The following was originally posted on WizardUniverse.com:
House of Ideas announces new storyline tied to return of the Green Goliath
Friday’s “Marvel: World War Hulk” panel was welcomed with a thunderclap-level response from fans who were eager to hear about the global damage coming from the Jade Giant!
“World War Hulk is the story of the Hulk returning to Earth, where those puny humans live, and much smashing will ensue,” said current Hulk writer Greg Pak.
Hosted by Marvel EiC Joe Quesada, the panel featured the announcement of five new series:
World War Hulk #1-5 by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr.
World War Hulk: X-Men #1-3 by Christos N. Gage and Andrea DiVito.
World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #1-4 by writer Frank Tieri and Carlos Ferreira
World War Hulk: Frontline #1-6 by Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs
“With Civil War over, World War Hulk will be the green sorbet to cleanse the palate,” said Quesada. “It’ll be lighter with lots of punching and hitting.”
The panel revealed four interconnecting covers from the World War Hulk storyline by John Romita Jr., with a fifth unrevealed story that Quesada teased tying into the Hulk’s final battle.
“[This will be] one of the biggest emotional stories from the Hulk in recent memory,” said Pak about the event.
Before the main war hits, Pak said he still has a tale to tell in the series that started it all in Incredible Hulk #106-109.
Incredible Hulk will have a parallel story dealing with who will side with the Hulk. The arc will follow a number of characters as they figure out where they stand in the war. Pak did mention the arc will feature the return of Mastermind Excello from Amazing Fantasy #15.
World War Hulk: X-Men
Upon the unveil of the cover of World War Hulk: X-Men #1, drawn by Ed McGuiness, the crowd laughed at the sight of a frightened Prof. X with the Hulk’s hands tight around his throat. After the laughs, Quesada slyly replied, “Let’s see him think out of that!”
The series follows the Hulk’s mission to confront Prof. X about the former Illuminati member’s decision to exile him to space. Even though the Prof. was absent from the meeting to send the Hulk out in space, the Green Goliath’s got some questions for him.
“The Hulk’s like Santa Claus,” said Gage. “Santa has his naughty and nice list, and the Hulk’s got his ‘smash’ and ‘smash really hard list.’”
With the mutant number being limited to 198 mutants, Gage said he’s going to put all the mutants he can fit into to the series.
World War Hulk: Gamma Corp
Tieri called it the “villain book of the series” but questioned who the villains really are. A big reveal is the return of a Tieri favorite character, Gen Ryker, into the series. In the series Ryker assembles a military team to take down the Hulk, who Tieri likens to “the crew from ‘Predator’ with gamma powers.”
World War Hulk: Frontline
Bill Rosemann spoke on the behalf of Jenkins about the project, citing that Frontline will take the street-level, human-look into the war - much like the similarly named series tying into Civil War.
A number of tie-ins will also come into play, crossing over into Iron Man, Heroes for Hire, Ghost Rider, Young Avengers and the Irredeemable Ant-Man.
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