Finally, the ending to one of my favorite arcs in a long time.
When we last left the Incredible Hulk, he was really strong and getting fucked over. That should probably be his tagline. Real Strong, Real Fucked Over.
Anyway, he was back on earth, ready to kick the asses of Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, and Iron Man.
Overall...it was okay. I mean, how are you going to end it? Either the Hulk gets killed or he kills everyone else. Fine.
It was a little unsatisfying, but I think it's hard to end a really beloved story. Let's face it, the end of anything that is loved is pretty much panned. Sopranos, Lost. My boyish handsomeness.
There are a couple things that I didn't like too much, though.
Okay, it's kind of an impossible story. How are you going to beat someone who you spent the last year touting as the strongest, greenest, ripped-est-pants guy of all universes?
Well, you just call Sentry. You know, Sentry? The guy who we were all duped into believing was an old-school hero brought back from the past when really he was a new hero whose generic nature could be excused by creating this 4th wall shattering back story? Sentry?
Sentry is kind of a problem. For starters, nobody wants to watch the Hulk fight Sentry. Because who cares? When the Thing and the Hulk throw down it's way more entertaining even though it's nowhere near the end and only lasts about a page. Hell, it was more interesting to watch Dr. Strange possessed by a demon with weird mace hands fighting the Hulk.
Secondly, I know Marvel comics has a rich history of giving their characters flaws. Whether it's Iron Man puking up Grey Goose in his suit or Spider-Man being unable to pass a dumpster without trashing his outfit, they all have their hang-ups. But being the most powerful dude on the planet and being an agoraphobic?
I'm sure there are many, many people out there who suffer with this condition, and I would hesitate to make fun of them except for the fact that they aren't about to come out and get me. So fuck them.
The key to making an internal character flaw a story element is somehow incorporating it into the external story. Spider-Man always has trouble in his personal life because he's Spider-Man, which is demonstrated by him struggling with whether or not he killed Gwen Stacey, running out of cash for web fluid, and so on. It's a two-way road.
Sentry's internal struggle isn't really externalized in any way other than him standing in his doorway, and eventually just deciding to leave. Whoop-de-shit.
Also, agoraphobia was a bad choice. It's a really ironic choice, but it's really hard to buy that a character who is the most powerful dude on the planet, able to do anything including flying around and not encountering a single person or the earth itself, is scared of going outside. Maybe go with some other disorder next time. Or operate on his brain.
However, there was one Luke Cage panel that was particularly enjoyable on a level that I didn't expect at all.
Wow.
When we last left the Incredible Hulk, he was really strong and getting fucked over. That should probably be his tagline. Real Strong, Real Fucked Over.
Anyway, he was back on earth, ready to kick the asses of Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, and Iron Man.
Overall...it was okay. I mean, how are you going to end it? Either the Hulk gets killed or he kills everyone else. Fine.
It was a little unsatisfying, but I think it's hard to end a really beloved story. Let's face it, the end of anything that is loved is pretty much panned. Sopranos, Lost. My boyish handsomeness.
There are a couple things that I didn't like too much, though.
Okay, it's kind of an impossible story. How are you going to beat someone who you spent the last year touting as the strongest, greenest, ripped-est-pants guy of all universes?
Well, you just call Sentry. You know, Sentry? The guy who we were all duped into believing was an old-school hero brought back from the past when really he was a new hero whose generic nature could be excused by creating this 4th wall shattering back story? Sentry?
Sentry is kind of a problem. For starters, nobody wants to watch the Hulk fight Sentry. Because who cares? When the Thing and the Hulk throw down it's way more entertaining even though it's nowhere near the end and only lasts about a page. Hell, it was more interesting to watch Dr. Strange possessed by a demon with weird mace hands fighting the Hulk.
Secondly, I know Marvel comics has a rich history of giving their characters flaws. Whether it's Iron Man puking up Grey Goose in his suit or Spider-Man being unable to pass a dumpster without trashing his outfit, they all have their hang-ups. But being the most powerful dude on the planet and being an agoraphobic?
I'm sure there are many, many people out there who suffer with this condition, and I would hesitate to make fun of them except for the fact that they aren't about to come out and get me. So fuck them.
The key to making an internal character flaw a story element is somehow incorporating it into the external story. Spider-Man always has trouble in his personal life because he's Spider-Man, which is demonstrated by him struggling with whether or not he killed Gwen Stacey, running out of cash for web fluid, and so on. It's a two-way road.
Sentry's internal struggle isn't really externalized in any way other than him standing in his doorway, and eventually just deciding to leave. Whoop-de-shit.
Also, agoraphobia was a bad choice. It's a really ironic choice, but it's really hard to buy that a character who is the most powerful dude on the planet, able to do anything including flying around and not encountering a single person or the earth itself, is scared of going outside. Maybe go with some other disorder next time. Or operate on his brain.
However, there was one Luke Cage panel that was particularly enjoyable on a level that I didn't expect at all.
Wow.
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