Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Hulk Broken Worlds #2 of 2
Marvel Comics
Sumerak, Meyers, Irwin, Baumann, Warren, Shannon, Scott, Loughridge, Henderson, Santacruz & Marin
Four short Hulk stories wrapped into one issue. However, much like the first issue of this two part mini series it sets the Hulk in alternate stories or timelines. It’s essentially a comic of short “What If” type stories. The issue faired a little better than the previous one because it seemed these stories didn’t require prior knowledge of the events that act as the backdrop for the Hulk in them. While it was a fun read I would think this issue serves for the completists out there. I’m just not sure the casual Hulk fan or a newer Hulk fan would find a lot in here for them.
The first story, by Sumerak and Meyers, is set during the Age of Apocalypse, which is primarily an X-Men story, and rather long one at that. Bruce Banner, Tony Stark and couple of others are trying to give the human race one last chance for survival in the new world dominated by Apocalypse. It’s a story about mistrust and sacrifice. While we aren’t treated to how the group ended up together we do get insight into the pecking order of the main group and Banner is at the bottom. The story provides a familiar situation where the Hulk decides to help the puny humans by putting himself in the ultimate danger. The ending was fairly interesting.
The second story is a Manga story by Warren and Shannon. Hulk is set among the Norse lore and battles creatures from that mythology. It’s an interesting story because it relies on captions and action to tell the story. It has a good twist at the end but the battles just seem too bizarre in terms of match ups to fully embrace. It took a little bit of getting used to seeing the Hulk with a tail and a horn sticking out of his chin.
The third story is set in the 1602 storyline by Sumerak, Scott and Loughridge. While I never read any of the 1602 stories I found this one to be the most interesting story in the comic. Banner (and the Hulk) live among the monks in China as they are embraced as brothers with the other men. Trouble shows up and the Hulk begins to defend his turf. In a story with good use of characters, Fin Fang Foom shows up to battle him. This story has a lot of action and a very different ending. It was a fun story.
Finally, a story by Henderon and Santacruz that is set in the X-Men story called Days of Future Past. Basically the mutants are in concentration camps and where the humans are guarded by Sentinels (giant robots). Banner is a doctor and a prisoner in one of the camps. Instead of leading a rebellion or going on a rampage, he takes a task and goes on an errand as the Hulk. It’s a good story but it isn’t terribly clear as to why the Sentinels are so lenient with him when they box him in.
All four stories provided some entertainment. I found each of them to reuse elements that we’ve seen a number of times in previous Hulk stories, such as, the Hulk fighting for the greater good of men, Banner living with monks, etc. However, each of the stories provides some level of insight into the mind of the Hulk and each story manages to show off some level of intellect when the green monster shows up.
With each story being roughly eight pages there isn’t a whole lot of time to get your point across but these stories manage to do that fairly well. I suppose if you are looking for a Hulk story that is basically all-inclusive then you might like this story. However, the stories mostly cater to the Hulk fan who simply must have everything. For them, this story is a pretty good read.
3 out of 5 geek goggles
