Hulk mysteries to be answered soon

Reading Marvel Comics’ Hulk titles lately has been a bit like watching TV’s “Lost” — mystery upon mystery.

Since last year, “Hulk” has featured a brutal Red Hulk whose true identity remains unknown to readers; more recently, writer Jeph Loeb added a Red She-Hulk whose identity also is a mystery.

In “The Incredible Hulk,” in which a “de-Hulked” Bruce Banner has taken his half-alien, barbarian son Skaar under his wing, questions also swirl. Will Banner once again become the familiar, green-skinned Hulk? If he does, will Skaar carry out his vow to kill the Hulk?

The answers are coming in two back-to-back Hulk events — “Fall of the Hulks” and “World War Hulks.”

“They are, without exaggeration, going to provide the biggest payoffs and the biggest turning points for these characters ever,” said Greg Pak, writer of “The Incredible Hulk.”

“Fall of the Hulks” gets under way this month with a pair of one-shot specials before winding its way through the regular Hulk titles.

The just-released “Fall of the Hulks: Alpha,” written by Jeff Parker, introduced the Intelligencia, a group of brainy villains who Loeb says will play a key role in the story to come.

“So many Hulk stories have been built around who is the strongest — we came at it from a different angle with who is the smartest,” Loeb said via e-mail.

Later this month, look for “Fall of the Hulks: Gamma,” written by Loeb and featuring the murder of a classic Hulk cast member.

“Both Greg and I have been laying down the track for the Red Hulk origin and Skaar’s earthbound saga for two years, and it all collides in ‘Gamma.’ The loss of this major player leaves a gaping hole in the balance of power between the Hulks,” Loeb said.

While Loeb’s “Hulk” has focused on the Red Hulk — or Rulk, as some have come to know him — “The Incredible Hulk” has emphasized the dysfunctional father-son team of Banner and Skaar.

Skaar is pretty clear about his goals: He wants to kill the Hulk, blaming him for the horrors he faced growing up on a barbarian planet. (He doesn’t consider “puny Banner” to be his father.) Banner’s motives in training Skaar to fight are less clear.

With “Fall of the Hulks” and “World War Hulks,” “we’re going to learn what’s really going on with Banner himself,” Pak said. “People assume Banner’s the hero and the Hulk’s the monster, that the Hulk does good because there’s Banner deep inside. That may be true. It also may be true that Banner on his own is more dangerous than the Hulk ever was.”

Bruce Banner has supposedly been robbed forever of the ability to turn into the Hulk, but Banner himself has said the return of the Hulk is inevitable, and recent developments seem to point that way.

Pak won’t confirm, though, that the green Hulk’s return is upcoming. 

“All I will say is green’s certainly my favorite color.”