Advance Review
What If? Planet Hulk
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Marvel Comics
What if the Hulk died and Caiera lived?
What if the Hulk landed on the peaceful planet that Reed Richards promised?
What if Bruce Banner landed on Sakaar?
What If titles are, for those uninformed, exactly what they sound like they are. They put a twist on an event in continuity and see how everything would follow from there. This issue is a take off of the Planet Hulk arc which lead directly to current event World War Hulk. This issue is by the writer of both events Greg Pak and since both are roaring successes, this is certainly worth a look. This is actually three separate, small What Ifs.
The first looks at Caiera taking revenge on Earth for the Hulk’s death. This reads like a story outline, but since we know how this worked out with Hulk (or should if reading this issue), the holes are easy to fill in. There’s nothing much thematic here except for the irony that perhaps Earth is better off with the Hulk than the alternative.
The next story is Hulk landing on a peaceful planet and his mini-competition with Banner as well as how that turns out. This is the best of the three stories in that it examines both aspects personalities and values. The Hulk is, at his core, a protector, while Banner is an examiner and survivor. The difference is played up and the victor is a surprise as it states quite a different dichotomy between the Hulk and Banner than usual.
The final story is a quick comedy one note gag. It’s mildly amusing, but would get old fast since it’s really one joke over and over again, so it’s a good thing this is kept brief. There’s not a lot more to say without spoiling this.
These are nice quick stories, the first two showing a good understanding of the characters, their motivations, and roles. I’d really have liked to see either of the first two given more room to breathe. These are good outlines, but really lack the structure to be proper stories.
