to have to fight in this one. And the reason for this (at least by my guess) is because of what the Hulk is now.
All previous incarnations of Hulk had one big strength with one big weakness. The madder Hulk gets, the stronger he gets. Which meant if you piled enough heros on him to hit him fast enough, he’d eventually go down. Mr. Fixit Hulk wasn’t looking for trouble. And the Bruce Banner/Pantheon Hulk was a thinker and not prone to going ape-shit.
But now we have a Hulk who’s touchind down mad, he’s not completely mindless, and he’s spent the last six months undergoing constant Gladiator training.
So, to sum up; mad and strong, thinking, and combat trained.
Tony Stark is fucked.
As the dude at my comic shop says, “I hope he eats someone. If he even takes a bite out of someone, I’m declaring it an unparalleled success.”