Original Sin releases one of its two “Point” mini-series for Original Sin this week with Original Sin #3.1 subtitled as Hulk vs. Iron Man. Before we get to that, let’s get you caught up on Original Sin goings-on:
- It may have flown under the radar, but All-New Marvel Now’s bi-weekly Original Sin series had a stealth debut in All-New X-Men #25. Original Sin #0 followed and retold The Watcher’s origin and also expanded his scope and power set.
- Winter Soldier, Moon Knight, and Gamora in space.
- Dr. Strange and the Punisher on the astral plane.
- Black Panther, Ant-Man and Emma Frost close to the Earth’s core.
- Original Sin, the 8 issue (9 if you include the #0 issue) core event book (no “s” at the end), that surrounds the mystery of who killed The Watcher, what he saw and what’s the deal with his eyes; the House of Ideas’ take
on a cosmic whodunit. - We get an interlude in Original Sin with, I believe, with more branding-over-story controversy a.k.a. numerhoaxology from Marvel as Hulk vs. Iron Man gets the Original Sin #3.1 to #3.4 treatment. Did Tony Stark lead to the creation of the Hulk?
- Continuing in that vein, we also have Original Sin #5.1 to 5.5 mini-series called Thor & Loki: The 10th Realm involving the revelation that former Spawn stalwart Angela is the sister of Thor and Loki!
- We’ll get Original Sin tie-ins in some regular ongoing series where we learn of some “sins” of Marvel Now’s heroes and villains. Like with All-New Invaders #6 and many others.
- The Original Sins (with an “s” at the end) is a companion anthology 5 issue mini-series to spotlight Young Avengers in particular, but also showcase done-in-one tales from across the Marvel Universe revealing more sins, but this time for characters who don’t headline their own ongoing series
Following that, Original Sin #1 and #2 set up the various investigations into the Watcher’s death and theft of his eyes. In addition to Nick Fury Sr. leading the prime investigation at the request of the Avengers’ Captain America, three other groups of heroes are also independently investigating on different planes literally at the behest of a mysterious benefactor:
What ties them together? Monsters and mysterious green bullets.
The big news so far from Original Sin #3 was the holy sh*t moment at the end that saw the death of a major Marvel Comics hero at the hands of another iconic hero! That issue also revealed how the villains identified at the end of issue #2 got together, namely Dr. Midas, his daughter Exterminatrix and The Orb, met here and here. However, in last week’s Original Sin #4, we started to see that holy sh*t moment VERY DIFFERENTLY on the cliff-hanger page of the book.
With that, here’s what you need to know about Marvel Comics’ All-New Marvel Now Original Sin publishing plan:
Whew. Ok, you’re caught so far, so…
Spoilers and capsule review for Original Sin #3.1 follow.
The free preview for this issue established the Hulk is smashing Iron Man in modern-day. Seems he’s learned something about Tony Stark’s Original Sin pre-Iron Man.
Delving into the actual book, it seems that a future issue of Original Sin is preempted as I don’t recall the eye bomb going off yet. Anyhow, that is what causes Bruce Banner and Tony Stark to swap/share their Original Sin memories.
Ok, so what is the Original Sin between the Hulk and Iron Man? Well, we do find out that a younger, drunker and rich Tony Stark “war profiteer” crossed pathes with dovish Bruce Manner. They had a major disagreement where it was revealed that Bruce Banner had only supplied the Gamma bomb with the right amount of gamma despite the military wanting more.
Tony Stark either sabotages (in Bruce’s words) the gamma bomb or increased its potency to what the military wanted; either scenario was responsible for the actions that day that led to Bruce Banner being the Hulk!
The issue was interesting. This retcon adds a richness to the backstories of Iron Man and Hulk. I’m looking forward to more modern days scenes to see Hulk Smash!
Thanks for reading. All feedback welcome.
