The Good
Jeff Parker's saga of Red She-Hulk will soon come to a close and, as Sara has already pointed out, that’s a shame. The series has consistently been one of the most interesting on the shelf for Marvel because it’s a book that focuses on a Hulk, but one that takes a much closer, character focused look at them rather than being about smashing everything with a pulse. And unlike other media that tried that, the book largely succeeds on the strength of great writing that strikes a better balance between SHE-HULK SMASH and SHE-HULK THINK, pitch-perfect art and a stellar supporting cast, and this issue turns everything up at LEAST one notch. In order to bring down the sounding-worse-by-the-moment Echelon Super Soldier program, and find the answers she needs about a mysterious little girl, Red She-Hulk has sought the Nexus of Realities in the heart of the Florida Everglades. But when she gets there, and as she encounters the Man-Thing that dwells there, she is drawn through a warp gate that places her at the Hulk’s creation. But this time, she shoves Bruce Banner into the trench and absorbs the full power of the gamma bomb, transforming into the Huge Red She-Hulk ahead of the original time.
We are then treated, and I use that word for a reason, to history as it would be not only if Red She-Hulk were on the Avengers, but if Bruce Banner had remained strictly a scientist, and it doesn’t work out well for either. Jeff Parker crams an enormous amount of storytelling and character development into this issue with titanic moments flying by and a fascinating new world where superhumans and normal humans are at war, and Bruce Banner’s bitterness has transformed him into a different kind of monster. The entire thing is positively fascinating, and frankly with that OTHER alternate-history comic already on the shelves, it’s amazing this one blazes it’s own trail as much as it does.
Carlo Pagulayan’s art, alongside Val Staples’ colors, capture each panel with both the emotional resonance and absolutely smash-mouth action that the panels need and deserve. It’s a great treat to see a team that works as well on the quiet, introspective moments as they do on the frantic, wild action and that’s exactly what this book calls for.
The Bad
If my above descriptors make it sound like everything happens at a breakneck pace, that’s because they do. This is, unfortunately, the second-to-last issue in the series, and whether it’s had to condense it’s story into fewer issues, or if it’s just a general problem of pacing, the book rushes through what could have been an entire storyline unto itself. I’m honestly left wanting to see the further adventures of an early Avengers team with Betty Ross on it, of her romance with Thor, of Banner’s growing resentment and unexpressed rage, but sadly all we get is one more issue and it doesn't look like it's going to be focusing on the alternate history as much as wrapping it up. Far too much happens in this book, and while it’s exciting and intriguing to see the action unfold, those quieter moments seem extremely rushed and the whole thing is sometimes difficult to follow.
The Verdict
The greatest tragedy of this issue is that there’s so little of it, and that’s not a bad complaint to have said of the book itself. Unfortunately, the pacing inevitably suffers and things that should be meditated upon are hurried through, but even catching glimpses of a world this interesting is enough to fully recommend this book to any fans of character-over-action storytelling that STILL manages to have some of the best action on the shelf.