Prelude To... War!

No doubt practically anyone who was a regular reader of Incredible Hulk a few years after the turn of the century can recite the underlying reasons which became the foundation for the hostilities encompassing the 2007-08 series known as World War Hulk. Following a plan executed by Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, and Iron Man which traps the Hulk in a space shuttle and sends him to another world, thereby removing the threat of the Hulk forever, the shuttle's later explosion on the planet where the Hulk made a new life for himself incinerates all that he had accomplished for himself, including the casualties of his wife and newly-conceived child; and so, in a fit of revenge, he returns to Earth to take out his rage on those he holds responsible for his pain and his losses.

But while I was putting together this train of thought, it occurred to me that I was a little fuzzy on some of the details. For instance, by this point the Hulk had been rampaging on the Earth for (by our standards) over thirty years--surely Earth's heroes had seen more than enough incidents of endangerment and destruction on the Hulk's part to justify throwing up their hands and saying "enough is enough" well before now. But let's say for the sake of discussion that it took them awhile to finally reach their limit on the Hulk--hadn't Strange's gambit to exile the Hulk to a dimensional "crossroads" already effectively attempted this sort of solution, and failed?

And so I started to work my way back in order to have a more complete picture of what led up to taking this step, in the assumption that the whole thing wasn't simply fast-tracked to launch the WWH event and begin cashing in on not only the main title but all the crossovers. It turns out that I'm both right and wrong in that notion: not fast-tracked in the sense that A was put in place to lead to B and then to C in a very short amount of time, but rather those pieces being restricted to the stories leading up to the Hulk's exile itself. In the meantime, we can presume that production had already begun on the WWH books and the separate titles that conflict affected, thus allowing time for the Hulk's "Planet Hulk" storyline to play out for a 12-month period from April 2006-07. At the end of that storyline--well, as NASA would put it, we have liftoff.

As for just what those pieces were, we can break them down as follows.

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Fantastic Four #s 533-535
January-April, 2006

If we're looking for a catalyst for World War Hulk, here it is--starting with the Fantastic Four getting word of a gamma bomb explosion in Nevada, which interrupts a situation involving their children and necessitates the Thing and the Human Torch heading to investigate the Hulk on their own.

But the status of the Hulk turns out to be worse than expected, not only with the Hulk's startling difference in appearance but also because of the fact that his mental state is fragile at best.

Unknown to the members of the FF, the Hulk is being plagued by memories of heartbreak and sorrow, a virtual kaleidoscope of random scenes from his past which torment him and sustain the constant urge he feels to lash out at his mistakes, his choices, and of course his losses. Only the Thing has come to realize that the one he attempts to keep in check is going through some sort of trauma, his wordless utterings giving no hint of detail that the Thing can use as an anchor to bring him back. All Ben Grimm can do is to attempt to connect with him on an instinctive level, "one monster to another" as he might put it.

But time runs out, as the Hulk makes his way to Las Vegas, a heavily populated area--and the efforts of the FF to contain him become life-threatening to all within reach of his anger.

I'm not clear on when the Hulk developed this new ability... it might even be this particular story... but the force and radiation of the gamma bomb detonation has made the Hulk even stronger and more invulnerable than before, which is why he (along with his pants, thank goodness) survives a nova explosion--a nova explosion, mind you--instead of being instantly turned to cinders. Then again, so does everything and everyone in the general vicinity as well as Las Vegas as a whole, so maybe the Torch doesn't have a clear idea on how to actually "go nova." (Let's hope he never finds out, since he didn't give a thought to the city's population here.)

Fortunately, the Hulk recovers his coherence at this point; but once he's retrieved and his flight leaves, a conversation between the Torch and the Thing leaves disquieting overtones for the reader, especially in hindsight.

As a sidenote, the events of "Civil War" begin after this issue.

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New Avengers: Illuminati #1 (one-shot)
May 2006

The Illuminati story which in part focuses on the Hulk should be considered retrospective, since it wouldn't be published until a month after Iron Man, Reed and the others have initiated their plan to send the Hulk into space--but it's pertinent at this point since its "flashback" reveals how the group reached its decision regarding the Hulk's disposition. And those wheels begin to turn when Iron Man receives a report from S.H.I.E.L.D. on the Las Vegas incident.

From there, Iron Man proceeds to "sell" the Illuminati on a plan to rid the world of the Hulk, for good.

It's both curious and understandable to see how Namor is so defensive of Bruce Banner's welfare, considering the number of times that he and the Hulk have come to blows and how he regards him as a mindless if dangerous brute on a short fuse. Banner is indeed, or should be, the focus of this conversation, in that this fate will apply to Banner as well as the Hulk--yet to Namor's astonishment, even Dr. Strange, who has demonstrated great sympathy for Banner, isn't backing him up on this. But in the prologue issue to World War Hulk, it's clear that the thinking on Banner has changed, when Leonard Samson makes a disturbing observation to Banner's cousin, Jennifer:

But the Sub-Mariner is nothing if not adamant on a subject--and after their meeting ends in a clash he initiates between himself and Iron Man, he chastises the others on their choice, while warning them of the ramifications it is sure to bring.

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Hulk #s 88-91
January-March 2006

And so the moment comes to put their plan regarding Banner into motion. In order not to arouse suspicion and catch the Hulk unawares, Nick Fury asks Banner's help in preventing an actual disaster from taking place, courtesy of an orbital station built by Hydra designed to trigger worldwide weapons of mass destruction. Yet for this mission, Fury needs a certain approach that can't be taken by Banner alone.

But even though this emergency is real, in that the station in orbit and its threat are genuine, Fury hasn't been truthful as far as which organization is truly responsible for its construction as well as its AI intelligence which has co-opted its purpose--as the Hulk discovers on approach when the true organization's emblem comes into sight.

Regardless, Banner and the Hulk are successful in disabling "Godseye"--a SHIELD satellite which could adapt, replicate and overcome any and all technological attacks, but not the sheer force of the Hulk. And for his trouble, the shuttle which retrieves the Hulk for return to Earth instead veers away and heads toward outer space, on a course set by those who took advantage of the opportunity this emergency offered.

Already the best intentions of these four members of the Illuminati have collapsed. For one thing, it's clear that they haven't factored Bruce Banner into their plans at all, since it was only the Hulk who had always professed his only wish was to be left alone; in addition, the shuttle has been forced from its programmed course, depositing the Hulk on a world pretty much the opposite of what Reed and the others had promised. Fail.

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Incredible Hulk #s 92-105 - "Planet Hulk"
April, 2006-June, 2007

It's a violent, cut-throat world which the Hulk fights to survive in, particularly given that his journey has made him vulnerable to hand-held weaponry. Yet once this story has run its course, he's succeeded in not only finding a place for himself but in bringing this world to a state of peace. But even in his new position, the still-intact shuttle offered a reminder of the circumstances which trapped him here, and the people who were responsible.

Yet even those feelings gave way to the near-bliss of the Hulk's new existence, his queen by his side and a world no longer in conflict. Unfortunately, a tragic incident involving the shuttle brought that existence to a searing end.

And we already have a good idea what the Hulk's next move will be.

NEXT:

World War Hulk, in a nutshell!