It's possible for a grizzled capes-vet like me to accept and enjoy a new status quo or a "perfect jumping-on point", even if on occasion these result from varying levels of contrivance. I get that the Big 2 want to actually publish comics for money and promote series like Civil War or Infinite Crisis/One Year Later/52/Countdown as Giant Events Laden With Ramification and Consequence. But, after what seems like endless universe-shuffling, I've gotta ask:
When are we going to get there? When are we going to get somewhere?
Marvel may be answering me with World War Hulk. Finally, a Marvel comic that breaks free of the Civil War Fallout Inertia that most of their other books are still locked into. I haven't cracked open many Marvels lately without having whole sections grind to a halt so that two super-powered beings can debate Registration and whether Tony Stark is evil or not.
When is someone gonna try and take over the world again? When are we going to see someone throw a building on someone else again? And most imporantly here... when am I going to discuss the comic in the title?
Okay, fine...
If #1 is any indication, then World War Hulk might just be the blockbuster epic Marvel's been promising all this time that satisfies us without requiring 12 titles a month to follow or explain.
Blissfully absent from Civil War, a supremely pissed Big Green has finally returned to Earth, apprarently traveling through space on grudge alone. Greg Pak appears to be a very smart cookie, playing to artist John Romita Jr's strengths and cramming this first issue with action, and even the opening recap pages have movement in every panel. Yeah, there's some stray Civil War-speak, but only to illustrate that there's something way more dangerous out there than unlicensed superheroes.
Hulk's agenda is far simpler: smash the Illuminati members who shot him into space and into horrible tragedy that cost him nearly everything. He intends to point out that it's not the smartest move to anger anyone whose strength feeds on that rage (as Black Bolt finds out very quickly this issue). The smashing is all there is to see (and all you need to look forward to) in World War Hulk.
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