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Avengers: The Origin #2

May 2010
Joe Casey, Phil Noto

Story Name:

Faith-Based Initiative


Synopsis

Avengers: The Origin #2 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Out west, a band of circus folk discover the Hulk hiding in one of the trucks. They lure him out with promises of care and friendship….

At the HQ of Rick Jones’ gang, there is a standoff between superheroes Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp and the armed members of the gang. Rick manages to calm the situation. A response to the email tells them that the Fantastic Four can’t make it so Rick turns to the group in front of him, asking them to take on the search. Thor agrees and Loki, at a distance, exerts some more trickery: the Hulk suddenly crashes into the room, stomps Rick into a red paste and thunderclaps away the gunslinging gang members. Iron Man jets into him, carrying them both to a desert area; there, Hulk crushes Iron Man’s Shellhead into scrap, with Tony’s head inside. Thor challenges the Green Giant and finds himself unable to vanquish him in battle…. Suddenly the Thunder God comes ot his senses, realizing the recent moments were some sort of illusion—leading to the suspicion there is more to this matter….

At the circus, Bea the bearded lady and the other employees persuade the owner against his better judgment to allow the Hulk to stay….

The heroes debate the best way to capture the Hulk, with Rick reminding them that Hulk is not a monster, perhaps there is some misunderstanding of his action. Thor agrees and mentions his suspicions that his brother Loki is involved. Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp, who do not yet know that Thor is the genuine Norse God of Thunder, are skeptical. Thor does not try to convince him but claims it is his duty to confront his kinsman directly and takes off alone. The other three set themselves to the task of locating their quarry; Ant-Man can marshal the ants as his search party but the range of his helmet is limited. Iron Man invites him to take advantage of the resources of Stark Industries….


 

Review / Commentaries


Avengers: The Origin #2 Review by (August 29, 2015)
Review: The differences in this version from the classic AVENGERS #1 are more dramatic. Thor’s battle with the illusion of the Hulk is much more effective when it isn’t obvious it’s an illusion (as in the original); there’s also a lot more violence with both Rick Jones and Iron Man apparently killed gruesomely. Probably the best addition to the tale is Hulk’s being found by the circus people. In the original, Hulk is suddenly seen in the circus in his robot clown disguise with no hint as to how he got there and applied for a job. The new version has Hulk being found hiding by the family of freaks who sympathize with him and offer him shelter, as well as talk the boss into hiring him. And original Rick Jones’ one-panel reminder that the Hulk may be an innocent victim turns into a multi-page debate over how the mission should be handled, leading to Thor taking off on his own with much more characterization. Final note: Love that cover—ever since Civil War, I’ve delighted in anyone taking Shellhead down a peg (apologies to Rob Johnson at our sister site, the Iron Man Library).


> Avengers: The Origin comic book info and issue index

Elektra

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Statue Hulk (Battle of New York) 1/10 - Infinity Saga - BDS Art Scale - Iron Studios
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Phil Noto
Phil Noto
Phil Noto
Phil Noto (Cover Penciler)
Phil Noto (Cover Inker)
Phil Noto (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)