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Hulk: Nightmerica #1

Aug 2003
Robin Laws, Brian Ashmore

Story Name:

Nightmerica the Quarry


Synopsis

Hulk: Nightmerica #1 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

On a late night in a Midwestern town, Hulk is suddenly attacked by Cobalt Man; Hulk beats him down and then smashes a truck over his head and departs. Hulk, still angry, leaps to a construction site where he smashes the big machines and then goes to sleep under an upturned truck…

…where he awakens in the morning as Bruce Banner. He finds an unoccupied cabin and helps himself to some clothes. Walking toward the forest he hears a sound he interprets as a gunshot and ducks and then sees a young woman shyly waving to him, the noise having been a broken branch. They chat and she introduces herself as Chrissie Cutler, a journalism student following the trail of the Hulk. As they share a meal, Bruce tries to persuade her that the “Hulk” was actually a tornado, a claim belied by the large footprints in the area. A large egg-shaped craft falls from the sky and opens up to reveal an obsolete model of robot. It throws a net over Chrissie and Bruce transforms into the Hulk and tears the robot apart. He frees Chrissie who calls him “Dr. Banner,” which sends Hulk into a rage against her and the young woman cowers, convincing Hulk she is weak so he wanders off and falls asleep. He soon gets up as Bruce Banner and checks on Chrissie; she confesses that the robot was after her. It was a model created by the defunct defense contractors Wright-Armstrong. Her parents worked for the company and she grew up in one of their facilities; many of her friends went into hiding when the company was shut down after a scandal. When she left school, the company must have thought she was searching for the other refugees and sent the robot to get her back. Her friends knew about the Hulk and considered him a hero so she set out to enlist his help but now she apologizes to Bruce for endangering his life and leaves….

Elsewhere, defense contractor Mohamed Simensky has seen the Hulk via the viewer on the robot and now explains to his aide Ken the plan to capture Hulk and turn him over to the Defense Department and in return they would allow him to revive the Wright-Armstrong project….

Later, Bruce crosses paths with Chrissie again and asks for a lift. But first he locates the tracking device in her coat, cuts it out, and throws it in the bed of a truck going in another direction. He dozes off and when he awakens, he finds the car stopped and Chrissie gone. He tracks her to a small shack where she is in tears. The words, “Nightmerica,” “Broken toys,” Military industrial complex,” and “Guinea pigs” are scrawled on the walls….


 

Review / Commentaries


Hulk: Nightmerica #1 Review by (January 3, 2023)

Review: Don’t let the DayGlo Hulk fool you, this is actually a pretty good miniseries and the art is a little more subdued on the inside. One of the later problems with this series is a noticeable lack of Hulk but that doesn’t show up in the first issue. Bruce Banner is definitely the dominant actor in the series as Chrissie drags him on a road trip to locate her long-lost mutated friends while the baddies are on their trail as well. When Hulk shows up its mainly as a plot device to shake up the plot. If there is a major flaw it’s that, like a lot of painted art, the faces change. Herein, Bruce mostly looks like Ed Helms in THE HANGOVER with many shifts throughout the issue and the series.

Comments: Story takes place between INCREDIBLE HULK (2000) #32-33. Cobalt Man previously fought Hulk in INCREDIBLE HULK #173-174.




> Hulk: Nightmerica comic book info and issue index

Elektra

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

Brian Ashmore
Brian Ashmore
Brian Ashmore
Brian Ashmore (Cover Penciler)
Brian Ashmore (Cover Inker)
Brian Ashmore (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Randy Gentile.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Bruce Banner
Bruce Banner

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Cobalt Man
Cobalt Man

(Ralph Roberts)
Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)