Invincible Iron Man #2: Review

Dec 1996

Scott Lobdell, Whilce Portacio

Story Name:

Hulk Smash!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #2 Review by T Vernon (July 16, 2019)

Review: A Hulk whose shout works like a 616 thunderclap? I like this guy already. Of course, he uses it against the obnoxious Iron Man so I say more power to 'im. Shellhead's origin lacks a lot of the iconic moments of the original; herein the wounded Tony just has to put on the dangerously untested armor that's sitting right there. True, the question of whether the suit is going to fall apart or implode adds a bit of suspense but somehow it's not as cool as Tony creating the armor under the bad guy's nose and using it to fight him, though Tony does a creditable job of fighting the Hulk to keep him away from everyone else. And substituting a weaselly stock villain for a blond Boy Scout seems an odd way to treat Jasper Sitwell, the (formerly) poor schnook.

Comments: Iron Man gives the big green guy the name “Hulk” in this version. The doctor and nurse “Jane” are Blake and Foster, indicating Thor was also going to be imported into this epic. It doesn't happen.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #2 Synopsis by Kevin Hollander

The child-like Hulk misconstrues Stark's concerns about Liz's safety for hostility. Hulk warns the "Iron Man" to stay away or he'll be smashed. Despite Stark's best intentions, he ends up fighting the Hulk. Fortunately, he is able to knock the Hulk out temporarily with his repulsor rays. Liz then explains that Hydra took over the facility and detonated the gamma bomb housed here. Bruce Banner was killed in the process. At this point the Hulk regains consciousness and resumes his fight with Iron Man.

Jasper Sitwell watches this with a certain amount of displeasure. After years of gaining Stark's trust, he has been granted free reign with his company. With Stark on the verge of death, he looks to acquire even more power than before. His abandons his post, intending to find Stark or his corpse. He soon meets up with Liz Ross and they continue their search for Tony Stark.

Iron Man leads the Hulk outside the plant where their fight continues all the way to Niagara Falls. A CNN news-copter happens to be in the area and is the first to record the clash of the titans. Stark realizes that his suit is running dangerously low on power. He receives a quick-charge from a downed power line. He then leaps at the Hulk and hits with full-force with both repulsor rays.

Their momentum carries them over the Falls.