What do you think?
Rate this book
The Incredible Hulk (1999) (Collected Editions) #14
The Incredible Hulk: Prelude to Planet Hulk
Bruce Banner has finally found a semblance of peace. Here, in the isolated interior of Alaska, he hopes to protect the rest of humanity from the Hulk's never-ending rampage by secluding himself in self-imposed exile. Banner is confident that his plan will work - after all, who would be foolish enough to actually come looking for the Hulk? But when Nick Fury comes calling, you know there's trouble for someone involved. This story sets up next year's Planet Hulk event. Collects Incredible Hulk #88-91; Hulk Handbook 2004.
96 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2006
7 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
April 12, 2017
In preparation for Thor: Ragnarok, I am going to reread Planet Hulk. I had never read this prelude though, so I got that first. It's not bad, but really nothing special either. On to Planet Hulk!
May 15, 2016
Banner in seclusion in
Alaska, found by Fury.
Told HYDRA has a genius satellite that Hulk needs to destroy. Turns out it's a SHIELD one...the Godseye....he does, and saves Earth.
As a thank you? Reed, Tony, and the rest of the Illuminati send him into deep space...leading to...Planet Hulk!
Fun. Art was good and bad, I loved the Alaska issue.
Alaska, found by Fury.
Told HYDRA has a genius satellite that Hulk needs to destroy. Turns out it's a SHIELD one...the Godseye....he does, and saves Earth.
As a thank you? Reed, Tony, and the rest of the Illuminati send him into deep space...leading to...Planet Hulk!
Fun. Art was good and bad, I loved the Alaska issue.
September 1, 2019
Can I have less of people treating Bruce like a monster and more of Hulk attacking rapists?
January 17, 2024
I was impressed by this, as usually preludes in comics are just cheap cash grabs. However, this one actually has a reason to exist and gives us some great moments, especially between Hulk and The Thing. Fun stuff.
May 16, 2024
Nick Fury sends the Hulk into space to take out a rogue "Hydra" weapons satellite that has developed a dangerous A.I. Of course, we later find out that isn't exactly true. And then when Hulk gets on a shuttle to bring him back to Earth, he instead finds he's being blasted into space to protect the Earth. And then we get Planet Hulk.
October 13, 2015
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, and would really like to read the full Planet Hulk storyline. My only quibbles was that the artwork was a bit cartoony at times, with some odd size changes for the Hulk that sometimes made him look like a pinhead.
December 31, 2007
Decent setup to planet hulk.
January 18, 2022
Oh dear, step eight down the Road to Civil War (marvelguides.com) is Hulk (or, as I found out after digging, The Incredible Hulk - who knew there were so many Hulk titles out there?). I say, "Oh Dear," because this is more of a stumbling, faltering step.
Firstly, the story Peace In Our Time (collected in Prelude to Planet Hulk) is not a worthy Hulk story, in my opinion. Daniel Way starts admirably with Hulk secluded in the Alaskan wilds and living under a different name. But we all know this will not last. It becomes quickly apparent that Bruce will have to move on after tussling with a couple of rapist bad boys. Though, his delivery man has a surprise for him.
Everything becomes weaker when we get to to the SHIELD and the rogue satellite storyline. Way's storytelling grows blander with every panel. He misses opportunities to weave in the AI robot and satellite's ethos. We are shown it thinks, it assimilates, and, it can reprogram itself, but we are given no reasons why. Even when Hulk has transformed back to Bruce, he does not question the AI, which he would - would he not? No, he transforms back into Hulk, and you guessed it, he smashes.
The artwork also is a game of two halves. In the first issue, Cha's style is superb and fits the HULK like a green silk glove. I especially revered the beardy Hulk panel. Subtle. Simple. Awesome. And in the scene where Hulk picks up a rapist by his head is full of anger and disgust. It is a marvellous slice of comic book art. Then, in the third issue, Santacruz takes the reigns to the pencil. I have to say, on the whole, his artwork is okay, though he does suffer from inconsistent sizing. There are too many times when Hulk becomes a small head on a monstrous body. And Fury has short arms but massive hands. Also, he is responsible for the worst spacecraft and robot ever. When you see the self-built satellite, you wonder how it holds itself together. Granted, when we see the AI robot construct for the first time, it is pretty decent. However, when he draws the robot and Hulk slugging it out, the artwork gets messy and erratic.
