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Comic Info
Comic Name: Planet Hulk
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Sam Humphries/Greg Pak
Artist: Marc Laming/Takeshi Miyazawa
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2015
Planet Hulk #3
Reprints Planet Hulk #1-5 (July 2015-November 2015). The Captain has a new mission. He and his dinosaur Devil have been sent to Greenland by Emperor Doom to unseat the rogue Red King. The Captain finds himself teamed with a Hulk calling himself Doc Hulk who is helping fight his way through the dangerous land to rescue his friend Bucky. All is not as it seems in Greenland, and the Captain is about to learn the horrifying truth.
Written by Sam Humphries, Warzones!: Planet Hulk is part of Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars tie-ins. The collection features art by Marc Laming and a short “origin” story written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa.
Secret Wars was massive. The series spawned tons of short mini-series with comics ranging from good to bad. With so many tie-ins, it is hard to read them all…but I did find Warzones!: Planet Hulk to be one of the better entries. A ******Spoiler Alert****** is in effect for the rest of the review.
The first aspect that made the story work slightly better is that it is five issues. Many of the stories were four issues and felt rather abrupt and quick. While Planet Hulk still feels somewhat truncated, it doesn’t feel as bad as some of the limited series. You get a decent feeling for why the Captain is headed to Greenland, what Greenland is like (somewhat), and it has a pretty strong resolution that wasn’t entirely predictable…which is about all you can ask from one of the Secret Wars series. I will say that it always feels like there are areas for expansion and that the comic in plot and character development, but there is enough to be enjoyable.
Planet Hulk #5
The basic set-up of Secret Wars is hard to follow with Battleworld being composed of different planets and parts. This really comes into play in this story in that the Captain and Doc Hulk are both Steve Rogers. If you aren’t clear on how Battleworld works, this would be a rather confusing and disappointing reveal. It also seems like in other Secret Wars titles that the characters don’t interact with their alternate version much…so this is more confusing in that you question if they realize there are other versions of themselves.
I liked Pak’s original Planet Hulk storyline and a return to Planet Hulk is worth checking out. With all of the Secret Wars stories, you can always do more and write more about the worlds that were created, and it is kind of a shame that the rich worlds weren’t able to be explored thoroughly due to the end of Secret Wars. I could see a “Return to Secret Wars” someday, but I don’t know if the series as popular enough to carry it…I’d love to see Battleworld again and wouldn’t mind seeing Greenland.
Related Links:
Battleworld: Master of Kung Fu
Warzones!: Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars
Warzones!: M.O.D.O.K. Assassin
