Indestructible Hulk #17.INH is probably the best of Mark Waid’s run outside of his collaboration with Walt Simonson. The tension between Bruce Banner and Tony Stark is ratcheting up in this issue, as is the idea that the deal struck between Banner and SHIELD may come to a desperate and violent end. All of this is happening within the framework of a post-Infinity Planet Earth.
Waid jumps right into the fray. Hulk #17 opens with Hank Pym and Tony Stark invading Banner’s lab to try and find a cure for the Terrigen Mists, a cloud that erupted over the Earth after the Inhumans’ floating city Attilan was destroyed by Black Bolt. The Terrigen Mists apparently blend with Inhuman DNA and create mutations. The Inhumans have been within the human peer group since the dawn of time, so anyone who has the slightest bit of Inhuman DNA in their genetic makeup will change. Pym and Stark think they can save the world, and they feel very comfortable using Banner’s lab to do it.
Problem is, Banner hates the idea. Already seething with jealousy towards Stark, the angriest scientist in the world really gets his dander up when he finds his lab being infiltrated. Waid writes these scenes perfectly. You can feel the humiliation of Banner when he has to beg Stark and Pym for 24 hours to try and solve the issue on his own. When those 24 hours are up and Banner presents his solution, all hell breaks loose. Pym and Stark are not big on Banner’s bomb idea, and that causes Banner to get all green and nasty. The resulting duel brings part of the Banner/Stark feud to an explosive end.
While issue #17 is the best of the recent Hulk adventures, there are still some glaring things wrong with it. Mainly, the problem is this new Banner attitude. Since the end of Greg Pak’s run in 2007, both Jason Aaron and Mark Waid have seen fit to turn Bruce Banner into a dick. A jealous, whiny, manipulative jerk that is about as sympathetic as brain cancer. Part of what made Hulk such a captivating story was Banner’s guilt over the monster, and what he was afraid he could do. Turning Banner into this petulant spoiled child just doesn’t work. It drags the story down to a level where it ceases to be interesting.
The art here is a mess. Clay & Seth Mann handle pages one through ten, and twelve through thirteen. Their style is flimsy, with thin, weak lines, and character faces that brush very close to parody. Banner’s face is particularly ridiculous. When Miguel Sepulveda takes over, the work is much better, but the contrast of the pages is so obvious that it takes you out of the story. Three people should be able to offer up better art for an iconic character.
(3 Story, 2 Art)
