Six Against The Skrulls!

Since the Kree-Skrull War has recently been a focus of the PPC, we'd be remiss if we failed to note a group of individuals who formed a coterie as a result of that event:

Yes, the Illuminati, who met at the request of Iron Man following the Avengers' confrontation of the Skrulls in space during that race's hostilities with the Kree (and vice versa). War was averted during that encounter, thanks in part to the machinations of the Kree Supreme Intelligence which unleashed the power of none other than Rick Jones--but soon after his return to Earth, Stark initiated a meeting in Wakanda and proposed to Reed Richards, Stephen Strange and the others that the six of them meet on a regular basis to keep each other apprised of anything and/or anyone that might pose a threat at some point to Earth--"warning signs," if you will, that would allow them to pool their resources and avert disaster.

And yet, the group resolved to keep their meetings and even their existence secret, perhaps so as not to alert those who aroused their suspicions--even failing to notify the National Security Council of their activities, the very agency which shares vital and classified information with the Avengers as part of a special arrangement with the team and which would likely take issue with the covert nature of this group in acting outside of its auspices.

And act they do--nor does it comes as much of a surprise, then, when we discover what threat (if dormant for the time being) they've decided to proactively deal with first.

The Wrath Of The World Breaker!

Having seen the events which led up to the 2007-08 series, World War Hulk, we know that Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Stephen Strange, and Blackagar Boltagon (that still sounds silly) are going to be made to answer for their actions toward the Hulk and, by extension, Bruce Banner--and though we'll discover that those actions don't amount to the level of transgressions that the Hulk intends to hold them accountable for, our four "heroes," in addition to a number of others as well as a sizable part of New York City, will suffer considerably by the time his rage and this series have run their course.

Which makes this more "NYC War Hulk" than what the title implies, since confining your attack to one city doesn't engulf an entire planet in a war. Still, when the Hulk emerges from an alien ship dangling his first victim, every costumed figure worth his salt knows that the Hulk's threat to extend his attack to the rest of the world must be taken seriously.  (Or so the Hulk would have them believe, should his demands not be met.)

The Hulk's announcement also serves to offer readers who passed on the "Planet Hulk" storyline (such as myself) a capsulized glance at the tragic events of that story while boiling down the Hulk's grievance against his four targets in a nutshell--which seems an effective way to handle a five-issue, 200+ page series in a single PPC post (hey, I'm not at war with the Hulk!) while offering a look at the work comprising this ambitious project.

As you might guess, the story's first order of business is to feebly tie the hands of the one person who could end this conflict with a single incantation.

Prelude To... War!

No doubt practically anyone who was a regular reader of Incredible Hulk a few years after the turn of the century can recite the underlying reasons which became the foundation for the hostilities encompassing the 2007-08 series known as World War Hulk. Following a plan executed by Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, and Iron Man which traps the Hulk in a space shuttle and sends him to another world, thereby removing the threat of the Hulk forever, the shuttle's later explosion on the planet where the Hulk made a new life for himself incinerates all that he had accomplished for himself, including the casualties of his wife and newly-conceived child; and so, in a fit of revenge, he returns to Earth to take out his rage on those he holds responsible for his pain and his losses.

But while I was putting together this train of thought, it occurred to me that I was a little fuzzy on some of the details. For instance, by this point the Hulk had been rampaging on the Earth for (by our standards) over thirty years--surely Earth's heroes had seen more than enough incidents of endangerment and destruction on the Hulk's part to justify throwing up their hands and saying "enough is enough" well before now. But let's say for the sake of discussion that it took them awhile to finally reach their limit on the Hulk--hadn't Strange's gambit to exile the Hulk to a dimensional "crossroads" already effectively attempted this sort of solution, and failed?

And so I started to work my way back in order to have a more complete picture of what led up to taking this step, in the assumption that the whole thing wasn't simply fast-tracked to launch the WWH event and begin cashing in on not only the main title but all the crossovers. It turns out that I'm both right and wrong in that notion: not fast-tracked in the sense that A was put in place to lead to B and then to C in a very short amount of time, but rather those pieces being restricted to the stories leading up to the Hulk's exile itself. In the meantime, we can presume that production had already begun on the WWH books and the separate titles that conflict affected, thus allowing time for the Hulk's "Planet Hulk" storyline to play out for a 12-month period from April 2006-07. At the end of that storyline--well, as NASA would put it, we have liftoff.

As for just what those pieces were, we can break them down as follows.

