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The Incredible Hulk (2009) (Collected Editions)
The Incredible Hulks: Dark Son
As the Hulk's long-lost son Hiro-Kala rockets towards us across the solar system, Steve Rogers and the Secret Avengers face a much more immediate threat -- three tons of Incredible Hulks cutting loose right here on Planet Earth! Forced to choose between his son and his planet, whose side will the Hulk take? Collecting: Incredible Hulks #612-617
200 pages, Hardcover
First published February 9, 2011
About the author
Greg Pak
1,711 books592 followersGreg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 22, 2015
Is anyone shocked that I started off with a Hulk review for Green Week? I didn’t think so.
Three and a half stars.
Apparently there’s now a Hulk family and as Leo Tolstoy once said, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So:
Mr. Hulk: (to neighbor) Hulk warn egg head man. Hulk say if egg head man walk doggie one more time on Hulk’s lawn. Hulk would eat dog….and egg head man!
As neighbor runs off:
Mr. Hulk: If Hulk see wife’s creepy stuffed wart hog head again, Hulk smash neighborhood zoning committee!
Enter Mrs. Hulk
Mrs. Hulk: Me warn Hulk, that if Hulk leave toilet seat up again, me tear off Hulk’s head and use that for toilet!
Mr. Hulk: Hulk not care. Hulk tired of Hulk-wife leaving change in pocket for Hulk lunch. Hulk fingers too big to put coin in food machine. Hulk smash food machine. Puny boss get angry at Hulk. Hulk drop kick puny boss two states away. Hulk not care. Hulk strongest one there is.
Enter Hulk Jr.
Hulk Jr.: Me have trouble in school. Me want to smash algebra.
Mr. Hulk: Hulkboy can’t smash algebra. Algebra abstract concept. Smash puny teacher. Now, go away!! Hulk just want to be left alone.*
Okay, this wasn’t in the book.
There is a Hulk family that consists of pretty much every gamma-irradiated character in the Marvel universe. And because it’s a Hulk family, there’s tension. And anger. We have the Hulk, stone guy Korg, Skaar, Rick Jones (now A Bomb) and three female Hulks, She-Hulk, Red She-Hulk and Lyra, Hulk’s daughter from the future.
Apparently there’s another son of the Hulk, he’s Skaar’s brother and he’s driving a planet and heading to Earth. Daddy issues. Nuff said.
The Hulk family blast off into space and try to stop Bad Seed Hulk.
*Courtesy Hulk Repertory Company and Theatre of Des Moines, Iowa.
May 12, 2020
Man, Bruce has the worst kids.
So after calming Skaar down and having him join his team, we are left wondering what happened to his twin brother, Hiro-Kala. This volume shows us where he has been, and more importantly, what he is doing now. And what he is doing, is flying a planet towards planet Earth.
He has it in his mind that the "old power" that he has inherited from his mother is evil and corrupted. His mission is to wipe it out from the universe. This includes wiping it from his brother, and other heroes of Earth. So I guess he decides to stream line the process and just wipe out Earth all together. He's a little nuts by this point. Hulk and his gamma crew go up to try and talk some sense into him. either that or put him down permanently.
I like that there is a wide cast of characters, each who bring their own personality and approach to the table. It gives the Hulk more to play off of, and presents more plot possibilities as well. I did feel this story in itself started to run its course after about 4 issues. I think if this was a 4 issue series, it would've worked great. But they drag the ending out and it starts feeling like a bit of a chore to read.
A decent story with some good action. This could've been a great story, but ended up being a pretty good one. Recommended for Hulk fans who are versed on what came before it, as it relies on a lot of the lore happening in the Hulk series up to that point.
So after calming Skaar down and having him join his team, we are left wondering what happened to his twin brother, Hiro-Kala. This volume shows us where he has been, and more importantly, what he is doing now. And what he is doing, is flying a planet towards planet Earth.
He has it in his mind that the "old power" that he has inherited from his mother is evil and corrupted. His mission is to wipe it out from the universe. This includes wiping it from his brother, and other heroes of Earth. So I guess he decides to stream line the process and just wipe out Earth all together. He's a little nuts by this point. Hulk and his gamma crew go up to try and talk some sense into him. either that or put him down permanently.
I like that there is a wide cast of characters, each who bring their own personality and approach to the table. It gives the Hulk more to play off of, and presents more plot possibilities as well. I did feel this story in itself started to run its course after about 4 issues. I think if this was a 4 issue series, it would've worked great. But they drag the ending out and it starts feeling like a bit of a chore to read.
A decent story with some good action. This could've been a great story, but ended up being a pretty good one. Recommended for Hulk fans who are versed on what came before it, as it relies on a lot of the lore happening in the Hulk series up to that point.
October 6, 2017
kids these days....
