Let’s look at a comic that was a lot more fun! This collection’s main selling point is that it brings the big battle between Hulk and the X Men during the World War Hulk saga. That 3 issue tie in was handled perfectly and it reminds you that a nearly perfect limited series can be done with a variety of different characters. The back up stories aren’t quite as good though and hold it back from being a 9, but they’re still pretty good for the most part.
In the main part of the story, Hulk has arrived for Professor Xavier. Xavier may not have been present when the Illuminati decided to send Hulk away, but he is still a member of the club. Hulk asks him how the Professor would have voted and Charles says that he would have agreed with the others. Hulk prepares to take him away for his sentence when the New Mutants decide that they can’t agree to this. Hulk is not impressed by their efforts, but the New Mutants are quickly joined by the X Men and various other X groups. Nearly all of the mutants left on Earth have assembled to stop the Hulk…but will they be enough?
This comes during a very dangerous moment for the mutants. Scarlet Witch’s curse has ensured that no new mutants will ever be born and they are now an endangered species. The members who are with the X Men are almost all of the mutants left on the planet so if Hulk defeats them..it could be game over for everything that Xavier has ever strived for. This is why Professor Xavier doesn’t want the X Men to fight the Hulk and partially because he feels guilty as well. Cyclops won’t have any of that and Emma Frost focuses on stopping Xavier’s telepathy from stopping the X Men while the rest of the team attacks.
This is one of the best fights in comics and it’s very satisfying. This is what a fight with little to no plot hax looks like and all of the heroes really give it their all. For fans who like to see Wolverine fight the Hulk on an equal playing field, this really shows you what would happen when the Hulk can use some strategy. It’s too bad that Cyclops couldn’t do any better, but he’s still a great leader and handles the situation very well. It’s also good to see the bond between the mutants as everyone who is able to arrive makes sure to do so. You may wonder what the rest of the world is doing at this point, but maybe they’re busy. Either way, with the tensions surrounding the mutants, they may not have been much of a help either way. The art looks great here and that can make the difference between a great comic and an elite one. The art looks almost as sharp as X Sanction and the splash page with Juggernaut facing the Hulk is one to remember. The fight was written well so adding in the art makes it complete.
One of the backup stories features Iceman and Angel as they team up with the Hulk. Hulk is being pursued by harpy robots and he doesn’t want to hurt them because they look like Betty. After Iceman appears to be destroyed, Angel cuts loose and shows the Hulk that these robots are definitely not Betty! The Hulk quickly helps in destroying them and that’s when their friendship started. They became pals with the Hulk and realized that they should never judge a monster by his cover. This issue wasn’t bad, but I can’t say that it was very good either. There is some random romance that isn’t great and the heroes certainly could have looked better. They may be fighting in a desert, but Iceman shouldn’t go down so quickly.
Another backup story has Wolverine decide to test Colossus by tricking the X Man into fighting the Hulk. Colossus is very full of himself at the moment and keeps treating the other members as inferior fighters. Little does he know that the Hulk will give him that feeling after fighting for a little while. Colossus punches the Hulk straight on, but his blows don’t seem to deal any damage. Colossus uses the elements to his advantage and does put up a decent fight, but he knows that he is outmatched. By the end, he figures out that the Hulk isn’t actually a bad guy and he just misjudged him like everyone else. This was the best backup story and the fight was interesting to read.
There was also a black and white story at the end, which was decent, but also pretty uneventful. We have monsters and villains and I can barely even remember what the plot was at this point. Needless to say, the comic wasn’t the greatest, but at least the X Men were here as well. I wonder if the graphic novel managed to show off every time the X Men have fought the Hulk since I don’t think they have clashed that many times over the years. Needless to say, the Hulk seems to typically have the edge in their matches.
The collection is extremely short and you will be able to breeze through it in no time. Still, the stories are packed with entertainment and that’s what counts. This is one of those rare times where the addition of the extra stories ultimately hurt the graphic novel as it lost it a star. None of the stories were downright bad, but they were average enough to bring it down to an 8 for great.
Naturally, this is why you will want to focus your attention on the first three issues. They’re simply amazing and watching many mutants attack the Hulk is not something that you see very often. The heavy hitters that he faces include Colossus, Emma Frost, Cyclops, Wolverine, X 23, Juggernaut, Strong Guy, and a lady who is apparently invulnerable. He takes them all on back to back and his high speed regeneration seems to be as good as ever. The heroes all look very good and in character. I certainly have no qualms with their portrayal and I agree with their decision.
Professor X and the Illuminati started this fight and they certainly deserve to go to jail, but the Hulk has a more permanent fate for them so the X Men have made the right call in going up against them. The Hulk is simply another villain now and they have to protect their own. That’s why it can be a little irritating to see Professor X try to stop them, but we also learn that Charles can’t add anything to the fight anyway. Hulk is currently too enraged for telepathy to be of any use against him so that rules the Professor out. The heroes all give it their all and prove why they are selfless heroes.
The Hulk may be the villain here, but it’s still a great portrayal of him. You can certainly see why he is upset and the Illuminati definitely crossed the line. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but the Hulk is going to try and see what happens when he does just that anyway. Because his will is so decisive right now, The Hulk has also kept his reason along with the rage. This quite possibly makes him the most dangerous Hulk of all time and it is interesting to see him think rationally as he fights. His logic skills when in battle seem to be similar to Superman’s during the Unchained saga along with the other great Superman comics. When he has this much control, The Hulk really is one of the strongest fighters there is. Fans may feel bad for Juggernaut since he definitely is no match here, but it makes you wonder how well he would do if he could unleash all of his power. I actually think it could have been a close fight and the Juggernaut is certainly underrated.
Overall, X Men vs Hulk is an excellent trade even if you just buy it for the first three issues. The Hulk really takes it to the X Men and both sides are fighting for something that they believe in. The backup stories may not be great, but they’re not bad either and at least they increase the length of the graphic novel. I definitely recommend checking it out and you won’t be disappointed after reading this epic. It would be fun to see the Hulk take on Thor while in this state although I believe they only had a brief scuffle in one of the other side parts of this series. I still haven’t read the main World War Hulk title, but maybe I’ll come across it at some point in the future.
Overall 8/10