---

Fantastic Four #s 533-535
January-April, 2006

If we're looking for a catalyst for World War Hulk, here it is--starting with the Fantastic Four getting word of a gamma bomb explosion in Nevada, which interrupts a situation involving their children and necessitates the Thing and the Human Torch heading to investigate the Hulk on their own.

But the status of the Hulk turns out to be worse than expected, not only with the Hulk's startling difference in appearance but also because of the fact that his mental state is fragile at best.

Battle Of The Bruisers: The Hulk vs. The Juggernaut!

In their first meeting in 1974, the incredible Hulk and Cain Marko (a/k/a the Juggernaut) didn't exactly hit it off as allies following their joint escape from captivity at Hulkbuster Base; in fact, they spent a good deal of time going off on each other, when the Hulk refused to stand by as the Juggernaut threatened an innocent family. Unknown to the Hulk, it was the X-Men who later stepped in and collared Marko; but 19 years to the month later (our time), in his next meeting with the Hulk, Marko is effectively wearing the collar of another while involved in operations in the Amazon. The only trouble is, the Hulk is not only unaware of the identity of Marko's employer--he's also in the dark as to the identity of the bruiser who jumps him from out of the jungle!

As we can see, Marko has thrown the Hulk a curve by attacking him in street clothes rather than as "the Juggernaut," in order to have an edge and keep the Hulk in the dark is to the extent of his power. At this point in time, the Hulk is also, in a way, a different foe to Marko, having recently undergone treatment by Leonard Samson and Maynard Tiboldt (better known as the Ringmaster) which resulted in the merging of his three "personalities"--the gray, savvy Hulk... the green, less intelligent Hulk... and last but not least, Bruce Banner--into an amalgam that was the product of coming to terms with his inner conflicts stemming from his childhood. The result was a more confident, less inhibited Banner who finds himself revelling in his new status.

But the new Hulk can still be surprised by a canny foe--and, in this case, taken down.

His neck then grabbed and locked in Marko's arm like a vise, the Hulk is rendered unconscious, still ignorant of Marko's identity as well as that of the mastermind of this operation:  the Red Skull, who goes on to take control of the Hulk's mind with the aid of Mentallo in order to have him join with the Juggernaut in destroying the Avengers. That scheme eventually collapses, in part due to Mentallo getting more than he bargained for in dealing with Banner's inner turmoil that still defines him; but fourteen years later, the Juggernaut gets another crack at the Hulk during the events of the World War Hulk crossover, as an embittered Hulk, returning from his forced exile from Earth, seeks out those members of the Illuminati who presumed to hold his fate in their hands and renders his own brand of justice. Inevitably, the Hulk comes for Charles Xavier--and Xavier's stepbrother, now working with Excalibur, yields to his conscience.

The Women In Our Lives

In their fourth issue of the Illuminati limited series from 2007, writers Brian Bendis and Brian Reed have our members of this clandestine group letting down their guard a bit to ponder the women in their lives--an opening segment which provides some rare bonding moments for these men who come together from such diverse paths to discuss their world's present and future concerns, and how best to bring about their mutual decisions on the matters which are brought to light in their secluded location. Their subject for today--the young Kree known as Noh-varr--can be tabled for a few minutes, it seems, because the ladies on their minds don't seem like the type who enjoy being kept waiting, even in absentia.

Since the Illuminati normally move right to business, the casual discussion is completely unexpected and comes as something of a nice surprise for the reader, since these men as a rule bring weighty matters to each others' attention that require their full attention and deliberation. It's Dr. Strange who somberly opens the door, as he bemoans the absence of his former disciple and lover, Clea, who returned to her home dimension to assume her position as its ruler. And as the members arrive, Strange's frustration with the situation has the others offering a sympathetic ear.

You may find these two writers, however well-intentioned, perhaps make too much of an effort here to have these men rubbing elbows with each other over common ground. The short quips, the cut-off sentences, the abrupt momentary segues--sure trademarks of Bendis's style, who tends to apply it to any character no matter how out of character it may seem. Has Reed interacted with Clea over thirty times? Even twice seems unlikely. When would their paths have crossed, socially or otherwise?

On the other hand, there are things worth enjoying here. Strange is often at his best when he allows his human judgment and perspective to enter into his work--and it makes perfect sense for him to be dismayed by the absence of a loved one and fail to understand her behavior, when he understands so much. In addition, no doubt most if not all of these men welcome the opportunity to speak with each other in more relatable tones and words--and what better common ground could they find among each other than "misery loves company"?

