Incredible Hulk

If World War Hulk is the book where Hulk gets to smash, smash again, and then...oh, what the hell...SMASH SOME MORE, then Incredible Hulk is the book where everything else happens.

Which is smart, because if you're buying World War Hulk, you get the heart of the story, and you get what you paid for, re: the aforementioned smashing. And if you're smart, and you've been buying Incredible Hulk as the awesome Planet Hulk storyline has unfolded, then you're in for the whole ride, and you need these critical pieces of the puzzle.

Issue 108, for example, dives into two players who have played pivotal roles in the Hulk's life, Rick Jones and the insect alien Miek. Pak has a strong grasp on Jones, but it's Miek who is the real star of this issue, as he has been for much of the Planet Hulk storyline.

Whether providing comic relief or the vital dose of righteous rage required to push the Hulk over the edge, Miek has evolved as a great character find within the overall tapestry of Planet Hulk. His people massacred time and again, the only salvation this creature has found is in merciless war. As one of Hulk's Warbound, he has taken up the battle alongside his savior, and now he's bringing that battle to earth, to repay those responsible for the destruction of Sakaar.

Rick Jones just wants to calm the Hulk down, but even if he were given the chance, it's doubtful he'll have a decent shot anyway--the Hulk he once knew in such a variety of incarnations is not the Hulk who has returned to Earth. It's Rick Jones who provides the perspective on Hulk's past, but it's Miek who represents Hulk's present. Where his future will go is yet to be seen, and that's a big part of what makes the World War Hulk crossover work so well--the uncertainty of exactly where the Hulk and the Marvel Universe will end up at the conclusion of the journey.