The Infernal Hulk #10
Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Art by Adam Gorham
Colors by Matthew Wilson
Letters by VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Art by Nic Klein
The second chapter in Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s nightmarish modern Hulk epic has reached its conclusion, and it does not disappoint. The Infernal Hulk has captivated readers from the first issue, and this last one is no different. This issue not only provided a satisfying conclusion to Infernal Hulk but plants some intriguing seeds for the one-shots coming up and, of course, Johnson’s final chapter in his story, Hulk War: Infernal Rage, coming in 2027. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now in Effect for The Infernal Hulk #10!
Neferib’s Riddle Game Commences
Our issue opens with Bruce Banner in the fight of his life and is the first of two main storylines presented in issue #10. He’s chained up on the back of a massive decaying body of a huge creature.. He’s at one of the most desperate points he’s ever been, and now he must outsmart Sumanguru, a flesh-weaving monster, in order to gain back the essence of the Incredible Hulk. How does it plan to do that? With something known as Neferib’s Riddle Game.
At the end of issue #9, we learn that Bruce has enacted the ancient rites of Neferib’s Riddle Game in order to best Sumanguru. Within the opening pages of this issue, we learn exactly what Neferib’s Riddle Game is, where it came from, and come to understand how Bruce can possibly win. Essentially, Bruce must answer an increasingly tough set of riddles until he beats the challenge. Sumanguru isn’t going to make matters easy for him, though. Before we move forward, I want to touch on the initial two pages that open this final issue.
The exposition we get about Neferib’s Riddle Game is brilliantly brought to life by Adam Gorham and Matthew Wilson. They’ve been killing it as an art team on this book, and some of their best work has been saved for this issue. Over the course of the first two pages, as Sumanguru gives his exposition about the Riddle Game, we see Bruce and Doctor Voodoo chained up as monsters from the Soulcage and Sumanguru himself look on.
What starts as a close perspective on Bruce and Voodoo moves out, and we see they aren’t simply tied up on any old pole. Instead, they are tied up on massive ancient spears driven into the back of the skeletal remains of some massive creature. To put it frankly, it looks metal as all hell, and I could see some metal band using an inspired version of this as an album cover somewhere down the line.
Another interesting aspect to this opening section of the issue is something I might be overanalyzing, but stuck out to me as I went back over the issue. We see Bruce being pecked at and bitten by birds as Sumanguru tells his tale. The way Bruce is chained up and the aspect of the birds made me think of the tale of Prometheus and his horrible fate.
In Greek Mythology, Prometheus is punished by Zeus for giving humanity the ability to use fire. Each day he’s eaten alive by massive birds before coming back to life the next. Prometheus introduced fire to the world, just as Bruce was the one who showed his world in the Marvel Universe the true dangers of gamma radiation. Both men introduced a power to their worlds that can be helpful in some aspects, and downright destructive in others. Both paragons for actions that would have repercussions for countless years to come. Now, back to the story.
The game begins as Sumanguru’s explanation ends. Bruce is not expected to simply answer every riddle correctly; that would be simple and too easy. He’s forced to answer each riddle while going through unfathomable amounts of torture from Sumanguru and the monstrous beings that work with him and dominate the Soulcage. Bruce not only has to keep himself safe, but he has to make sure no harm comes to Voodoo as well. Eventually, Sumanguru has had enough, and the games come to an end, but not the way he expects. Before we move on to the last part of Bruce’s journey in this issue, I want to shout out some great parts of this section.
The art over the course of Neferib’s Riddle Game is some of the coolest stuff I’ve seen in this series, and I want to give another big shoutout to Gorham and Wilson. From the designs of the demonic creatures (including the sky monsters and the demonic monstrous Mermaid/siren) that want nothing more than to rip Bruce and Voodoo apart, to the backgrounds that progressively get darker as the game progresses, it all looks and fits the scenes perfectly. The backgrounds go from a red and purple sunset-type color scheme to a darker one as the game continues to express how damaging this trial is for Bruce and Voodoo, and I thought it was a nice touch.
A Touch of Grey
Sumanguru finally reveals that Bruce and Voodoo were never going to win this game, no matter how many riddles Bruce correctly solved. Turns out, the patron of the riddles decides how long they go on for, and Sumanguru, of course, never planned to end his game. Sumanguru has had enough of the games, traps Voodoo in a cage, and attempts to slaughter Bruce with a massive sword strike before… Bruce reaches up and grabs the sword mid-swing. Things have been flipped on their head, and Sumanguru learns that he never should’ve underestimated the two doctors. What follows is one of the most badass moments of this entire run.
Through a flashback, we learn that Voodoo knew all along that Sumanguru would never give up the Hulk’s essence, so back at Strange Academy he is the one that suggest using the ruse of Neferib’s Riddle Game so they can get close and stay close to Sumanguru. Voodoo paints what's known as a Beggar's Rune on Bruce's hand, and this symbol will allow him to siphon back the Hulk’s essence. Flashing forward to the present, the spell has worked, although not fully. Bruce didn’t have enough time for it to 100% take his power back but stayed close enough for long enough that he has use of the Hulk power and essence for an undetermined amount of time, which will hopefully be long enough to confront Eldest. Finally, Bruce can change, but the beast that comes out ain’t green.