Peace in our Time is a heinous addition to Hulk, and I would not recommend it to anyone. As a teen, I loved The Hulk comic and waited with anticipation for the next issue. But if most afterwards were like this tale, I am glad I have missed them.
As for the Civil War tie-in, Peace is listed to inform the reader why Hulk was not around. So feel free to give it a miss if you, like me, are completing the Civil War readers list. In fact, I would recommend not wasting your time.
Firstly, the story Peace In Our Time (collected in Prelude to Planet Hulk) is not a worthy Hulk story, in my opinion. Daniel Way starts admirably with Hulk secluded in the Alaskan wilds and living under a different name. But we all know this will not last. It becomes quickly apparent that Bruce will have to move on after tussling with a couple of rapist bad boys. Though, his delivery man has a surprise for him.
Everything becomes weaker when we get to to the SHIELD and the rogue satellite storyline. Way's storytelling grows blander with every panel. He misses opportunities to weave in the AI robot and satellite's ethos. We are shown it thinks, it assimilates, and, it can reprogram itself, but we are given no reasons why. Even when Hulk has transformed back to Bruce, he does not question the AI, which he would - would he not? No, he transforms back into Hulk, and you guessed it, he smashes.
The artwork also is a game of two halves. In the first issue, Cha's style is superb and fits the HULK like a green silk glove. I especially revered the beardy Hulk panel. Subtle. Simple. Awesome. And in the scene where Hulk picks up a rapist by his head is full of anger and disgust. It is a marvellous slice of comic book art. Then, in the third issue, Santacruz takes the reigns to the pencil. I have to say, on the whole, his artwork is okay, though he does suffer from inconsistent sizing. There are too many times when Hulk becomes a small head on a monstrous body. And Fury has short arms but massive hands. Also, he is responsible for the worst spacecraft and robot ever. When you see the self-built satellite, you wonder how it holds itself together. Granted, when we see the AI robot construct for the first time, it is pretty decent. However, when he draws the robot and Hulk slugging it out, the artwork gets messy and erratic.
Peace in our Time is a heinous addition to Hulk, and I would not recommend it to anyone. As a teen, I loved The Hulk comic and waited with anticipation for the next issue. But if most afterwards were like this tale, I am glad I have missed them.
As for the Civil War tie-in, Peace is listed to inform the reader why Hulk was not around. So feel free to give it a miss if you, like me, are completing the Civil War readers list. In fact, I would recommend not wasting your time.
April 29, 2020
This was a good set up collection with a couple things that don't have much to do with the outcome that I wanted to take note of.
First, after Hulk gets hit with the same type of Gamma bomb that turned him into the Hulk in the first place, he goes from the intelligent Hulk to the rampaging Hulk. Thing and Human Torch are called in to find and subdue him. It's said that The Thing can go toe-to-toe with The Hulk. I never considered The Thing that strong. He gets his rocky butt kicked so perhaps I was right.
Second, after he gets his smarts back, Bruce hides away in Alaska. I had just finished The Great Alone, a book about Alaska. But that's not what I wanted to note. Hulk decides to leave when he stops two drunks from raping a woman. I thought that was ridiculous. The Hulk could crush them under his thumb, literally. I get it that the point was to get him out of Alaska but it missed its mark with me.
But that didn't matter because when Fury tricks Hulk into helping him fight an AI that is out of control in space, he's shot into deep space because he was done with wondering when the next time rampaging Hulk would show up. That was a great start to the next stage. Hulk Planet, which I'm currently reading.
First, after Hulk gets hit with the same type of Gamma bomb that turned him into the Hulk in the first place, he goes from the intelligent Hulk to the rampaging Hulk. Thing and Human Torch are called in to find and subdue him. It's said that The Thing can go toe-to-toe with The Hulk. I never considered The Thing that strong. He gets his rocky butt kicked so perhaps I was right.
Second, after he gets his smarts back, Bruce hides away in Alaska. I had just finished The Great Alone, a book about Alaska. But that's not what I wanted to note. Hulk decides to leave when he stops two drunks from raping a woman. I thought that was ridiculous. The Hulk could crush them under his thumb, literally. I get it that the point was to get him out of Alaska but it missed its mark with me.
