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Previously in Planet Hulk

If we break each of the arcs in Planet Hulk down, they each have their own theme. The theme in four issues of Exile is the Hulk and friendship. He meets Miek, his first friend on Sakaar. He allies with the Warbound, learning the importance of loyalty and camaraderie. In the conclusion of this arc, he meets an old friend of his, and we get a glimpse of what the Hulk is capable of when he is betrayed by a friend.

(7 pages from The Incredible Hulk #95)



With the Hulk gaining fame in the Great Arena, Caiera the Oldstrong makes one last attempt to stop him by bringing out the Silver Savage. That is, of course, the Silver Surfer, who was drawn through the same wormhole that the Hulk flew through. The wormhole weakened the Surfer enough for him to be fitted with a slave disk, and now he is being forced to fight the Hulk.

But first, we have a glimpse of what the Hulk means to Sakaar:



The Hulk's blood is able to grow plant life on the barren planet. This basically sets the Hulk up to be the savior of the planet. It also brings up an interesting situation where we have a Christ-like figure with a temper that is closer to the God of the Old Testament.

The gladiators are brought into the arena for one last fight. Victory means they earn their freedom. But victory will not be easy, considering the opponent.





One of the nice things about Pak's interpretation of the Hulk is that he doesn't get too deep into the multiple incarnations of the character. He instead taps into all the different versions of the Hulk, bringing us a version that is identifiable no matter what comics you've read. For example, while this Hulk is capable of articulate speech, he has a lot of the child-like Hulk's desire for friendship - and gets just as furious when that friendship is betrayed.

If he took the time to think things through, the Hulk would realize that the Surfer is being forced to fight by the same slave disk that has been implanted on him. But he doesn't think things through. He just gets mad.

The Surfer gives the Hulk and the Warbound all they can handle until the Hulk smashes the slave disk with a wild punch. This frees the Surfer, who immediately thanks the Hulk. But once he starts smashing, the Hulk doesn't stop:



This is a good job by Carlo Pagulayan, who deserves as much praise for Planet Hulk as Pak does. The reactions of a crowd used to seeing blood indicate just how bad a beating the Hulk is laying upon his old friend. Korg has to stop him from basically killing the Surfer.

With their third victory in the Great Arena, the gladiators are free. But first, because the Hulk slashed the Red King himself, they have to pass one more test of loyalty: kill their former companion Elloe Kaifi, who had joined with the rebels a couple issues prior. The Hulk is not a fan of the order, and begins struggling against the slave disk.



Incidentally, although Caiera will continue to be referred to as "Lieutenant" in the recap pages, I think this is the first time her name is spoke in the story itself.

Things look bad, but the Surfer has recovered enough to save the day:



The Great Arena gets torn down, and the Hulk escapes with his Warbound and the rest of the slaves.

Later, now that he's calmed down some, the Hulk is able to have a civil conversation with the Surfer:



This is a great callback to the Hulk's first meeting with the Surfer back when he was one of the headliners in the Tales to Astonish series. It also serves as some foreshadowing. Back then, the Hulk attacked the Surfer and tried to force him to bring him to another planet where the puny humans couldn't bother him. Although the Surfer just whupped the Hulk's butt and left, the Hulk did eventually get off planet, only to embark upon adventures that left him wanting to get back to Earth. By the end of that arc, the Hulk lost his memory, erasing his knowledge of all his interstellar adventures. But as we'll find out here, Planet Hulk mirrors that arc a bit in that the Hulk thinks he wants to be off-world but will soon regret his decision.

Incidentally, if anybody saw the animated version of Planet Hulk, you might be wondering why Beta Ray Bill is used there instead of the Surfer. It boils down to a rights issue, as Marvel doesn't actually own the Surfer's film rights. The creators of that film did make lemons out of lemonade, though, by tying Beta Ray Bill into Korg's backstory and keeping things pretty much consistent story-wise.

This issue ends Planet Hulk: Exile. From here on, the Hulk is on the run from the Red King, who is enough of a bastard that we all eagerly await his smashing.

This issue is packed with some ominous foreshadowing, particularly when the Hulk beats up the Surfer. It shows the depths of rage the Hulk can reach when he is betrayed, and that will come back in spades at the end of World War Hulk.