Namor is the last to arrive, and thus the last to chime in on this subject. It's interesting that his lost bride, Dorma, isn't the woman that Bendis and Reed choose for him to offer his thoughts on, though perhaps it's not all that surprising since Dorma's history with Namor has very few personal moments to draw on. And in contrast, Namor's history with Sue Richards is by far the more compelling subject for this impromptu conversation.

Prior observations aside, there's nothing wrong with a little levity to bring this conversation to a close, since there is a main story to get to in this issue. And even on the subject of women, it's somehow gratifying to see that Tony Stark can be tripped up by his own foot.

The Enemy Within!

There were at least two occasions when the Illuminati--the clandestine group consisting of Marvel's oldest super-heroes who would meet privately to raise concerns or handle matters without disclosure to their friends or peers--chose to part company and go their separate ways. One was after a falling out they had over the decision to send the Hulk away from Earth to another world; the other was when Iron Man sought to gain their support for the Superhuman Registration Act, in a meeting which caused deep divisions among them and led them to all but formally disband.

The events of the "civil war" that resulted from factions of the heroes forming to oppose each other as a result of the SRA are a matter of record, and have been for almost ten years (our time). Yet after the fallout of that conflict, and other upheavals that took place around the same period, the members of the Illuminati would find themselves called to a meeting once again--this time to discuss a threat that might already have reached the point of being too late to stop.

Rocketing Your Way From The North Pole!

As we've seen before, the Illuminati have the best of intentions, but are generally lousy when it comes to their execution; yet you'd think that they could at least get Christmas right, wouldn't you? Still, when Santa Claus comes asking for a favor, it's very difficult to turn the old boy down in his hour of need--and when his reindeer are unavailable to provide his crucial transportation on Christmas Eve, the Illuminati come up with the power he'll need to fulfill his annual commitment.

Unfortunately, as usual, they go a little overboard--and Santa is provided the means to reshape the universe. Well, you know what they say about absolute power...

All the resources of Charles Xavier, Mister Fantastic, the Sub-Mariner, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, and Iron Man might be needed in order to defeat the awesome powers of the Infinity Gems when wielded by "Dark Santa" here. Thank goodness these men never end up using all their resources, because we'd really be in trouble then. Instead, Santa is brought down by that most powerful of wintertime weapons--a hurled snowball.

If Iron Man chimes in with a way to handle a problem, it's usually time for the rest of us to head for the hills, as a rule. But this time he might be onto something!

Come on--it was only a matter of time before Tony Stark took over Christmas, right?

Happy Holidays
from

An Enclave Among Us!

Whenever the Illuminati meet, it's interesting how you often come away with the impression that they're not likely to meet again, given that their activities raise doubts among them about their decisions and methods, and their cooperation with each other is at times reluctant. It's these very aspects that make you perk up at subsequent meetings, because you know the issues raised and the level of intrigue are going to make for a page-turner. There's also the fact that, until now, the Illuminati have been left to police themselves; even after the events of Secret Invasion and World War Hulk, their activities and meetings remained under the radar. And since they're the only ones holding each other accountable, let's just say their judgment calls could have used an ombudsman.

Thanks to the legislation which led to the "Civil War," the group has ceased meeting regularly in an administrative capacity where they would compare notes and subtly manipulate events behind the scenes; currently, they only meet on rare occasion, and only when the need requires it. But however infrequent their conferences, the Illuminati's comfortable cloak of secrecy is about to be yanked away--in a story that introduces Medusa to the group, attending in place of the deceased Black Bolt, and under circumstances that require their immediate attention.

My Way Or The Highway

Dissension In The Ranks

When resentments and disagreements boil over,

even allies can turn against each other in fierce battle that can bring the house down.

(And often does!)

FEATURING:

The Illuminati

It's often been touch-and-go for the Illuminati, the clandestine group formed by Tony Stark (as Iron Man) consisting of key players in the Marvel universe: Stark himself, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Charles Xavier, Black Bolt, and the Sub-Mariner. At times, their meetings would involve controversy and/or sharp exchanges (and in some instances, coming to blows), and their decisions would have been questionable in forums other than their own. It was certainly a sandbox for Tony Stark and his proactive mindset--and never more so than when he called the group together to propose consensus on upcoming legislation that was being dusted off and revived:

Sixteen years prior, Congressional hearings were held to explore the registration of super-beings with the government; but given Iron Man's demeanor here, we can assume that this new bill has teeth, and that whatever misgivings lawmakers had before have been wiped away.

