52 In 52: HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT

Welcome to 52 in 52, a look at the vast world of Marvel Unlimited. I will be reading and sharing my thoughts each week regarding a different single arc or event from somewhere within the world of Marvel Unlimited, trying to find things I haven’t read that are relevant to the current comic or cinematic landscape, or completely irrelevant and just fun to read.

One year. 52 tales. One per week. Marvel Unlimited.

Let’s do this.

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On the docket this week: Hulk: Future Imperfect *Warning, there be spoilers ahead*

HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT #1-2
Written by Peter David
Art by George Perez
Release Date: Dec. 1992 – Jan. 1993

I’ll call this one as I see it right off the bat: I didn’t dig it.

Could be the fact that I just read Days of Future Past and all of the Secret Wars (and Convergence) books that are bouncing around the timestream and showing different takes and spins on characters, or it could be the fact that this comic was from the early 90s. Whatever it was, it just didn’t fit my tastes. Some of it was the art, most of it was the content. Maestro was over the top to an absurd level, complete with being overly abusive to women and having a harem of naked slaves. Some will say “oh, it was a different time” – I don’t care what decade you’re in, that’s just cheap and lame storytelling. It tired me, as did the Mad Max meets Blade Runner looking “futuristic” sci-fi group of freedom fighters. Every character feels like it is just part of a trope, including Hulk. While he isn’t a brainless smashing machine, part of me wonders if this comic would have been more interesting if he was. A highly advanced brain like the Maestro coming up against the rage-filled beast may have been more intriguing to me than somewhat advanced brain going up against a nasty older version of himself. It was like watching a 30 year old fighting a crotchety, evil 60 year old version of himself with not a lot to differentiate them other than their age and the ideals that come with it.

I know the Peter David run on Hulk is pretty revered, but I didn’t get the hook here. I was grabbed by World War Hulk, and even Azzarello’s monstrous take on Hulk more than this one. It certainly feels like the Days of Future Past for Hulk, and I think that was a more compelling story for the X-Men than the big green bruiser. Through this 52 In 52 adventure I’ve read a few books from the 80s and 90s, and I’ve been surprised which ones I’ve found stand the test of time. This one felt very dated to me, and all I’d really like to see regarding the Maestro returning to the Marvel Universe is for either DOOM or some iteration of Hulk (be it Red, Doc Green, anything really) end him. End him in a brutal fashion…Hulk style.

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George Perez’s art was very much what George Perez did in the 90s. It is consistent and what I consider to be “classic”, even though I tired of seeing him draw women who are terrified of the Maestro in these two issues. None of the pencils really astounded me and a lot of the character designs looked like what we would consider “stock” designs. There’s nothing exceptional about them to grab the eye or make me think about them twice. Maestro did look wild and conniving, and there are no points where I’d say the artwork is poorly crafted, but it certainly isn’t my favourite Perez work.

Future Imperfect was very much what the title says. I’m actually less inclined to read the Secret Wars tie-in now that I’ve read the actual storyline, and the likelihood of me delving into the Peter David Hulk run is pretty low. Last week, G.L.A. blew me away. This week, the Hulk fizzled and sputtered.

Onward and upward to something new! Next week: The Last Avengers Story

Special thanks to John Ernenputsch for helping to curate this adventure.
More information on Marvel Unlimited can be found here:http://marvel.com/comics/unlimited

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