Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Original Sin #3.3 – Hulk vs Iron Man #3
Marvel Comics
Waid, Bagley, Hennessy & Keith
Hulk versus Iron Man just got extremely interesting with this issue. It's still not entirely clear as to whether or not these origin changes will stick once the event wraps but it is a compelling idea to mess with such a sturdy origin as is the case with what is being done with the Hulk's in this mini-series. I am enjoying this and I think it might be better than the main event – maybe.
The comic opens with Banner getting his (or Hulk's) hands on the Extremis formula change by working in Stark's backyard with Arno. Banner shows him the Hulk, but not just any Hulk, one that seems to have Banner's brains and memories. Hulk is still an angry one though.
While this is occurring, Stark heads to one of his safe houses to do one last dive into his memories to get a clearer understanding of what he did, while drunk, on the eve of the fateful Gamma bomb detonation. The part of this sequence that I enjoyed the most was the cell phone prototype and Stark's walkthrough of what he was doing. This really set the stage perfectly as to what Stark is capable of and how he gains the extra bit of knowledge.
Hulk shows up and the gloves come off for the rest of the issue. The comic has quite a few pages of fisticuffs and energy blasts but there is plenty of back and forth dialogue. The comic ends with a very unexpected cliffhanger.
This is a fun comic. There is plenty of information and tech in the comic and plenty of fighting. When done right, there are few heroes that make sense being paired off in a fight more than Banner and Stark. This comic captures that chess match of wits and muscle well.
The artwork works overtime in this issue. There are plenty of investigative and dialogue heavy moments and the artwork keeps these panels detailed and lively. Then, when the fighting starts the artwork keeps the details but gets louder and bigger. The comic is definitely a great visual story.
It will be very interesting to see where things land when this mini-series completes. Based on the cliffhanger the next issue could be a complete game-changer. Either way, this issue gets Hulk and Iron Man fighting and sets the anger level to 'high' for Banner and the panic level to 'high' for Stark. This is worth picking up.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
