Cover Art for The Infernal Hulk #7
Written by Philip Kennedy Johnson
Art by Adam Gorham
Colors by Matthew Wilson
Letters by VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Art by Nic Klein
It’s no secret that Infernal Hulk has taken the comics world by storm. It has become one of my favorite books that I read month to month and I thought issue #7 was another solid issue in what has been one of the most terrifying additions to the Hulk mythos. Phillip Kennedy Johnson delivers another great issue. Artist Adam Gorham and colorist Matthew Wilson deliver some killer art, with some scenes being especially gruesome. The world of the Hulk has gotten darker with each passing issue but by the end, it offers something the heroes haven’t had much of recently: Hope. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning for The Infernal Hulk #7 Now in Effect.
What is a Monster?
The Infernal Hulk #7 explores if there is a connection between the X-Men and mutantkind and the monstrous beings that inhabit Marvel’s Earth. Eldest’s power, along with her army have been getting stronger each issue, and now, with the potential to add mutantkind to the ranks… that’s too enticing for Eldest to ignore. This next chapter in Johnson’s nightmarish story begins with a horrifying vision of a possible future: one where Manhattan is violently destroyed and its people murdered by a massive pink-ish being… That being turns out to be the mutant Glob, who is being set up to play a very big part in the story ahead.
Glob, who’s currently in Alaska with a contingent of X-Men, wasn’t the only mutant to be affected by the nightmarish visions. Every single mutant on the planet received some sort of terrifying vision from Eldest that showed them “visions of revolution, of violent grandeur and a world ruled by [them].” In short, it showed them part of Eldest’s full vision for Earth and for humanity and the violent role it wants them to play. This leads to the mutants discussing something else they have all felt: a slight feeling in their minds, a pull, if you will, towards Eldest’s living city of Golgolthia in the Appalachian Mountains. They realize Eldest is calling to them. Glob interjects into the main conversation and asks: “Why us? We’re not like [it]. Mutants aren’t monsters. Right?”
What is a monster? What defines a monster? Is it how you look? Is it how you treat others? Is it something that you inherently are or are not? Is someone a monster because of one single characteristic, or is it a sum of their parts? The Infernal Hulk #7 looks at the question of what defines a monster and who deserves to be called one. Are the X-Men monsters because they look different? Are the X-Men monsters because they have strange powers? Most comic fans would agree that the X-Men don’t deserve to be called monsters.
Between all the members, they have every power imaginable, and they've done all they can to be a force for good. They’ve done this even in the face of discrimination, bias, violence, and threats on their lives. They have every right to be mad at a world that has at times turned its back on them completely. But they don’t. They could choose to be as terrifying to the world as Eldest is, but they never will. Eldest may see them as more monstrous beings to be controlled, but it couldn’t be more wrong.
Eldest finally plays her hand after a night of hunting down and destroying a group of Mutants in the American Midwest (which features some of the most brutal art in the entire issue). That same night of the X-Men meeting in Alaska, Eldest touches down with a Mutant she kidnapped from the group she took down in the American Midwest. What’s so special about this one mutant? Their name is Leech, and they have the ability to dampen other mutants’ powers…
Eldest walks on into the X-Men’s base once Leech’s power takes its desired effect, and after a warning that it only came here to take one of them alive, the battle begins. The X-Men aren’t going to let this beast take anyone if they can help it, and the group battles as hard as they can to bring this horrific being to its knees. Magneto, Magik, Cyclops, and others begin to attack Eldest, and it makes for one of the best sequences in this book. Magneto uses his powers to take control of a defunct Sentinel and punches the crap out of Eldest. Does it do much damage? Not in the slightest. Did it look cool? Absolutely. Cyclops’ eye beams barely cause a scratch, and Magik spears her energy sword through the chest of Eldest, but it doesn’t even slow it down.
Despite their best efforts, some of the most powerful X-Men on the planet are slapped around like they’re nothing but ragdolls. Eldest surprisingly doesn’t kill anyone but tells the mutants that they all belong to it and that they will be back soon to claim them. The mutants are beaten down, and to make matters worse, they quickly find out why Eldest actually gave them a visit. The Eldest and their forces kidnapped Glob. After the nightmarish vision of Glob’s we saw at the beginning of this issue, this has the potential to be very bad.
