Editor's Note: Our regular Infernal Hulk reviewer is taking a brief hiatus this week and will return next issue! In the meantime, be sure to check out our recent in-depth interview with writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson [linked right here], where we talk all things horror, Marvel exclusivity, and the grand architecture of his Hulk mythos.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been on absolute fire with his horror-forward take on the Jade Giant, and the Infernal Hulk one-shots take that dread to a suffocating new level. This isn't just a slugfest; it is an exercise in pure tension where Marvel's heaviest hitters are tossed into the meat grinder. Every installment feels like a slow-motion heartbreak, and seeing Logan take the stage here raises the stakes immediately. Readers naturally walk into this comparing it to their historic showdowns, but Johnson and artist Nic Klein ensure this clash carves out its own vicious, horrifying legacy.
Searching for a Ghost in Damascus
Logan tracks the beast not with blind fury, but with the quiet exhaustion of a guy desperately looking for a flicker of Bruce Banner underneath the monstrous exterior. Much like the reader, Logan approaches this encounter with his arms crossed, searching for familiarity in an ancient, warped feud that stretches back to their very first scrap. The script is packed with razor-sharp callbacks to their legendary first meeting in Incredible Hulk #181, right down to the Canadian wilderness isolation and the primal standoff. Yet the tragedy hits hard: this isn't just Banner losing control. The Eldest's influence has mutated this fight into an ancient curse, leaving Logan struggling to connect with a history and a friend that might be completely gone.
The ensuing battle between the unstoppable force and the immovable object is a bloody, visceral, and intense battle that feels like it can last forever, but the Infernal Hulk understands the one way to get to Logan is to get to his friends, and when it comes to cruelty, The Eldest is the “Best There Is” at what she does.
The Horror of the Eldest and Jubilee's Fate
And that cruelty lands squarely on Jubilee, who gets dragged straight into the Eldest's sadistic web. The ancient matriarch puppeting this nightmarish Hulk proves that anyone standing adjacent to Logan’s heroics will inevitably pay the toll. In a grotesque sequence, the Eldest snatches Jubilee, ensnaring her in burning blood tendrils that strip her down until she is reduced to a fading outline of light. She is harvested and used as psychic bait to feed on Logan's mind, hammering home the hopeless dread that defines Johnson’s horror sandbox.
The Pendulum of Despair
The narrative plays out like a sickening pendulum swinging wildly between frantic survival and absolute defeat. Just when you think Logan might pull one last trick out of his bag, the brute force of the Infernal Hulk crushes any illusion of an easy win. Wolverine is officially the first hero to crumble in this gauntlet, making the stakes feel genuinely dire. Yet even as the issue drags you through the emotional mud, Johnson refuses to leave things entirely in the dark. The final page delivers a subtle, jaw-dropping spark of hope that sets up a massive emotional payoff without tipping its hand too soon.
Nic Klein’s Butcher-Shop Masterclass
Visually, Nic Klein elevates the entire book into pure, unfiltered body horror that feels ripped straight out of an 80s creature feature. The violence is mean, visceral, and downright gnarly. Klein holds nothing back, delivering ripped flesh, bulging eyeballs, and sickening bone crunches with effortless weight. Having worked together for so long, Klein and Johnson operate like a telepathic unit, turning what could have been gratuitous gore into purposeful, storytelling-driven terror. It is easily one of the most visually punishing, intense fight comics to hit shelves this year.
Conclusion & Verdict
Infernal Hulk Vs Wolverine #1 takes decades of classic rivalry baggage and converts it into pure nightmare fuel. Instead of relying on cheap nostalgia, Johnson and Klein use the history between these two icons to make every broken claw and severed tendon hurt that much more. It is brutal, grim, and essential reading for anyone following this terrifying corner of the Marvel Universe.
Verdict: 9/10
A relentless horror showcase that proves why Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein are the best team in the business, giving Logan a deeply tragic, stomach-churning fight for the ages.