December 4, 2023
Could've easily been a 3 issue arc, but Pak's a strong enough writer that I mostly didn't mind the little asides and backstory business. Still makes the whole thing drag, though.
March 2, 2015
Following the defeat of the Intelligencia and the return of his rampaging alter-ego, Bruce Banner enjoys a rare moment of peace with some of his closest friends and family, including his cousin Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk; his best friend Rick Jones, now trapped in the towering form of A-Bomb; and even his fellow Warbound ally Korg the Kronan. But all is far from well. His newly-resurrected wife Betty Banner is distancing herself, retreating deep into her vindictive Red She-Hulk persona, while his son Skaar senses the approach from space of another lost member of the family, and this one’s bringing an entire world from the Hulk’s past along with him.
One more pulse-pounding page-turner from the mind of Greg Pak, this time in collaboration with Scott Reed, INCREDIBLE HULKS: DARK SON boldly embarks into territory few writers have dared to explore before: the concept of the Hulk as a father figure. As inherent in the book’s main title change, Pak ups the ante here, surrounding the Hulk with an entire family of monstrous misfits like himself. The result is a volatile combination of characters that are as likely to destroy Earth as they are to save it.
At this point in his run, Pak gets to play with more of the familiar trappings he’s always wanted to: the interplay of the Bruce Banner/the Hulk dichotomy; the father/son dynamic not only between the Hulk and Skaar, but between the Hulk and Hiro-Kala, with the memories of Bruce’s terrible upbringing always in the background, a reminder of the constant fear that he could end up exactly like his own father, Brian Banner; and most especially the romantic rollercoaster relationship between Bruce and Betty. The natural enmity between Bruce Banner and the Hulk has been reduced from a constant war for dominance to more of a grudging tolerance for one another. This is one of those rare instances in which the two halves share a common goal. For once, they’re less interested in suppressing the other and more concerned with the stability and the safety of their new family. It’s a theme that runs through the bulk of the remainder of Pak’s run, and the writer constantly plays up the notion that Banner and the Hulk are each better suited to dealing with different situations, and not always the ones we’d expect.
The duality of the Hulk is expanded to the extreme in his twin sons. With the arrival of Hiro-Kala, the missing piece of the puzzle is filled. Whereas Skaar now embodies the savage nobility of the Hulk and the perseverance and heroism of Bruce Banner, Hiro-Kala reflects some of his more frightening aspects; Banner’s single-mindedness and deep-seated fear of uncontrolled power, and the Hulk’s unlimited capacity for violence and wholesale destruction. Indeed, after a fashion they are very much like Cain and Abel, with one son eventually finding the path to redemption and coming closer to resembling the father, and the other son spiraling even further into the throes of madness and evil, so much so that he may even be beyond saving. Hiro-Kala destroys one world, and brings another—ironically Jarella’s World, the Planet K’ai, a place the Hulk himself has saved many times—to the brink of Armageddon.
Pak also adds a new dimension to the Bruce/Betty relationship through his depictions of the Hulk and Red She-Hulk. Now on equal footing with her husband, Betty’s innermost thoughts and feelings are also put on display. It’s not so much the Jekyll-and-Hyde split of Bruce and the Hulk, nor even the plain Jane/party girl one of Jen Walters and She-Hulk, but in her new incarnation Betty relishes the ability to let loose all the years of pent up frustration and despair. After playing the role of the quintessential love interest since the very beginning, she finally gets a real taste of what it’s like for him to be the Hulk (if one passes over her all-too-brief transformation into the Harpy from way back in INCREDIBLE HULK #s 168 and 169), and although their personalities clash, they begin to understand each other a lot better now.
With INCREDIBLE HULKS: DARK SON, Greg Pak keeps up with the trend set by his predecessors Bill Mantlo and Peter David by taking risks with new ideas and changes rather than falling back on the tried and formulaic, if reliable, plot patterns of the past. It’s a storyline filled as much with dramatic tension and inescapable tragedy as it is with the smashing action ones comes to expect from the Hulk. Nicely done, Mr. Pak.
One more pulse-pounding page-turner from the mind of Greg Pak, this time in collaboration with Scott Reed, INCREDIBLE HULKS: DARK SON boldly embarks into territory few writers have dared to explore before: the concept of the Hulk as a father figure. As inherent in the book’s main title change, Pak ups the ante here, surrounding the Hulk with an entire family of monstrous misfits like himself. The result is a volatile combination of characters that are as likely to destroy Earth as they are to save it.
