Red Hulk: Planet Red Hulk

Hulk (2008) (Collected Editions) #8

by Jeff Parker (Writer), Gabriel Hardman (illustrator)

For years, Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross chased the Hulk across the planet, hoping to capture and defeat the Jade Giant. Now, Ross himself is a gamma-irradiated force of nature, and a new enemy has emerged to fill the general's army boots. His name is Fortean. His mission: to enact vengeance on the beast that took the life of Thunderbolt Ross. Little does he know the beast and the man are one and the same! Even the good Ross has done as Red Hulk has created a deadly new challenge, as the world stage bursts open to make room for a powerful mastermind who wants to remake society in line with her own vision - once she kills Big Red! And after surviving his new foes' opening salvos, Red Hulk finds himself pulled into a strange planetary system at war when a rescue mission in space goes wrong. Epic monster battles! Brazen warrior women! Space intrigue! And...King Red Hulk?! Is it cosmic déjà vu? A cruel joke of fate? Or are there other hands at work? Plus: a mysterious group has plans for their newly adopted champion: Rick Jones, the A-Bomb!

Collecting: Hulk 30.1, 31-36, material from 30

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

There seems to be some sort of Incredible Hulk playbook that every new Hulk character book has to follow: being hunted by the army, a world war Hulk storyline, a Planet Hulk storyline, the dichotomy between the character’s previous persona and the brutish Hulk smashy stuff. I’m grateful that Marvel doesn’t run too many Hulk characters out there. It’s getting redundant.



I’ve read some of the Amadeus Hulk stuff which touched on a couple of the above themes; this is the Red Hulk and Jeff Parker had his Hulk check list out.

Ironically, General Ross, the Red Hulk, is being hunted down by his replacement on the We-Hate-Hulk-Army Squad – who accuse Red Hulk of killing General Ross. Kids, it wasn't the real General Ross, it was an LMD (Life Model Decoy or a look-a-like robot).



The Red-Hulk also gets blasted into outer space, gets captured…



…and plays King of Planet Hulk for a day.



Also…



General Ross also has an electrifying encounter with an old persona.



Parker tries to create some Red Hulk adversaries…



…but an evil chatty computer babe doesn’t really rank with The Abomination or for that matter, The Bison.

Parker creates a decent amount of dramatic tension here…



…and has fun with LMDs.





That might hurt in a roboty, mechanical way.

Bottom Line : This book offers up some decent retreads on some Hulk clichés; it’s better that Amadeus Hulk, but falls just short of being a gamma-irradiated winner.

Mmm, ribs…

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gee, Jeff Parker doesn't let up, does he? From the first page in this collection, Red Hulk is up against a new foe, Fortean, an Army General with ties to Thunderbolt Ross who blames Red Hulk for Ross' death. This guy comes up with a neat way of dealing with his "Hulk Problem": planting micro-mines on Red Hulk's brain, so that next time he reverts to human form, Fortean can just blow it up with the press of a button.

We also have Zero/One, a new villain created by an incident during the Red Hulk's very first mission in dealing with the "Scorched Earth Protocols". She blames the Red Hulk for her condition and seeks to get her revenge on him by enlisting the help of a serial killer that she upgrades with her technology. MODOK attacks with the help of ZZZAX, a being made of electricity who will be familiar to long-time readers of HULK. And if that wasn't enough, we've got OMEGEX on its way from "Very Far Away" to destroy the Red Hulk...

What a fun, fun series this is. Don't miss "Fear Itself: HULK", in which all unresolved plotlines come to a conclusion!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every new has this progression-- being hunted by the army, a Planet Hulk storyline and then a WWH-storyline.

The Red Hulk is one of more fun redundancies; but it's a bit stale.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't deserve a 5, but I did enjoy it. Much of the fun comes from Parker spinning tales that are reminiscent of original Hulk stories, often with upgrades. It is fun, but nothing revolutionary.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jeff Parker. He's masterminded a great many of the best comics of the last 20 years. And this run on Red Hulk is a blast.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeff Parker continues the all action - limited substance plot tone on this book. But to be fair Loeb is the one who really established that tone, and Parker just runs with it.

And to be fair, Parker is trying to add a bit more gravitas to the book by having one of the villains tied directly into General Ross' past, which does put a nice spin on things. Basically his second in command wants retribution for the "murder" of Ross, which Rulk is "responsible" for. Rulk tries to tell him the truth, but some convenient comic book logic prevents him from hearing the truth, and then Rulk decides its best not to mess with this guys head even more. I mean, this is not a terrible storyline, but it is a bit forced.