Bruce begins to change as the power of the Incredible Hulk flows back into him, with one of the coolest transformation sequences I’ve seen, complete with the body horror this nightmarish Hulk story has become known for. The big green guy is nowhere to be found as Bruce’s original transformation rears his head once again. The Grey Hulk has returned, and Bruce is ready to use his power to now take the fight to the being who has destroyed his life: Eldest.
It was awesome to see the return of the Grey Hulk, and I’m very interested in why this is the form Bruce has taken over the one of the other variations. For those who aren’t long-time Hulk fans, Grey Hulk was the original Hulk Bruce transformed into way back in the 60s, and it’s cool to see that form being the one that rears its head as Bruce gains his powers back. Going forward, it’s going to be really cool to see Grey Hulk taking the fight to Eldest and their forces. The splash panel depicting Grey Hulk in all his glory is badass and ends our time with Bruce in this issue. I truly cannot wait to see where his story goes from here. Johnson has me hook, line, and sinker.
“Country Roads, Take Me Home..”
A small town in West Virginia is the setting for the second of issue #10’s main storylines. This story starts with a bang as Charlene “Charlie” Tidwell, wearing the skin of the wolf god Lycana, is engaged in a vicious battle with Bridger, one of Eldest’s monster lieutenants. Their fight eventually makes its way to a gas station run by Charlie’s friend Carl, and he’s nearly killed by an errant shotgun blast that causes a massive explosion. Charlie thankfully saves her friend from certain death and heads back to fight Bridger.
To see Charlie back as a featured character in this series and hopefully as a series regular going forward into the Hulk War coming up, makes me very happy. She quickly became one of my favorite new parts of Hulk’s world when she made her introduction in Johnson’s Incredible Hulk run, and I found myself missing her in the earlier issues of The Infernal Hulk. Hulk and Bruce haven’t ever had that many people willing to be in their corner, and she’s thankfully one of them. I also think one of the greatest things about her character is that she has very different relationships with both Bruce and Hulk, and I’m very eager to see how these reunions play out in the coming issues.
Charlie’s fight with Bridger escalates until… Something very strange happens. As Charlie screams that she’s not a monster like Bridger is and is about to rip his throat out… she notices something. There’s something inside the monster she can see, and she’s getting these pseudo-visions of who the person inside the monster really is. Charlie proceeds to kill Eldest’s influence inside Bridger and wipes out his connection to the monstrous being.
This is a power that could potentially change the tide of the war for the good side, and it’s in the grasp of Charlie and her god-like Lycana abilities. We’ve now seen that Charlie has the ability to kick Eldest’s influence out of people’s minds and give them their own autonomy back. The potential this new power has, and if it can somehow be amplified, is a stroke of good luck that the forces of good have so desperately needed. Going forward, Charlie is being primed to have a massive role, and while I hope one day she can find her peace again, I can’t say I hate that she’s truly being drawn back into Hulk’s nightmarish world.
Charlie steps out of her Lycana skin as Bridger gains his mind back. The two have a quick discussion about Charlie needing to find the Avengers as soon as possible so she can use her powers to help the war effort. I liked the dialogue between the two here, and Charlie’s quick-witted responses to some of Bridger's statements are part of what makes the character so endearing. Bridger warns her to get to the Avengers quickly and let them know that Eldest has been growing something underneath the Baxter Building…
The art team shines in this section just like they did on Banner’s. Charlie’s Lycana persona looks vicious, and her battle with Bridger features some great brutality. The art they created for the section where Charlie rips Eldest’s influence out of Bridger’s mind was really cool and painted an interesting picture of her ripping this sickly green serpent out of Bridger’s body. Judging from the solicits for the Infernal Hulk one-shots coming up, there are going to be some different art teams featured so I wanted to take this chance to say thank you to Adam Gorham and Matthew Wilson for the amazing work they’ve done on this book and their contribution to the history of the Incredible Hulk.
Now you would think this issue had reached its ending. Bruce has his Hulk abilities back, although on a time clock, and Charlie Tidwell is about to re-enter the fray along with some newfound abilities. There are precisely two pages I haven’t talked about from this issue. Two pages right at the end that offer a terrifying cliffhanger to the next stage of Eldest’s plan. I’m not going to post any art from that section; I’m not even gonna say where it takes place or what it involves. This part, you won’t get any spoilers from me, but all I’ll say is the Marvel Universe is in for the fight of their lives.
Final Thoughts and Rating
The Infernal Hulk #10 brings Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s second chapter in his horror-filled Hulk story to its conclusion. Featuring fantastic art from Adam Gorham and Matthew Wilson, this issue finally gives the good side a shot in the arm they so desperately needed. With Bruce Banner and Charlie Tidwell now ready to get back into the fight and a cliffhanger that promises even more mayhem, this issue was both a satisfying ending and a promising prologue. I cannot wait for the one-shots to begin next issue and for Hulk War: Infernal Rage in 2027.