Believe it or not, Hulk: Smash Everything #5 is maybe the most normal issue of this whole miniseries. To catch you up quickly, Hulk is angry at everything that’s happened to him over the last four issues. He’s so angry that he punched to the center of the world just to get away from everyone. The world is collapsing and the molten core is escaping through a hole in the Antarctic shelf that Hulk punched out himself. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four are desperate to save everyone. Hulk is desperate to be alone.
You could argue that this is the least exciting issue of the mini and in terms of action, it is. Holding up the Earth like Atlas is an impressive feat, but significantly less bombastic than surviving the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, reconstituting yourself at the center of a black hole, fist fighting Galactus at the end of time, or even punching through the Earth to get into this whole mess.
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It quickly becomes apparent though that isn’t a goal for writer Ryan North or artist Vincenzo Carratù. Every other issue of this series focuses on something incredible the Hulk does. Hulk: Smash Everything #5 really focuses on something incredible done to the Hulk.
What this finale does best is reinforce the idea that Hulk is the victim in all this. Yes, he’s the reason the center of the Earth is giving out, but none of the heroes are really holding that against him because they recognize that he deserves to be angry. No one thinks that he’s earned his rage more than The Thing.
Without any real hesitation, the Thing jumps underground to hold up the tectonic plate that Hulk is also propping up. There’s no misunderstanding, no fight—hell, there’s barely even a discussion between the two. Even with his newfound powers and strength, Hulk is buckling under the weight of trying to undo what his anger caused, so Thing shows up not a moment too soon. Despite requests to be alone, Thing won’t shake off. “You n’ me, we can be alone together”, he says. Not to be one-upped, the Human Torch shows up and for once in his life correctly reads the room.
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There’s no yelling, blaming, rallying, or even misunderstanding. There’s just work that needs doing and people capable of doing it. It’s succinct, it’s smart, and it’s really well done.
The allusion to Atlas earlier wasn’t a mistake; that’s what a lot of the ‘action’ is in this book. Strong dudes stoically holding up heavy things. It sounds boring, but Carratù’s pencils make flexing poses look exciting and dynamic with close up framing. It makes the action feel smaller but more hectic, more claustrophobic feeling that constantly reminds the reader of the danger the world is in.
A few smaller nitpicks don’t hold the book back. Some characters who don’t contribute anything acknowledge they don’t contribute anything, and the resolution felt like it should’ve been longer, but that feels pretty small potatoes after the messaging that really drove the book.
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Hulk: Smash Everything #5 brings this miniseries to a poignant, but hopeful conclusion that admits the Hulk was wronged, his anger was warranted, and forgiveness goes further than you think. Sweet moments between Hulk, the Thing, and Johnny Storm punctuate an intense climax that lets Marvel’s heaviest hitters execute an off-the-wall fix to a world that’s quickly falling apart. While nowhere near the most epic part of the series, the ending is satisfying and well-earned after five issues that excelled in delivering insane situations for the Hulk to survive, and impossible odds for him to overcome.
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