Immortal Hulk has been an incredible run thus far. There’s very little to fault in the two volumes that have preceded it has completely made me fall in love with the character again.
However, all great things must come to an end and thus I’m going into the third volume expecting things to go a bit…well…Bruce Banner.
Throughout this review, I’ll be letting you know if my suspicions were wrong or if the work exceeds expectations.
There will be some spoilers here so if you don’t want anything ruined then I highly recommend that you skip to the score.
With that out the way, thanks for clicking this, now let’s get into our review of Immortal Hulk Volume 3.
“I am that Order”
We open with Reginald James Fortean. An ex-Major General that now brings order to chaos.
Equipped with an exo-skeleton resembling a mech suit of armour the first issue of the work follows him going head to head with the Hulk.
Through flashbacks we see that the character has had many run ins with the mean green machine before and that they have shaped him into the person he would become.
Often in Hulk stories we pretty much follow the POV of Banner, however, this changes things up and shows how the monster inside of him affects the world through the eyes of someone who’s seen it first hand.
It’s an inspired choice and instantly the first chapter in the storyline gripped me due to the psychological study it provided on what a person would do in a world of Gods and Monsters.
The New Abomination
It’s revealed that Fortean’s plan is to take the shell of the Abomination from last time and use it on himself to enable him to go toe to toe with The Hulk.
Fortean was raised with the bible and the story of genesis had a great impact on his life. With those teachings, he discovered that before God created the world, he first created structure and this has equipped him mentally with the knowledge that order overrules all.
Because of this, he is able to control his new form and body and become one of the most terrifying versions of the creature so far.
Hulk Smash
On the other side of this is Team Hulk, most notably Jackie Magee who gets a far more expanded role here. We get elements of her past built upon and she really becomes the eyes and ears of the viewer.
Watching things through her perception grounds the crazy events that play out on the page and at this point there is really something for everyone.
Unfortunately, they also decide to jump from perspective to perspective with team Hulk and because of this you often get stuck with characters that you don’t really care about.
At points I did feel that with the constantly shifting POV that the book did lose its focus slightly.
Everything kinda feels like it’s sporadically jumping from one place to the next and after the intro hooked me in, I found the second chapter of the book quite difficult to be invested in.
The Art
Fortunately the artwork is a joy to look at and the book is laced with panels that will stick in your mind long after you put it down.
As with all the issues in the run, the work massively plays up the horror aspect of the Hulk and it elevates the work (even with the issues that I have).
Seen Hulk throwing his torn skin at someone to give them radiation poisoning is unforgettable and page after page in the work is packed with things that feel like they were ripped out of a Blumhouse movie.
Hulk Vs The Abomination
With half his face torn off, Hulk goes face to face with The Abomination.
Though the battle is short lived they close it with something that brings everything full circle and once more the writing in the work cements it as one of the strongest comic book runs of the past decade.
Breaker Of Worlds
The second section of the collection differs highly from everything that has come before it.
This seemingly intergalactic tale picks up with aliens, far across the universe being slowly annihilated one by one by a giant green enemy.
It is soon revealed to be microscopic organisms and seeing the Hulk taking on an almost Galactus like position in wiping out life.
There is a big twist at the end that reveals a returning villain but overall I found it quite discombobulated and difficult to follow due to it being more esoteric than grounded.
Luckily the book gets back on track with its main plot quite quickly but this diversion is unneeded and it sinks the book quite a bit.
It’s something that you have to power through and fortunately things pick up after it.
The Stuff Of Legends
After all that he’s been subjected to Banner decides that enough is enough and declares war on the humans.
He goes to Amadeus Cho for advice, forms a team with Namor and the storyline definitely feels more in line with where things should be going after being derailed by the aforementioned issue.
It all leads to Hulk going head to head with The Minotaur who is currently in charge of Roxxon Media.
Though the two never actually face off against one another, the new antagonist recruits beasts from Monsters Isle and this leads to a big showdown.
We never get an end to the fight and instead the work closes with a cliffhanger which I found to be quite disappointing.
The Verdict
Out of all of the collections thus far, this is by far the weakest. It seems to be more about setup and as the brief few moments of character building don’t get closure in this graphic novel, it feels somewhat disappointing.
I am still on board with the series but judging this entry solely on its own merit I must say that I’m disappointed.
This is the first dip in quality in the series and therefore it gets a…
7/10
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