But that didn't matter because when Fury tricks Hulk into helping him fight an AI that is out of control in space, he's shot into deep space because he was done with wondering when the next time rampaging Hulk would show up. That was a great start to the next stage. Hulk Planet, which I'm currently reading.
February 23, 2018
This is a totally random read for me and came after exploring the Prime Reading section of Amazon on my Kindle whereby I downloaded Planet Hulk and saw this thereafter. I initially opened it just for a sneak peak and found the Kindle panel by panel reading method sucked me in and I read the first issue in no time. Having the panels blown up like that allows you to see more detail and makes the panels stand out much more and I was really impressed when reading the first issue especially because it had some really cool panels where Bruce hulks out on a couple of would be rapists.
Things devolve in the proceeding issues though with the second issue including a mind numbing science-y yap between Banner and Fury, which is no fun at all. It's a comic, but it was all pretty wild and silly from there. It's merely a set up for Planet Hulk and how they got there didn't seem to matter too much because it ultimately had to be ridiculous in some way.
The real revelation here was how comics can be read through the Kindle and how much fun it injects into the reading.
Things devolve in the proceeding issues though with the second issue including a mind numbing science-y yap between Banner and Fury, which is no fun at all. It's a comic, but it was all pretty wild and silly from there. It's merely a set up for Planet Hulk and how they got there didn't seem to matter too much because it ultimately had to be ridiculous in some way.
The real revelation here was how comics can be read through the Kindle and how much fun it injects into the reading.
September 12, 2017
This review will be minimal. My desire to read graphic novels generally coincides with the release of a new comic book movie. I read "Old Man Logan" before seeing 'Logan' and I brushed up on DC and Darkseid before seeing the awful, "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."
So with "Thor: Ragnorak" coming in a couple of months I got the itch to take on another chapter. Apparently, "Planet Hulk" is the definitive Hulk story arc and expertly written. Furthermore, there will be elements of "Planet Hulk" all over the new Thor movie so I wanted to educate myself.
This comic was a prequel to "Planet Hulk" and serves no other purpose but to whet the appetite for that graphic novel. I can guarantee that it is not required reading to enjoy "Planet Hulk," but it's a nice enhancement. If you can borrow it from a friend and want to read "Planet Hulk" it's worth the quick read.
So with "Thor: Ragnorak" coming in a couple of months I got the itch to take on another chapter. Apparently, "Planet Hulk" is the definitive Hulk story arc and expertly written. Furthermore, there will be elements of "Planet Hulk" all over the new Thor movie so I wanted to educate myself.
This comic was a prequel to "Planet Hulk" and serves no other purpose but to whet the appetite for that graphic novel. I can guarantee that it is not required reading to enjoy "Planet Hulk," but it's a nice enhancement. If you can borrow it from a friend and want to read "Planet Hulk" it's worth the quick read.
July 2, 2020
The book over all is three stars because of the worthless (subjective) guide in the back which describes the characters in hulk lore. This so fine but not exactly what I was hoping would fill a good portion the 100 or so pages.
The story thought was fairly good. A bit confusing as he had already agreed to go into space so I don’t see why there was a secondary pod they had to get him into, why not just launch him out straight from earth. Besides this the story was average with the first issue being particularly good, hulks persona in Alaska was really interesting and I could have done with a few more issues with that to be honest. But the art, in my opinion, was fantastic, very painterly and dramatic when needed.
4.5 stars for art.
3.5 for story.
3 overall because half the book isn’t actually prelude to planet hulk.
The story thought was fairly good. A bit confusing as he had already agreed to go into space so I don’t see why there was a secondary pod they had to get him into, why not just launch him out straight from earth. Besides this the story was average with the first issue being particularly good, hulks persona in Alaska was really interesting and I could have done with a few more issues with that to be honest. But the art, in my opinion, was fantastic, very painterly and dramatic when needed.
4.5 stars for art.
3.5 for story.
3 overall because half the book isn’t actually prelude to planet hulk.
November 25, 2017
Hulk punches a satellite. That's what this basically comes down to. Fury 'convinces' Bruce Banner to come in from exile to take out a sentient satellite. The story's pretty absurd, but it gives Hulk something big and metallic to fight in a locale where there won't be any collateral damage. Half the story is told from a mission control center, as Fury watches and connives. It's a decent story but not particularly memorable - Hulk does what he does, Fury does what he does, and Banner is there to be convinced to act. The only thing notable is the end, which actually understates the action taken to precipitate Planet Hulk. At least the art is pretty good, although a couple of frames of Hulk make his head look weird.
November 9, 2022
This isn't an essential to read. This book sets up the events that lead to the Planet Hulk series, but the story is mediocre. It reprints the stories from both Fantastic Four #533-535, and Incredible Hulk #88-91. Much of what transpires in the book seems insignificant to me story-wise, and could all be explained in one panel (which in The Incredible Hulk #92 definitely is). Granted, the story does fill-in some back story for Banner/Hulk, but I felt like I wasted my time and money. Unless you need to have this as part of your collection, this entire book can be skipped. If you're interested in the Planet Hulk story and events, buy the Planet Hulk graphic novel to jump into this epic tale instead.
September 8, 2017
I decided to raid my sister's graphic novel collection for the Planet Hulk graphic novels. This is due to the new articles coming out that the new Thor movie is going to partially based of it it. This novel was the prelude to the Planet Hulk series. The thing i came away with is that Reed Richards and Nick Fury are jerks. Bruce only wants to live in peace. They instead use him for their own purposes. Then they send him away on a spacecraft to know knows where. No one seems to care that Bruce only wants Peace and quiet. No wonder he goes crazy later on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2019
Pretty worthless as a part of the Planet Hulk saga and not all that compelling on its own. It's absolutely NOT essential to read this first. What you actually get here is a plot about the Fantastic Four trying to protect their children from government over-regulation, which is fine, but only the last issue truly ties into the thing this collection is claiming it does. Otherwise, a pretty average mid-run arc for a few heroes.
June 30, 2021
I don't really read comics other than a few Image series and the Buffy stuff. This might've been the first Hulk story I read. My girlfriend has Planet Hulk, and being a big fan of Thor: Ragnarok, I thought it'd be cool to read. My girlfriend told me I had to read this first. Haven't started Planet Hulk yet but I hope it's better than this.
December 23, 2025
the first issue was great, I especially loved the scenes in the wilderness and then the battle on the space station was epic too. overall a pretty great prelude and leads up to one of the best Hulk stories. although I seem to have read two versions of a prelude as there was also one in fantastic four and not sure which one is the true prelude.
July 4, 2017
The FF issues have mediocre art but are very well written, The Thing's humor is top notch. The Hulk issues have beautiful art and are a decent read too. Not essential, but I do think it enhances the Planet Hulk story line more than some of these "prelude" books do.
August 25, 2017
As a fan of the comic series I really enjoyed understanding the real reason Hulk was sent off planet by SHIELD and the AVENGERS. The story sets up the Planet Hulk story which we will get some small extracts from in the upcoming Thor Ragnarok Movie.
Overall a really enjoyable read.
Overall a really enjoyable read.
September 22, 2019
2.5 stars & rounding up. This is actually issues of Fantastic Four put together with issues of the Incredible Hulk, so the very different artwork made it feel disjointed. Looking forward to getting into the Planet Hulk story next.
May 26, 2017
Banner tries to stay away from human society, gets angry, Hulk smashes things...
It's always that same old story
It's always that same old story
August 18, 2017
Helpful, but maybe not 100% necessary or needing its own volume.
October 21, 2017
Fine, solid stories, although there is again the feeling that the book is marking time.
December 25, 2017
read 12/6/17
April 9, 2018
Never been a huge Hulk fan, but this was a fun read. Was quick and gave a good overview of why Hulk was expelled from Earth.
July 4, 2018
Collection of Fantastic Four and Hulk comics that led to the events of Planet Hulk. I enjoyed the Planet Hulk story w/o this but I enjoyed reading the back story.
December 2, 2018
I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY JUST SHOT BRUCE BANNER INTO SPACE LIKE THAT'S A REASONABLE SOLUTION.
April 17, 2019
Now i feel sorry for Hulk.
*Sighs*
*Sighs*
June 29, 2021
Nick Fury is such a dick. lol
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews