Hit Or Miss
You know, I get that comic books can be very inconsistent in the way they present their characters, but certain things should be respected, especially if it's been hammered down and explained on more than one occasion. I mean, how hard is it to respect the canon? Look, I don't think this arc as a whole is bad, in fact I had quite a lot of fun with it, but we're nearing the end of a certain sub plot, and I have to say that we didn't really end on a huge mark. I'll admit that the other issues were superior, and that this one could be a minor stump in the progress, but still, I'd like to see some more out of what could be, or what could have been, an amazing arc. Maybe I am overblowing thing's, since the issue itself isn't bad, but still, there are certain issues that need to be addressed. And on that note, a little warning before we dive right in, there will be spoilers ahead.
Before going through the bad, I'd really like to mention what I like about this issue. The characterization is, once again fantastic. I have to give credit where it's due, and Duggan has definitely done a wonderful job of portraying the likes of Doc Green, who, though not as powerful as the other versions, is still pretty interesting, as well as the likes of Steve Rogers. Duggan also dispatches of Hulks assistants, who in all honesty, weren't really developing as characters and should basically be put to rest at this point. I'd generally argue that they should have been put to better use, but honestly, with everything going on at the time, they were small fries. Though this begs the question of what in the hell happened to Melinda, but since the arc isn't over, lets still wait for how things will turn out.
Moreover, Duggan did something I have been dreaming of ever since Daniel Way ruined a well established and interesting character. He finally got rid of the whole cowardly "Red" Leader nonsense and brought back the character the way he should be, or should have been all this time. Seriously, Jeff Parker spent 25 issues carving out an interesting universe around Ross in his HULK run in order to make him stand out on his own and not be viewed as a Hulk rip off, and the first thing Daniel Way does is turn a Leader red? Seriously? Anyways, I'm getting off track here. Point is, I appreciate what Duggan did very much so.
On the other hand, there were some aspects of the issue that really left a bad taste in my mouth. For starters, when you are advocating that you're character is one of the strongest heroes ever, you're gonna have to actually show it. Now there are certain things we don't know about the scene, but despite that, it doesn't justify what happened. A guy you call the strongest there is a few panels later should not be completely floored by a old man laser-cane. That is just beyond inconsistent. If you were to let something like this happen, you're going to have to explain how powerful the said weapon is, otherwise, we're left guessing. Either the "victim" simply isn't strong enough to withstand the device, or the device is powerful enough to knock out its foe.
Furthermore, it's not exactly untrue to say that Ross still has the power to absorb radiation, but him still doing so is severely out of character. In Parkers run, it stated that Ross would lose either his power or humanity if he kept using his absorption powers again. Since Ross wanted the both of best worlds, he decided to stop using it. However, it not seems that he settled in a place where there's an endless batch of radiation, which would probably interfere with his previously stated wishes. I guess, in some sense, he could view this as his final battle, and thus has decided to use his powers one last time to get rid of the Hulk. That I can buy. We have yet to see his side of the story (we may not even see it either ways, but I can't predict the future).
Also, why hire deadpool? Sure it's fun to see him but his appearance doesn't make any sense. Not that I mind Hulk asking for help or anything, but the plan seems ridiculously...Odd? In order to stop Ross's absorption powers, Deadpool is asked to shoot Red Hulk with a special bullet, either through the eyes or ears. Doc Green even specifies how important it is for Deadpool not to MISS, so why leave it to a deranged merc to snipe a giant monster who will probably be moving around a lot during the ongoing slugfest? I mean, he could probably jam it into Rulks head with much less effort. Maybe I'm over thinking it, and hey, it's not the most ridiculous thing I've seen in comics, so it's not really that huge of a problem, but I felt like I had to mention it.
And last but not least, the flow of the story seemed very odd to me. There are multiple threads here and there involving leader, deadpool and captain america's allegiance, the crazy AI, Lyra's departure, and they just don't tie well together in this issue. What I mean is that, when a single issue focuses on a few threads, it works out better, but there are so many bits and pieces here is just felt a bit disjointed. Not exactly a huge problem though, since most of the arc has been consistent in flow.
In conclusion, is this issue terrible? No, far from it. it's very entertaining with cool characterization and art, yet there are some questionable choices made, that will hopefully be resolved in the future, and to end on a positive note, I'm looking forward to the upcoming brawl between Ross and Doc Green.