Hulk by Cates and Ottley vol. 1: SMASHTRONAUT!

You’d think it’d be enough trying to follow up one era-defining Marvel run, while also managing multiple creator-owned titles, for Donny Cates.  As you can see here, it’s not.  After following up Jason Aaron’s legendary run on “Thor,” he’s now taking up the reins on “Hulk” from Al Ewing.  (Who, coincidentally along with Ram V, is following up from Cates on “Venom.”)  If you’re worried that the writer may be stretching himself too thin here, don’t be.  Even if this first volume sees the writer re-using one of his favorite storytelling devices in the Marvel Universe, there’s still plenty of interesting stuff going on here.  In addition to the gloriously over-the-top art from Ryan Ottley.

If you’re expecting any kind of direct follow-up to the events of “Immortal Hulk,” I’m going to curb those expectations right now.  This volume of “Hulk” represents a clean break with what has come before in the execution as well as the story itself.  That’s because things start off with Banner trying to get the hell out of Dodge.  Dodge, in this case, being the Marvel Universe.

Mainly it’s because the scientist has had it with how things are for him and his alter ego.  As he tells us, he didn’t want to be a monster, or a hero for that matter.  Banner wanted to be an explorer, someone who pushed the boundaries of what we knew was possible.  What he got was this… and after the events of El Paso, he’s had it.  Banner is leaving the known Marvel Universe and he’s never coming back.

How does he plan on doing that?  That’s the first new trick that Cates brings to the table here as we’re introduced to a different kind of Banner/Hulk relationship than we’ve seen in the past.  It’s not just that Banner is in control, but he’s also found a way to cage the Hulk within his mind and use his rage for fuel.  Fuel for what?  For using Hulk’s body as a spaceship where the power generated comes from the being fighting against increasingly strong hordes.

It’s a wild concept, especially when you see what forms the hordes take at each level.  It’s also the source of this volume’s key mysteries.  While I was perfectly ready to accept this as Banner creating another kind of mind palace for himself and his alter Ego, Doctor Strange makes it clear early on that there are other forces at work here.  There’s no hint as to what these forces are, but I’m interested enough in seeing how Banner is going to manage this new setup (and/or explode it) while we wait for answers.

The other new thing the writer brings to the table… is something that’s unpacked and set up slowly over the course of this volume.  Which is to say that it’s a thing that’s best experienced for yourself while you’re reading it.  I will say that I’m curious to see how this is meant to tie into the whole “El Paso” situation, but moreso for what it represents for the title character himself.  Many characters have had their own versions of him over the years, so it stands to reason that he should be able to have one for himself, right?

That said, the bulk of this volume sees Cates doing something that he’s done well before once again.  I’m talking about sending a character into another universe and/or timeline and having things get as crazy as possible from there.  I won’t give away too much details regarding the universe Banner finds himself in here, save to say that it’s one where the original Gamma Bomb test went off really, really well.  So well that our protagonist finds himself fighting eighty tons of angry mutant spider in the present day.

This is to say that there are plenty of cool moments to be had here along with some interesting character work done with the Banners involved.  The only real catch is that coming from the writer who gave us “Thanos Wins,” the events here don’t come with the same level of surprise.  What’s here is good, but don’t expect to feel the shock-of-the-new.

However, this new universe does offer Ottley the chance to really cut loose drawing all sorts of crazy abominations (note the lower-case “a”) along with a Hulk that’s more than angry enough to take them on.  While the artist delivered solid work over the course of his run on “Amazing Spider-Man,” he never really got the chance to GO BIG like he did in “Invincible.”  With this arc, Ottley gets the chance to do that right from the start as Hulk takes on multiple Hulkbuster armors.  Things only get crazier from there as he demolishes a familiar-looking Wildstorm team in one panel, takes on the Gamma powered might of the U.S. of A., takes on the aforementioned eighty tons of angry mutant spider, and more.  This is without me getting into the various threats that Hulk fights to power his spaceship body which are impressive all on their own.

“Immortal Hulk” was always going to be a tough act to follow with how it effortlessly wove together bits and pieces of the character’s history to give us something new.  Cates and Ottely aren’t doing that here as they’re showing us new stuff right from the jump.  The good news is that this new stuff is plenty interesting while also coming with enough mystery to potentially keep a reader invested for the long haul.  It’s a strong start, in other words, and one that fans of the characters and the creators should check out when they get a chance.