Review: Generations: Banner Hulk & The Totally Awesome Hulk #1

There“s a Hulk problem in the Marvel Universe (when isn“t there), and for once it isn“t General Ross“ fault (mostly). Amadeus Cho gets shot back to a time when General Ross used the entire US Army to shoot down The Hulk despite all the evidence that this just leaves you with an angrier Hulk and lots of broken tanks and helicopters and soldiers.

Cho finds himself Hulked out and falling from the sky. He lands in the Mojave desert and is greeted by bullets. Because, when Ross sees more Hulks, he needs to fire more guns. This leads to my favorite line in the book, when Cho realizes he needs to get Banner/Hulk away from the army and says “We need to go someplace more isolated.”“ You“re in the freaking Mojave! Where is more isolated?

He finds a place at the beach where he and Banner can un-Hulk and talk. After a quick dumpster dive for lunch, Banner explains that there is no escaping the rage that releases The Hulk. His entire life was centered around rage inducing events and anything can bring that front and center.

Eventually the Army finds them again and drops enough bombs to take out LA and that wakes a giant monster sleeping off-shore. Cho Hulks up to fight the beast while Banner evacuates the town. But the atomic breathing monster and the army are too much for one Hulk to take on and try to keep innocent townsfolk safe.

Greg Pak has a great handle on not only what makes the two Hulks different, but how they are alike. Cho has been letting his rage slip and that means that Amazing Hulk may soon be as dangerous as the incredible version. While Cho learns a valuable secret, he still is without the answer about what to do with the growing problem.

While Pak“s story is good, full kudos go to Matteo Buffagni and Dono Sanchez-Almara for the gorgeous art in this book. It would be easy to excuse if it were hard to figure out which Hulk was which. But they have clear control and the two Hulks are always so distinct that this never becomes an issue in this book. I also love the kaiju monster that resembles a giant creature from the black lagoon.

I was not a great believer in the Generations idea when I first heard it. But this book has really turned me around on it. I almost wish that there could be a Hulks mini-series that could take place during one of the many times that General Ross had to be pulled back to the Pentagon to explain how he could lose 100 helicopters and 300 tanks in a “training”“ exercise or what ever excuse he kept giving.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Matteo Buffagni
Colors: Dono Sanchez-Almara
Cover: Jorge Molina

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!