@theacidskull: I am note sure my friend i see Sue Richards and female Thor there, so expect to get butthurt... I am 90% sure i will.... Duggan will definitely try to give them cool moments, he even managed to give Sue a couple of small ones and they barely even started talking let alone fighting lol.

Oh I know I'm just saying when i went through the pics quick without reading. I just think maybe Maestro might interfere. Then again Marvel love false advertising.

Well, I hope for the best, and settle or rage for what I get, so we'll see.

Hopefully, there will be no more Steve moments. I mean, what the f*ck was that...

I think the last issue will be of Hulk and she hulk and maybe others to rescue Lyra. Something like that. She hulk gets pissed, punches Hulk. They talk about it, find a way to get her back and blah blah blah. That is actually a lose end they need to tie before the big event.

And by doing so, they will somehow meet maestro, or something like that. Would be fun if the avengers are there and everyone gets messed up by Maestro to somehow reintroduce him and make him a main villain.

@schwarz: I was thinking that maybe Lyra was sent to a world where maestro was in control.

Exactly. No reason to get mad because Hulk took a punch and went flying. It happens often enough anyway.

@thedailybagel: Yah something like that.

I have been a Hulk fan since I was a little kid. I am now into strength training at the age of 40 and I have to admit reading IH really made me a fan of strength. I wanted to test my limits. so I just have to say I personally hate this entire Doc Green story arc. I cant wait for it to be over. I want Hulk to go back to ripping things apart. I have always loved the dr. jekyll /mr hyde aspect of Hulk. I like him smart as Banner and a brute as Hulk. I feel because its 2015 we are trying so hard to make him something he is not. The writers "THINK" we want a new Hulk. I loved him the way he was. The only change I have ever really loved is Planet Hulk. That is my favorite story arc I have ever read in any comic. other then World Breaker Hulk lets just get back to basics. Years ago I got a tattoo of the Hulk on my arm. That Hulk is all about rage, strength and anger. Not this new , smaller, weaker, more talkative hulk.

Sorry guys didnt mean to just jump in, but I had to get that off my chest.

Hulk is Strongest there is!

@canuckdad: A lot of bodybuilders like me and you love the Hulk. I'm 31, in my prime around the age of 25 or 26, I weighted 240 at 6'0" with low bodyfat and people at the small gym I went to used to call me Hulk. Depending on my shirt color I would either be that color Hulk. Like Yellow Hulk if I had a yellow shirt. Anyways a lot of people who work out, who knows what rage and strength is love the Hulk. What I am reading right now is garbage. It has nothing to do with what Hulk used to be or what in my mind and a lot of my workout buddies minds is supposed to be.

I hear ya my friend. I workout at home, When I am deadlifting close to 400 pounds I stare at a picture I have of the HULK on my wall. just looking at his massive figure inspires me to pick up the bar. My point is not to brag but I am sure I would not have starting lifting weights almost 30 years ago, nor would I have kept it up most of my life if I had not read Hulk Comics. I played football and lift big weight. I embrace my rage and strength. Like big Green says " thats my secret, I'm always angry".

I want the Big, Angry, always crazy powerful Hulk back

@canuckdad: Amen to that fellow strongmen :)

Thoughts on hulk 16?

Lastest issue was utter sh*t. Like we needed that damn talk that long. I knew the cover page was false advertising as usual.

But but... but where was Maestro ? Isn't that false advertisement ?

I'm pretty sure that the IA will find a way to acquire a body.

I have the feeling that Hulk will have a clone or something that will become The Maestro.

@realitywarper: fair enough, I haven't read it yet but I don't want to wait, I just want people to tell me what happened.

I'm also really pumped for secret wars, have you read issue 1 yet?

Well that was a huge disappointment.

Yes.

I can't wait to read everything. :)

@realitywarper: did hulk do anything good?

@theacidskull: was there a decent fight at least?

No fight at all. Good character development for doc green, betty, banner, etc. But f*ck I hate misleading covers and sh*t like that. What a letdown.

@theacidskull: well that's depressing. I was remaining optimistic for the rest of duggans run by I have to admit that at this point I'm not looking forward to him writing hulk after secret wars.

It's all this damn teasing that I can't deal with. "Hulk is now the most powerful person on the planet!" Nope. "Smartest as well!" Nope. "Maestro!" Nope. And now we didn't even get a fight with the avengers like he teased before.

Did he at least close up all the plot points like gammon and the additional coding the cures had?

Only teases for what I assume will come in Peter Davids future imperfect.

@theacidskull: even though it's more teases I trust PAD to deliver on those, so it's not all bad news I guess.

Yes.

He cooperates with Banner. :)

@realitywarper: in secret wars I mean. Like beating the snot out of ultimate hulk.

In fact, please tell me ultimate hulk was beaten up by someone, anyone. I just hate the guy.

Misleading solicits should be f'in illegal. Though I learned my lesson years ago. I never fall for that nonsense anymore.

Not really

I am not saying it shouldn't happen or that it never has happened or that when it did happen it didn't have some great story and character moments.... BUT... i still find it criminal that a climax of an arc... the very end chapter concludes with nothing but talking.... It's a Hulk issue, it's just criminal not to have him smash something in the end... What was the point of the Avengers? What was the point of teasing Maestro? Gammon? Sigh...

@atheistknowledge: Exactly why I'm not looking forward to Duggan writing the Hulk post Secret Wars. Give us Greg Pak or Peter David instead.

@greenscar1990: who's the female hulk at the start?

@thedailybagel: That's Gwen Stacy, she has nothing to do with the story they are just doing a Marvel event where every title has a variant cover with her. Not sure why i guess celebrating her popularity or something since she has her ongoing title that's very popular.

That is Odin right? I hope Maestro whoops his ass. If he does I see all the hate coming on our forum next month.

@atheistknowledge: oh, fair enough. Now that you've said I can see the resemblance.

@bonifidehustla: I doubt he's at the top of his game. Otherwise maestro would be ridiculously powerful, which wouodnt be a bad thing mind you.

Totally agreed. Flicked through it earlier, got excited at seeing Maestro and let down- again- what was that issue all about? Glad I didn't buy it! The end of a pretty poor story overall.

Not sure where I had read that Odin would be part of a coalition agaisn't Maestro.

I actually enjoyed this last issue. Yes the cover was sorta misleading, however we got the big fight the previous issue, so I was kinda expecting this to be a transition into Secret Wars, and it did a very good job imo doing just that. We learned a lot about Doc Green and Hulk for that matter, and how they felt about She-Hulk. Sure I like Hulk smashing sh*t, however not every issue will have that, and for a dialogue filled issue, I thought it was damn good all things considered.

@green_skaar: i totally agreed with you bro! it is a only a clever person that will like this issue. it is not always smashing this and smashing that. in fact this is a smart issue for me.

@theacidskull: @nomar: @atheistknowledge: @bezza: @schwarz: @green_skaar: @medulaoblaganda: @thedailybagel:

Wanna know the best part of Hulk #16?

The double-page spread of the Maestro. It was incredibly gorgeous. Seriously, can someone upload it? It was awesome.

Now, I'm going to give my full thoughts on the entire issue after having read it a few times. I believe I'll start with the Lyra story, which was... weird and just horrible... I don't even know how to describe it. It had some elements of the character, but it... it just didn't feel like Lyra, at least to me. And I've read everything involving her.

Also, I'm very ticked off about the massive feminist vibe the issue had. I mean, seriously? She-Hulk and Lyra get to remain Hulks, yet they freaking take away Skaar's heritage?! WTF?! It's okay to have 2 She-Hulks, but it isn't okay to have one other male Hulk that isn't the Hulk? I smell some major feminist favoritism here. And I absolutely don't like it.

Okay, got that out of the way. Now, onto the main story.

We had some nice moments between Doc Green/Hulk & Jen/She-Hulk, though it's not surprising that they're close. I mean, after all they're the tree-house trio. The best of friends, the closest of relatives, more like brother & sister than cousins. This has always been true regarding Jen/She-Hulk & Banner/Hulk. So, it was nice to see them converse with one another again.

But I can't help but feel that Marvel & Duggan is trying really hard to is trying to simplify Hulk/Banner, thus ignoring all the other personas that exist. We hear Doc Green talking about how he was liberated by the Extremis, that Banner never gave him a chance, and that he was only brought out to finish Banner's fights or to save his life. And I couldn't help but think... what about the other Hulk personas that took the mantle and were out for extended periods of time like Savage, Fixit, Professor, and Gravage/Green Scar? Are we to assume that those don't count? Or is Marvel/Duggan trying very hard, and not succeeding, in their attempt to cover up all the times that different personas/incarnations of Hulk took control (like when Hulk remained Hulk for over a year on Sakaar before revealing himself to Caiera) and remained?

I mean, yeah, we all know Hulk & Banner are the same person. They're the same, yet different. The same being, yet at the same time two different entities (or more if you wish to include the other Hulk personas). That's nothing new. It's just a part of their Jekyll and Hyde/Frankenstein and his Monster complex. Not complaining, but I just thought I should point this matter out.

