Review: Indestructible Hulk Vol 3- S.M.A.S.H. Time

Quick Summary

Pros: The entire volume is filled with action and showcases a fun adventure. The conclusion is well written and helps distinguish this volume as something more unique.

Cons: Most of the story is only average and places almost all of the focus on fighting.

Overall: This is a mostly entertaining collection that really shows off Hulk’s ability to smash. It is filled with moments of intense action where the Hulk takes on a solid variety of enemies. However, readers should acknowledge that this story is a bit of a one-trick pony, as these bouts of action reign supreme over any deeper sense of emotion or meaning found throughout the collection. Fans looking for a story about Hulk beating up a diverse array of bad guys will find it here.

Story

Indestructible Hulk Vol. 3: S.M.A.S.H. Time is a fun romp through time with Bruce Banner and the Indestructible Hulk. It has the Hulk bounce through various points in history and take on whatever enemies he finds there. This packs the entire adventure with fun fight scenes but leaves little room for meaning or emotion, which makes the story feel a bit lackluster. Luckily, the conclusion peppers in some additional flavor and ensures that this volume is more than just a couple of fun moments of wanton destruction. Overall, this isn’t the best Hulk collection out there, but it definitely has its moments.

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The majority of this volume is filled with fun action. Readers get to see the Hulk jump through time and take on villains from various eras in history. This leads to Hulk fighting dinosaurs, sea dragons, and even Knights of the Round Table. Plus, the entire adventure sees Hulk accompanied by a robot with Bruce Banner’s personality, allowing him to make commentary on Hulk’s escapades and goad him along in his fits of destruction. This makes for a fun adventure packed to the brim with large-scale destruction and occasional witty banter.

The only problem is that this portion of the book does not offer much more than some fun chaos and a few cheap thrills. There isn’t much meaning or emotion in this travel through time, as almost all of the focus is on the action. This weakens the overall appeal of this portion of the book and leaves it feeling somewhat average, rather than being anything truly special.

Luckily, the end of S.M.A.S.H. Time saves the collection from falling too far into mediocrity. It has Bruce Banner and the Hulk return to the site of their original accident in order to face a threat to the timeline. Here, Bruce Banner is almost saved from life as the Hulk, yet he gives up this chance in order to save Betty Ross’s life. Meanwhile, Hulk receives a double-dose of gamma radiation, turning him into a being with twice the usual power levels. This allows the story to have a bit of emotion while still placing a majority of the focus on over-the-top action. In this way, the final chapters give this arc a fitting end, while also setting things up for the future.

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Art

The artwork in S.M.A.S.H. Time isn’t great, but it also isn’t bad. Matteo Scalera’s work near the beginning of the collection looks nice and helps emphasize the book’s primary feature, action. This allows the Hulk to look good on larger splash pages, where he can typically be seen taking on some sort of meaningful threat. However, Kim Jacinto’s work near the end of the collection does not look quite as nice. It maintains a similar sense of style but does not present characters as well, especially in places where facial expressions and body parts appear distorted. In addition, both artists go a bit overboard with linework, which occasionally clutters pages in a way that feels unnecessary. Overall, this is a decent looking collection but not one that stands out in any specific way.

Continuity

Indestructible Hulk Vol. 3: S.M.A.S.H. Time continues the story from Indestructible Hulk Vol. 2: Gods and Monster (Review).

The story here continues in Indestructible Hulk Vol. 4: Humanity Bomb (Review). In addition, the tease at the conclusion of this volume becomes important in Original Sin: Hulk vs. Iron Man.

This volume also references another comic book, detailed below:

• Damage to the timestream is mentioned. This is due to the events of Age of Ultron.
• Zarrko’s first comic appearance is brought up. This occurred in Journey into Mystery #86, now collected in Thor Epic Collection: The God of Thunder.
• Zarrko mentions a few recent events that have disrupted the timestream:
  • The first involves X-Men traveling through time, which began in All-New X-Men Volume 1: Yesterday’s X-Men.
  • The second involves Avengers traveling through time, which occurred in the first six issues of Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection Vol. 1.
  • The last involves the events of Age of Ultron.
• Hulk’s Mr. Fixit persona was originally established back in Incredible Hulk #347, now collected in Hulk: Visionaries – Peter David Vol. 2.
• Hulk’s Gladiator persona was established in the Planet Hulk storyline.