Comic Book Review: The Incredible Hercules #128
The Incredible Hercules #128
Written by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Dietrich Smith
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Joseph Copeli
The Story: Amadeus Cho, the seventh smartest person on Earth, and Hercules, the strongest of the Olympian Gods, originally united in support of the Hulk. The inseparable pair is now on the run from the US government for refusing to register as superheroes and causing trouble everywhere they go.
The Recap: Hera Panhellenios puts her plan of revenge against her step-children in motion. Trey Rollins, chosen by Athena to bear the mystical Aegis, is killed. Norman Osborn takes a special meeting with Hera. Hercules, Athena and Amadeus are about to clash with Hera’s new Olympus Group before being interrupted by the Dark Avengers.
This Issue: A huge fight breaks out between Hercules’s companions, the Olympus Group and the Dark Avengers. Our heroes realize that this new team of Avengers aren’t exactly who they claim to be. Hercules and crew escape by way of diversion and Osborn and Hera come to an agreement about her Continuum® project.
There isn’t much plot movement in the latest issue of Incredible Hercules but there’s plenty of action and humor to go around. There’s bound to be some confusion in a battle between three different groups that don’t like each other, but that’s no excuse for Athena not knowing who the Dark Avengers really are; she’s the Goddess of Wisdom, for Zeus’s sake! That’s a minor gripe though; how can you stay mad at Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente when they’ve reinvigorated Hercules and made him so enjoyable again?
Hercules kicks much ass this issue. The Sentry, being Superman’s proxy in the Marvel Universe, is about as big and as bad they come on the planetary scale (though with “the power of a million exploding suns,” you’d think he could take on Galactus and get home in time for dessert). There’s no question that Hercules is outgunned, yet the Prince of Power shows his millennia of experience by dancing around the Sentry’s attempts at fighting him. In a rare loss of composure, I chuckled when Venom caught Hercules’s punch with his mouth and laughed out loud when Hercules started punching the Sentry with Venom still attached to his fist. Good times.
It wasn’t surprising to see the two villainous groups coming to an agreement with each other, though what Continuum® is still hasn’t been revealed. Athena, however, does reveal a couple of juicy tidbits: first, that Hera’s new power can be countered by something in Hades (which makes you wonder why Pluto never used it against Zeus) and second, that Athena herself is becoming something of a b#$%h. She seemed upset about Aegis’ death last issue, but tells Amadeus that “if he had been an effective champion, he’d still be alive.” Ouch. On another note, I was hoping Amadeus would take the aegis for some much-needed protection for the scraps he always finds himself in. It seemed like Pak and Van Lente were going to give it to him; I don’t know why it didn’t happen.
An interesting reveal at the end of the issue is Hera’s secretary/daughter’s creepy obsession with Hercules. Well, it isn’t so creepy to have a shrine of pictures and figurines of your husband, is it? Technically, Hebe is still his wife and they have twin sons together, so she can’t be blamed for being lonely and wanting him back. Who could resist that charming, muscled and hairy champion of Olympus? I know I can’t.
Last 3 posts by Joseph Copeli
- Broken Bones, Bruised Faces and Blood Everywhere in "Invincible #64" - August 7th, 2009
- Locke & Key: Head Games #6 Review - August 4th, 2009
- The Walking Dead #63 is a Great Read - July 30th, 2009
No related posts.
Loading ...