We also receive knowledge that Doc Green can cure and retain his Extremis-enhanced intellect, but is frightened to do so for various reasons. The main one being that he may become the powerful Maestro and slaughter every major hero & villain in the Marvel Universe. We also learn that that part of him, his hatred and desire to remove rivals Hulks, may have influenced his intentions that he originally thought were good. Thus leading him to a change of perspective/heart.

Personally, I never seen Doc Green becoming the Maestro. He lacks the power and guts to be someone as ruthless as the Maestro. Because I sure as hell know for a fact that any Hulk incarnation that is to become the Maestro would not have needed a bullet & Deadpool's aid to defeat someone like Red Hulk. That is for sure.

Personally, I would have loved a storyline involving all of the Hulks being the only beings left in the Marvel Universe who are capable of challenging the Maestro. Alone they'd be of no match against the Maestro, but together they'd be able to bring all of their skills in challenging him... though even together Skaar, She-Hulk, Red She-Hulk, Lyra, A-Bomb and Red Hulk would be the underdogs against such a terrifyingly powerful, ruthless, intelligent, calculating foe as the Maestro.

Come on, I know I can't be the only one who'd actually love to see a story of that type. We could even have the other Hulks baring savage wounds/scars/damage from their previous encounters with the Maestro. Examples: Red Hulk having half of his face/skull replaced (kinda like DC's Cyborg) with a metallic construct and a missing arm replaced with a adamantium/vibranium one; Skaar having massive scars on his chest similar to those marking his arm/shoulder and a diagonal scar across his cheek much like the one his father possessed on Sakaar; A-Bomb having a leg and his two arms placed with mechanical adamantium constructs; Lyra's one arm having a construct and missing an eye; She-Hulk possessing three, large scars across her face; Red She-Hulk having scars all over her body that Maestro inflicted on her when she was in & out of her Hulk form.

Anyway, back on topic.

Doc Green gives Jen something to use against him. It's not a cure, as Doc Green stated he couldn't cure himself and had no intentions of curing Jen. He states that whatever is in the vile, it won't kill him but that it'd make him wish he was dead. I can only assume that it is a very lethal and painful toxin similar to the one Carmilla Black utilized on Hulk during World War Hulk, as Doc Green states that it would allow the heroes of Earth enough time to formulate plans and have a chance at stopping him if he were to go rogue. Jen & Doc Green depart on good terms. All was missing was a hug.

Then we have the return of Betty and her reuniting with Banner. And it would appear that Banner & Hulk/Doc Green are working together to stop Gammon. That being said, I can't help but feel I've seen this all before. Hulk/Banner cooperating and reuniting with Betty?Oh, yeah. It was at the end of Greg Pak's Incredible Hulk: Heart of the Monster. It's almost like watching a repeat. The only difference? Heart of the Monster was more enjoyable and had better execution than Omega Hulk, especially in regards to both of their finale's that involve Hulk/Banner cooperating together and getting back with Betty.

All in all, an underwhelming finale to an underwhelming 12-issue story arch that had an infinite amount of potential... but in the end it failed to deliver on that potential.

My over all rating of Omega Hulk: C or C+

Don't forget there were some funny gems in this issue:

Gallery

@greenscar1990: Did you know Carmilla Black might be one of Hulk's daughters.

@schwarz: Yes, I've known about that for a LONG time. After all, I've been collecting and reading comics for over a decade. Sorry if I sound smug, for that isn't my intention. I have to wonder, though, as to where the character of Carmilla Black disappeared to in recent years? The last I've seen or heard of her was in Spider-Man a few years ago.

@greenscar1990: It is always awesome to talk about Hulk ! I like carmilla black a lot more than Lyra.

I didn't know that. Boy am I paying for the 28 years in which I didn't pick up a Hulk comic!!! So much to catch up on. At least you guys can put me right.

@canuckdad

Its nice to meet a fellow "mature" Hulk fan. I am 46 myself and whilst I am no bodybuilder, being a lean racing snake, I train regularly on the Concept 2 rowing machines to keep myself fitter than the majority of guys I come across 20 years my junior and I work out most days with a Kettle bell to keep toned. Yep, Hulk is an inspiration. I've always been angry like Hulk! We definitely deserve a powerful Hulk....

@bezza: Well it is not confirmed that Carmilla Black is Banner's daughter but banner had something with Carmilla's Mother and it was implied by Peter David. But it is a bit of a mystery that got abandonned after WWH

It's not even that smart since you want to use clever. The clever issues was the beginning when he created crazy things and you know it. This issue tried hard to make us feel sorry for Doc Green. Plus this whole Doc Green barely been about smashing.

@greenscar1990: I think the whole maestro thing might take place after secret wars.