At this point in his run, Pak gets to play with more of the familiar trappings he’s always wanted to: the interplay of the Bruce Banner/the Hulk dichotomy; the father/son dynamic not only between the Hulk and Skaar, but between the Hulk and Hiro-Kala, with the memories of Bruce’s terrible upbringing always in the background, a reminder of the constant fear that he could end up exactly like his own father, Brian Banner; and most especially the romantic rollercoaster relationship between Bruce and Betty. The natural enmity between Bruce Banner and the Hulk has been reduced from a constant war for dominance to more of a grudging tolerance for one another. This is one of those rare instances in which the two halves share a common goal. For once, they’re less interested in suppressing the other and more concerned with the stability and the safety of their new family. It’s a theme that runs through the bulk of the remainder of Pak’s run, and the writer constantly plays up the notion that Banner and the Hulk are each better suited to dealing with different situations, and not always the ones we’d expect.
The duality of the Hulk is expanded to the extreme in his twin sons. With the arrival of Hiro-Kala, the missing piece of the puzzle is filled. Whereas Skaar now embodies the savage nobility of the Hulk and the perseverance and heroism of Bruce Banner, Hiro-Kala reflects some of his more frightening aspects; Banner’s single-mindedness and deep-seated fear of uncontrolled power, and the Hulk’s unlimited capacity for violence and wholesale destruction. Indeed, after a fashion they are very much like Cain and Abel, with one son eventually finding the path to redemption and coming closer to resembling the father, and the other son spiraling even further into the throes of madness and evil, so much so that he may even be beyond saving. Hiro-Kala destroys one world, and brings another—ironically Jarella’s World, the Planet K’ai, a place the Hulk himself has saved many times—to the brink of Armageddon.
Pak also adds a new dimension to the Bruce/Betty relationship through his depictions of the Hulk and Red She-Hulk. Now on equal footing with her husband, Betty’s innermost thoughts and feelings are also put on display. It’s not so much the Jekyll-and-Hyde split of Bruce and the Hulk, nor even the plain Jane/party girl one of Jen Walters and She-Hulk, but in her new incarnation Betty relishes the ability to let loose all the years of pent up frustration and despair. After playing the role of the quintessential love interest since the very beginning, she finally gets a real taste of what it’s like for him to be the Hulk (if one passes over her all-too-brief transformation into the Harpy from way back in INCREDIBLE HULK #s 168 and 169), and although their personalities clash, they begin to understand each other a lot better now.
With INCREDIBLE HULKS: DARK SON, Greg Pak keeps up with the trend set by his predecessors Bill Mantlo and Peter David by taking risks with new ideas and changes rather than falling back on the tried and formulaic, if reliable, plot patterns of the past. It’s a storyline filled as much with dramatic tension and inescapable tragedy as it is with the smashing action ones comes to expect from the Hulk. Nicely done, Mr. Pak.
January 24, 2021
The artwork is solid even if I'm not a fan of all the artists in this volume. I tend to like Greg Pak's work on the Hulk (or in this case, Hulks, as this comes after Jeph Loeb's run where the cast of gamma enhanced characters was expanded a bit), though.
I am especially fond of Pak's seminal Planet Hulk storyline.
This collection deals with with even more fallout from that story, as Hiro-Kala, Bruce Banner's second son with Caieira the Oldstrong, follows his brother Skaar to Earth and proves himself to be even more of a monster – and a danger - than his father or his brother previously.
Much of the drama comes from Banner trying to connect with his previously unknown son, who has a whole planet in tow (Jarella's world), as well as his former wife Betty, who as the Red She-Hulk, has issues of her own (which are not helped by the presence of Hulk's dead wife Caieira's sons or the fact that one of them brings the planet of Hulk's dead wife Jarella along; she, as his formerly dead wife, is understandably pissed...)
I think one can get a bit lost here unless one is a long-time reader. Even then this reaches occasional levels of absurdity that I found hard to get over, so I found this somewhat disappointing.
I am especially fond of Pak's seminal Planet Hulk storyline.
This collection deals with with even more fallout from that story, as Hiro-Kala, Bruce Banner's second son with Caieira the Oldstrong, follows his brother Skaar to Earth and proves himself to be even more of a monster – and a danger - than his father or his brother previously.
Much of the drama comes from Banner trying to connect with his previously unknown son, who has a whole planet in tow (Jarella's world), as well as his former wife Betty, who as the Red She-Hulk, has issues of her own (which are not helped by the presence of Hulk's dead wife Caieira's sons or the fact that one of them brings the planet of Hulk's dead wife Jarella along; she, as his formerly dead wife, is understandably pissed...)
I think one can get a bit lost here unless one is a long-time reader. Even then this reaches occasional levels of absurdity that I found hard to get over, so I found this somewhat disappointing.
May 25, 2012
In writer Greg Pak's first volume of The Incredible Hulk(s) since the big crossovers ("Fall of the Hulks", "World War Hulks") with Jeph Loeb's "Hulk" title, he shows us that, apparently, all the threads from his "Planet Hulk" run are not tied up... and the Hulk has not one son, but TWO!
