Iron Man, Hulk team up (yeah right)
The Hulk is one of my favourite characters and I love some of the stories he’s had over the years so I was excited for this issue after the astonishing first issue that immediately put the series on my pull list so I was excited for this and I was sure it wouldn’t drop in quality.
Plot
Iron man meets with Maria Hill and wants to see Bruce Banner, Maria Hill takes him to see Banner they then have a joke. Iron Man and Bruce Banner try out a new earth probe in the Himalayas Iron Man gets Bruce cross and a fight breaks out as Bruce turns into the Hulk.
Review
The first issue was very wordy but it had to be to answer all the questions and while some people may not like the way it was done I thought it was the strongest Marvel Now! #1 that has been released and the dialogue were faultless and I like the direction it was going in. This issue isn’t so wordy it still has great dialogue but not as much. I was really excited for this issue mainly because I wanted to see what happens between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner since this is their first meet since Bruce decided to take a happier view of life and I was interested to see how Bruce actually became the Hulk and got into a fight with Iron Man.
This issue begins with Iron Man arriving at the Shield base where Bruce Banner is being kept he arrives and starts asking about why Bruce has decided to join S.H.I.E.L.D this was to be expected Bruce is a dangerous person and for him to join S.H.I.E.L.D is a real shock and Tony wants to know how this was allowed this was a good way to start of the issue as it showed why Stark came here. What I really liked was how Tony was amazed at what Banner had done he had created a machine that would cure cancer Tony Stark is a genius and he didn’t know how to make one it’s not shown in dialogue but more the emotion on Tony’s face that’s the idea I got from it anyway.
We then get to the meeting between Bruce and Tony sorry but this scene is to good it has some of the best dialogue I have ever read sorry but only Mark Waid come up with lines like “you wouldn’t like me when I’m happy” this scene did emphasise Bruce’s change of heart and it was nice to hear Tony admit he was shocked with his change of heart it did solidify the direction this series is going in.
Tony and Bruce then go to the Himalayas to test out Bruce’s invention to get natural gases out of the rock by fracking. This scene eventually leads to Bruce beginning to get angry with Tony after he attempts to fiddle with his invention showing that Tony has always appeared arrogant to Bruce this is a very well written scene this bit was to be expected since there was going to be a Hulk Iron Man fight but I love the gradual build up to it since it’s better if he just suddenly go Hulk and instead we get a well written build up to it.
We then get to the bit we’ve all been waiting for the Hulk Iron Man fight and I love how Bruce turns into the Hulk we see all the different stages on one page and it looks fantastic he draws a great Hulk strong and fast and we also get to see him in his new armour in this scene. The actual fight is very explosive and shows off the Hulk’s strength while not making Iron Man look weak as he does knock the Hulk back a quite a bit when I said it was explosive they blow up a small gas vent in the Himalayas and blow a small part up it looks amazing every single page and this is one of the best looking book on the shelves.
At the end Tony and Stark make up (ish)and I love the whole scene running through this book with Tony feeling pressured by Bruce being smarter than him and at the end it really comes to ahead with tony saying “your still rich” which was another bit of genius from Mark Waid and then Maria phones telling Tony to get Banner to come to Montana which us the cliffhanger at the end.
The art is amazing again this book is so distinctive nobody has a style like Lenil Francis Yu and his art in this book is amazing from start to finish and I hope he is the series regular artist since he really makes this book the best it can be.
Verdict
This was a great issue and a great continuation to the series this is one of the best Marvel Now! Books out try and get the first issue you’d be missing out if you don’t read it.
5 stars
