Indestructible Hulk 4: Humanity Bomb

Comic Info

Indestructible Hulk #16

Reprints Indestructible Hulk #16-20 and Annual #1 (January 2014-May 2014).  Terrigen Mist has enveloped the Earth and is transforming people with dormant genes into Inhumans.  Banner and his team are in a race against time to stop the Terrigen Mist, but someone in Banner’s team could discover that the Terrigen Mist could change them forever.  Plus, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner seek out a man tied to their past who has taken his scientific exploration to a dangerous level.

Written by Mark Waid (with Jeff Parker writing the Annual), Indestructible Hulk Volume 4:  Humanity Bomb is a Marvel Comics superhero comic.  Following Indestructible Hulk Volume 3:  S.M.A.S.H. Time, the collection features art by Mahmud Asrar, Clay Mann, Seth Mann, Miguel Sepulveda, Jheremy Raapack, Miguel Sepulveda, Tom Grummett, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Tom Grummett, Karl Kesel, and Andrew Hennessy.  Issues in the collection were also included in Inhumanity.

Hulk is incredibly difficult to write.  The character is too strong and almost a deus ex machine when there are problems for the characters…Hulk shows up and can just beat them.  The trick is to make characters that aren’t simply “beatable”.  Waid does a decent job with Hulk in this series, and it is kind of sad that it ended when it did.

Waid is writing the “dumb Hulk” which adds a layer of challenge.  The series generally has to be about Banner who can be an unlikable character.  Banner often can see his faults (he does see them in this volume), but like Matt Murdock’s Daredevil, the characters seems to be self-destructive.  In this collection, he creates a bomb, fights Iron Man, Beast, and Ant-Man and Hulks out…it isn’t ideal, and it seems like despite his genius that the government wouldn’t keep working with him.

Indestructible Hulk #20

The series also does a lot to focus on Banner’s team (which is kind of bland).  The plot primarily surrounds Randall Jessup and Patricia Wolman.  Wolman is dying and hopes the Terrigen Mist could cure her while Randall becomes Bruce Banner’s “bestie” all of the sudden.  The characters are pretty one dimensional and having a long time between reading the first few volumes of the series and this volume, I can honestly say, I don’t really remember much about the characters nor have much vested interest in them.

In general, the problem with this volume of Indestructible Hulk is Inhumanity itself.  Marvel was really pushing the Inhumans on people.  I had loved the Inhumans growing up, but didn’t love Marvel’s attempts to replace mutants with Inhumans.  Indestructible Hulk kind of gets waylaid by this storyline though I commend Waid in making the issues stand-alone and it not necessary to read all the Inhumanity tie-ins to understand what is going on.  Overall, the collection is fine…not great and not awful, but it also isn’t something that really inspires you to read more.  It ends with a cliffhanger, and Indestructible Hulk 4:  Humanity Bomb was followed by Hulk:  Banner D.O.A.

Related Links:

Indestructible Hulk 1:  Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Indestructible Hulk 2:  Gods and Monster

Indestructible Hulk 3:  S.M.A.S.H. Time