Hulk UN-Smash...Time?
In the military we have a saying when it comes to operations, use the scalpel or sledgehammer. Scalpel refers to Special Mission Units, Special Ops who's job it is to target high value and highly dangerous leaders and locations to cripple an organization's combat and warfighting capabilities by "cutting the head off the snake". The sledgehammer refers to your conventional, but highly effective, units. Your infantry, tanks, and air cover, all slamming into the bulk of an enemies forces in a show of overwhelming superiority. So, when Bruce Banner referred to the dichotomy of himself and the Hulk as the "scalpel and chainsaw", I had a good long laugh. Mark Waid writes this issue with the same fun he always has with "Indestructible". His story involves the recent "Age of Ultron" event, what with Wolverine's time travel and self-created paradox apparently being the straw breaking the camel's back of time. Ironically, most of the items mentioned from wrecking the time stream are X-Men related. So Director Hill, after discovering how fatal trying to fix the time stream can be is to normal humans, enlists Banner, or rather, the Hulk. Banner's reaction to this is priceless, and you'll likely find yourself doing the same thing as Bruce. The solution to having the "ultimate bull in the ultimate china shop" is quite interesting, and I won't spoil it by giving it away. What I really like is Waid's continued explanation of the Hulk's varied levels of strength, speed, intelligence, and aggressiveness. Again, I won't give it away, but if you're a Hulk fan you'll definitely like that it is finally being explained and expanded upon.
I find Matteo Scalera's artwork to be very fitting for this book. It is reminiscent of Yiu's work, but not quite the same. Scalero has this thing with close-ups of mouths full of teeth...and I always find those panels freaky. His action scenes are top notch, though. There's one scene in particular that shows off Hulk's impressive speed that I found particularly great. He has good use of movement lines that really give you a feel for the speed.
As far as negatives go, I really don't have any for this issue. It has humor, great characterization, solid plot development, and seems to be kicking off what promises to be an awesome arc.
This issue definitely earns it's 5 stars. What's more, my biggest gripe with Waid's run has been that Hulk has easily walked through each of his enemies. Frost Giants? Quintrontic Man? Atuma? All handled in one, two, or three issues at most. This promises to be a longer, more engrossing arc that Hulk and Banner cannot so easily walk through. Plus I really, really like that Waid is including the effects of Age of Ultron showing that the event did actually matter. It has repercussions, and they must be dealt with. I look forward to the next issue with great anticipation.
