After Hulks highly entertaining team-up with Thor, drawn by Walt Simonson no less!, Mark Waid continues the Hulk team-ups by uniting Hulk with his other series, Daredevil (two great tastes that taste great together is a phrase that applies perfectly to this issue). Waid picks up an idea he planted in the early issues of this series where Banner places a call once a week to a mysterious figure to ensure SHIELD dont double-cross him - if he doesnt make the call, a lot of compromising data goes out on them. Who is that mysterious figure? Well, hes on the cover - its Matt Murdock/Daredevil! The evil organisation Agence Byzantine have stolen some Thor-level weaponry and, as theyre in Daredevils neighbourhood of Hells Kitchen, SHIELD and Banner team up with Daredevil to re-capture the tech before it gets used. Handily, the massive guns emit a high frequency sound which Daredevil, using his heightened senses, is able to track, so he and Hulk head off on the hunt. This comic has a lot of really great moments and ideas which isnt surprisingly given the writer of this series is the enormously gifted Mark Waid. Banner and Maria Hill have a wonderful rapport like when Banner smugly declares hes invented new mobile phone tech that cant be blocked by SHIELD so hes able to call Daredevil without them knowing and Maria gets him back by pushing him out of a plane after replacing his parachute with shrapnel! Waid works the sonics angle further by giving Daredevil a certain tone of voice that can get through to Hulk even when hes enraged, immediately calming him and bringing back Banner. Hes responding to tone, not meaning. I yelled down Hulk, but its Banner who heard me says Daredevil. Its a great idea not least because sound is very important to Daredevils character but also because it emphasises the strong friendship between the two and gives Daredevil an edge to Hulk while making Hulk seem less chaotic. Daredevil and Hulk make a really great team, its surprising this hasnt been done before! Matteo Scalera is no Simonson but his art is pretty good in this issue. Its far darker than I expected and is quite a contrast to Simonsons bright, gleaming colour palette that he used in the last 3 issues of Indestructible Hulk, and though Scalera does action really well, I think hes definitely my least favourite artist on this series so far - which isnt much of a diss, given Leinil Yu and Walt Simonson are the other artists! Indestructible Hulk #9 continues the high quality storytelling that this series has had since the start and remains one of the bright spots in the Marvel NOW! lineup. Its a comic thats definitely worth checking out as its really smart, well written, and a ton of big green fun.
Indestructible Hulk #9 by Mark Waid and Matteo Scalera is out now