Red Hulk #5 - Marvel Comics

RED HULK No. 5, August 2025

Undeniably hurling Thunderbolt Ross from out of the cooking pot and straight into the fire, Benjamin Percy’s penmanship for Issue Four of “Red Hulk” is arguably a tour-de-force as to how to absolutely pack a twenty-page periodical with some serious high-octane action, yet still deliver a strong storyline involving international politics, treachery, and a palpable feeling of outrage at how despicably a country can treat one of its experienced war veterans. In fact, the General’s anger towards the United States apparently ‘bending the knee’ to Doctor Victor Von Doom positively bristles off of each printed panel; “Defy any system that supports this global @#$%#& coup. We’re at war with the world.”

Furthermore, the introduction of a somewhat quietly spoken, albeit utterly belligerent Colonel, makes a great contrast to the loud, almost bombastic shouts emanating from the gamma-powered protagonist. This particular character, who is so disrespectful towards a superior officer that he doesn’t even salute Ross, is the exact opposite of everything the American author depicts Thaddeus as standing for, and resultantly imbues their momentary cordiality with a terrific amount of tension before the pair have exchanged even a score of words.

The Oregon-born writer’s handling of both Machine Man and Deathlok is also not without merit, courtesy of the badly battered pair still contributing plenty to the plot’s progress. The couple’s close shave with a lone Doombot provides a neat benchmark as to just how much more powerful Red Hulk is over them (as the human mutate rips dozens of the robots apart with his bare hands). But they also move the group's escape bid forward by establishing a communications link with the then seemingly sympathetic U.S. Air Force, and negotiating co-ordinates for a supposedly safe extraction.

Ultimately however, the real heavy-lifting of this tome is done by Geoff Shaw and colour artist Bryan Valenza. Between them the two illustrators absolutely knock the ball straight out of the park, with some marvellous, eye-catching double-splashes of Ross’ heavily-muscled alter-ego brutally bashing any android stupid enough to come within his reach. In addition though, there is a distinctly disagreeable arrogance in the bearing of the aforementioned insolent Colonel, so when the holier than thou soldier is subsequently sketched running for the hills once his ‘detainee’ picks up a nearby boulder, many a bibliophile should be smugly smirking in satisfaction at his evident fright.

The regular cover art of "RED HULK" #5 by Geoff Shaw & Marte Gracia