Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War

The last time we saw Thor, he was reckoning with the death of his father… and the fact that his father’s spirit was now inhabiting Mjolnir.  Things weren’t going well either for Hulk as Bruce Banner had turned his alter-ego’s personality into a rage-powered energy source that allowed him to leave Earth and smash his way through another dimension.  Banner has returned to this universe and he’s still wanted for questioning about what happened in El Paso.  This means that Thor has all the reason he needs to lay a beatdown on someone who can take anything he dishes out.  Unfortunately for him, that “take anything” is going to be followed by “and give it back even worse” this time around.

Five issues of Hulk and Thor beating the bejesus out of each other sounds like it could be a recipe for boredom rather than excitement.  These two have fought each other multiple times in the past, so how will this one be any different?  To writer Donny Cates’ credit, he’s got some ideas there and they involve Odin as well as what happens when a god gets hit with more Gamma than any living thing has been exposed to before.  There’s less of the writer’s usual grounding of the superhero action in relatable human concerns here, so it’s a good thing that he’s got those ideas, some interesting twists, and a handle on how to steadily escalate the carnage over these five issues.

He’s also fortunate to have artist Martin Coccolo who renders all of the carnage in this volume with gusto.  From an opening assault on a planet that is certainly not the home to Marvel Universe’s version of “Adventure Time” to a planet-ending collision of fists, the artist was clearly relishing the chance to depict such over-the-top action.  Which is a shame that Matt Wilson’s muted colors dampen the whole experience rather than enhance it.  This is still an entertaining read overall, and one that is required for both titles even as it serves as Cates’ swan song for both.