HULK. We made a world. I was the Green King. And Caiera the Oldstrong was my
queen. But your “heroes” sent a bomb. Killed a million people. Now this
city will fall. You have twenty-four hours to evacuate.
IRONMAN. But everything I’ve done… Everything I’ll do today… Everything I’ll
ever do… I do to protect this world.
Shades of General Zod in Man of Steel . Ironman’s reliance on “protecting this world” absolves his conscience. However, he did not go to the extents that Zod went to.
DR. STRANGE. I’m searching for a hero… The only one who can defeat and
redeem the Hulk in the same instant. But my spell will only work if he lets
me in…
Admirable that Dr. Strange was willing to redeem the Hulk. However, when the battle appeared lost, Strange channeled a more sinister force that he risked losing control of. The risk of killing the Hulk seemed more acceptable to him then.
BLACK PANTHER. Unfortunately, you made it our fight. You and your friends
made it the whole world’s fight.
GEN. ROSS. People made excuses for him. Hell, I made excuses. He was Bruce
Banner, the most brilliant scientist I ever knew – and my daughter loved him.
If the Hulk did something insane, it was never Banner’s fault. We were always
saying, “Apocalypse possessed him!” Or, “Doc Samson separated the Hulk and
Banner!” Or, “All he wants is to be left alone!” So we’d forgive him. And
what did years and years of that lead to? My daughter is dead. And now the
Hulk’s come back from a vacation in space with an army of aliens, demanding the
evacuation of Manhattan and threatening to kill the planet’s biggest super
heroes… The same costumed clowns who built that stupid statue for him. So
you’re telling me those down there still say he’s a hero?
PRESIDENT’S AIDE. The Sentry’s the most powerful super hero on the planet… but
he’s also an agoraphobic schizophrenic. He’s scared of the world. Terrified of
himself. He needs to be reassured every step of the way that what we want
him to do is the right thing to do.
I like this characterization. Shades of Moon Knight who also had challenges in his human self. A troubled hero allows for more nuanced storytelling.
KORG. We could make an end right here. Their whole planet knows what they did to
us. They’re the monsters, now. If we walked away today–
HULK. Listen
to them, Korg. They get it: Never stop making them pay.
RICK. Hiroim… You said you were a priest. You know this is wrong.
HIROIM. Of course it is, Rick Jones. And some day we warbound will pay for the
rage in our hearts. But first… we’ll make you pay.
Unsettling when you have folks that know what they’re doing isn’t right, and do it anyway. The neater version of the story has everyone seeing themselves as a hero in their version of events, but not Hiroim.
ELLOE. Why, Sue Storm? They didn’t let the Hulk speak before they shot him
into space. They didn’t let my mother speak before they incinerated her
and a million others.
CIVILIAN. My name is Clarinda Roberts. I’m here to speak about Black Bolt.
Last month, my husband retired. And for the first time in twenty years, I got
him to go with me to the opera house. You probably saw what happened on
television. Black Bolt’s people came and they declared war on America. And they
tore my husband’s head off. I know what Black Bolt would say. It was a mistake,
those weren’t his orders. I don’t care. My husband is dead. And I want than man
to pay.
CIVILIAN. My name’s Tom Foster. My uncle was Bill Foster. You
probably knew him as Goliath. He took the rebels' side during the super heroes'
civil war. Because he knew better than to trust anyone who throws in with the
government. Tony Stark and Reed Richards cloned Thor. Cloned a god.
And used him to kill my uncle. They talk about law. But their laws only seem
to apply to people like you and me. I’m ready for the Hulk’s law.
Trying to toe the difference between justice and vengeance. The fact that Clarinda doesn’t care about anything that Black Bolt has to say leans more towards vengeance.
IRONMAN. I said that sometimes to do the right thing… you have to play God.
GEN. ROSS. You morons. Trading one monster for another.
MIEK. No, Rick was the first. So he can. And he will. Because
this is what you were made for. Don’t let them stop you, Hulk. Never
stop making them pay. That’s what you taught me. That’s why I killed
them. That’s why you’ll kill me. And then…
HULK. Them?
MIEK.
Ha. Now you see. I always have to remind you… Because you always
forget. Like when you found your Queen. All you wanted was peace.
But that’s not who you are. You conquered Sakaar. Killed the Red King. We should
have slaughtered his people. But you let them live. So I watched them
load an old warp core onto that shuttle. They thought it would kill you. But
I knew… It would just remind you… of what you were made for.
Through inaction, Miek allowed millions to die on Sakaar, and deceived Hulk into a path of vengeance. Can Hulk be blamed for being deceived? The story does not answer this. There are times when the heroes tried making their case of innocence, but Hulk wouldn’t listen. Though if Hulk listened, we’d not have a comic book about it, would we?
Literally everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow and explained conveniently. Which is a shame, because the central premise of the series – which is a fascinating one – is gravely undermined by a last-minute reveal which robs the series of a lot of its complexity and makes things incredibly simple. […] The series doesn’t have the courage of its convictions, and that is somewhat unfortunate.
- World War Hulk #1. Greg Pak; John Romita Jr.; Klaus Janson; Christina Strain. marvel.fandom.com . Jun 13, 2007. Accessed Mar 2, 2024.
- World War Hulk #2. Greg Pak; John Romita Jr.; Klaus Janson; Christina Strain. marvel.fandom.com . Jul 18, 2007. Accessed Mar 2, 2024.
- World War Hulk #3. Greg Pak; John Romita Jr.; Klaus Janson; Christina Strain. marvel.fandom.com . Aug 1, 2007. Accessed Mar 2, 2024.
- World War Hulk #4. Greg Pak; John Romita Jr.; Klaus Janson; Christina Strain. marvel.fandom.com . Sep 19, 2007. Accessed Mar 2, 2024.
- World War Hulk #5. Greg Pak; John Romita Jr.; Klaus Janson; Christina Strain. marvel.fandom.com . Nov 14, 2007. Accessed Mar 2, 2024.
- World War Hulk (Review/Retrospective). them0vieblog.com . Oct 20, 2010. Accessed Mar 3, 2024.
This raises the question of who should be held accountable. Granted, the death of folks in Sakaar is gruesome, what did the people of New York have to do with it? Hulk seems to be using New York to get at the Illuminati, and that doesn’t seem justified.