Indestructible Hulk #5 Review

It's unfortunate that the current two-part storyline in Indestructible Hulk has arrived so closely on the heels of DC's Throne of Atlantis crossover. The idea of a jilted brother of an undersea monarch trying to spark a war between land and sea feels a little old hat at this point. But fortunately, this is a Hulk comic, not a Namor comic. Attuma's warmongering is merely a platform for Hulk to smash and Banner to continue his quest to become the ultimate scientist.

It's refreshing to see Mark Waid shake up the usual "done in one" formula for a slightly more in-depth storyline here. This is the first conflict with an actual sense of danger about it, as Hulk faces an unstoppable sea monster and the fact that he's trapped miles away from a reliable source of oxygen. But despite this increased drama, Waid doesn't ignore the fun half of the equation. The Hulk/Banner dynamic leads to some fun scenes with a group of Lemurian rebels that recall the Spider-Man/Black cat relationship.

The series is as enjoyable as ever, but there's also a sense that Waid is beginning to build towards something larger. My only complaint with the script is that the Chinese S.H.I.E.L.D. agents don't factor into the story much. Waid's more worldly take on S.H.I.E.L.D. is a breath of fresh air, and hopefully we'll see more international characters in future adventures.

Leinil Yu's art has always been an uneven fit for this series, as his harsh figures and heavy lines don't really mesh with Waid's dialogue-driven scenes. But given the underwater setting and heavier focus on smashing in issue #5, that problem isn't as pronounced. This still isn't the most refined work we've seen from Yu at Marvel, but them's the breaks when you want your Leinil Yu-pencilled comic to stick to a monthly schedule.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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