Worl War Hulk Frontline # 4 of 6 (Spoilers) [Archive]

jackolover

09-20-2007, 05:47 AM

This was a very humourous book in places, and yet it had a very serious message, but I'll get to that later. When Jonah and Sally were in that bar, and talking abpout selling the Alternative, we see this bar room brawl by Hivelings and pool players in the background, until, at the end, a big, burley, bouncer grabs the human and the Hiveling by the htroat and asks them to stop fighting. Clearly, Sally has lost all credibility in the Partnership of her and Ben. Then, there is that incident in Dannys flat, where Korg makes derogatory remarks about how ugly Sally is in her picture. Then the cat farts and and Korg is disgusted. And finally, Korg picks up a muppets doll, and asks which of Dannys ancesters the doll is a representation.

Now for the serious part. Danny finds out that Arch-E self-destructed (?) after being given instructions to not interfere in any looting activities. Maybe the looters shot him.

Finally, Ben joins the crowd entering the MSG to watch the Illuminati fight it out in the arena, and this is where Ben makes the connection with the Aliens. Ban realises that the Aliens didn't bring 'a lust for blood and remorseless brutality' to eath to overrun it. 'You can't be overun when your invaders are exactly like you'. Ben had been inspecting the crowds that sneaked back into Manhattan for the games, and realised the people were just as bloodthirsty as the Warbound. Ben didn't try to distance himself, or the majority of humans from this this group of crowd support, but just accepted humans were just as brutal as these aliens.

That's quite an indictment on humanity, that Ben made. We have been discussing all sorts of descriptions of monsters, and how easy it is to label the Warbound and the Hulk as monsters. Yet, looking at the cheering crowd of humans in the stands, and how they appreciate the violence set before them, Ben realises how the monster gets cloudy. Who says because someone treats his fellow creatures as disposable chattel, that they are the monsters? What about those who cheer them on? Aren't the humans just as liable to be called monsters, for having the same heart?

This issue brings us close to muddying the boundries of what we can, and cannot call a monster. This one example of crowd bloodthirstyness makes all the crimes of the Hulk automatically go away. Who are we to judge, in all sincerity, what kind of monster the Hulk is, if we haven't got the decency to show better morals than him? And in WWH #4, the Hulk shoves this lesson in the faces of the Illuminati, when Elloe refuses to let Reed explain away how he and TONY and Bolt and Strange had nothing to do with Sakaars destruction. Because it doesn't matter what you say, Reed. Hulk knows you're just like that crowd in the stands, at heart.