There is something about Mark Waid's take on the Hulk that I just find incredibly appealing. Part of it is the way that it shakes up the traditional "Banner vs. the Hulk" dynamic and has Banner working with his condition rather than trying to undo it. That's refreshing not just because so many of the possible iterations had already been done over the half-century since the Hulk was created, but because it's obvious that even when they write in a cure or a solution that it's never going to take. The Hulk is just too important to Marvel ever to be done with the character.

So instead Banner follows the age old advice of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Rather than fighting the Hulk he works to manage the big jade giant. But he's also a guilt-ridden genius who wants to be remembered for being more than a big destructive dummy, so he makes a deal to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. as their "cannon" to be used in circumstances where stealth, precision, and collateral damage aren't considerations, in return for access to their resources for scientific research. Seeing the Hulk working alongside one of the organizations that once pursued him is also a fun change of pace, as not only does it eliminate the need to create the sometimes involved motivations for the battles Hulk finds himself in, it also introduces a fun dynamic of Banner matching wits with Maria Hill. This becomes the series's secret weapon, as the professional tension is tempered by a degree of respect and mutual need, as both sides quickly come to make the most of the deal.

The result is roughly a half-dozen storylines that are all highly entertaining. Easily my favorite is "Gods and Monster," in which a Banner-led expedition to Jotunheim leads to a battle with Frost Giants and an encounter with an unexpected character, but all of them are fun adventures mixing science with superheroism. The only problem is with the varying quality of the art, with not every contributor measuring up to the standards set by Leinil Francis Yu in the first issue. Yet the virtues of Waid's series more than offset its flaws, and the end of the series after just eighteen issues left me feeling as though there were still much that could have been done with his premise. ( )