The Hulk has long been one of Marvel’s most beloved characters. While he didn’t make the biggest splash right away – his original 1962 series ended after six issues – the character would go on to greater and greater success, and 1978 saw him get his own show, making him a household name. Even when the other Silver Age heroes of the House of Ideas weren’t doing as well saleswise, the Green Goliath has been popular. The Peter David run on The Incredible Hulk kept the book going through the ’80s and ’90s, and the 21st century has given readers some amazing stories with the monster, ones that always kept him in the conversation for best Marvel character.
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There have been some amazing Hulk stories, but one of them has risen to the top of that illustrious number. 20 years ago, “Planet Hulk” began and kicked off one of the most popular eras of the characters. The 13-part story ran through The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #92-105 and Giant-Size Hulk #1, by Greg Pak, Carlo Pagulayan, Aaron Lopresit, and Gary Frank, taking the Jade Giant to the far-off planet of Sakaar. “Planet Hulk” is a true blockbuster, and fans wanted to see it on the big screen once the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. What we got on the silver screen wasn’t as great as the comic, which is still special 20 years later.
“Planet Hulk” Caught Readers in Its Gravitational Pull with Deft Storytelling and Amazing Art
The 21st century started out pretty well for the Hulk. Writer Bruce Jones, a novelist and screenwriter, took over his book in 2002 after a middling late ’90s reboot and promised the return of the monster. The book delivered, but after the run was over in 2004, the Jade Giant languished. “Planet Hulk” was meant to be the push that got fans to notice the character again, and it worked like gangbusters. The story was set up by The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #88-91, where the character was recruited to deal with a situation in space that ended up being a trap by the Illuminati to launch him to a paradise planet they had discovered.
Of course, it didn’t go that way, as he was pulled into a spatial anomaly on the trip there and ended up on the planet Sakaar, which is where “Planet Hulk” kicks off. Weakened by his trip through the anomaly, he was captured by the forces of the Red King and forced to fight in the gladiator pits. After a battle with a weakened Silver Surfer, the monster is able to escape with several others, beginning a rebellion against the Red King that would see the tyrant deposed and Hulk replacing him. He met a new love, Caeira the Oldstrong, and his life looked like it was about to get amazing. Then the ship that brought him to the planet exploded, destroying most of the planet and killing the vast majority of the population. The Hulk promised revenge against the Illuminati and began his journey to Earth.
“Planet Hulk” is a story that is perfect for any level of Hulk fan. It was the first major work of writer Greg Pak and he knocked it out of the park. Sakaar was fleshed out beautifully over the run of the story. It took common tropes – an oppressive regime, gladiator fights, a rebellion, and a romance – and brought them to the Hulk in a way that no other story had before. Pak created some awesome characters to give readers a supporting cast, and threw twist after twist at readers. Add in Pagaluyan’s amazing action-packed art, and readers got a Hulk story unlike anything had seen before.
When it came out, it hit the shelves like a ton of bricks. Readers were hooked immediately, and the first few issues of the story sky-rocketed in value. It was the talk of the comic industry, a universally praised story that grabbed fans and never let go. It led into World War Hulk, a five-issue event series that paid off its ending, which itself led into the Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness run on Hulk (Vol. 3), which introduced the Red Hulk. It was a story that made the Hulk into a must-read character again, and he became the most popular Marvel solo hero for a time.
“Planet Hulk” Has a Rich Legacy That the MCU Squandered
“Planet Hulk” is a comic that was tailor made for adaptation, and fans did get an animated version of the story, but everyone wanted it in the MCU. However, the precarious nature of the Hulk’s film rights meant that the character wouldn’t ever get a starring movie, so “Planet Hulk” was folded into Thor: Ragnarok. It was changed pretty significantly, and while the movie itself is a pretty well-loved, most fans agreed that it wasted the story.
“Planet Hulk” is an undisputed classic. For 20 years now, it’s been a favorite of fans and is one of the best parts of mid ’00s Marvel, when the publisher was at the height of its creative powers. It’s a shame that non-comic reading Hulk fans will never get the chance to see it on the big screen in all of its glory, but that doesn’t change how amazing it was. Even all these years later, it’s still considered by many to be one of the greatest Hulk stories ever.
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Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