Iron Man has clearly called this meeting to ramrod support for this legislation through the group, having already formed a "you need to go along to get along" opinion on the matter--though you could argue that Stark also seems to be exhibiting a bit of paranoia on the subject. As if to underscore the point, Stark provides a worst case scenario to convince his comrades of the gravity of the situation:

Stark is being something of an alarmist here with these men, no doubt--yet, looking at Stark's pitch on paper, what comes across as alarming is the fact that he's phrasing his last sentence as "That is what will happen," rather than a far less alarming "That is what could happen." It's the difference between expressing a cause for concern and possibly having an agenda.

With Xavier missing from the group as a result of the events of House Of M, Strange, Richards and the other two men are deprived of his valuable input on Stark's initiative--not only in terms of his perspective on the Mutant Control Act which is directly relevant here, but also his experience in dealing with humanity's fears with a calm and objective eye. Xavier would have been one of two people who could have defused Stark's push for support here; the other we'll get to in a moment.

When it comes time for everyone to be counted, Namor's reaction comes as little surprise to anyone:

Namor is still feeling the sting of the group's decision, over his strong objections, to banish the Hulk off-world--and he can't help but see Iron Man's move here as further evidence of Stark's disturbing shift toward taking matters into his own hands. Strange also is against giving his support to Stark--though the real surprise comes with Reed's about-face on the issue, given his strong feelings he expressed in his testimony during the prior hearings:

I can't help but wonder how Stan Lee would write Reed Richards as part of this group, as well as how Lee would have him react to Stark's proposal. Reed Richards, under Lee, is one of the most forthright characters in Marvel's stable--assertive, decisive, and not one to withhold his opinion, while advocating taking the higher ground when making a difficult choice. Yet, in the Illuminati, Reed often blends into the background--raising no objection whatsoever to the Illuminati's method of operation, nor in this particular decision which demands deliberative discussion. Reed Richards, meekly waiting his turn to speak here? Stan Lee's Reed Richards would be practically hijacking this debate, with thoughtful and considered counters to Stark's bottom-line calls to fall in line. Richards would normally insist on drawing a new line--and the Illuminati, I think, would be a much different entity if he were free to be himself.

As it is, the Illuminati is effectively disbanded with the dissension on this issue, which Black Bolt, giving his own position on the matter, punctuates as only he can:

I'm glad Iron Man is up on his gestural language. I'm no Medusa in interpreting Black Bolt's wishes, but he seems to be implying something along the lines of Strange's parting words, only with an additional "Or else." tacked on. Reed, however, has cheerfully signed on Stark's dotted line, without so much as an arm twist. Which strikes me as anything but fantastic.

I Am From Attilan!

Over twenty years after the events of Secret Wars II--and leap-frogging over the odd stories of "Kosmos" and "the Maker"--we're once again treated to an appearance by the Beyonder, while finally learning his true origin courtesy of writer Brian Bendis and a startling announcement by Charles Xavier:

The explanation is explored in the third issue of The New Avengers: Illuminati, where the group has assembled not merely to hear about the Beyonder, but to investigate his appearance on a planetoid in an asteroid belt. There seems to be consensus that this story is a sort of flashback, taking place after the first Secret Wars series but before the second, which frankly never occurred to me to assume. Other than an offhand reference by Reed who says he's had the FF's sensors on auto-detect for the Beyonder ever since their experience on Battleworld, there's nothing in the story that establishes this isn't taking place in the "present." But the actual point in time isn't really necessary to understand or enjoy the issue's story; and, I have to admit, I wasn't really expecting Bendis to nail it down. I don't think the man even knows what a hammer looks like.

The intriguing part of this revelation, of course, is how this news affects Black Bolt, leader of the Inhumans. Given his reaction as Xavier explains, it seems evident that he's connecting the dots from a past memory:

A memory he's not ready to either admit to or share with even these men, which perhaps explains why Namor's tactless comment seems to irritate him:

From my perspective of reading this story as if it were part of normal continuity, this Black Bolt would have been "covering" during this time, having been replaced by a Skrull and simply giving the impression he didn't recall this person as a way of not exposing his lack of knowledge of the event. Yet, reading the scene again, I prefer the more interesting drama of this being the real Black Bolt, attempting to evade the group's questions because he feels somewhat shamed at the truth. And while this now puts me on board with this being a flashback story, I'm also feeling disappointment that the feelings of Black Bolt, of all people, aren't more fully dealt with in this story. As a Skrull, that would have been understandable as part of keeping a low profile; but as Black Bolt, even his silence stands out as conspicuous.

At any rate, Xavier proposes their group make contact with the Beyonder:

Taking a captured Skrull ship from their prior encounter with that race, the group approaches Ceres. And the scene that greets them gives them an idea of the potential magnitude of the task which awaits them.