Okay, so if you’re new to 2009 Hulk: Incredible Hulk was one of Marvel’s first monthlies and ran until the year 2000, when it was rebooted with a new #1. Hercules took over that rebooted Incredible Hulk (sometimes called “volume 2”, so it’s now called Incredible Hercules but retained it’s number so that book is now in the 130something numbers. Hulk (Bruce Banner) doesn’t have his own book right now. There is a book called “Hulk” but it’s starring a red dude.
Incredible Hulk now relaunches using its original numbering, building on the story developing in the Red Hulk series and using that creative team (among others).
Oh, wait–you wanna know what happens in #600? OK. But my nerd self is telling me that the numbering is much more interesting.
The starts with reporter Ben Urich going over Banner Hulk’s recent history: How he came back to Earth after being exiled and exacted revenge on the superheroes (who he believed were) responsible for the annihilation of his adopted planet, but was ultimately beaten by a Stark-designed space death ray. Banner was then imprisoned.
Urich then meets a “deep throat” source with information about all the various Hulks (there’s a blue one now, too). The source is She-Hulk, who is still green. She tells Urich that the government is covering it all up and General Ross is holding Bruce Banner, who is now cured, at Gamma Base. She also recaps the first year’s worth of Red Hulk issues for Urich (and for new readers).
Urich and his photographer, Peter Parker, follow the leads and learns that Advanced Idea Mechanics is running Gamma Base under the direction of MODOK. Doc Samson is amped up and hypnotized by MODODK. Shulk fights Samson while Spider-Man fights Red Hulk.
During that fight, we learn that Red Hulk has heat vision.
MODOK has been experimenting on Bruce Banner–who is in a clear container (yay! see my tag below!)–and, witnessing the fight, wakes up halfway through this issue and jumps into action.
Hulk and Red Hulk fight again, but this time Rulk says that in addition to eye blasts he also has the new ability to absorb gamma radiation–and he cures Banner.
Then the whole place blow up, with Banner being saved by A-Bomb (who was resurrected by AIM) at the last second.
The story ends where it started, with Ben Urich at his typewriter, writing it all up but saying he knows that this story will never see print because Red Hulk promised to kill Urich and everyone he knows if he reveals everything.
Then, there are some back-up stories. Stan Lee writes a short Hulk vs Rulk fight, which he also seems to appear in. Willie Lumpkin is in it, too. The punchline is that Galactus arrives to break up the fight but can’t help them stop Red Hulk because he’s colorblind.
Obviously, not canon.
Then, Fred Van Lente gets another chance to make us care about Lyra–daughter of Hulk and Thundra and the new “She-Hulk: Weapon of A.R.M.O.R.” He fails, though. I don’t care about her.
Then there’s a reprinted story from Hulk: Gray, some mini-Marvels humor, followed by nearly a dozen pages of full-page promos followed by a “cover issue” of the 599 comics that Marvel used to justify calling this issue #600. It’s basically all the Incredible Hulk comics + his earlier appearances in Tales to Astonish + the adjectiveless Hulk series from Y2K.
See what I did there? I started with the numbering bit, and that’s where I’m ending.
Who says comic blogs can’t be literary?
English (US) · 