Reviewer: Tim Stevens
Story Title: Upon Reflection
Written by: Bruce Jones
Art by: Jae Lee
Colored by: June Chung
Lettered by: VC’s Randy Gentile
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights
This is an incredibly difficult review because, on the one hand, this is the best installment of this four issue miniseries. Yet, on the other, I can’t friggin’ believe that four issues led up to THIS? I can conceive a lot of fairly spectacular ways to waste my time, but I don’t think I’d resent any of them as much as I resent my experience reading this mini.
Still, my job is to focus on this issue, not the series as a whole, so here we go.
After three issues of chatting, The Thing reveals how the first fight between the two strongest, most monstrous heroes in the Marvel Universe ended up. From this ending, The Thing’s dual motivation for seeking out Hulk is finally revealed. And because this is a book featuring the Hulk, the army shows up too. I believe that is the third rule of fighting Hulk. 1.) Hulk is strongest there is. 2.) Hulk gets mad, Hulk gets strong, Hulk will smash. 3.) Hulk will forever be involved with conflicts with the US Military. Once every four to five issues is recommended.
In comparison to its three predecessors, that amount of plot makes this book seem almost overstuffed. The revealation of Thing’s heretofore unknown victory over the Hulk affected him is a nice touch and suitably in character with Ben Grimm’s sentimental underbelly. Ben and Bruce’s response to the army (hey, what a great band name: Ben and Bruce’s Response to the Army) is nicely done as well, with both displaying a suitable disdain for the trigger happy but ultimately way outgunned soldiers. And, of course, the destruction wreaked by all three forces is wonderfully captured by Lee’s artwork. Even at his ugliest (which this most certainly is) his work still has a great style that resounds with me.
The big problem here (beyond the, “It took four issues for THIS?”) is that none of this hangs together in any sort of cohesive story. The Thing sought out the Hulk to thank him for reminding him of something important that he almost forgot? Okay, I can buy that. Not sure why he’d do it now when even in Marvel time something like 10 years has passed since the event in question, but alright. The Thing leading the Army to capture Hulk? Umm…possibly. If we had a reason, maybe I could accept it. But we don’t. Nor is it ever made explicitly clear that the Army is in fact looking to capture Dr. Banner. I am just assuming because, well, that’s what they seem to like to do.
But the big question is what these two things have to do with one another. From the details we glean from the script, the answer is……nothing?! Why keep turning Banner into Hulk if you are looking to take him down or in? If The Thing is using this story as a stalling technique, what exactly is he waiting for? It can’t be for Hulk to return to Banner status because, as previously noted, Thing keeps making sure Banner stays as the Hulk. Another way of summarizing my complaints is: shouldn’t things make sense when we know all the details? Isn’t that, sort of, a writer’s job?
A note for those who like continuity: this book will badly wound you. This takes place in a moment outside of time, near as I can tell. Even if you read Jones’s full run on the Hulk there is nothing here to suggest that it in any way follows or occurs during that run.
As I said above, this is the best installment of this miniseries. Jones writes Ben very well and finally seemed to have dropped most of the weird quirks from his Hulk dialogue that came up in the first three issues. The story that would not end finally reaches an interesting conclusion and there is some action with purpose.
On the negative side, all of this fails to excuse the first three issues or gel together to form a plot.
