Turn the Page: Planet Hulk Reviewed

I missed Planet Hulk when it first came out and with the looming World War Hulk ahead in the Marvel Universe, I purchased this lovely hardcover. It covers issues 92 - 105, Giant Size Hulk 1 and Planet Hulk: Gladiator Guidebook. Now I know I am really behind in my comic reading but I am promising myself to read more of them.

Planet Hulk starts with the Hulk in a spaceship hurtling toward a black hole after being tricked by his so-called 'friends'. Reed Richards explains to the Hulk that because of his anger and destructive capabilities, they are sending him to an uninhabited planet where "No one to hurt him and no one he can hurt". They were wrong. The Hulk crashes into a planet that is teeming with life and as soon as he arrives, he is captured and thrown into captivity.

Sold into slavery, the Hulk is forced to fight in an arena against a creature. He wins and is sent to Gladiator school and gets an obedience chip implanted on him. While in camp, he meets a group of other captured slaves that later become, his War bound. The Hulk and his War bound eventually end up fighting for the entertainment of the Emperor. The Hulk must battle the reigning champion, the Silver Surfer. The Hulk pummels the Silver Surfer and the War bound demand their freedom. A huge mistake, their captures shock with the obedience chips. The Silver Surfer awakens, free from his chip and destroys the remainder of the obedience chips on the slaves. Free from their masters, the Hulk and the remaining slaves fight the guards and eventually escape.

The remainder of the story consists of the Hulk gaining followers, eventually freeing the planet from the cruel Emperor, and an explosion that kills everything he loves. It sends him into frenzy and he swears to get revenge on the people responsible, the heroes on Earth who sent him to the planet in the first place.
I enjoyed Planet Hulk from beginning to end. Greg Pak has written a classic storyline that made the Hulk an interesting character. He takes the Hulk from a slave, to a leader of freed slaves, then to the King of the planet, to a contented husband with a child on the way and in a split second takes it all away in a fiery explosion. The films 'Spartacus' and 'Gladiator' obviously influenced Greg Pak in this interesting story arc of the Incredible Hulk. I recommend it highly.