Weapon H #4 written by Greg Pak, with pencils by Cory Smith, inks by Terry Pallot & Roberto Poggi, colors by Morry Hollowell & Chris Sotomayor, and letters by Joe Caramagna smashed onto our shelves this week with an incredibly drawn, action-packed, battle royal of destructive proportions. Was this nuthin’ but a Man-Thing for our Hulkverine? Let’s find out!
One, two, three, and to the four, this issue’s gettin’ spoiled so don’t read this anymore…. unless you want to know what happens of course. Cause you know I’m ‘bout to rip this up! Pass me the mic!
It took a couple pages for this creative team to get humming, but about a third of the way through, this sucker went nuclear. This issue turned into an action packed throwdown between our Hulkverine and Man-Thing that smashed right through a forest and blew that thing to kingdom come. Take a look at this splash page!
Cory Smith, Terry Pallot, and Roberto Poggi did a tremendous job on this page showing us the hulking nature of Man-Thing towering over Clayton. Often times a creature like this gets overshadowed by whomever it’s fighting and it becomes a throw away character. Technically, Weapon H will do just that by the end BUT this creative team took pride in their depiction of Man-Thing on this page and throughout the comic.
Next, look at the framing of Clayton’s hand at the bottom of the page. We watch him gradually turn into the Hulkverine through a close up of his hand. Notice the bright, almost toxic green color of the throbbing vein on his hand. Morry Hollowell & Chris Sotomayor do a fantastic job showing the reader the poisonous transformation into the cursed Hulkverine.
We then see the battle rage on in what appears to be Man-Thing getting the upper hand on our Hulkverine. Greg Pak tells us that Roxxon further enhanced Man-Thing by combining his DNA with that of Groot, which helps the reader understand how this Man-Thing is a bit more challenging of a foe than it has been in the past for others.
Notice once more the immense size of both goliaths. Any Hulk is big and formidable but Smith, Pallot, Poggi, Hollowell, and Sotomayor do a fantastic job describing the size of these behemoths as well as the drastic deviation in color between the two characters to better distinguish the two throughout the fight. Next, look at the size of Hulkverine’s claws. Those bad boys put Wolverine’s claws to shame. They look like three katana swords on each hand. That’s nuts!
For those that don’t remember part of Man-Thing’s power set, Pak reintroduces the reader to his touch too much. Anyone who knows fear will burn by his touch. Well, using weird robotic flying insects, Dario Agger is able to communicate to Weapon H that he knows Clayton (Weapon H) has a family and he will find them and hurt them if he has to in order to get the Hulkverine to come work him at Roxxon.
This page does a phenomenal job showing us the colors and lettering mixed together in such a way to get the point across of how angry Weapon H is truly getting BUT also the fear that he is beginning to feel for his family. Hulkverine’s mixed cocktail of memories and emotions are all in red. He even screams out in big, bold, red letters insinuating the fear that is taking over BUT also that the Hulkverine is doing more than burning up right now. He’s literally going to blow like a freakin’ volcano!
Looking through this comic, the art team continues to drive home this issue. If fear burns at the touch of the Man-Thing, then consult your physician immediately!
Come on guys I had too at some point.
Just kidding. But, look at the size of this explosion! Weapon H went off like an atomic bomb. His fear and anger spewed out into a raging forest fire in which begins to desemate the surrounding areas. Police are trying to get locals to safety but somehow Weapon H’s wife tracked him down to this spot and literally threw herself into the fire.
I think Pak was stretching the connection between our hero and his love interest a bit too much here. His wife, who thought he was dead but somehow now doesn’t, tracked her husband down to a forest where they both shared a common meaningful memory to see if he’s still alive. Ok…. Then, she “happens” to show up during a forest fire and runs into it.
I understand we need to push this relationship forward but let’s just say this seemed a bit FORCED. It’s actually so forced that on the next page his wife looks at him as the Hulkverine and knows it’s him by calling out to the beast she sees (in the middle of a forest fire mind you) and states his name. Yup….
So, in order to save his wife, Weapon H throws his wife out of the forest and into a river. He then proceeds to put out the fire with a Hulk sized thunderclap, which also takes out Man-Thing and was awesome! Finally, Hulkverine gets shot in the back by 3 huge alien-looking grappling hooks and carried off by Roxxon helicopters.
The art and action were truly amazing and worth the price of admission. If you’ve come to this comic looking for a deep story or some type of spy thriller, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you want crazy monster of the week fight scenes with a detailed and talented art team showing you each epic blow by blow, then this is the comic for you.
Each issue so far has been one battle after another. Sometimes, I like my comics like my wrestling: knock out, drag out fights! I don’t need an in-depth story within all my comics. Sometimes, I just want some action, adventure, explosions, and fighting. This comic has it in spades! Weapon H laid waste to Man-Thing like it was nothing and it looks like Hulkverine will be taking on Roxxon next. I guess we’ll have to wait until the next issue to find out.
Well, what did you guys think of Weapon H #4? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu
