Marvel

By Kevin Mahadeo The term "daddy issues" gets a whole new meaning in the Marvel Universe when Skaar, Son of Hulk, smashes his way to Earth to meet his pappy for the first time face-to-face and inevitably fist-to-fist. Brought to readers by writer Greg Pak, the mastermind behind "Planet Hulk" and World War Hulk, the father/son matchup begins tomorrow, May 20, when PLANET SKAAR PROLOGUE smashes its way into comic shops. The smackdown continues in Pak's SKAAR: SON OF HULK #11 on June 3, which promises to throw punches both emotional and physical as fans finally experience a moment the writer has been building toward for over a year. Between his planning of global destruction for the third time, Pak also pens the mythical misadventures of Hercules and Amadeus Cho in INCREDIBLE HERCULES and the missions of Jim Rhodes in WAR MACHINE. The writer took a break from all his plotting to talk about the upcoming battle of the behemoths, the consequences of love and war, and teases some tidbits about August's debut of "Thorcules."

PLANET SKAAR PROLOGUE #1 cover by Alex Garner

Marvel.com: PLANET SKAAR PROLOGUE #1 hits stores this week, probably both figuratively and literally as I doubt the comic page can alone contain the smashing. What can fans expect to see in this kick off issue? Greg Pak: Skaar, Son of Hulk, hits planet Earth—and planet Earth hits back! The book follows through on the epic storyline we've been building since the last page of WORLD WAR HULK and through the previous 10 issues of SKAAR: SON OF HULK, but it's also designed to be absolutely new reader friendly. All you need to know is that the Hulk has a big, green, furious, half-alien son who's on his way to Earth—the rest is explained as we launch into the action of the story. And the story co-stars the Fantastic Four, She-Hulk, Norman Osborn, the Warbound, and, of course, Bruce Banner, aka the Incredible Hulk! We're talking massive smashing and massive emotional payoff along with a shocking twist that will open up a whole new world for Skaar. So, don't dare miss it! Marvel.com: You mentioned the Fantastic Four appearing. We know Reed Richards is the one who discovers that the Jade Giant's son is coming to town. Why does Reed take it upon himself to stop Skaar? Why not contact some of his former Illuminati buddies? Greg Pak: Reed has a very direct answer to this question on page 13 of the story. He also has a theory that addresses some key questions about the Hulk post-World War Hulk that might be of great interest to Gamma fans. Marvel.com: The parallels between Planet Skaar and World War Hulk seem obvious, but the Marvel U is definitely a much different place than when Hulk came a stomping. You mentioned Norman Osborn, so how does Dark Reign factor into the coming events? Greg Pak: Norman Osborn plays a major role in the PLANET SKAAR PROLOGUE and will continue to have an impact on Hulk-related books in the months to come. I'll say no more for fear of spoilers, but Norman's Dark Reign-y influence will absolutely push our story in some surprising ways.

SKAAR: SON OF HULK #11 cover by Travis Charest

Marvel.com: How does the Warbound factor into this? They all played a pivotal role in World War Hulk, but what side—if any—will they be taking here? Greg Pak: Planet Skaar will be the first time the Warbound have seen the Hulk since World War Hulk. The Warbound have gone through some pretty big changes themselves since then, and they may have reassessed their whole attitude toward Gamma-induced rage. We'll see exactly what angle they'll take in SKAAR issues #11 and #12. Marvel.com: Not to give away the ending, but with the Hulk out and on the loose, it seems very likely Skaar will get to meet dear old dad after all. I'm thinking the two just sit down and have an emotional talk about all their problems, right? Greg Pak: Yeah, you pretty much nailed it. Although they may converse in the universal language of smashing. Marvel.com: Shifting gears a little, let's talk about INCREDIBLE HERCULES. Your portrayal of Herc blends his mythological history with his Marvel history fantastically well. How much research did you do before tackling the character? Greg Pak: My co-writer Fred Van Lente and I have had an insane amount of fun on the title and we enormously appreciate all the retailers, readers, and reviewers who have been spreading the word about the book. I actually didn't do a huge amount of research about Herc before including him in the World War Hulk event back in 2007. I just refreshed myself on some of the key moments in his mythical past, the most important of which for that particular story was the fact that he once killed his own wife and children, allegedly after Hera drove him mad. That was a huge hook that helped me understand and dramatize why he sided with the Hulk during World War Hulk. He understood what it meant to lose all the Hulk had lost.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #130 cover by David Williams

