Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #22Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #22
Title: “Disorganized Crime part one”
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciller: Kyle Hotz
Inker: Eric Powell
Colors: Joe Rosas
Editor: Tom Brevoort
A few years ago, Mister Foster is taking inventory of his knives, scalpels, and razors. Vincent is strapped up. Vincent is trying to tell Mister Foster that his non-payment was merely an oversight. He says that he meant to send over one of his boys last Friday. Mister Foster says that if Jimmy Senior let Vincent get away with not paying his debts that everyone would think that the Delfinis had gone soft. Vincent says that he can get the money right now. He says that he will pay him twice what he owes. Mister Foster says that his employer was quite specific about making an example of him. Jimmy Senior said to “gut him like a fish”. Suddenly over Mister Foster’s shoulder Nobby Pyles appears. Nobby says that they have a problem. Mister Foster starts complaining to Nobby about ruining his atmosphere. Nobby tells Foster to come outside. Foster says that he doesn’t see what is so important. He looks in the back of the car. He looks at Nobby and says that nobody can ever know about this.
Today, the Hulk is driving Hack’s car and talking into one of Hack’s tape recorder. Fixit tells Bruce that he stole Hack’s car and tape recorder. He tells him that he is taking care of some old business in Chicago and thought Banner might like to listen to the tape sometime when he is running an experiment. Fixit pulls up to a building and throws the valet the keys. Fixit knocks down the door marked “Private”. Fixit beats up nearly every guy in the place. After he finishes beating up everybody else Fixit finds Freddie T hiding under a table. Fixit tells Freddie T to tell Jimmy Senior that he wants his money.
Mister Foster sits at a table with Jimmy Junior, Dicky, and Charlie. Nobby Pyles stands in the background with Jimmy Senior who sits in a wheelchair. Mister Foster tells Jimmy Junior that the fact is that they owe Fixit for taking care of their entire operation in Vegas for over a year. Dicky is playing with a toy called Gargon that he thinks could beat Fixit. Charlie is in a straight jacket and starts raving about how he would eat Fixit’s brain and liver. Foster says that they should just pay Fixit the million dollars, million and a half with interest. He says that Fixit is more trouble than he is worth. Jimmy Junior asks why they never whack anybody anymore. Nobby says that Jimmy Senior wishes to say something. Mister Foster leans in and “listens”. He tells them that Jimmy Senior decided to just give Fixit his money. Dicky says that he has a problem as he already sent his boys to kill Fixit an hour ago. Dicky asks if that was bad. Foster sighs and says that it was. He tells Dicky that he is a very naughty boy.
Fixit stands in his hotel working out. He is curling a giant barbell and some type of flye machine. Dicky’s men, who are wearing CD’s all over their bodies because it makes them look more like deathbots, burst through the room and open fire. Fixit throws the barbell at one of them. As he pounds the whole group of them he says that he thought Jimmy Senior had more sense than this. He says that the old man must be going senile, but decides in the end that a little destruction is always good for the rep. Fixit grabs one of the standing guys and says to tell Jimmy Senior that the price just went up to two million, and that if he doesn’t pay he’ll do to him what he did to Seven Foot Mickey. Fixit says that they still haven’t found Mickey’s left one. Another guy fires a rocket launcher. Fixit rams his head through the ceiling. Fixit calls the front desk and says that he needs housekeeping to pick up the turkey he spilled.
The Delfini morons are getting a haircut when they hear the news. Jimmy Junior says that he is going to kill him. Foster says that both he and his father warned him. Jimmy Junior says that they have to restore Dicky’s honor. Jimmy Junior decides for no reason that Fixit is being put up to this by the Chinese. Foster says that they can’t go to war everytime something bad happens. Foster reminds Junior of what happened last month when they blew up a gas station that was one of their own operations. He says that Jimmy Senior has forbidden them from using their guns until they pay for that. Jimmy doesn’t listen and the Delfini boys leave to go get their revenge on the Chinese.
Later Fixit is walking along an alley talking to Banner in the recorder when he is called. Fixit turns around to see Foster, Nobby Piles, and Jimmy Senior standing in the shadows. Hulk starts talking to Jimmy Senior, but Jimmy doesn’t answer. Fixit starts to get angry and asks for one reason why he shouldn’t kill them on the spot. Foster has Nobby show Fixit that Jimmy Senior is dead and has been rotting for quite a while.
No Excuses rating: 1.5 out of 10
The deterioration of Fixit’s characterization continues. First out of the blue Fixit starts talking like the illiterate Rocky from the first movie. Secondly, if there was one defining characteristic from his Fixit days it was that he liked to call it Las Vegas, but the first thing he does is walk in and starts calling it “Vegas”. They said that Jenkins was a fan of Hulk history, but if he was it didn’t make much of an impression. Next, it seems that Jenkins has real trouble with Hulk history. Supposedly Mister Fixit spent an entire year protecting the Delfini's interests nobody knew about. I’m not sure how that’s possible. I guess some might find the Delfini’s antics funny, but I’m not one of them. The art has presence, which is why it got the half a point, but that’s all. Everything looks horrid. Another wasted month that could have been dealt telling HULK stories.
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