The Incredible Hulk #1
Greg Pak's return to the Hulk franchise with what the trade-paperback era brands as 'Incredible Hulk Vol. 1: Son of Banner' (beginning with Incredible Hulk #601) marks one of the most structurally inventive pivots the character had seen in decades: a physically de-powered Bruce Banner voluntarily seeks out his half-alien son Skaar — a child who has vowed to kill the Hulk — and begins training him as a weapon against his own alter ego. This father-son dynamic, built directly on the ruins of the 'Planet Hulk' and 'World War Hulk' epics, reframes Banner not as the monster's reluctant host but as its most determined strategist, giving the franchise a fresh psychological lens. Skaar's presence on Earth also concretized years of cosmic-scale worldbuilding, anchoring Sakaar's mythology into Marvel's street-level continuity. The arc set the stage for the full 'Incredible Hulks' era that followed, which expanded the Hulk's world into a genuine ensemble cast.
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After Greg Pak handed the flagship Hulk title over to the Incredible Hercules direction in 2008, Marvel relaunched the legacy-numbered Incredible Hulk series at #600 in September 2009, with Pak returning as writer. Issue #601 — the effective first chapter of the 'Son of Banner' arc — united Banner and Skaar on the page for the first time as a sustained pairing, following earlier crossover encounters in the Skaar: Son of Hulk spin-off and Planet Skaar Prologue. Pak had himself created Skaar alongside artist John Romita Jr., with the character's canonical Earth-616 debut tracing back to World War Hulk #5 (January 2008). The 2010 trade paperback collecting issues #601–605 and Dark Reign: The List — Hulk was published under the title 'Incredible Hulk Vol. 1: Son of Banner,' giving collectors a clean entry point into this era; there was no standalone new-#1 issue issued in calendar year 2010.
Trivia · 8 facts
- The 2010 'Incredible Hulk #1' in collector databases most likely refers to Incredible Hulk #601 (legacy numbering) or the 2010 trade paperback 'Vol. 1: Son of Banner,' as Marvel did not publish a fresh new #1 for this series in 2010 — the ongoing ran from #600 (Sept. 2009) through #611 (Oct. 2010) before being retitled Incredible Hulks with #612.
- Writer Greg Pak returned to the Incredible Hulk title with issue #600, after a detour writing The Incredible Hercules following World War Hulk.
- Skaar — son of Bruce Banner/Hulk and the alien Caiera of Sakaar — was created by Greg Pak and artist John Romita Jr.; his Earth-616 first appearance is World War Hulk #5 (January 2008).
- The central premise of the 'Son of Banner' arc is a de-powered Bruce Banner deliberately seeking out Skaar to train the son who wants to kill the Hulk — a narrative inversion that recast Banner as tactician rather than fugitive.
- Skaar is depicted as possessing gamma-powered superhuman strength inherited from his father, as well as the 'Old Power' drawn from tectonic forces — abilities inherited from his Sakaarian mother Caiera.
- The arc ran through the 'Fall of the Hulks' and 'World War Hulks' crossover events (2010), culminating in Incredible Hulk #611, where the Hulk and Skaar finally fought their long-promised battle, and Hulk embraced his son after Skaar accepted that compassion was stronger than vengeance.
- With issue #612 (November 2010), the series was retitled Incredible Hulks to reflect the expanded gamma-powered family: Skaar, A-Bomb (Rick Jones), Red She-Hulk (Betty Ross), and others.
- Skaar has since been adapted into the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, where Bruce Banner introduces him to his extended family, representing the character's first live-action appearance.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Incredible Hulk #601 (2009), Incredible Hulk #602 (2009), Dark Reign: The List - Hulk #1 (2009), Incredible Hulk #603 (2009), Incredible Hulk #604 (2010), Incredible Hulk #605 (2010)
Reprinted in The Incredible Hulk #1 (2010)
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