Incredible Hulk 2001Incredible Hulk 2001
Title: “The Hammer Strikes”
Writer: Erik Larsen
Penciller: Jorge Lucas
Inker: Greg Adams
Colors: Avalon
Editor: Tom Brevoort
The Savage Hulk is fighting Fialan who has seemingly returned from the dead and set about completing his last mission which was to kill Jarella and the Hulk. Fialan shoots Hulk in the chest. Hulk says that he crushed Fialan and that he should be dead. Hulk asks why only bad people come back from the dead and wonders why people like Jarella, Betty, and Jim never come back from the dead. Hulk grabs Fialan and tells him to explain or he is going to kill him again. A bunch of Mandroids arrive to fight the Hulk. Hulk mistakes the Mandroids for robots and starts trashing them. The Mandroids say that they aren’t robots and that they have the power to defeat even him. The army also arrives with tanks. Hulk stomps his foot and all the surrounding buildings crumble to the ground. Miles away there is still devastation as Hulk shouts that he is the strongest one there is. Hulk leaps away. A soldier has a gun trained on Fialan.
Elsewhere, Thor helps the police against a group of criminals. The criminals just surrender and say that they are not prepared to fight a god. The police thank Thor for his help, but ask why he isn’t doing something bigger like tackling Hulk in midtown. Thor had not known, but flies off to confront Hulk. He says that he once called the Hulk an ally, but that maybe it is time he ended the Hulk’s threat. He says that neither of them has ever really had a clear victory over the other. Thor says that if anyone could score a victory over the Hulk that it would be him (them gods aren’t really the humble type).
In upstate New York, the Hulk is pushing
over giant trees as army jets fly overhead. The jets drop gas on
the Hulk to try and knock him out. Hulk claps his hands to clear
a space, and then he leaps up to attack the jet. Hulk is about to
grab the jet, but he is hit in the face by Thor’s hammer.
Hulk falls to the ground. 
Thor tells Hulk
that his Day of Atonement is at hand. Hulk says that
“Long-Hair” is just like the puny humans. Hulk says
that he is tired of being hounded and that he is going to smash.
Thor calls Hulk an unthinking brute, and Hulk tells Thor that he
is stronger than Thor is because Thor needs his hammer to fight
the Hulk. Thor says that this isn’t a contest, but that Thor
says he has to stop turning a blind eye to the Hulk’s
rampaging. Hulk smacks Thor and says that he is going to show
Thor what power is. Hulk says that Thor needs a hammer and so
Hulk will make his own hammer. Hulk hits Thor with a tree. Thor
says that there must be some common ground between them, and asks
Hulk to surrender to avoid damage. Hulk says that he will show
Thor damage and throws some boulders at him. Thor smashes the
boulders apart with his hammer. Hulk smashes the ground and
splits it open. Trees falls over, and a baby wakes up in Maine
because of the impact. Thor uses his hammer and calls down
lightning to strike the Hulk. Hulk is down on his hands and
knees, but when Thor closes in Hulk leaps into Thor and drives
him through a nearby bulldozer. Thor realizes that they are going
to cause a lot of damage and so he spins his hammer and he and
Hulk are transported into another dimension with giant dinosaur
looking creatures. Hulk asks where he is. Thor says that if they
are going to fight that they are going to do it here where no
mortals can be hurt. Hulk throws Thor against a mountain and says
that he doesn’t care where Thor takes him and that he will
smash him anywhere. Thor is buried under an avalanche. Hulk waits
for a minute, but when Thor doesn’t get back out Hulk thinks
that Thor is defeated and sets out to figure out where he is.
Hulk leaps away. Hulk decides that he likes this new place because he doesn’t see any puny humans around to hunt him. Hulk is leaping along when he lands in quicksand. Hulk says that he thought this place was good, but that it attacks him just like everything else. Hulk claps his hands and the quicksand is sent flying away. Hulk finds a strange piece of purple fruit. He sits down to eat it. A giant red four-armed monster comes along and grabs Hulk. The monster throws Hulk into his mouth to eat.
Thor finally makes it out from under the avalanche. Thor looks for Hulk, but finds that he is gone. Thor says that Hulk dealt him a most humbling blow. Thor thinks and decides that maybe he should leave the Hulk here in this dimension where he can rampage without fear of killing mortals. Thor decides that he has to go make sure, and recalls that there is a man within the monster and that if he exiles the monster he also exiles the man.
Hulk busts the teeth out of the monster’s mouth and knocks it unconscious. Hulk says that he can’t find peace anywhere, but that if monsters want to fight that he will fight. A number of regular sized monsters start coming for Hulk.
By night Hulk has defeated all the monsters. Thor overhears Hulk saying that this world is just like all the others. Hulk says that he hates this place, and that he is going to keep smashing monsters until they finally leave him alone. Thor says that is enough destruction. Thor says that they should go before Hulk drives this world’s civilization into extinction. Hulk says that he isn’t listening to Thor. Thor says that Hulk is leaving the world even if he has to knock him unconscious to do so. Hulk says that Thor brought him here, and now he wants him to leave. Hulk says that Thor should make up his mind. Hulk presses Thor’s head into the ground. Thor hits Hulk with a tree. Hulk’s fist and Thor’s hammer meet in mid attack. Hulk’s hand is hurt. Thor pounds Hulk with his hammer again. Thor looks around and realizes that the forest is on fire. Thor smashes the ground with Mjolnir. A thunderstorm starts and the rain puts out the fires. Hulk asks Thor how he dares to turn his back on him. Thor has a bolt of lightning strike Hulk seemingly knocking Hulk unconscious.
