Planet Hulk

Dir: Sam Liu

2010

***

World War Hulk and Planet Hulk are two of my favourite comics of all time. I’ll be honest, I have always been more of a DC fan when it comes to graphic novels and comics, their Elseworld series and subsidiary labels have produced some of the finest stories ever written within the medium. Marvel have upped their game accordingly over the years and are certainly better when it comes to their live-action feature films. I’m not sure the same can be said for their animated films though. Planet Hulk is enjoyable enough but it is a far cry from the excellent graphic novel it is adapted from. However, Planet Hulk is so good because it is followed up by World War Hulk, a story that sees the Hulk battle his old friends out of revenge. In Planet Hulk, the Avengers and members of the Illuminati (Tony Stark, Mr. Fantastic, Sub-Mariner, Black Bolt, Doctor Strange and Professor Xavier) decide that the Hulk is too unstable, too unpredictable and too dangerous to remain on Earth, so place him on a shuttle without his knowing and send him to an uninhabited world where it is hoped he can find peace. In the original Hulk lands on the wrong planet due to his shuttle going through a wormhole but the animated adaption sees Hulk having a tantrum on the ship, inadvertently changing its course. He lands on the planet Sakaar and is taken into slavery by The Red King through an obedience disk attached to his chest when the crash rendered him unconscious. The story then follows a Gladiator-style plot with Hulk forming allegiances with fellow slaves, escaping captivity, freeing villages of tyranny and eventually taking on Red King. Throughout the story Hulk is pursued by Red King’s lieutenant who is soon won over by Hulk’s cause. In the comic Hulk has to battle The Silver Surfer in one of Marvel’s greatest twists but due to licensing complications they weren’t able to use him in the 2010 animation, so they used Beta Ray Bill instead. Now while Beta Ray Bill isn’t exactly on the same level as Silver Surfer, he does have the right history within the comics for his character to work within the story, it just isn’t going to excite anyone other than the hard-core fans, but then they will still be disappointed at the absence of Silver Surfer. Personally I think Silver Surfer is overrated, although Planet Hulk is where I’ve liked him the most, but Beta Ray Bill is an intelligent replacement all the same. The idea of Hulk’s banishment is a great idea and a compelling first scene, I liked the Gladiator parts but for me, the best thing about the original comic is the ending. After Hulk turns down the opportunity to return to Earth, he stays on the planet and rules as the foretold saviour ‘Sakaarson’ and marries Caiera who soon becomes pregnant with his child. Things look good for the giant green one until the space shuttle he arrived on, which is being turned into a monument, detonates in a grandiose self-destruct style, destroying the entire city. Everyone, including Caiera and her unborn child, dies. Hulk, who is already pretty angry, get really angry and heads to earth with his surviving army seeking revenge on the Avengers and Illuminati. It’s a glorious ‘what if?’ scenario. The 2010 animation has none of that and a World War Hulk sequel isn’t planned. So overall, I was fairly disappointed. It’s totally watchable, enjoyable even, it’s just that I wanted a true adaptation of the original. Neither DC not Marvel quite get their animated adaptations quite right but I’m a sucker for them, Planet Hulk is one of the better ones for sure.