This story is interrupted by Planet Red Hulk, which in the end is a... alternate reality/dream ...thing? Honestly it feels way too much like a retread as the Planet Hulk storyline is not too distant in our rear view mirror. ugh.

I think the best thing about the book is definitely the art by Gabriel Hardman, who has some a great style. It's a bit on the realistic side of art, but with enough dynamics to keep things interesting.

This tone is wearing a bit thin on me, but hopefully the villain who is approaching from the ends of the cosmos will liven up the book a bit more in the next volume.

[Eligos Vespillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red hulk's comeuppance for his work with the Intelligencia continues, as he becomes the hunted subject of his very own obsessed military commander! If that isn't enough, the newly digitized villain Zero/One does some crazy body horror to create her own Red-Hulk-Assassin: Black Fog! But wait...there's more! Uatu the Watcher is pretty pissed off about getting slugged by Rulk, and has set in motion a bunch of cosmic nonsense that will not only endanger Thunderbolt Ross, but entire solar systems!

Red Hulk is quite the humbled character now, and his life seems to be getting worse and worse every issue. He is even forced to endure a recreation of Banner's exile into space...where he quickly becomes king and oddly perpetrates a rather insensitive White (Red?) Savior trope. Despite this sillyness, Red Hulk is much more interesting character now that he is constantly challenged and forced on the run much like his hated nemesis has endured for decades. Also thankfully abscent are his long inner monologues Jeph Loeb was so committed to.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good overall but had some strange moments. We start out with a new villain, Fortean, who is a member of the military attempting to kill the Red Hulk in over to avenge the death of Thunderbolt Ross. I won't get into why that's totally ironic.

But then that story doesn't really have a definitive ending before we move into the Planet Red Hulk story. And that was just weird because when it's over we're not sure why it happened, or even if it officially did happen. Then we see the return of Modok as well as an Abomb story that's going to surely have future repercussions for the Red Hulk.

I enjoyed it, but it was just odd story telling.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Former colonel to Ross thinks red hulk killed ross. Ongoing chase.

Chatacters from first issue of Parker's have become villains to hulk. Technology based zero/one, burns victim Jacob, and new recruit black fog the serial killer.

Red hulk taken off the board to two warring planets to avoid the Omegex robot. Is that threat over?

A zzzax/modok issue.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was on board for Steve Rogers sending Red Hulk on secret missions, but this volume got a little too far from the colorful, simple stories I was enjoying.

And I need a Planet Hulk retread like I need nanites in my brain.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, Red Hulk is great. It's written with humor and yes it's sort of a repeat of other Hulk story arcs. This has more humor. Plus, Zero/One, Annie (LMD), She-Hulk, Lyra, and A-Bomb. Only downside is Fortean, a poor man's General Ross, if you will.

[Frans Kempe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hulk faces Fortean, a planet Hulk and Modok

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my thing

[Emmett Spain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that great and quite forgettable, with some barely functional dialogue. 2.5 stars.

[Willow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm finding Parker's run on Red Hulk REALLY boring. Like, good for you, you created a Deus Ex Bullshit explanation from Watcher-lady for why you can just rehash old Hulk stories but you'RE STILL JUST REHASHING OLD HULK STORIES!!! And doing them worse. So, yeah, not a fan. Hopefully it picks up after Fear Itself, 'cause I've still got 4 volumes of this stuff before the title switches over to following Red She-Hulk.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole Planet Red Hulk part would probably be a 4 star but the whole Zero/one arc would be a 2... Hence, the 3.
Artwork very decent. I actually really enjoy the concept of Ross being a hulk. His stubbornness, like J. Jonah Jameson's is legendary. Fortean is an annoyance but it is what it is. Trying to elaborate without spoilers is awkward. The A-Bomb, She-hulk and Savage She-hulk story left much to be desired IMHO.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty huge upgrade from the previous volume. There are now interesting characters, plot with some depth, neat villains, and forward motion. There’s still too much punching and when Parker sends Red Hulk off to an alien barbarian planet it feels a bit like he’s coloring (heh!) by numbers, but this volume was worth reading, where “Scorched Earth” felt like a big Loeb-esque waste.

[Jon Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Hulk these days is much more interesting than ol' Greenskin. Sad but true.

[Ariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Estaba adjunto con Children's crusade... Nunca había leído nada de Hulk antes. Y este fue un mal comienzo, fue una short-storie.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.