With the X-Men reeling over the kidnapping of Glob, we go across the country to New York City and the interior of the Baxter Building. Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Captain Marvel are contemplating what next steps to take as Reed conducts experiments on Enkidu’s skull. No weapon they made has worked, and Reed predicts that Eldest has no upper limit. Things seem as bleak as they ever have been until Bruce Banner finally makes his way through the door. Bruce apologizes to the group, understands he's put everyone in a horrible position because of his actions, and then simply says:
Judging from Bruce’s ending comments, we will start to see a lot more of Bruce and the Hulk coming up. We haven’t seen The Fractured Son (Johnson’s current main Incredible Hulk personality) in a few issues now, and Bruce has done all he can to avoid re-joining this mess, but it appears the time has finally come for all the pieces on the board to begin coming together. Judging by the next issue’s cover, we’re going to see a lot more of Bruce and the Fractured Son as this race toward its conclusion in issue #10. I’m happy we’re going to see more of Bruce and Hulk going forward; if there is one criticism I can offer, this current run is that I wish we had gotten to see more of them, but with the finale on the horizon and Hulk War: Infernal Rage dropping sometime next year, I’m sure we’re going to see plenty of them going forward.
Thoughts on the Issue and Rating
At this point in the run of The Infernal Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Military have thrown almost everything they can think of at Eldest, and none of it has seemed to matter in the slightest. Tony Stark used a spear from basically God to fight Eldest, and it wasn’t enough. This massive power that the Eldest have inside of them seems almost insurmountable for anyone to overcome. Remember, not only does Eldest have control of the body of the Hulk, but she has the power of the real Mother of Horrors trapped inside her and every Hulk personality that still existed within Bruce Banner. Eldest is already one of the strongest and most brutal villains to grace the pages of Marvel Comics, and the crazy part is that Eldest might not be at the height of their power yet.
While on the surface this book has been about a rampaging monster doing all they can to wreak havoc on the world, there’s also something to be said about the message behind it all. When you face a loss as great as Bruce Banner, the Hulk, and the world did at the end of Johnson’s The Incredible Hulk run, despair can take over. You can lose yourself. We’ve seen that in earlier issues when Bruce as things fell apart for him in his make-believe life with Betty. We’ve all been through moments when things seem insurmountable, but sometimes, all it can take is that one spark to re-ignite you and get you moving again.
If I can get personal for a little bit here, this past work year has been one of the toughest in my professional life. I’ve had to seek out therapy again, and I’ve dealt with severe bouts of depression. I’ve been kind of going through this journey with Bruce as the issues have gone on, and there have been some days when it was really hard for me to get through. Some days, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. I felt like I had my own Eldest to deal with. Thankfully, I found my spark of hope, I found what I needed to keep me going. The heroes of the Marvel Universe need that spark, and judging by the last page of this issue… they may have found it.
Before I wrap up here, I have to talk about the incredible job the art team has done on this issue and throughout this run so far. Nic Klein is beloved within the Hulk community due to his work on Johnson’s Incredible Hulk run and Infernal Hulk, but with Klein gearing up for the Hulk War, Adam Gorham has handled a lot of the art duties. Gorham has done a fantastic job whenever he's been featured in this book, and this issue is no different. There are some great highlights in this issue from Gorham and colorist Matthew Wilson.
Eldest looks massive and menacing as ever. The sickly green scar that dominates their body is prominently featured in every panel. Wilson’s use of bright green, not just within the scar but in Eldest’s eyes, is a great contrast to the blacks and purples that make up the rest of Eldest’s body. It’s almost as if there is something inside her ready to rip that crack open and finally be released… but we still have a while to go in this story before our heroes can even start dreaming of a possible victory.
The opening scene of Glob’s nightmarish vision looks like the most terrifying version of The Blob you can imagine. The pinks, blacks, and purples that Wilson uses to color this scene were a great choice, and I love how menacing Gorham makes this Kaiju version of Glob look. The deaths of Marrow, Erg, and Pyro during Eldest’s rampage in the Midwest are brutal. After using a brutal punch and kick to take out two of the trio, Eldest makes a point to pick the last one up and crumple her like a piece of paper as all her body breaks and her organs splash out of her body. It’s a disgusting panel in the best way and further pushes forward how disturbing this creature is.
Eldest’s fight with the X-Men is the best art sequence in this issue. As I mentioned before, it looks totally badass having Magneto rise up, control a Sentinel, and use it to fight against the beast. The panels of all the X-Men fighting Eldest together look great, and I wish the fight could’ve been a page or two longer. Eldest looks menacing as ever, especially when they’re standing over Magik, ready to take her head off with one swing of a sword. When Eldest takes Magik’s sword out of its body and its dripping bright green blood, it makes for a cool-looking panel that's for sure. Gorham has nailed the feel of this book, and Wilson's colors are a great compliment.
The Infernal Hulk #7 brings the X-Men into this horror story and provides glimpses of what could be a terrifying future for the Marvel Universe. As Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s dark second chapter of his Hulk tale races towards its conclusion, we get a desperately needed dose of hope at the end of this book. Johnson and the art team deserve their flowers for another great issue, and if you take a look beneath the hood, there are some compelling questions this issue asks. I can’t wait for next month as The Hulk and Bruce look set to resume featured roles in the fight to destroy Eldest.
RATING: 9/10