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Immortal Hulk #31: Review

Feb 2020
Al Ewing, Joe Bennett

Story Name:

Remember?

Review & Comments

Rating:
4.5 stars

Immortal Hulk #31 Review by (February 12, 2020)

Review: Well, here’s a twist: it looked like this was going to be another Hulk versus guest monster brawl but look again: Dario Agger has arranged things to frame the Hulk as the monster and Xemnu as the hero. And Hulk falls so deep into this mind trap that the only recourse is for McGowan to pull him out of there. And there’s the second twist: no one recognizes the name “Hulk” except for Savage Hulk, leaving Devil Hulk (the Immortal one) in the dark as to his own identity and history. Meanwhile, Xemnu keeps playing the nostalgia game. Now I really have to see what happens next.

Comments: On his first (pre-superhero) appearances in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #62 and 66, Xemnu was called “the Hulk” and colored orange; later reprints renamed him “the Titan” and colored him white. With a name change to Xemnu, he made his debut as a children’s TV star in MARVEL FEATURE #3, the third appearance of THE DEFENDERS. Doc Samson and Titania are also on the scene from last issue but I don't see them here. Belardino Brabo, and Cam Smith contributed to the inking for the main story; for the McGowan sequence, Javier Rodriguez penciled and colored while Alvaro Lopez did the inking.






 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Immortal Hulk #31 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Dr Charlene McGowan looks back on her life working for the Kingpin, making mutant growth hormone from a mutant named Glowboy and turning it into a party drug. Then she was moved into black-market hormone replacement therapy which went well—until Daredevil broke up the operation….

Now she works for the Hulk and Xemnu the Titan has descended from the clouds to save the day from the monstrous parasites released by Hulk (or so the news media understands it). Savage Hulk remembers his enemy who claims to have been the original Hulk and attacks him, fulfilling Dario “The Minotaur” Agger’s dark scheme. In the battle, Xemnu plays to the cameras with his hypnotic vision, reminding everyone that he was once a beloved children’s television star and hurling a parasite at the news chopper that comes too close. Red Harpy saves the copter but scares the crew by ordering them to land….

Jackie McGee pleads with Rick Jones to stop the Hulk from defeating Xemnu or the parasites will escape but there’s nothing Rick can do. Gamma Flight is also there and Puck has Crusher Creel absorb the plane’s metal and engines to fly down and battle Hulk; as Hulk turns to fight back, McGowan teleports him back to the base. McGowan tries to explain that Hulk was fighting an apparent good guy on live television but Savage Hulk doesn’t understand—and McGowan doesn’t understand why he keeps saying “Hulk.” Devil Hulk surfaces, surprised that Savage Hulk could keep him away—but he doesn’t recognize the word “Hulk” either. McGowan sees fear in the big guy’s eyes for the first time and then she remembers where she has heard of the Hulk: her capture by a superhero—but it wasn’t Daredevil, it was Xemnu, the Incredible Hulk….



Joe Bennett
Ruy Jose
Paul Mounts
Alex Ross (Cover Penciler)
Alex Ross (Cover Inker)
Alex Ross (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Absorbing Man
Absorbing Man

(Crusher Creel)
Daredevil
Daredevil

(Matt Murdock)
Hulk
Hulk

(Bruce Banner)
Jackie McGee
Jackie McGee

(Jacqueline McGee)
Minotaur
Minotaur

(Dario Agger)
Red Harpy
Red Harpy

(Betty Ross)
Xemnu
Xemnu

(Hulk)

Plus: Puck.

> Immortal Hulk: Book info and issue index

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