When Fred and I got the green light to continue Herc and Amadeus's story in INCREDIBLE HERCULES, I delved much deeper in the myths. Fred and I are constantly bouncing arcane little details of various myths off of each other. My latest favorite is the Kallikantzaroi, crazy little goblins that try to saw down the World Tree all year long. Marvel.com: Coming up in that series, we see a couple of things: Herc going to the underworld, for example. What's up with that? Greg Pak: Athena, Herc's sister and the goddess of wisdom, has been guiding Herc and Amadeus on their various quests for some time now. And she's determined that in their efforts to counter the power of wicked Hera's Olympus Group, the time has come to bring Father Zeus back from the land of the dead. Of course, this being a Herc book, nothing goes quite as planned. As an added bonus for all the True Believers out there, we're revealing a few key insights into the nature of life and death in the Marvel Universe. Marvel.com: Your portrayal of the gods as the Olympus Group says something about how society—especially in America—looks at corporations as these all powerful entities. Was this your intent or am I just making stuff up here? Greg Pak: [Laughs] Fred and I haven't actually discussed that specific point. But if it makes us sound smarter, then absolutely! Marvel.com: Let's talk love. What about Amadeus and Delphyne? Will they get together or can we expect to see a classic Greek tragedy here? And what's up with Hebe? She's seems a bit crazy go nuts. Greg Pak: We'll definitely see more of Delphyne as the series progresses. She's the Queen of the Amazons now and a major player in the Olympus Group. So Amadeus will have plenty of opportunity to get his heart further broken—or cut out of his chest

The new Thor?

and roasted over an open pit, if he's not careful. And Hebe, Hercules's long-forgotten wife, is absolutely going to play a big role as we go along. Once again, since it's a Herc book, nothing will play out quite as you might expect. Marvel.com: We've seen the teaser for August , so what can you say? HercuThor? Thorcules? Greg Pak: Thorcules! I say thee yay! There's some major trouble brewing in the land of the Dark Elves, which would normally be Thor's jurisdiction. But with Thor temporarily unavailable, Herc gets the tap. So, always eager to show up Ol' Goldilocks, the Lion of Olympus is bringing on the thunder. Marvel.com: Finally, you're also working on WAR MACHINE. What can readers expect to see coming up in that series? Greg Pak: For the past five issues, War Machine has been taking out madmen and monsters in overseas hellholes like Santo Marco and Occupied Aqiria. But in issue #6, which hits stores on May 27, War Machine finally picks a target on U.S. soil. And now this soldier turned super hero-turned-interventionist Avenger may earn himself the new label of traitor. The most high stakes fight of Rhodey's life begins right here. I'm particularly excited about WAR MACHINE #6 because we're delving deep into Rhodey's past as we meet his tough-as-nails mother, Roberta Rhodes. And Rhodey will find himself face-to-face with Jason Strongbow, aka American Eagle, who's easily my favorite reinvented character of the past decade. Marvel.com: Out of all your series, WAR MACHINE is the most "grounded in reality." Why'd you decide to take this approach? Is it a good balance from the wacky awesomeness of HERCULES and the smashitude of SKAAR?

WAR MACHINE #7 cover by Francesco Mattina

Greg Pak: Whenever I take on a new project, I try to challenge myself to go somewhere I haven't gone before in terms of genre, story, characters or themes. And it's always great if I can pull on a project that contrasts with something I'm already writing. I always find myself thinking about the story that during the shooting of "M," Peter Lorre was playing a child murderer by day and then performing in cabarets at night. So I was excited by the idea that WAR MACHINE would let me tell stories a few degrees closer to the kinds of horrors that go on in the real world every day. And the insanely detailed, explosive, and yet emotionally resonant art by Leonardo Manco was going to make the book look different from anything else on the stands. Not a subscriber to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited yet? Join now! Check out the official Marvel Shop for your favorite Marvel Heroes! Download episodes of "X-Men: Evolution" and "Wolverine and the X-Men" now on iTunes!