Thor scoops up the Hulk and starts the dimensional trip back to Midgard. Thor says that he had sought to teach Hulk a lesson, but that he is the one who sees the error of his ways while Hulk remains unchanged. While between dimensions the Hulk wakes up and punches Thor off of him. Hulk falls to the ground below. The locals climb up from the ground. Hulk says that he will watch the funny men and understand why they are coming to him. The people are peaceful and so the Hulk remains peaceful as well. Thor realizes that he has misjudged the Hulk. Hulk holds his hand up and a bird lands on it. Hulk says that it is so hard for him to breathe. He collapses and turns into Bruce. Thor realizes that he didn’t notice that the atmosphere there was too thin for the Hulk to survive in. Thor thinks that it would be so easy to leave Banner there to die, but says that he must not think that way. He says that Hulk has saved Midgard a number of times both alone and with the Defenders.
Still between dimensions, Banner wakes up. The view from over Thor’s shoulder in-between dimensions was too much to take for Bruce so while Thor is talking about dropping Bruce off at a military base Bruce is changing into the Hulk. When they arrive back on Earth Hulk wallops Thor. Thor drops his hammer and falls to the ground. Hulk lands on Thor’s chest. Hulk says that he is tired of Thor’s tricks and that he is just going to keep pounding on Thor until Thor can’t play tricks on him anymore. Hulk leaves Thor lying in a heap not knowing if he is dead or alive. Thor’s hammer hits his hand and Thor painfully struggles to his feet. Hulk asks why Thor doesn’t stay down. Thor says that this isn’t over. Thor says that Hulk might be stronger than him, or any other living being, but that Hulk is still just a mortal while he is the God of Thunder. Thor whips up a giant thunderstorm. Hulk is carried away by the flood of water. Hulk leaps out of the water and says that Thor did everything he could, but that he still lives. Hulk says that puny humans call him a menace, but that Thor created this flood. Thor realizes that Hulk is right and that he let his temper get the best of him again. Hulk saves a group of soldiers by throwing their raft to safety, and says that he only fights puny humans that attack him. Hulk says that Thor can save the puny humans or they can fight some more. Thor goes to save the people and Hulk leaps off. Thor realizes that all this damage is his fault. Thor reflects as he regains control. Hulk proved the stronger of the two, but Thor proved more powerful. Thor also realizes that Hulk’s words hurt him more than his punches. Thor wonders which of them is more dangerous- a childish brute that just wants to be left alone, or an angry god that tried to stand in his way.
No Excuses rating: 4 out of 10
Well here we go- first I have to explain that before all other heroes in the Marvel Universe I am a Hulk fan. I love Thor as well, but the green goliath will always hold the first place in my heart. So Thor fans be warned. I found this story to be long and tedious. The intent of the book seems clear to me that we are to understand that the Hulk is stronger than Thor is, but that Thor is more powerful. I’ve long held this to be the case and this dragged out storyline seems to back me up in that. It seems like this could be the last Hulk/ Thor fight as in Thor’s own book it looks like he is going to ascend to Odin’s vacant throne. So we finally get some knockouts, but still no real winner. Erik Larsen writes the Savage Hulk well in character, but Larsen doesn’t seem to respect the Hulk’s power level very much. Hulk is knocked unconscious by a bolt of lightning people… a bolt of lightning. Scores of Marvel characters have survived this type of attack including the Hulk himself. I will slam Marvel for not doing a better job depicting the Hulk’s knockout of Thor. The art clearly shows that the Hulk is out of it when Thor gets his win, and while I know in my mind and heart without a doubt that Hulk had left Thor not knowing if he was “alive or dead” that many Thorites can use the fact that it is not clearly depicted, as the Hulk’s was, to create reasonable doubt in the age old Hulk vs. Thor debate. Below average story: 2 out of 5
I’m under the impression that George Lucas’ non-union Mexican equivalent (little Simpson’s joke there) was trying to do a Jack Kirby, and while I love Jack Kirby I hate all imitations of the greats. The guy definitely has some talent, but I just found the art annoying.
Back up story by
Hulk is walking in the rain. He tells the rain to go ahead and that he doesn’t care. Hulk is walking in the mud, but slips and falls down. Hulk gets up and tries to smash the rain. Hulk swings and falls down again. Hulk lays on the ground and screams, “I am Hulk!”
No Excuses rating: 0 out of 10
Uhhhh, I remember there was this announcement that James Kochalka was going to do something in the back on the Hulk annual. I’m guessing that either this guy is in on the latest “hot craze”, like that Magna garbage, or that James Kochalka is like six years old. If James is six years old I give the story a 10 out of 10. Very good art and story for your average first or second grader.