Review: Thanos vs. Hulk
Quick Summary
Pros: The book’s fight scenes are exciting and are backed up by solid artwork. The book provides some answers relating to plot from The Infinity Relativity.
Cons: Outside the action, the main narrative isn’t that engaging and there are places where the art falters.
Overall: This is a book for fans of high-stakes, one-on-one fights between powerful comic characters. In these fights, the book really shines and brings out its best qualities. However, the narrative surrounding the fights is lackluster and is only interesting in the way it sets up other comics. Readers who like fighting and don’t mind if it is accompanied by a mediocre story may enjoy this book, especially if they are also planning on reading The Infinity Relativity.
Story
Thanos vs. Hulk, by Jim Starlin, is an alright comic, depending on what you are hoping to gain from it. The volume focuses on intense bursts of action between powerful forces. Thanos, Hulk, and the book’s main antagonist all go up against each other in engaging battles. However, outside of these battles, the narrative isn’t that interesting. The biggest advantage to the storytelling is the way it helps in setting up Thanos: The Infinity Relativity (Review), which may be of interest to fans of that graphic novel series. This makes the collection seriously appealing for readers looking for some climactic action but not for readers looking for depth of storytelling.
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As mentioned above, Thanos vs. Hulk is all about action and the drama that goes with it. It takes one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, the Hulk; has him fight one of its most powerful villains, Thanos; and then concludes with a showdown against a souped-up version of Annihilus. Each clash is fun in its own way and has a unique series of narrative ebbs and flows, with some battles relying more on strategy while others rely on fighting prowess.
Unfortunately, outside of the action, the bulk of Thanos vs. Hulk isn’t that interesting. Conversations regarding Bruce Banner’s condition, personal issues with Pip the Troll, and even most of Thanos’ involvement just feels like window dressing designed to provide justification for the book’s fight scenes. This book could have been just fight scenes and it would have been nearly as good, since everything else just feels superfluous.
The exception to this trend is that the book does help set up a few plotlines in The Infinity Relativity (Review). Fans of that comic will see how Annihilus gained a whole new level of power, which is mostly unexplained in The Infinity Relativity. However, even this is not a major plus for the story, as nothing about Thanos vs. Hulk is crucial to understanding The Infinity Relativity.
In addition, the Thanos vs. Hulk collection contains a story from the original Warlock series. It’s a well-written story that focuses on a fun but also tragic moment in Jim Starlin’s original run on the character. However, it doesn’t really fit well into this collection, especially with no context.
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Art
The artwork in Thanos vs. Hulk flies high when the story is good but falters when it is bad. Jim Starlin’s pencils and Andy Smith’s inks help bring out the over-the-top nature of this book’s approach to fight scenes. The characters stand out and their swings at one another convey the power they possess. These fights are further enhanced by the well-designed page layouts, which help maximize the impact of specific moments.
However, outside the fighting, the artwork occasionally falters. Supporting characters like Tony Stark, Maria Hill, and even Bruce Banner often look a little strange. In addition, the colors do not always pair well with the pencils and leave some scenes looking flat. As a whole, the volume’s artwork trends positive but these problems prevent it from being entirely positive.
Continuity
Thanos vs. Hulk is a mostly standalone story that takes place independent from other comics.
Though this story is mostly standalone, elements of the plot continue on in Thanos: The Infinity Relativity (Review).
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Notes indicate that this volume takes place before Infinity Revelation (Review) but after Hulk began working for S.H.I.E.L.D., which happened at the beginning of Indestructible Hulk Vol. 1- Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Review).
- The Infinity Watch’s founding is depicted across the opening chapters of Infinity Watch Vol. 1 (Review).
- Pip the Troll worked with X-Factor starting in X-Factor #213, collected in X-Factor: Scar Tissue.
- Adam Warlock most recently died in Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1, collected in Thanos Imperative (Review).
- Thanos lobotomized Pip in Avengers Annual Vol. 1 #7, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Adam Warlock Vol. 2 (Review) or in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 17 (Review).