The title of the monthly book had actually changed to "The Incredible Hulks" and became a team book featuring Hulk, Skaar, She-Hulk, Lyra, A-Bomb, Red She-Hulk, and Korg. An interesting spin, but I still like the stories where Hulk strikes out on his own as Bruce Banner and gets mindless, mean, and green when he's angry.
Hulk's second son, previously unknown to him until this volume had tried to steer a planet into Earth and apparently had it in for the Hulk and Skaar. Again, a nice thread from Pak's nearly instant classic "Planet Hulk", but not nearly as moving.
The artwork as a whole was pretty solid. Nice work from Tom Raney, Brian Ching, Barry Kitson, et al. Great, action-packed sequences and plenty of poster fodder.
Recommended as further reading for "Planet Hulk"/"World War Hulk" and also recommended to Hulk geeks, sci-fi nerds, and assorted superhero comic dweebs.
The title of the monthly book had actually changed to "The Incredible Hulks" and became a team book featuring Hulk, Skaar, She-Hulk, Lyra, A-Bomb, Red She-Hulk, and Korg. An interesting spin, but I still like the stories where Hulk strikes out on his own as Bruce Banner and gets mindless, mean, and green when he's angry.
Hulk's second son, previously unknown to him until this volume had tried to steer a planet into Earth and apparently had it in for the Hulk and Skaar. Again, a nice thread from Pak's nearly instant classic "Planet Hulk", but not nearly as moving.
The artwork as a whole was pretty solid. Nice work from Tom Raney, Brian Ching, Barry Kitson, et al. Great, action-packed sequences and plenty of poster fodder.
Recommended as further reading for "Planet Hulk"/"World War Hulk" and also recommended to Hulk geeks, sci-fi nerds, and assorted superhero comic dweebs.
July 14, 2013
OK, so I haven't been keeping up with my Hulk folklore for a while.
So now, in addition to the "original" Banner-Hulk, we have a She-Hulk cousin (I knew about her), a Red She-Hulk Betty Ross (whoa, that's new), Skaar, son of Hulk (kinda like a Hulk-Conan mix), a Rick Jones Abomination look-a-like, a "Thing" from another planet, and we get a glimpse of Hulk's daughter from the future, though she completely and mysteriously dissapears without any reason given (wait, did I miss something there?)... oh, and Skaar has an evil-twin (eh, sorry, couldn't resist) brother.
Wait, with all these kids walking around, would that make the Hulk a polygamist, or simply a playah?
Still, this was a pretty good story with some very nice art. I guess I'll have to bring myself up to date on Hulk history one-a-these days.
So now, in addition to the "original" Banner-Hulk, we have a She-Hulk cousin (I knew about her), a Red She-Hulk Betty Ross (whoa, that's new), Skaar, son of Hulk (kinda like a Hulk-Conan mix), a Rick Jones Abomination look-a-like, a "Thing" from another planet, and we get a glimpse of Hulk's daughter from the future, though she completely and mysteriously dissapears without any reason given (wait, did I miss something there?)... oh, and Skaar has an evil-twin (eh, sorry, couldn't resist) brother.
Wait, with all these kids walking around, would that make the Hulk a polygamist, or simply a playah?
Still, this was a pretty good story with some very nice art. I guess I'll have to bring myself up to date on Hulk history one-a-these days.
February 2, 2014
After reading "Planet Hulk" several years ago and "World War Hulk" recently I decided to continue the series... I picked this one up at the library. It was pretty good.. I still think Planet Hulk is the best out of the series so far. This one has Hulks long lost son find the earth and decide to destroy it to destroy his father (cause he hates him), Hulk has to confront his son...you'll have to read the rest to find out what happens. I don't know if this is the only time in the series that they use Hulks son (I haven't read enough to know yet), but I think there is great potential for an awesome story arc in the future... Hulks son looks weak, but he is really powerful... it would be interesting if they ever incorporated this storyline into a Hulk movie...
July 18, 2022
A generally good continuation of Greg Pak's second run on the hulk, though it demonstrates how much the comic got mired in crossovers of various sorts. I loved his downtime scenes, when he makes sense (and, indeed, a family) of the ridiculous cast of Hulks that Jeph Loeb created -- though having that huge cost of Hulks does run the danger of becoming satire. The action-adventure itself was a bit less interesting, in part because it was so heavily mired in plot elements from Planet Hulk (or elsewhere? I'm not even sure) that it was hard to follow. Still, it was interesting and had a strong ending.
July 27, 2013
Sigh. More superheroes with kids they didn't know about. This volume is alright, but there's too many Hulks and I'm done with most of them as viable characters. I hope this series gets a bit more traditional soon.
August 14, 2011
What another son of Hulk, inconceivable!
May 9, 2015
This is by far the best hulk story I've read since Planet Hulk. Really well written.
November 3, 2015
3.5 stars
November 2, 2012
Public library copy.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews