Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klein
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Cover Artist: Nic Klein
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
It’s the big showdown between Hulk and Eldest, who wears the body of the Abomination himself. Down in the primordial realm of monsters, these gamma mutate heavyweights will go at it in a fight that will either end Eldest’s scheme of freeing the Mother of Horrors, or begin a new era of monsters. See who comes out on top in the series finale of The Incredible Hulk #30.
Review:
All right, the last few issues showed Hulk and “Betty” go on a trek through the primordial realm of monsters, the Requiem Plains. The very birthplace of gamma and monsters, and more so the location of the Mother of Horrors’ prison. We got a new take on the cosmic origin of Earth in Marvel Comics, with a lens through the origin of “Monsters” as a concept. Then it turns out that “Betty” is actually possessed by Eldest (to no one’s shock). She fights Hulk in Betty’s Red Harpy form, but Hulk quickly overwhelms her. However, the plains are also where all the kidnapped gamma mutates are being held and siphoned for their strength, all feeding into a cocoon that held Eldest’s trump card against Hulk: the Abomination. Now, it’s Eldest in the Abomination’s body versus the Incredible Hulk! Full warning, there will be SPOILERS in this review. Now, let the review start!
Okay, the comic gets right to the meat of it – Hulk vs Abomination possessed by Eldest. During the fight there’s some verbal jousting but nothing too serious except for Hulk wondering how many bones he’s gotta break to shut Eldest’s flapping mouth. The fight is well illustrated thanks to Nic Klein returning to wrap up the series finale with a fight between two classic gamma rivals that’s cool and brutal when it goes there. Nic Klein also does a nice job with provide a bit of a small upgrade to Abomination’s look by just giving him those devil horns without radically overhauling his appearance.
The fight naturally takes up most of the comic as Hulk and Eldest go at it for a good while. The fight itself is good, nothing too spectacular or groundbreaking. It’s a classic brawl fest where Hulk and Eldest punch each other with superhuman might, while Hulk takes full advantage of his surroundings and uses them to get the edge over Eldest. But of course it ends with Eldest gaining the upper hand by using quick thinking and her own magic to do the impossible: separate Bruce from Hulk. Now, most Hulk fans know that this has been done several times in the comics, and most times it leads to Hulk being weakened because they still need each other as two halves of the same whole.
Once they’re separated, Eldest proceeds to take over his body and finally unlocks the door to the Mother of Horrors’ prison. She delves deep within to release her only to find her own horror: the Mother of Horrors is brain dead. See, Nic Klein does a great job showing the monstrous amalgamated enormity of the Mother of Horrors looking like a titanic demonic queen with horns the size of buildings and mouths on her bottom half’s tail. But she’s also pale, shriveled and dusty with hair that looks like it’s well beyond crusty, like she’s a living fossil. To Eldest’s horror, it seems the Mother of Horrors is non-responsive, but she doesn’t stay sad and starts raging out and consumes her own mother’s flesh, which we get in a voracious double-page spread sequence courtesy of Nic Klein. The comic ends with some narration by Eldest as one of Hulk’s hands emerges renewed.
Now, is the comic the epic wrap-up of the series that will bridge into the new Infernal Hulk series? Sort of. Again, the fight wasn’t bad, it was good, but aside from the slight update to Abomination’s look, the separation of Bruce & Hulk, and the twist reveal of the Mother of Horrors, that’s about it. Also, the fact that Eldest always had the power to separate Bruce and Hulk like this creates a new plot hole: why didn’t she do this before in Las Vegas? It’s not like she doesn’t have experience fighting a gamma mutate like Hulk back in antiquity, so she knew what she was in for fighting Hulk. For now, I don’t know. But as the finale to this series, it’s okay. Not great, just fine as a bridge to the upcoming Infernal Hulk series starting this November 26.
Final Thoughts:
Incredible Hulk #30 concludes this run for the Hulk but not the story. We get a solid fight between Hulk and the Abomination possessed by Eldest, and even an interesting twist reveal concerning the Mother of Horrors. While not the best series finale, it’s still a good comic book and solid bridge to the new series relaunch. Obviously, the story isn’t truly over as the creative team will carry everything over into the upcoming Infernal Hulk series.